Ryu Izakaya

Been here 4 or 5 times now. Definitely worth the 10-minute drive. Came during happy hour and got sushi for $1 a piece. Honestly didn’t expect much at that price, but it turned out super fresh and flavorful, with no fishy taste at all. We ordered over 20 pieces and still got everything super fast. The mixed drinks were also great — refreshing and not overly sweet. If you’re in the area and craving Japanese, this spot’s a good find. Nothing fancy, just great value and solid food. Highly recommend!!

Ryu Izakaya is an absolute gem for anyone who loves Japanese cuisine! I stopped by during their $1 sushi special and was blown away by the quality. The sushi was fresh, flavorful, and beautifully presented—such an incredible value for the price. I also tried their yakitori, which was perfectly grilled with just the right amount of seasoning. The smoky, savory flavors made it a standout dish that paired wonderfully with their drink options. The ambiance is cozy and inviting, and the staff were attentive and friendly throughout the visit. If you’re looking for a spot to enjoy delicious Japanese food without breaking the bank, Ryu Izakaya should definitely be on your list! Highly recommended!

I bought their bulgogi donburi and eel skewer. First of all, the size of the donburi itself is not worth the money and the meet tasted so weird. I have had bulgogi donburi many times at other places, this one was DISAPPOINTING. The miso soup comes in a tiny cup which looked like the one used for sauces. I’m so confused over the fact that even though i bought full sized donburi , I got lunch portions of other restraunts. Skewer was just dipped in too much sauce and salt. Definitely not coming back here again.

Very good Happy Hours sushi and appetizers! We love the Spicy Curry Ramen so much and all other small plates. Very fast serving with lots of dish options! Highly recommended.

We had a wonderful dinner here with our family of 4. Service and food were excellent. Everything tasted very fresh and served quickly. Thank you!

Happy Hour menu is a good deal! Nigiris for $1. Keep in mine you get what you pay for. Low quality appetizers from the happy menu. Salmon in Nigiri is too thin and not that good. The beef gyozas are fried (most like deep fried, not panfried), they look like frozen ones, no fresh. I recommend the chicken thighs yakatori. I didnt have sushi. The chicken curry donburi was flavorful but they barely give you chicken. The salmon donbori has 7 pieces of salmon (thin) the rice was delicious. Service and environment was great! Just not the best Japanese quality.

I had lunch here on a weekday. My party seemed to be the only customers at the restaurant, but they are still very new. The sushi was decent, the bento box rolls came with imitation crab meat. The menu selection is pretty wide, but it wouldn’t categorize this as an authentic Japanese restaurant. It’s a good value lunch type of place. The desserts were hit or miss, good flavor green tea ice cream and very underwhelming mochi. Parking is in the hotel parking lot.

Great Happy Hour and Restaurant Week offerings (when available). Awesome mix of interesting foods from sushi to ramen to bulgogi. Glad to support a Pike restaurant with quality food like this after the street work has made life tough, but Ryu Izsakaya earned these 5 stars.

Came on a weeknight for happy hour (Great happy hour deals: EVERY DAY from 4-8pm; all day on Sundays). $7 cocktails, $1 nigiri, and more. The fish quality is decent, good for the price. We enjoyed the ube fries. The cocktails were pretty good. The waitress was friendly, however, later in the night, folks were seated by the sushi bar, and we were the only ones in the other area so we had to find a staff member to get the bill. There are some specific parking spots in the Days Inn parking lot, next to the restaurant. Bathroom is located in the Days Inn, on the second floor.

Ordered dinner via doordash after seeing all the good reviews. Not sure if they're having an off day but won't be trying this place again. Salmon and salmon belly sashimi were not fresh. But had a very distinct funk. Alaskan roll and rainbow roll contained small amounts of fish inside and were stuffed with stale tempura flakes. The amount of tempura flakes inside the roll is very off putting.

My partner and I found this place to be delicious, cute/clean, and it had good service! We got both sushi and curry, and we preferred the sushi over the curry (although both were still good). It is slightly slightly pricier than our typical sushi spot - however, it was nice to go somewhere new and try it out. Definitely a spot to check out, and although we have our typical sushi spot still, we'll probably return here when we want another nice place to go to!

I've come back here another 2-3 times and while their $1 sushi/nigiri are still a good deal, I noticed they started using smaller pieces of fish. I still like the white tuna escolar, inari, surf clam, and tamago pieces though. Note this spicy tuna rolls don't seem to have mayo. Also their expanded happy hour specials from 4-7pm are good. We enjoyed the ube fries. The service was good, they came to take our order and any additional orders before happy hour ended. They were also able to split our bill.

Overall very good quality sushi and will continue to support this spot! The Jo sushi is good value since it comes with a toro scallion roll which I rarely see. Texture of rice is excellent. Part of a larger takeout order that included other yummy classic rolls (really good salmon skin roll and a spicy scallop roll not covered in kewpie mayo) The only strange thing is that this is the second time where the fish on at least 2-3 pieces have been sliced incorrectly (so with grain instead of against) which made it difficult to eat. See the yellowtail and darker tuna next to the surf clam.

This place has a REALLY great happy hour! $1 nigiri really can't be beat. I would order anything from the nigiri menu + the spicy tuna maki is a MUST try - rarely do I see places do a spicy roll thats *actually* spicy, so this was pleasantly surprising. Very worth dining here if you're in the Arlington area! Staff is really nice too. Their happy hour also recently extended to 4-8 pm every day + all day Sunday.

This spot is definitely a gem! Reasonable prices, cozy and casual atmosphere, great service and delicious sushi is definitely a winning combo. I ordered a roll that was a special, so I can't remember the name because it's not on their standard menu. But basically it was some kind of crunchy salmon roll, topped with more salmon, avocado and served with a special dipping sauce that had a tangy, spicy zip to it. Seriously, it was so good! I'm still thinking about it and might just begin to crave it. All of the ingredients were so fresh, so I immediately knew this was a good mark of their sushi quality. I also ordered the grilled squid appetizer. I honestly figured it was a dish that would be impossible not to like since I love grilled squid in even its most simple form. Unfortunately, it was a miss for me. The squid was so tough it seemed perhaps it has been over cooked. Either way, presentation of both dishes as well as every dish I saw being ordered around me looked amazing and I'm already very eager to return!

Ryu Izakaya is a great spot for those seeking authentic Japanese flavors with a modern twist. With its excellent service, cozy ambiance, and wide range of dishes, it's definitely worth a visit. Rating: 4.2/5 stars.

It was good but nothing special. Service was very good but at least the rolls I had were not particularly tight or tasty. We wanted to try it and are glad we did. We have not tried a variety of dishes but not impressed with what had.

Similarly priced to Genki although i don't think the quality is on the same level. The eel yakitori had an off taste & was not deboned. The beef yakitori needed salt. The chicken was nothing special although the pork belly was good. We also ordered the Oryu roll(not pictured) and it was decent, although the paired sauce was a nice touch. Out of everything, the spicy tuna tartare was our favorite. I'd recommend for a lunch date or gathering and to go seemed popular as well.

I recently got the chicken drunken udon for takeout and it arrived on time. The chicken drunken udon was fine-the portion size was a bit small, the chicken a bit chewy, although the udon were good.

Unexpectedly nice and upscale yet casual Japanese restaurant in south Arlington. Came for lunch in July 2024. *Food: All excellent given the price. They offer a $1 nigiri/sashimi deal (with some types costing $2-5 per piece). Excellent value given the price, as all the fish were fresh and flavorful. Also had the chicken karaage and skewers, both would recommend. *Service: Phenomenal. The waiter we had was incredibly attentive. Brought extra napkins when he saw our newborn spitting up. *Ambiance: Nice, clean, quiet, and cutely decorated.

Visited Ryu Izakaya for lunch on a Sunday afternoon, and while the experience wasn't terrible, it certainly didn't stand out. **Ambiance: The restaurant has a cozy, atmosphere with dim lighting and traditional decor. The staff were friendly and greeted us warmly when we arrived. Our table was ready on time, and the initial service was prompt. **Food: Unfortunately, the food was just mediocre. The spicy miso ramen was the biggest disappointment; the broth was okay and pretty average as far as ramens go. The bamboo shoots should usually be pretty soft but these were too crunchy and the chashu pork wasn't very soft either. The sushi rolls were fresh but lacked the flavor and creativity we expected from an izakaya. The green tea ice cream was pretty good though. **Bathrooms: the bathrooms weren't located inside the building (which I'm never fond of) but were out the back of the building and inside of a sketchy Days Inn where it definitely felt like some drug deals could go down back there. The bathrooms weren't the cleanest, and I wouldn't have felt comfortable changing my 11-month old in there given the lack of visibility to the rest of the restaurant. Overall, Ryu Izakaya is an okay place to eat if you're not expecting anything spectacular. The ambiance is pleasant, but the food leaves much to be desired. You're better off going to one of the other Izakaya locations which have better food and a better overall ambiance.

My friend and I stopped by for dinner yesterday since we wanted Japanese food that we both have yet to try. Ryu Izakaya's been on my list ever since they opened, so I was pretty excited to try! The service was quick and we were able to get our food within a reasonable amount of time. YAKITORI ASSORTMENT For ~22.00, we got six yakitoris: bacon wrapped asparagus, zucchini, beef, chicken gizzard, chicken thigh and chicken wing. My favorite were the chicken gizzard (great texture and flavor) and the bacon wrapped asparagus (juicy and also contained a piece of leek). Everything was just aight. Flavor was decent. The beef was really tough. Overall, I would get it if you wanna try a variety of yakitori. Otherwise, I'd skip and go with a couple you know you'd like. QUAIL EGG YAKITORI My friend and I love quail eggs, so we got one of these to try. Not much flavor, though so that was a bit disappointing. CHICKEN GIZZARD YAKITORI We enjoyed it so much we got two more so we could each have one. Very crunchy texture with smoky flavors. Chicken gizzard is not one to skip. SPICY TUNA AVOCADO TARTARE A good amount of spicy tuna wrapped around delicately sliced avocado formed in a shape of a flower almost, then topped with some crunchy flakes on top. This was a great item to share and the spicy tuna was well seasoned with some sweetness, too. CHIRASHI The chirashi bowl was pretty sizable which my friend and I split. I don't think a lot of the fish here was that fresh as there were a few pieces in there that I did not enjoy and found really fishy (tuna and this other lightly seared fish). Overall, not a huge fan. I rather get a bowl of raw fish where I'm able to pick my favorites (even if it's as basic as salmon and yellowtail). YUZU CHEESECAKE WITH VANILLA ICE CREAM This was a delightful dessert to end our meal. The cheesecake had a strong yuzu flavor that we both really enjoyed. There was a strawberry that's been thinly sliced on the side, a pile of whipped cream and a scoop of vanilla ice cream that sat on top of a bed of graham cracker bits. Great combination of sweets, we'd recommend. Overall, everything was fine/above average, but nothing phenomenal. Also, the prices are pretty $$$ given that we paid about 50pp (after tip and tax) and not too full either. 3.5/5 but will bump to a 4/5.

Great happy hour. Rolls in the $4-7 range, lots of sushi at $1 a piece. Cocktails are $7. There is parking next to the restaurant in the motel parking lot. We have enjoyed the sushi at happy hour twice this month and will be back. The crew is helpful. Checkout the happy hour menu on the website.

The hubby and I came here on Sunday, 3/24/2024, when we arrived the restaurant was basically empty, so we were sat right away and asked where we wanted to sit. Our server brought over water right away and soon after we ordered a California roll (me) and the hubby got one unagi sushi for a dollar (a special). The California roll was fresh, well rolled and really delicious, my husband said the same for the unagi. My husband also got the chicken thigh yakatori for three bucks, it was brought out hot, tender and delicious. For our entrees, we both got Tonkotsu, we added an extra egg and shared it, so we would each have one full egg in our ramen instead of just a half. The Tonkotsu was fire, the broth was hot and buttery, egg perfectly cooked and yolky, the pork was tender and flavorful and overall just great. We will definitely be back and highly recommend. One final note, service was great and friendly!

This a late review as I visited here a few months ago. After a long day of wine tasting, some friends and I were starving and needed some food! A friend who lives close by recommended this place. It was a solid choice. Service was great and prompt. The place isn't large but they made good use of the space! Food was very flavorful and prices decent. If I'm ever in this area, I'd dine here again!

Excellent sushi and a broad menu. Located inside a pretty run-down hotel, this was a pleasant surprise in every way. Sushi menu was excellent, from the great variety of rolls, and the availability of some of my favorites, like fatty tuna and fatty salmon. So many sushi places have these on the menu but never actually have them available! One of the rolls, while pricey, included fatty tuna. While I'd normally not eat that as part of a roll, it was a birthday celebration, so we indulged. Totally worth it! Service was fast and friendly. Full bar, good music, comfy tables. Will definitely return.

Great happy hour specials until 6:00 pm, including sushi and drink specials. The establishment is well-maintained and decorated. The staff was friendly. Overall, the sushi was average, good for the price point

Ordered to go so review only based on the food. Tried the sushi, yakatori, and takoyaki. Takoyaki was def the highlight for me. Lots of fresh tasting juicy octopus inside the dough. Very tasty. The sushi and yakatori was pretty standard. They have other items so maybe I'll try them next time.

This is a solid choice with a decent menu and good flavors. There's also a nearby parking garage with free parking for the first hour, which is always appreciated. The service is pretty good and the atmosphere is very interesting. You can tell it's a local favorite for some and it's casual enough for everyone to enjoy. On this go around we had the brussel sprouts for an appetizer. They were fairly good but would have been better with a spicy mayo or something. It's sort of funny to have them as they don't strike me as a very traditional Japanese dish. I ordered the Japanese curry with chicken, which was good, although I found the flavor somewhat light. I did love how much pickled ginger came with the dish. My wife had the unagi (eel) donburi, which she enjoyed and my sone the poke donburi, which he enjoyed.

Food is good. Service kind of slow. Like the yakitori selection but wish they came out on the grill to stay warm. Been here twice and definitely recommend

Cute place with great food! We came during lunch and got several $1 sushi pieces as part of their daily lunch special. The sushi was fresh and great value for only being a dollar each! We also got ramen, and I really enjoyed the tonkotsu ramen broth. Service was quick and friendly. There's also free parking at the Days Inn right next to the restaurant.

Good service and the food is fine. Good selection, cheap happy hour sushi and small plates. Nothing amazing or special, but one of the best in the area.

Stopped into this quaint and non-descript place on a weekday evening. It's located inside a Days Inn motel in the corner so be on the lookout for it. There were a few other tables but the service was quick and the atmosphere was quiet. The food was pretty delicious and the menu had a good selection. The sushi was fresh and had some creative pairings and they all worked well together. The fries were pretty basic and wouldn't order again but overall would come back. Until next time!

Cutesy and modest decor and friendly quick service. Enjoyed some light ube tempura and yakitori before ordering sushi. I was incredibly impressed by the amount and quality of the tuna and salmon that was stuffed in my maki rolls. Thoroughly enjoyed my time at this hidden gem and will soon become a regular!

I didn't feel like I was anywhere near Columbia Pike! Ryu Izakaya has THE food menu, there are so many dishes and they are super affordable. Bo was our server and she was on it, she checked in often and even recommended a few items. She also let us know about them extending happy hour to Saturday's beginning next week (12/18). I opted for the tempura shrimp and veggies, along with an order of hot sake, everything was exactly what I was looking for. I'll definitely be back for some sushi and cocktails soon!

Exactly what I was hoping for, a bustling izakaya serving all the requisites and more. Good sake selections and delicious sushi and appetizers. Cool sunset view!

Spot! Mouth water perfect texture sushi and pad Thai! Hands down hidden gem!!!! Great parking! Great service! Amy is so helpful!

The avocado and tuna tartar was delicious!!! My daughter had the noddle stir fry and she loved it. Great service and fast. Definitely coming back!!!

A hidden gem in the Columbia Pike corridor! It was our first time here, and everything was so great. Started with the crunch spicy tuna roll, the Rainbow Roll and the Black Dragon. So good and very reasonably priced. Wife and I had sushi and our 11-year old had the yakitori beef and chicken and asked for more! We'll be back!

Initial impression: not great, though because they opened recently I'm also willing to give the benefit of a doubt and try again at a later date. The good: Decor and table style feels like it's trying to capture the spirit of an izakaya. Gyoza was tasty, as was the soft boiled egg I had in my ramen. There were some more authentic touches, such as the box for the sake glass and the yakitori options. The bad: Ramen was extremely bland. I'm not sure if I actually received the red miso ramen I ordered, or the tonkatsu (I've never seen a red miso ramen that isn't more red in color, but judge for yourself in the pic below) but regardless, it was flavorless. Service was friendly but very slow, though I'm willing to chalk that up to them working out the kinks from their recent opening. Music was too loud for an izakaya vibe IMO. Overall I was were really hoping to find a place with a good izakaya food and a vibe that reminded me of Japan. First impression wasn't the best, but they did just open so to be fair I think it's worth another shot after some time has passed.

Food was good and great happy hour specials. Fast service too. Parking was a challenge due to road construction.

Amazing authentic Japanese food! My fiancé and I were craving Japanese food after visiting Japan, and stumbled upon this izakaya in our neighborhood! The food was wonderful and they make phenomenal craft cocktails. Now our favorite restaurant on the Pike!

The menu has a lot of options. Typically drinks at Asian restaurants are terrible. This place has some good cocktail options. For families, there are tables with booths. Adults can also sit in the bar area. The sushi is great. Overall, a great addition to the pike.

We tried these rolls and Kimchi ramen. Everything great but the egg on ramen is still cold. Nice service

So yum! Service was good, place was hardly busy on a Friday night. The area on Columbia Pike is a bit sketch and it's in the same parking as a motel but once inside you forget all of that. The place is very cute. The bar area is separated from dining room with a cut out wall and the entrance foyer area but both areas are well decorated and look like a place to bring a date or group of friends to hang out. We got Takoyaki (fried octopus balls) Bulgogi Udon Soup, a Hawaiian roll, spicy crunchy tuna roll and a yellowtail avocado. My kids got fresh homemade lemonade and I got a Thai tea. Fried octopus appetizer was amazing. Rolls were all amazing Udon had a good flavor broth, meat was good and noodles. It wasn't huge but was enough.

Food was very nice but I can not say same thing for service. But it was cozy ambiance!

Amazing hidden gem! Great food, service and atmosphere! Staff was super sweet and very attentive! Everything tasted fresh and full of flavor!

Sake!Sake! I was hooked on the hot sake this past weekend.. They have a weekday happy hour that's great and also was told it will be extending to the Saturday soon. Our waitress didn't miss a heartbeat when it came to serving us.. the food was a great temperature unlike a lot of other sushi spots I've been to. The also had Yakitori! I was so excited for this.. good meats on a stick with a bbq style to it!!! The lay out of the restaurant was dope! It has 2 sections and some booths to sit in with sky lantern lights.

Sometimes when a new place opens up in your neighborhood, you get a sense of anticipation and excitement, and that's how I felt about Ryu Izakaya, thinking, "Wow! An izakaya place in the Columbia Pike / South Arlington area." And yet, as much as I wanted to like it, Ryu was a bit disappointing. At the end of the day, it's not truly an izakaya-style restaurant; rather, it is mainly a general Japanese restaurant with an added 焼き鳥 (yakitori) section to the menu. Other sections to the menu include まき(maki) and にぎり(nigiri) as well as らめん (ramen) and 丼 (donburi). Again, not really an izakaya menu per se but a more general Japanese restaurant menu. The red miso ramen was fine enough, though it came to the table somewhat lukewarm and was not accompanied by 七味唐がらし (7-spice pepper) until specifically asked for. The flavor was fine enough. The sweet potato tempura maki was different than the usual maki roll one finds in usual Japanese restaurants in the DMV - crunchy, sweet, and lightly battered - that was one of the best dishes. The 焼き鳥 (yakitori) was the disappointment, which is too bad since an izakaya place should stand or fall based on its grilled chicken on skewers. Here, it was fine, served on a fake mini grill that was unfortunately not lit at all and thus failed in keeping the skewers warm. The yakitori assortment consisted of different chicken parts including heart, gizzard, and thigh, as well as bacon wrapped enoki mushroom. They were fine, but just not up to par with what an izakaya restaurant should be doing. For a restaurant with the "feel" of an izakaya, this is fine, but it's just not close to the real thing, especially with a 9:30pm closing time vs izakaya establishments which are primarily drinking places with great snack foods like 焼き鳥 (yakitori / grilled chicken). I wanted to like this place, but in the end, it's another "Japanese-style" restaurant with a number of "Americanisms" that mar the menu.

The food was great and the atmosphere was great as well. I highly recommend the yakitori sticks. This is a must if you are looking for good izakaya.

Food was great, hard to find the place , finding parking was another difficult issue . Overall good place and affordable too

Def have good food and the restaurant is pretty uniquely decorated. We went around 130 so there weren't many servers there but the service was still decent and the waiter was accommodating even tho my kids made a mess. I appreciate it when they're understanding. Super surprised by the food - it was delicious! We got the rice in the pot, various sashimi and sushi, and the noodles. Would def come again!

The apps were our favorites! Loved the octopus legs. The ramen was good and so was the bulgogi its on the sweeter side. The service was great. She was quick and attentive. I loved the art and xmas theme they had. We went around 1pm and was empty other than another group which i enjoyed. Ill def come back with a bigger group to try their sushi.

We got a very warm welcome when we finally arrived to this place , food is delicious *Yakitori assortment is a bomb*. 100% recommended RYU IZAKAYA.

LOVE this place def qualifies as a hidden gem! Food was good ambiance was good service was good

Ryu Izakaya is one of the best Japanese restaurants in Arlington, VA. Very nice atmosphere on the inside of the restaurant. Price reasonable, Food are delicious and excellent service. Recommend everyone to come and try. You won't be disappointed

Incredible! Service was a little bit slowed down in that newly open working out how to handle a bigger crowd. However, everyone was hussling ! All in all still less than 90 mins from start to finish. Now the food!!!! Delicious ! There are so many options on the menu I'm excited to come back and try more. Thank yall for opening up such a beautiful spot on Columbia pike ! :)