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We don’t pretend to be the most worldly of people, even so we have to admit we were taken aback at the thought of restaurant serving nothing but ramen. Our only knowledge of ramen was that of the under-a-dollar-per-package variety that seemed to line the pantry shelves of everyone we knew in college. So it was with some trepidation that we ventured into Daikaya (705 6th ST NW) last night to see what all the fuss was about.
We had made reservations but found out when we arrived that reservations were for the upstairs bar/restaurant (izakaya), not the downstairs ramen spot. But the hosts were happy to seat us and alert the upstairs of our mistake. The ramen menu was initially confusing, covered with so many colorful Japanese ads, but once our enthusiastic server walked us through, it was very simple. Pick a base ramen (3 meat, one vegetable) and extra toppings if desired. There are also pork dumplings available, which we ordered and can thoroughly recommend.
Having never eaten ramen before we let our helpful server guide us through ordering a spicy bowl with a few extras including corn, a boiled egg, and pork belly. We decided to wash this down with cold sake and draft beer. It wasn’t long after ordering that our bowls of ramen arrived.
This, we realized after our first bite, is why everyone was so excited about a ramen restaurant. The bowl of ramen was declicious, we had to force ourselves to slow down as we ate, each bite was a taste of something new and wonderful.
While we may have been late to accept the idea of a ramen restaurant, we will not be shy about singing the praises of Daikaya. This is a restaurant that we’re lucky to have in Penn Quarter, and we look forward to giving the upstairs izakaya a try in the near future.
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The ramen dishes are wonderful but you have to try the Izakaya too; it is a completely different food and ambiance experience.
If you like small plate restaurants you will love the variety of delicious offerings Chef Katsuya Fukushima offers.