Makoto - DC - True Japanese Dining experience in the nation's capital

As part of my late food enlightening, I've been on a recent mission to discover great Japanese food.  I think I'm making up for missing out on sushi for the first 30 years of my life.  However, it's slim pickings finding great Japanese food on the east coast and when you do find it, get ready to shell out serious clams to pay for it.  However, when a foodie friend of mine came to visit last time, he let me know that the next time he was in town, we were going to hit Makoto.

Makoto is just west of Georgetown and is reachable by crossing Glebe road across Potomac and then heading east.  It is slightly hidden but is directly across from the CVS.  As you approach the restaurant, you'll notice another sushi restaurant directly above it.  A friend of mine said that it is a sister restaurant that takes all of Makto's sushi after 24 hours have passed as Makoto uses nothing that isn't extremely fresh.

The first thing I noticed as I entered was the traditional shoe alcove before you enter the dining area.  The hostess was very clear in her instructions.  Remove shoes and place in the cubby and put on slippers.  She also said they have an absolute zero-tolerance policy for cell phones.  Her exact words were, "we will not serve you if you cannot abide by this policy".  There is always something humbling about entering a Japanese residence or restaurant and I felt like I was back in Japan as I entered the dining area.  The dining area is fairly small.  A counter that seats about 12 people is along the left wall and a series of 2-top tables that adjust to accommodate different sized parties are on the side of the room and seats another ~24 people.   The coolest part about the room was that the sushi bar actually looks down into the kitchen, which is recessed.  So you are almost eye-level with the chef's instead of looking up at them.

I really enjoy fantastic restaurant service.  I feel that it is almost always under-appreciated when I go out.  Poor service is a disjointed, inattentive mess while great service is like seeing a symphony orchestra catering to your senses.  Makoto has 5-star service.  Their servers are dressed in traditional Japanese clothing and several servers tended to our table.  We never had a sense of having one person taking care of us but rather a team.  By the end of the meal, I'm fairly certain that my tea-cup had been refilled 15 times.  I'm not joking.  My friends almost all opted for plum wine which was a good value for a small carafe for 8 dollars.  Their plum wine glasses never got lower than 3/4 full because the servers were so incredibly good at filling their glasses.  If you truly appreciate good service, Makoto is a place to remember.

We all opted to do the chef's menu (if you don't, you really don't need to be dining at a place like Makoto).  The only options you are provided are a sashimi upgrade and a choice of tenderloin or one of three cooked fish for course #5.  I opted for the fatty yellow-tail upgrade which I think was 10 dollars.  Most of the party opted for the 35 dollar upgrade which included quite a bit more premium sushi including o-toro (super fatty tuna).  If I were to go back, I'd absolutely get the 35 dollar upgrade.  There is a 50 dollar upgrade that also includes uni, as well.

The courses began to arrive and the wait staff did an excellent job of explaining each dish in great detail.  It was immediately clear that Makoto cares very much about quality, freshness and presentation, while also exposing people to an extremely wide variety of traditional Japanese food. 

We started with a bowl of mussels in a complex broth.  I wasn't able to determine exactly what was in the broth but it was good enough to drink afterwards.  And yes, I had no qualms about picking up the bowl and drinking the broth, Japan-style while the rest of my friends used their spoons :)

The second course was the head chef showing off.  The top dish was a mini-Japanese salad of chopped vegetables with an egg-yolk sauce on top.  It is hard to make my stomach roll over any more but this sauce looked more eggy than anything I'd seen and I have a very love-hate relationship with eggs that is well-documented :)  However, the sauce was really nice and went down smooth.  The bottom right were pieces of bamboo covered in bonito flakes.  Bottom left were fresh strawberries with a tofu creme.  I ate the leaves, as well, which had a slight bitter taste.

My yellowtail and fatty yellowtail

And then came the sashimi...

I feel as if I've had really fresh fish now that I've been to Japan.  However, it is clear that one does not have to travel halfway around the world to experience incredibly fresh, high-quality sushi.  Anthony Bordain explained to someone on one of his shows that there are places in New York that actually have some of the best, freshest sushi in the world.

Look at that color on the slices of tuna. 

I opted for the yellow-tail upgrade and it was exactly as I had hoped.  Normally yellow-tail hits my sweet spot better than any other type of fish and this was really good stuff, however, after executing some trades with my friends, I was able to try everything.... and the pieces of tuna instantly became the best pieces of sushi I had ever put in my mouth.

Our table sounded like an orgy was taking place with all the moaning and mouth orgasms going on as we enjoyed each succulent bite. 

With the purchase of an upgrade, the restaurant provides you fresh wasabe.  How do I know it is fresh and not just colored horseradish?  Because they bring the root and a metal grater out to your table.  If you haven't had fresh wasabe, it is more grainy (because it is actually grated) and has a more pleasant burn that it's fake counterpart.  In fact, I'd put entire chunks of it directly on my sashimi and avoided tearing up.

On the right is the 35 dollar upgrade which included a fresh raw prawn, some Toro and some O-Toro. Toro is the fatty part of the belly and is normally very expensive.  However, apparently there is another level of fatty tuna called O-Toro which is even more premium.  My buddy was gracious enough to let me try a piece and it almost dissolves in your mouth it is so tender and wonderful.  If you go to Makoto and they have this upgrade, you've got to try it once in your life.

Probably my least favorite course, this is a soft-shell crab fried in a mystery crunch substance.  The frying process seemed to overwhelm the fish with fried crumb and the soft-shell crab got lost in the mess.  On the side is their version of salt and pepper.  The salt is actually green tea salt.  It didn't help fix this dish though...

I've heard of Japanese hot-pot or Shabu-Shabu before but have never had it until now.  The chinese have their own version of hot pot, as well.  The Japanese style seems to center on the cuts of what almost has to be Wagyu beef at Makoto.  Note - if this isn't Wagyu, I've got to know what cut of beef they use.

In addition to the meat are various fresh vegetables.  Each piece is individually swirled in their special broth and then placed into one of two dishes in front of each patron.  One dish is a ponzu sauce and the other is a sesame sauce.  I asked for my meat to only get 2-3 swirls so it was nearly rare coming out...

I really loved this course. Great flavors and fun!  The meat was extraordinary in flavor and texture.  My only wish was to have a small bowl of rice to pour some of the broth over afterward.  Instead, they pour broth into your ponzu sauce so you can drink it if you choose.

Left to Right - Scallop, Tuna and YellowTail Nigiri

It almost caught me by surprise that the next course was three pieces of beautiful nigiri.  This is how nigiri is supposed to look, people.  The rice should be smaller than the fish, not the other way around.  If a place gives you a huge mound of rice, they are probably hiding the freshness of the fish.  And everything should be bite-sized.  It makes women feel awkward putting things in their mouth that they can't fit in one easy bite.  It just isn't lady-like.  Oh, each bite was heavenly and my first time enjoying raw scallop!


The meal was overall an incredible experience.  You always hope that a meal is something to remember and talk about with your friends for years to come.  If that is what you are looking for, you will find it at Makoto.

Rating - 5 out of 5 Stars.

Shave ice infused with Grand Marnier