SHŌTŌ Washington DC

“SHŌTŌ has a pretty impressive menu that should have something for everyone. The atmosphere is upscale, and the floor to ceiling windows provide a great view if you’re lucky enough to be seated near them. The food was good and the service was excellent, my main tip for future diners is to clarify portion sizes with your server, my server looked out and gave me some insight but some dishes are surprisingly small while others are rather large. I would recommend ordering the swordfish for the table.”

“From the moment we walked into Shōtō, we were completely blown away by the ambiance. Every detail — from the entrance to even the restroom — was thoughtfully designed and beautifully executed. The atmosphere alone sets the tone for an unforgettable dining experience. The staff delivered service beyond anything I’ve experienced before — attentive, welcoming, and truly passionate about what they do. This restaurant came highly recommended by a friend who raved about their Old Fashioned and Whiskey Sour. After looking over the menu and debating what to order, we decided to trust the experience and go with the chef’s choice — and it was the best decision we could have made. The very first sip of my Whiskey Sour completely blew my mind. I’ve never had a drink so incredible with such simple ingredients. Every course that followed was thoughtfully prepared, beautifully plated, and absolutely delicious. Each dish brought excitement and joy, especially trying flavors that felt new yet comforting. Shōtō has easily become one of our favorite restaurants of all time. Walking in already impresses you — but just wait until you experience how everything comes together through the food, the staff, and the overall atmosphere. Highly recommend!”

“We wanted to go all out on a dining experience for Valentines Day and this place did not disappoint! We wanted to try the special platters they had for the occasion, but opted for the omakase experience instead. We started off with a few cocktails, the Shoto old fashioned and the lychee martini- both were delicious and the ice cube in the old fashioned was branded, a testament to the detail that goes into the dining experience here. After a few moments to enjoy the exquisitely decorated interior and the in house DJ, the food started coming out and it didn't stop for 2 hours! Plate after plate, all delicious and all different flavors- Shoto tacos - 9/10 Miso soup - 6/10 Tuna tartare - 8/10 Chicken kebabs - 8/10 Mixed green salad - 7/10 Sea bass nigiri - 8.5/10 Tempura medley- 5/10 Sushi nigiri platter - 9.5/10 Fried potatoes - 6/10 Steak - 9/10 Corn - 8/10 Marinated white fish - 10/10 Mochi - 4/10 Churro ice cream dessert- 10/10 Highly recommend the omakase experience , it is pricey but worth it. We will be back to try our own adventure with the menu!”

“This is my second visit here and it was even better then I first time. In my initial visit, we opted for the omakase experience (premium version $195 per person) with 3 people. Many of the items I ordered this time was because I had it last time a la cart. I will say that for me, personally, getting the a la cart items had more value than getting the omasake experience because it felt like we were getting charged more for significantly less food. Overall, the staff was amazing. Despite being crowded, they were mostly attentive and pleasant. We ordered many items, including the chicken and beef skewers, mixed tempura (shrimp and vegetable), fried baby squid, steak, salmon, the mini tacos (wagu and salmon), and cauliflower. We really wanted the corn and brocolli, but they were sold out (hence the cauliflower replacement). Everything was amazing - from the taste, quality, and presentstion. However, I would pass on the cauliflower. I am not sure how to describe how it tasted, but it didn't seem to my liking and a bit salty. The steak (cooked medium) was cooked perfectly, and had a slightly sweet taste. The fried items were light and crispy, including the shrimp which was excellent and didn't have a seafood smell. There were so many other items I would love to try, but maybe next time like the cod and lamb. For dessert, we got the vanilla ice cream and churros. Though the churros comes with cinnamon ice cream, we opted to replace it with the vanilla. This has one the best vanilla ice cream I've ever tried. It was creamy, light, and had a fresh vanilla flavor. Last time, we also ordered the deluxe dessert platter ($25 per person), which included churros, a chocolate cake, ice cream, and array of exotic fruits, which were neatly assembled on a ice display. I love the ambiance as well. It really shines at night ~ and anywhere you sit seems like you'd have a good view. The bar has fun things to look at and it was fun to see the kitchen in the background. Note that they charge a 3% added service fee, which isn't a tip.”

“A group of 3 did the omakase, premium ($195 per person). The amount of food brought about to be split between 3 people paying $195 each was insulting. We essentially got one small taste of each item. We left hungry and feeling scammed. We didn’t even get our own main dish, we had to split one small Chilean sea bass (blue plate) 3 ways. INSANE. Additionally, the food was mediocre. Nothing special, and many of the sushi/sashimi dishes made us gag. It didn’t seem fresh. The other food was too oily. Overall flavorless that they tried to make up for by dousing things in bad sauces. The lobster tempura (pictured) was all oily sweet breading with tiny morsels of lobster Oh, and they charge you $11 for water (per bottle) without informing you - they just keep pouring without asking. Oh, and there’s a sneaky 4% operations fee added Women’s bathroom was super dark to the point you could hardly see anything”