About DC Restaurant Openings
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Kiyomi. 1895 L St., NW.
UPDATE: Dinner omakase will begin Friday, May, 1. To start, Uchino will offer only one seating per week—Fridays at 7 PM—for a max of 10 people “to maintain my body and health.” The $135 dinner will include 15 courses plus miso soup and dessert. Reservations are available on Resy.
Chef Masaaki “Uchi” Uchino’s sushi counter Kiyomi became an instant hit when it first debuted its 30-minute, $40 omakase lunch deal inside the Square food hall in 2023. The Sushi Nakazawa alum—who also oversees the sushi menu at Katsumi on 14th Street—will continue offering the deal and much more when he finally opens his own standalone space in downtown DC on Tuesday, April 14.
The 16-seat, counter-only restaurant will open only for lunch to start, and omakase dinners will follow after the place gets its liquor license in the next week or so. The no-reservations weekday lunch will feature à la carte sushi plus two separate “set course” menus for $40. One will include seven pieces of nigiri and your choice of handroll, served piece by piece. The other will offer six handrolls, which might include spicy tuna, yuzu-garlic yellowtail, or soy-braised black cod. Both sets come with miso soup that Uchino makes with his own fish stock.
Handrolls are also available individually for $7 each, alongside a selection of nigiri and basic rolls like spicy tuna and California. Uchino is continuing to use the same seafood purveyors that he used during his five years at DC’s high-end Sushi Nakazawa.
When reservations launch for dinner, expect an omakase-only menu of 15 to 16 courses similar to what Uchino offered during evenings at the Square. Kiyomi will open for dinner Tuesday through Friday to start with 5:30 and 7:30 PM seatings. Uchino also plans to offer a limited “special seating” that he exclusively oversees going forward.
On Sundays, Uchino envisions eventually transforming the space into an industry-friendly izakaya, where he’ll serve sake and drinking food that goes beyond sushi.
Already, he’s planning to offer 50 sakes by the glass plus more than 100 bottles. But rather than focusing on pricey premium sakes, he wants to offer a unique, diverse selection, including some bottles made not just in Japan but also in unexpected locations like Mexico, France, and Chile.
“My goal is Kiyomi will be the number one sake selection in the DMV,” Uchino says. “I know other places that have a lot of high-end sake, and I’m not going to be competing with them. I want to be unique as myself.”
This story has been updated with additional details about the dinner omakase.
Jessica Sidman covers the people and trends behind DC’s food and drink scene. Before joining Washingtonian in July 2016, she was Food Editor and Young & Hungry columnist at Washington City Paper. She is a Colorado native and University of Pennsylvania grad.
