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Judging Restaurants – Saki

Saki is located at 2477 18th St, NW. I noticed the sign (above) announcing the expanded menu and realized that we’ve never discussed them before. I guess I always thought they were more of a lounge than a restaurant. But some yelp reviews say the sushi is really good. Any fans of Saki as a restaurant spot?

Category: Adams Morgan, Restaurants

By: Prince Of Petworth | 23 September 2010 12:00 PM | 11 Comments

DB

i went to their openining party in… ’03 (?)

Looked like the Jamiroquai video inside. The sushi was ok, nothing remarkable.

i’m sure it’s changed boatloads since.

September 23, 2010 at 12:07 pm
FYD

I haven’t been there in a couple years, but it used to be pretty good. The happy hour $1/piece sushi was a real bargain.

September 23, 2010 at 12:21 pm
MJ

I think Perry’s sushi is far superior. It’s my favorite place in town for sushi.

September 23, 2010 at 12:23 pm
- FDL
  
  It also costs about 4x as much as the sushi at Saki.
  
  Saki is what it is, cheap, unpretentious sushi and silly, fruity drinks.
  
  September 23, 2010 at 12:26 pm
  - TaylorStreetMan
    
    unpretentious, maybe…. except for the sign/logo. What’s with the long ‘a’ (red line over the ‘a’)?
    Do they pronounce it like “sake-ee” or “sock-ee”?
    
    This has always bugged me. Either they’re just ignorant because they don’t know what the line over the ‘a’ means; or they’re trying to be all hip and sexy with a “hot new look” putting the red line there.
    
    I understand the ‘a’ is supposed to represent a piece of sushi (with a red piece of fish on top), but still, it bugs me. Contributing to the dumbing down of society.
    
    September 23, 2010 at 12:45 pm
    - SteveMorgan
      
      Ya, see…the thing is…Sāki is not an English word.
      
      In Japanese a,e,i,o,u are either long or short, and when long, they’re a written with a bar above.
      
      It’s not “saik-ee”, though. That’s the English “long a” sound. Rather it’s “sahk-ee”. (or “sock-ee” if you prefer.) To make a vowel long in Japanese, just hold onto it to literally make it a little longer.
      
      My guess is it’s a play on how English speakers tend to pronounce “sake” (the rice wine), which should really be “sahk-ay”.
      
      Make sense? You just learned something.
      
      Now eat your words with a delicious piece of sushi.
      
      September 24, 2010 at 9:14 am
Sam E J

Saki is great for happy hour. Excellent value.

September 23, 2010 at 12:40 pm
DC Girl

Saki has decent sushi and great happy hour prices for sushi. Their wine selection sucks big time. Oh yeah and it seems like everytime I go there, the wait staff are all Russians, which seems weird for a sushi place (no offense meant to any Russians out there).

September 23, 2010 at 12:48 pm
HiHaji

The owner hired me to DJ very early on (maybe even the opening ) and then stiffed me at the end of the night…and I had to lug my turntables and sh*t since they didn’t have any there

September 23, 2010 at 1:29 pm
Petworthian

I prefer my sushi without a pretentious velvet rope.

September 23, 2010 at 4:51 pm
ForTheShorties

don’t forget about the “off-premises” club downstairs on saturday nights. Love me a little nudity w/ my sushi.

September 23, 2010 at 5:08 pm