“Love on the Run—Love, Makoto’s fast-casual component—is now open!”

From a press release:

“Internationally renowned Japanese chef and restaurateur Makoto Okuwa, who earlier this year opened three full-service Love, Makoto concepts, has opened the much-anticipated Phase 2 of his food hall. Joining the already popular restaurants Dear Sushi and Beloved BBQ—plus the buzzy bar Hiya Izakaya—the fast-casual component of the food hall will at first sell salads, fried-chicken sandwiches, sushi rolls and ramen in addition to a robust coffee and tea program. Down the line, a Japanese bakery opening earlier and featuring mochi donuts and soft serve will help locals and tourists awake to something sweet. Other savories like dumplings and Japanese curries will also join the lineup.

photo by Lia Manfredi

“What makes this fast-casual concept unique is that we are creating nearly everything from scratch—the noodles, the dressings, the broths and even the buns for the fried-chicken sandwiches. It’s an ambitious undertaking, but we are committed to elevating the fast-casual experience. This is my love letter to DC, so I want our guests to feel care and sincerity in every bite.”

Okuwa partnered with Chef David Deshaies and Restaurateur Eric Eden—the homegrown restaurant team behind Unconventional Diner and L’Ardente—to bring about a Japanese culinary collection unlike any other. Located at 200 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Ste. 150, the 20,000-square-foot space is adjacent to L’Ardente, with the sister restaurants sharing the entire first floor of the Capitol Crossing development in DC’s newly minted East End neighborhood.

Menu highlights

The opening menu includes:

-Salads like the Kale Soba, which features egg-free kale soba noodles made in-house, plus steamed chicken, greens, seaweed salad and other veggies along with a spicy sesame-soy dressing. Salads range in price from $13 to $18.50.

-Three Fried Chicken Sandwiches on housemade buns—one spicy, one topped with an egg and one with a teriyaki glaze. Each comes with fries, a pickle and a slaw. Sandwiches range in price from $16 to $18.

-Chef Makoto’s take on Sushi Rolls, like the Yuzu Salmon & Avocado roll with a citrusy-spicy yuzu kosho mayo and the Shrimp Tempura roll, which gains flavor boosts from asparagus, eel sauce and shio kombu. Sushi rolls range in price from $13 to $19.

-Ramen featuring housemade noodles and with a variety of broths—shio, miso, spicy miso, veggie and one styled after Chef Makoto’s hometown ramen, the Nagoya Tantanmen. Nagoya is known for a Taiwanese style of ramen that’s very spicy and made with ground beef and ground pork. This style of Ramen was the first variety that Chef Makoto fell in love with. Ramen ranges in price from $15 to $17.

-Coffee, espresso drinks, matcha and other teas will be available for purchase. Local roaster Grace Street Coffee supplies the beans for all coffee and espresso drinks.

photo by Lia Manfredi

Ordering

Guests will use touch-screens mounted to a large column at the center of the space, with helpful neon “Order Here” signs to guide the way. QR codes and this ordering link are also available so that guests can order from their mobile devices ahead of time—or just to avoid lines. Concierges will be on hand to help guests with any questions or technical issues that arise.

Hours

Initially open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, the food hall will eventually add Mondays and expand on its morning and evening hours.

Love, Makoto is located at 200 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC. The fast-casual part of the food hall is best accessed via the pedestrian plaza on G Street NW or the plaza between the two Capitol Crossing buildings.”