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Our server was amazing and attentive, even gave my other friend and I espresso martinis samples without us asking since we were ogling our friend’s drink. We were seated very quickly, and my food came out within 15 min. This is simply some of the best pizza I had- fluffy and flavorful crust unlike anything I’ve tried before, with a rich marriage of provolone, mozzarella, shredded short rib, and cheez whiz on top. It might sound weird, but you’ll thank me later! Relatively low noise level and not too crowded around 730 pm on a Wednesday.

Japanese-Italian fusion sounded intriguing and I expected a bold take at the intersection of two such unique cuisines. Yet it was a deflated expectation. It’s almost like whoever put the menu together was hesitant to take the best of both worlds and put them together in what could have been an excellent fusion!! For example take the meatballs and make sushi out of them then roll them in tomato sauce. Or take pizza and put a wasabi ginger sauce on it, then add the various toppings. Btw the topping choices were very limited a very modest mix of Italian (red onion, basil) and Japanese cuisine (shishito peppers). I also think that they should hire a storyteller and write a small narrative for all the menu items. The next item on the menu was truly the black sesame tea cake with expresso ice-cream and the amaretto sour. Both extremely yummy! The pizza was ok-ish, but again lacking true personality.

I visited during the grand opening day of the Tonari cafe. It’s now a cafe during the day until 2 PM and a restaurant in the evening but I’m just talking about the cafe here. It has a basic cafe menu with espresso-based drinks and a few special drinks. My friend and I ordered an Espresso & Tonic and a Coconut Shakerato and both are really good. The All Day Breakfast menu has some amazing options too. The Banana Bread with honey miso butter is great, the honey miso realy complements the banana bread, though a piece is quite small for the price. It was a nice inteior inside with the bar and the kitchen and a few dining tables for seating, which we enjoyed.

Life is short .. F….it up! Family, Flavor, Friends While visiting DC we found our way to this Italian- Japanese fusion place inside the Chinatown area. Walking down the street to a modest sign. Walking into the restaurant you get hit w that aroma of a typical Italian place. Which was a great start. We ordered 2 pasta dishes the Mel’s ragu and miso clam and the mushroom pizza. They make the pasta per order like in a ramen place. Although the serving size was Japanese and not Italian. It certainly was not lacking in flavor. The pasta for the Mel Ragu was what you would expect in a Asian fresh pull noodle place - perfect texture and chewiness. From the 1st bite to the last gave you blast of savory flavor. And yes it have you that sigh and bliss feeling. The miso clam was also very good - you could say it was like a surf and turf pasta. The pizza is made w a imported Hokkaido Flour. As you know the flour can make a difference w texture and flavor for dough. They baked it like a Detroit style light and crispy and thick. For dessert we got the Affogato. The entire meal was very memorable that you will not affogatoable it🤣 - sorry - def check out this place if your down in DC.

Excellent! My partner and I came here for a special dinner and got exactly what we needed. The second floor is gorgeous and has an option to be seated Japanese-style, which is what we did. (Wear shoes you can easily take off if you'd like to do this.) We ordered the cauliflower appetizer, mentaiko pizza, mushroom pizza (love that they have half-pizza size options!), and the mentaiko pasta. Everything was honestly so delicious that I could not choose a favorite. Service was wonderful and attentive. Vibes were 100%. All around a lovely spot.