Daikaya Izakaya

Daikaya Izakaya Restaurant Review:

About the restaurant: Daikaya in Penn Quarter/Chinatown sports an exotic setting and leads a double life.

Food & Drinks: Eat bowls of ramen in the shop downstairs, or skedaddle upstairs to Izakaya for a selection of snacks and meat or veggie topped rice or noodle bowls or salads. These pair well with assorted Japanese beverages, from eclectic sakés to whiskeys. You can kick off the meal with a cup of miso soup, but the big players are the eight aforementioned rice bowls. Toppings and combos range from sizzling Filipino seared pork hash with a side of rice to the Hawaiian spam and egg breakfast. Another Hawaiian-based dish is the loco moco, or rice beneath a “hambagu” (Japanese hamburger steak) and a fried egg. The sole noodle option comes as a bowl brimming over with noodles and veggies. Dessert is vanilla soft serve with a choice of add-ons, including crushed wasabi peas. Perhaps the Oyaji Gokuraku saké would be a good match.