Location: 1901 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Readers’ pick: Toryumon Japanese House

You may not have realized a top-tier GWorld dining experience existed, but Toryumon Japanese House will satisfy all your Japanese food cravings.

Once you step down the stairs to the restaurant somewhat hidden beneath a CVS, you’ll enter the restaurant’s modern interior, featuring sleek white tables and a bar with multicolored lighting.

If you decide to eat at the restaurant rather than take your food to go, the meal begins with a complimentary helping of crispy wonton crackers with a sweet and sour dipping sauce for the table. For starters, Toryumon Japanese House offers soups and salads and a range of kitchen and sushi appetizers including options like gyoza pork ($8) and crispy soft shell crab ($11).

The restaurant has an abundance of main dish options to choose from like ramen, bulgogi and chicken katsu, a fried chicken dish.

But Toryumon Japanese House’s selection of specialty sushi rolls is where the restaurant shines. You can’t go wrong with choices like the pink lady ($16) with shrimp tempura, spicy tuna and avocado wrapped in pink soy paper and topped with spicy crabmeat and yuzu eel sauce, or the truffle tribecca ($16) with spicy tuna and avocado topped with yellowtail and served with a side of truffle soy sauce.

For those of age, the bar offers happy hour every day from 4 to 6 p.m. where you can choose from $4 beers, $6 glasses of wine, $3 small hot sakes or cocktails like margaritas, saketinis or mojitos ranging from $6 to $8.

While Toryumon Japanese House’s prices aren’t the lowest of the GWorld vendors, the restaurant serves as a nice alternative to more popular dining partners when you’re looking to splurge on a high-quality meal that you don’t have to swipe your debit card to pay for.