Aji-Nippon Restaurant 6937 Arlington Road, Bethesda, MD 20814

"An ok experience. Met a friend there for lunch who wanted Japanese food. Everything was mediocre. The food was average. The waitress just went through the motions. And the atmosphere was drab."

"S-L-O-W service with a snarl. This cozy little restaurant offered the perfect setting for our extended family get-together and the menu offers a nice variety of Japanese and Korean choices. Unfortunately, the service was unbearably slow and inefficient and our server was in a horrible mood. One member of our party started to ask whether a different roll could be substituted for the California roll that came with the bento box. The waitress cut her off in mid-sentence with a harsh, "No!" We all laughed about it, but when we were waiting forever for food to show up, no one was laughing anymore. When food finally arrived, it was for only a few members of our party of 11. More than half of our party was left waiting for an inordinate amount of time. One of the young people finally gave up. He left, picked up a to-go order from Cava and brought it back with him--half our party was still waiting for their food when he returned! Our angry waitress bluntly informed another member of our party that her order was canceled because the kitchen had run out of an ingredient. No menu was offered, so she requested a shrimp dinner. A while later, a plate was delivered with exactly two pieces of shrimp on it (see photo). Two shrimp hardly constitute a dinner! I had ordered a teriyaki salmon bento box. The salmon was delicious and the box included a nice variety of tempura items but never in my life have I seen such a tiny California roll! Truly, a stingy portion for the price. Adding insult to injury, the avocado was either overripe or not fresh. Greenish-brown mush. Our family enjoyed the cozy atmosphere, but the food and service were definitely a disappointment. We were a large party, but I had made the reservation 3 weeks earlier, so they had plenty of advance notice. If you have a small group, this restaurant might offer a better experience, but if you have a large party, I recommend looking elsewhere."

"If I could give this zero stars I would. Went with family last night and waited 1.5 hours for food that did not even taste good. Only after 1.5 hours did they inform a member of our party that they did not have the ingredients for her dish and gave her two small pieces of raw shrimp on a plate. Only one chef and one employee in the entire restaurant. Said they couldn’t make many items on the menu because they were “busy”. One employee got angry at customer requests and was not courteous at all."

"Ordered sushi to go. 5 kinds. Paid 20% tip on the order (a total of 70 for carryout). And for all of that got just ONE small container of soy sauce that was half full. After my kid delivered that I called to complain. The lady who had taken the order didn’t apologize , she just said I should have requested extra soy sauce. Really?! For 5 items, it doesn’t feel like I should expect less than 3 containers of soy sauce. Nice sushi but they just lost me as a client."

"Aji Nippon has been open over 30 years. I grew up eating their food as what I know to be Japanese cuisine and having been to Japan and back, I am glad that it was. The decor, the music, the attention to detail in their food. Amazingly brings a real piece of Japan to a random little spot in Bethesda."