In an attempt to both satisfy my current sushi obsession and explore some of the lesser known DC restaurants, my best friend and I decided to give Murasaki on Wisconsin Avenue a shot on a hot summer day for a relaxing sushi lunch.

Murasaki has a great sushi menu with some fabulous un-traditional roll options, including shiitake mushroom roll and pickled ginger roll. There is a nice shaded outdoor seating area with Japanese tea garden vibe, so I recommend sitting outside if you can. Inside seating is really nice as well, and noise level isn’t bad, so you can’t go wrong with either!

The sushi was really great and we had a fantastic lunch. I opted for three sushi rolls – avocado, shiitake mushroom, and pickled ginger, and an order of scallop sashimi. I looooove pickled ginger with a fiery passion and as simplistic as this roll was, it was phenomenal! Fish was fresh and delicious, and all the veggies tasted incredibly fresh.

Menu also includes lunch specials such bento boxes (only $9.95, and served with miso soup to start), salads, large sashimi menu, excellent tempura options, and other seemingly non-traditional dishes, such as lobster tempura (as well as yam) and eel miso soup. My best friend went the bento box option, and said the California roll was some of the best she’s had in DC. She looked to be in foodie heaven while biting into her shrimp tempura, so I’d say that’s a positive review!

Other non-sushi items that looked really good included the plethora of appetizers, which ranged from grilled octopus to fresh tofu salad with ginger and scallions to seared beef with enoki mushrooms (for you meat eaters out there!) Noodles, rice, and various teriyaki options round out the large menu.

Quick and friendly service, great lunch spot in the Tenleytown area. No complaints from me! Easily accessible by the Tenleytown Metro (red line), and I will definitely be back to get some more of the restaurant’s more intriguing sushi items, such as the Baked Scallop Roll. Restaurant has a separate dinner menu as well.

Great sushi, reasonably priced, and I will definitely be back when I’m in this area of town! For now, I’ll be content satisfying my sushi cravings at Sizzling Express :)