Restaurant in Washington DC, United States
Twelve seats, one menu, book early.
A 12-seat kappo counter on MacArthur Boulevard NW running a single omakase menu across two sittings — this is Washington D.C.'s most focused Japanese counter dining experience. Michelin Plate recognised in 2025, with a 4.6 Google rating. Book weeks ahead; the format is chef-driven and fixed, with no à la carte alternative.
Twelve seats. One menu. No choices to make except whether to book in time. Kappo on MacArthur Boulevard NW is the kind of omakase room that Washington D.C. has too few of, and its 2025 Michelin Plate recognition confirms it has earned attention beyond its residential address. If you are serious about Japanese counter dining in the capital, this is where you should go. Book as far ahead as your schedule allows.
The name translates from Japanese as "cut and cook" — a reference to a style of dining that sits between the formality of kaiseki and the directness of a sushi bar. Chef Tiago Penão leads the kitchen at this 12-seat counter, running a single omakase menu across two sittings. The room is intimate in the way that actually matters: the chef is directly in front of you, the team is small, and the experience is built around Omotenashi, the Japanese principle of hospitality that anticipates rather than reacts. That philosophy shapes the pace, the service, and the way the evening moves.
The address on MacArthur Boulevard NW surprises first-timers. This is not a downtown restaurant block, and Kappo does not announce itself the way a hotel dining room might. That understated quality is part of what makes it worth seeking out. It holds a Google rating of 4.6 across 167 reviews, which for a 12-seat, high-price-point room with a single fixed menu is a meaningful signal of consistent execution.
Omakase is inherently a seasonal format. The chef composes the menu around what is at peak quality, which means the experience you have in late autumn differs materially from what you would find in early spring. In Japanese kappo tradition, the kitchen's relationship with seasonal ingredients is not decorative — it determines the entire structure of the meal. Ingredients like matsutake mushrooms, Pacific saury, and new-harvest rice anchor autumn menus; spring brings bamboo shoots, cherry blossom-season fish, and lighter preparations. If you have flexibility in your travel dates, visiting during seasonal transitions , late March to April, or October to November , tends to coincide with the most technically interesting menus, as chefs work across the boundary between two ingredient cycles.
Because Kappo runs two sittings, timing within the evening also matters. The earlier sitting is typically better suited to diners who want to move through the meal without feeling the pressure of a second turn. For explorers who want to linger over each course and ask questions of the team, requesting the later sitting or confirming availability at booking is advisable.
For comparable seasonal omakase experiences that Washington D.C.-based diners often consider, Omakase at Barracks Row and Shōtō are the most direct alternatives in the city. Internationally, the kappo tradition is leading understood at restaurants like Azabu Kadowaki and Myojaku in Tokyo, which represent the format at its most refined. Kappo in D.C. is drawing from that same tradition and applying it seriously.
This restaurant is priced at $$$$ and operates exclusively as an omakase counter. If you want to choose your dishes, adjust the menu, or arrive late and eat quickly, this is not the right room. If you are the kind of diner who finds a fixed, chef-driven progression more satisfying than a la carte decision-making, and if Japanese seasonal cooking is a format you return to rather than sample once, Kappo will reward you.
It also suits diners who are building out a mental map of serious counter dining across U.S. cities. Washington D.C. is not the first city people name when discussing Japanese counter dining , that conversation tends to start with New York, or with destination rooms like Single Thread Farm in Healdsburg or The French Laundry in Napa. Kappo belongs in that national conversation about serious tasting-format dining in smaller rooms, alongside places like Lazy Bear in San Francisco and Alinea in Chicago.
For the food and travel enthusiast who makes dining decisions deliberately and wants depth rather than novelty, Kappo is a direct yes , provided you plan ahead and treat the booking as a fixed commitment in your schedule rather than a tentative plan.
Reservations: Advance booking is strongly advised; two sittings per service means availability is limited and the room fills. Treat this as a Hard booking , plan weeks ahead, not days. Seats: 12-seat counter only, omakase format. Price: $$$$ (omakase pricing; confirm current cost at time of booking). Address: 4822 MacArthur Blvd NW, Washington, DC 20007. Recognition: Michelin Plate 2025. Google rating: 4.6 / 5 (167 reviews). Dress: Not confirmed in available data; smart casual is a reasonable assumption for a Michelin-recognized omakase counter. Hours: Not confirmed; verify directly when booking.
If you are building a full trip around food in the capital, see our full Washington D.C. restaurants guide for the broader picture. For drinks, our Washington D.C. bars guide covers where to go before or after. Accommodation options are covered in our Washington D.C. hotels guide, and for day trips outside the city, our D.C.-area wineries guide and experiences guide have practical starting points.
Other Japanese and Japanese-influenced restaurants worth considering on a D.C. trip include Beloved BBQ at Love, Makoto and Perry's, both of which occupy different price and format positions from Kappo but share Japanese culinary roots. For something entirely different in feel but equally committed at the $$$$ tier, Albi is worth knowing.
| Venue | Cuisine | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kappo | Japanese | "Cut and cook" is the meaning of the Japanese term that gives this recently refurbished establishment its name, an address that surprises with its elegance and intimate ambience. At the helm of the knife is Chef Tiago Penão, whose mastery of fusing the traditional with the contemporary comes through in precise, well-conceived dishes. In the room, which has a counter for twelve diners, the chef and his dedicated team bring a single Omakase menu to life, where not only product quality but also Omotenashi – the most genuine form of Japanese hospitality – take centre stage. The experience is offered in two sittings, so advance booking is advised – embark on this exclusive journey!; Michelin Plate (2025) | Hard | — |
| Albi | United States, Middle Eastern | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| Causa | Peruvian | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| Oyster Oyster | New American, Vegetarian, Vegetarian (Sustainable) | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| Bresca | Modern French, Contemporary | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| Gravitas | New American, Contemporary | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
A quick look at how Kappo measures up.
Book as early as possible — two sittings per service and only twelve seats means this fills quickly. Treat it as a hard booking: plan around the reservation, not the other way around. Last-minute availability is unlikely, particularly on weekends.
There is nothing to order. Kappo runs a single omakase menu with no à la carte option — the chef decides the full sequence for every diner. If having that control is important to you, this is the wrong format; if you want someone else to make every call at the $$$$ price point, that is exactly what Kappo delivers.
The counter is the restaurant. All twelve seats face the kitchen in a single counter configuration, so every diner is effectively at the bar — that is the intended experience, not a casual alternative to table seating. Expect direct interaction with the kitchen team as part of the format.
Kappo is a committed omakase format: one menu, two sittings, twelve seats, and a $$$$ price tag that reflects the product quality and the omotenashi service philosophy. Arrive on time — two sittings means the schedule is fixed. First-timers who have only experienced à la carte Japanese dining should know that kappo-style counters are less formal than kaiseki but more structured than a typical sushi bar; the Michelin Plate recognition in 2025 signals consistent kitchen execution.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
