Makoto

Chef Makoto Okuwa's Capitol Crossing project operates on a scale that most Japanese restaurant concepts in Washington avoid: three distinct formats under one roof, spanning sushi omakase, Japanese yakiniku, and fast-casual comfort food. The Washington Post called it a "food-hall-size mash note to the tastes of Japan," a description that captures both the ambition and the deliberate informality of the layout. The space itself signals the intent — dark walls, a neon hallway, and large tables fitted with central circular smokeless grills that anchor the yakiniku side of the operation. That yakiniku program, operating as Beloved BBQ, centers on Japanese A-5 Wagyu alongside heritage-breed American beef, with executive chef and butcher Takeshi Omae overseeing the meat program. The Dear Sushi component runs as a sushi omakase counter and carries Michelin recognition, placing it in a different register from the broader food-hall format surrounding it. The fast-casual arm rounds out the offering with ramen, housemade noodles, and baked buns — the kind of menu that functions as an entry point without diluting what the counter and grill rooms are doing at the higher end. The address at 200 Massachusetts Ave NW puts the venue inside Capitol Crossing, a mixed-use development in the Judiciary Square corridor, within walking distance of the Metro and the convention center. For a concept this format-diverse, the location makes practical sense: the foot traffic here skews toward professionals and visitors who want range within a single reservation or walk-in decision. At a $$$$ price tier, the omakase counter and the A-5 Wagyu program are where the spend is concentrated, while the fast-casual format offers a lower-commitment way into the same kitchen's thinking. Love, Makoto works best understood as a deliberate structure rather than a compromise. Okuwa's framing of the project as a "love letter" to Japanese cuisine reads less like marketing language when you consider that the three formats are genuinely distinct in service style and price point, rather than variations on a single theme. The Michelin-recognized omakase and the smokeless-grill yakiniku room could each stand alone as a destination; together, they give the venue a breadth that few Japanese concepts at this tier attempt in Washington.