Chef-partner Katsuya Fukushima’s buzzy two-floor restaurant with a spacious downstairs bar opened weeks before the pandemic started in the storied space that housed embattled chef Mike Isabella’s Graffiato (707 6th St NW). The Eater 38-designated staple went on to gain a devoted following for its Japanese spin on Italian pasta dishes and Detroit-style pizza.
“We’re incredibly proud of what Tonari has been,” says Fukushima, in a statement on Tuesday announcing its upcoming closure. “We hope the city will come back, celebrate with us, and help us close this chapter together.”
Tonari’s thick, square pies with a crust made from Hokkaido wheat flour and smothered with Wisconsin brick cheese come in popular varieties like pollock roe-covered Mentaiko corn. Innovative pasta dishes also turned to Japanese ingredients, made with noodles produced in a Sapporo ramen factory.
Tonari evolved from just dinner into an all-day affair in recent years, adding a cute cafe with all sorts of Japanese-Italian mashups for breakfast and lunch. Always-experimenting Fukushima introduced a monthly pop-up menu focused on Japanese-influenced cheesesteaks, and more recently, added onigiri sets for weekend brunch.
Tonari’s upstairs level, designed to resemble a zen moss garden in Kyoto, invited diners to take off their shoes and dine on the floor. Celebrity fans included Lord of the Rings star (and big foodie) Elijah Wood, who dined at its dedicated desserts bar upstairs in between his AwesomeCon appearance in D.C. Tonari’s decorated pastry chef, Mary Mendoza, recently returned to Centrolina in CityCenter DC.
Tonari enjoyed steady foot traffic for happy hour and its affordably priced dinners, especially before or after concerts and games going on at Capital One Arena across the street. Monumental Sports is in the process of renovating the home of the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals, and the arena will go dark for major construction starting later this month through September (not the best thing for nearby businesses that already struggle in slower summer months). The same strip lost a big one in 2023 with the closure of Flight Wine Bar after nearly a decade.
The Daikaya Group, which includes Fukushima, Yama Jewayni, and Daisuke Utagawa, remains “committed to Chinatown” and “optimistic about its future,” per a press release. There are no plans for a future Tonari comeback “at the moment,” Utagawa tells Eater, “but you never know what opportunities might come our way.”
Its D.C. portfolio — which continues to include its next-door ramen flagship Daikaya and upstairs izakaya, as well as chicken-centric Bantam King nearby — has slightly shrunk in recent years with the closures of Hatoba in Navy Yard and Haikan in Shaw. Ironically, Haikan’s last date of service had been on May 3, 2025, as well.
Utagawa hopes the newly improved arena will only help invigorate its Chinatown neighborhood down the line. “Overall, it’s kind of a good thing, really, because it’ll bring in more fans and people,” he says. The $800-million modernization project is scheduled to be fully completed for the D.C. teams’ 2027-28 season.
Dining and Cooking