Genki Izakaya in Fairfax, VA: The Best Izakaya Night in Northern Virginia, From the Most Stunning Highballs to the Most Popular Dish

Genki Izakaya is an IVEA restaurant. We publish this story to introduce our own restaurant; it is not an independent review.

Genki Izakaya is a Japanese izakaya at Scout on the Circle, 9508 Fairfax Blvd. in Fairfax, VA. It is one of the most complete izakaya menus in Northern Virginia, and its own one-line description is the best map of it: "Torched sushi, skewers off the binchotan grill, and highballs over clear ice."

If you have never been to an izakaya, the idea is simple. It is a Japanese gathering place where food, drinks and conversation share the table. Plates come out a few at a time, everyone takes a little onto a small plate, and you keep ordering as the night goes on. Genki means lively, full of spirit, and the restaurant says there is no wrong way to order. Here is one good way, built from the rounds the restaurant itself suggests.

Round one: kanpai first. Kanpai means cheers. Start with something cold while you read the menu: a Classic Toki Highball, a Hojicha Highball or a draft Sapporo Lager, or a soft drink. Add Kuro Edamame for the table. Highballs are whisky and soda, and Genki pours them over cylinders of clear ice. Northern Virginia Magazine's izakaya roundup put it this way: "A sharp fizz and translucent blocks of cylindrical ice make for some of the most stunning highballs around." There are also signature cocktails, mocktails, Japanese beer and a full page of sake.

Round two: off the binchotan. Skewers cook over binchotan, a dense Japanese white charcoal that burns hot and steady. The menu covers chicken, pork, beef, seafood and vegetables. Good first picks are Negima (chicken thigh with leek), Butabara (pork belly) and Gyu-Harami (beef skirt). With a group, the Yakitori Platter lets everyone try across the grill.

Round three: sushi to pass around. A boat of sushi in the middle of the table keeps the round going. Leave room for the torched pieces, where a quick pass of flame warms the fish and melts its fat: try the Torched Sea Fatty Salmon, or the Bluefin Tuna Foie Gras with Uni. The Chef's Choice sampler and the Genki Omakase Sushi Set are there for tables that cannot decide.

Round four: the showpieces. The A5 Miyazaki Wagyu Hot Stone lets you finish A5 beef at the table. Uni Chawanmushi is a silky steamed egg custard topped with sea urchin. Then comes the most impressive plate to watch arrive, the Tornado Omelet Fried Rice, a soft omelet twisted into a spiral over fried rice, the most popular dish in the house: the restaurant calls it the dish guests mention most. If you want noodles instead, the menu points to mentaiko udon.

When to go and where to sit. Take a seat at the counter if you like watching the kitchen, or a table if you have a group; izakaya food is built for sharing, so groups get the most out of the menu. Reservations, online ordering and current hours are on the restaurant's website, and the phone number is (703) 223-5671.

The best order for a first visit: a highball and Kuro Edamame, a Yakitori Platter, one torched sushi plate, then the Tornado Omelet Fried Rice for the table. Add the A5 hot stone, the most luxurious dish on the menu, if you are celebrating.