Genki Izakaya in Fairfax, VA: Our Sister Restaurant's Most Luxurious A5 Wagyu and Uni Plates, by Chef Junzo Miyajima

Genki Izakaya is a Japanese izakaya at 9508 Fairfax Boulevard, at Scout on the Circle in Fairfax, VA, and the first Genki. It opened in February 2023. Genki Wagyu House in Rockville grew out of it; our own site says, "Building on the Genki dining story in Fairfax, our Rockville house puts shabu-shabu at the center of the table." Both menus are by Chef Junzo Miyajima, IVEA's Executive Master Chef.

Why Wagyu House guests should go. In Rockville, A5 comes in thin slices for the broth. In Fairfax, Junzo serves it as small plates to share, one bite at a time, next to skewers and sushi. It is the same chef and the same love of the best Japanese beef, cooked a completely different way.

A5 Miyazaki Wagyu, four ways. The A5 Miyazaki Wagyu Hot Stone, $48, is 3 oz of A5 that you sear yourself on a hot stone, with truffle yakiniku sauce. A5 Wagyu with Foie Gras, A5 Miyazaki Wagyu with torched foie gras and truffle sauce, comes as nigiri for $16 or a hand roll for $22. Foie Gras Wagyu Toast, four pieces with a house blueberry sauce, is $34. And the most luxurious plate on the menu, the A5 Ribeye Wagyu Sukiyaki at $148, is 12 oz of ribeye Wagyu with napa cabbage, enoki, tofu and udon, served with a pasteurized egg for dipping.

Uni and bluefin. Bluefin Tuna Foie Gras with Uni is $34 for four pieces. The Yuzu Cloud Uni Scallop, $30, layers scallop, Hokkaido uni, caviar and black truffle with a yuzu coconut green dressing. The Uni Chawanmushi, $16, is a steamed egg custard with crab meat and Hokkaido uni.

Sushi for the table. The Genki Omakase Sushi Set is 10 pieces, including Hokkaido uni, o-toro and A5 Wagyu, for $78. For a big group, the Genki Sushi Boat brings 40 pieces of the chef's selection of nigiri and sashimi for $158.

Finish the way regulars do. The home page lists the plates named most often in Genki's Google reviews, led by the Tornado Omelet Fried Rice ($24), which the restaurant calls the dish guests mention most. Wagyu Fried Rice, with Wagyu, corn, butter and truffle sauce, is $28.

The drinks. The Washingtonian wrote that "a sharp fizz and translucent blocks of cylindrical ice make for some of the most stunning highballs around." The Classic Toki Highball is $14 and the Hojicha Highball, with Nikka Coffey Grain whisky, hojicha and a shiso leaf, $16. Our Rockville house pours the same Toki and yuzu highballs, so you'll already know a few of them.

Plan it. Genki Izakaya serves weekday lunch from noon to 3 p.m. and dinner from 5 p.m., and weekends run straight through from noon. Reservations are on Yelp. Our best order for two: the A5 Hot Stone, A5 Wagyu with Foie Gras nigiri, the Yuzu Cloud Uni Scallop, a Tornado Omelet Fried Rice and two highballs.