About Us

Tonari is Daikaya Group's fifth location located in Chinatown next door to Daikaya. We're the first and only Wafu Italian restaurant in DC. Wafu, simply translated, means "Japanese Style", a term frequently used to express distinctive Japanese characteristics and tastes. 

The popularity of Italian food in Japan started decades ago when they were first introduced to spaghetti noodles and red sauce from American-Italian GIs during the occupation. In 1953 a small restaurant in Tokyo named "Kabe no Ana" (Hole in the Wall) essentially became the unofficial pioneer of Wafu Italian cooking when they started to use Japanese ingredients in pasta dishes hoping to appeal to a wider audience. This niche culinary concept took off to meteoric heights in the 90s and is now served in thousands of eateries all over metropolitan Japan.