Houston Sushi
I've eaten at a few sushi places around town, and I'm not sure why people prefer one over another, since it's all raw fish for the most part. But someone revived an old "pre-Houston board" post over on the Texas board and it probably deserves some discussion here. Using factors like price, location, ambiance and staff, I like Sushi Jin on the west side and Blue Fish House on Richmond. What is your favorite sushi place?
-----
Blue Fish House
2241 Richmond Ave, Houston, TX 77098
Sushi Jin
14670 Memorial Dr, Houston, TX 77079
-
Oh, and if anyone likes to make sushi at home, I can recommend 99 Ranch Market for fresh sushi ingredients. Look in the case along the back wall between the meat case and the fish tanks. My plan is to get some of the Ikura salmon roe and sprinkle it over some eggs and drizzle with crema. The SO wants "eggs on eggs" and that just sounds like a peachy idea to me.
-
We're fairly new to sushi, but we really like Sushi Hana in Katy. A chef friend of ours introduced us to this place as "the best sushi place in Katy". They have lots of rolls, including weekly/monthly specials. For appetizers, I love the wasabi shu-mai and the marinated squid salad, both very tasty and highly recommended.
Nagoya Sushi, also in Katy, is also pretty good. They don't have quite as much variety as Sushi Hana, and there weren't any appetizers that blew me away. However, when you compare the two roll-to-roll, you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference. We haven't really gotten outside of Katy much for sushi just yet, but looking forward to trying some of these suggestions.
-----
Sushi Hana Japanese Kitchen
1638 S Mason Rd, Katy, TX 77450›5 Replies-
-
re: rhiamon
air
Jul 6, 2011 10:58 AM
I generally don't eat maki besides things like umeshiso, umetamago, or futomaki, though I will say it's good that Sushi Hana's made big strides since they'd first opened. They might have some interesting fish occasionally, which is ok, but I still wouldn't put them as the first place I'd eat if it were up to me because the rice is so blah and flavorless there. All in all, pretty good for Katy.
The only decent cheap place I know is Oishii but I'm sure the cat's out of the bag on that. I'd imagine it's pretty crowded when they run their specials nowadays and wouldn't be shocked if quality has deteriorated too. I recall it being a step up from grocery grade and maybe a litlte bit better than places like Tokyo One or Todai. Rice is EXTREMELY inconsistent, (can be overseasoned) so be warned. And on the note of a buffet, Benihana's is surprisingly pretty good. Sushi is prepared/sliced as you order and I recall the fish selection being decent.
Kubo's is still reliable. Kata Robata and Soma Sushi are on my radar if I feel like having sushi while in Houston.
-----
Oishii Restaurant
3764 Richmond Ave, Houston, TX 77046Todai Restaurant
7620 Katy Fwy Ste 300, Houston, TX 77024-
-
re: Lambowner
air
Aug 8, 2011 12:12 PM
I haven't been to Todai in years, but friends that have gone to both recently tell me Tokyo One is better of the two. Overall best buffet is Benihana by a longshot.
At Todai, the fish selection is limited. It also doesn't help they haven't seen much traffic lately, which lends many of the buffet items to not turn over as they should. Freshness is a big issue there. Apparently they even serve Brazilian rodizio now, which really makes no sense.
-----
Todai Restaurant
7620 Katy Fwy Ste 300, Houston, TX 77024
-
-
-
re: rhiamon
We went to Sushi Hana yesterday and it was packed with the after church crowd. Started with crab puffs (very good) and edamame. I had the sashimi "A" combo that included 9 pieces of sashimi with soup and salad for $15 which I thought was a bargain. The fish was fresh and presented on a plate of shaved beets. The daughter got a chicken dish of green onions and cream cheese rolled in chicken then sliced like a sushi roll! She loved it. There was not enough staff to handle the totally full restaurant. Some of our soups and salads got misplaced. We ordered some Ikura and octopus sushi from the ala carte menu, which did not come so we re-placed that order near the end of our meal and the salmon roe was nice. The waitress offered us free saki or dessert, I thought because of the service issues but our friends said that is commonly done at Sushi Hana. We ended up with a big shareable bowl of ice cream surrounded with fried bananas and topped with whip cream and chocolate sauce, a nice touch.
This is a nice family friendly place with good prices and lots of non-fish options. The people around us all seemed to be regulars. Thanks for the reminder!
-
-
I have been wondering about this recently because our go-to place is Kata Robata, which can get pretty expensive. I'm not looking for bargain basement sushi (for obvious reasons), but am wondering if there are more economical options out there.
The quality at Kata Robata has always been amazing, which is why we haven't done much shopping around. I think it's great if price is not a big concern.
I'm mostly a nigiri fan-- I'm not anti-sushi roll, but inevitably anytime I try a roll, I end up wishing I had just ordered additional nigiri instead. I find that sometimes sushi recommendations can vary wildly, since some people hear sushi and think sashimi and others think california roll. I like both, but they're very different and that can really color the recommendation.
Sushi Jin sounds great, but is a little far away from us for a random weeknight (which is normally when we will do sushi). We're on the near northside. Anyone know what the parking situation is like at Blue Fish House and how busy they get at lunch?
-----
Blue Fish House
2241 Richmond Ave, Houston, TX 77098Sushi Jin
14670 Memorial Dr, Houston, TX 77079Kata Robata
3600 Kirby Drive, Houston, TX 77098›2 Replies-
re: mjust
Blue Fish House parking is ridiculous. In the same center as Hobbit and Yelapa, the shared parking lot looks like the surface of the moon, only worse. Plus, the cars are packed in to tiny spots and often you end up maneuvering for a while to get the %$! out of there. The times I've been there were Fridays at lunch and few tables are taken. Maybe people hate that parking lot, but I've never had trouble getting a table. I have heard they've opened a second location at City Centre, but haven't ventured over yet.
My favorite dishes in general are sashimi (and Sushi Jin has a combo meal that's well priced, soup + salad + 9 pc sashimi), and hand rolls, especially spider rolls. I aim to try Kata Robata, but I have heard about those prices.....
-----
Blue Fish House
2241 Richmond Ave, Houston, TX 77098Sushi Jin
14670 Memorial Dr, Houston, TX 77079Kata Robata
3600 Kirby Drive, Houston, TX 77098-
re: Lambowner
Kubo's and Kata Robata are our standard go to places for proximity and quality, with treks to Soma for something different. I have resisted Blue Fish House because the parking indeed is ridiculous. Our bargain place is Crave Sushi on Travis in Midtown, where we can eat more for less during their happy hour, which is 7 days a week until 7 and 9 on on Sunday. Based on the other comments, we need to head west to Sushi Jin.
-----
Blue Fish House
2241 Richmond Ave, Houston, TX 77098Sushi Jin
14670 Memorial Dr, Houston, TX 77079Crave Sushi
2900 Travis St Ste F, Houston, TX 77006Kata Robata
3600 Kirby Drive, Houston, TX 77098
-
-
-
DoobieWah
Jul 5, 2011 12:25 PM
I eat at Sushi Jin at least once a week. (Sometimes more, but never less.)
I've eaten at other sushi restaurants in town, but the quality of the fresh fish is incomparable.
A lot of trendy restaurants are more about the "scene". Sushi Jin is all about the food.
That just happens to coinicide with where I'm at in my life so...
-----
Sushi Jin
14670 Memorial Dr, Houston, TX 77079›10 Replies-
re: DoobieWah
So does this mean that the fish at the other places you've visited are less than fresh? See what I mean? They all serve the same thing. I do love the salad dressing at Sushi Jin, not so much at Blue Fish, but a friend likes their salad dressing which is why I end up there.
-----
Sushi Jin
14670 Memorial Dr, Houston, TX 77079-
re: Lambowner
DoobieWah
Jul 5, 2011 03:45 PM
I can't say that any other place will have fish that is LESS fresh, but I state with certainty that they will not have fish that is MORE fresh. And I like the more laid back atmosphere.
The one thing I don't choose sushi restaurants for is their ...
...salad dressing.
;-)
-
re: DoobieWah
All this sushi talk drove me to Sushi Jin tonight. Hit the spot! And the waitress remembered us even though it's probably been a year since we were there. What do you like there, Doobs? The prices are higher since I was last there.
-----
Sushi Jin
14670 Memorial Dr, Houston, TX 77079-
re: Lambowner
DoobieWah
Jul 6, 2011 09:44 PM
I was there tonight as well. The waitress who remembered you was almost certainly Maria. She's a gem.
We love the sushi and sashimi and the rolls.
(Not much help, am I?)
Truthfully, we eat just a few things over and over in various combinations. We're not particularly adventurous, but even those who are rave about the food.
They have had a new source for Oo-Toro and it has been incredible. Not cheap, but worth the splurge.
Their salmon is almost always just perfect. Literally "perfect".
If you like sashimi, just get your favorite and see if it isn't just a little bit better here.
I do have a quibble, though.
Chef Leo-san wasn't there tonight. He's the best. The guys who were there are fairly new.
The fish was good. The rice was good. But the chefs need practice as the presentation and the pacing were not up the standards that Uotani-san has set.
We'll see.
-
-
re: Lambowner
DoobieWah
Jul 7, 2011 07:09 AM
Since you're in my neighborhood, what do you think of Ra, Matsusaka, Miyako, Edomae, etc., etc., etc.
As I noted in my Sushi Jin review on that onerous thread, I just started eating sushi with gusto about four years ago after having an excellent lunch in Austin. Sushi Jin was the first stop, (the very next day no less!), in Houston. Subsequently, I tried all of the others in the neighborhood, and a few around town as opportunity presented, but Sushi Jin has remained the standard for the reasons I noted above.
I sure miss Uotani-san tho'. He's a great guy and an incredible chef.
-----
Sushi Jin
14670 Memorial Dr, Houston, TX 77079Miyako
6345 Westheimer Rd, Houston, TX 77057-
-
re: DoobieWah
air
Jul 7, 2011 07:57 AM
Ra is downright awful, worse than grocery grade sushi. Mostly rolls that are so full of avocado, cream cheese, and sauce that there's no discernible fish flavor and they could care less about rice preparation.
Edomae used to be owned by a friend's family and I did like them, but I haven't been there since they sold the business.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
re: DoobieWah
We ate at Sushi Jin tonight. With the exception of some spotty service, it was a very good experience and we'll definitely be going back. Ika sansai (squid salad) for me, miso soup all around, pepper tuna and salmon sashimi, a Philadelphia roll, and a Sunrise roll. Everything was excellent, and the bill was more than reasonable for the amount of stuff we ordered. Our only complaint was the service - I had to ask for my miso soup twice, and she took a long time to come back to take our order. To be fair, though, they were pretty busy when we got there.
-----
Sushi Jin
14670 Memorial Dr, Houston, TX 77079
-
-
