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Teppay Japanese Restaurant

MY REVIEW: What a pity. We usually go to 4*00 Sage or G*inza. Have read positive reviews of this restaurant. Don't go. There were three tables empty and we waited 20 minutes to sit. We would have had our appetizers and drinks and been onto the main course at the other places. Miso Gindara was burned, salmon sashimi was frozen. Let me say that again, frozen. Chef was handling it with his mitts to warm it up. Gross. These nice people are way out over their board.

NAME: boodles
SUBMITTED: 1/31/2011   LAST VISIT WAS: 1/11
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: Don't let the price of food at Teppay intimidate you. I've been there multiple times with my wife and two kids and usually spend at most $100+tip, including a couple beers and a small bottle of sake. True, if you order sushi and sashimi and that's all you eat, the bill will be very high. Instead, try other items.

My recommendations are gindara (black cod marinated in miso & mirin), gyoza (dumplings), sunomono with octopus (kelp & cucumber with vinegar-based dressing), saba misoni (mackarel in miso-based sauce), and wakasagi nanban (fried smelt with vinegar-based sauce). If you like to have some sushi, get assorted sushi (either sushi special or regular). You will get a significant discount compared to ordering a la carte.

We usually get either tempura udon or soba to finish the meal (two bowls to share). One weak point is that the menu hasn't changed in the past 10 years I've known the place.

NAME: kyagi
SUBMITTED: 10/3/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: Sept. 2009
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: This is the best Japanese restaurant I have been to in Houston. I lived in Japan for two years and I have had a hard time finding a restaurant that serves authentic Japanese food in Houston. Thankfully, I found Teppay but calling up the Japan Society of Houston and asking where they take their Japanese clients. My only criticism is that the menu is too small. I wish they had more varieties of ramen, etc. Service is excellent and the food is to die for.

NAME: Bronwyn
SUBMITTED: 1/15/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: 01/09
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

MY REVIEW: Excellent Japanese food. Can get natto and other specialties hard to find in Houston. We bring our Japanese friends here. Know for a fact that Japanese executives posted to Houston come here for Japanese food.

NAME: rubberbandgirl
SUBMITTED: 12/26/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: November 2008
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: Based on the solid recommendations here, we tried Teppay and were not let down. Moved here from the SF Bay Area about half a year ago and have been sorely disappointed with the Houston dining scene for many reasons. Teppay was a real stunner last night. It quiet calm, more traditional Japanese restaurant, not one of those crazy fusiony sushi lounges. The quality of the fish was excellent and really that is the most important thing. There was just one sushi chef working very hard to keep up with the orders. But if you know to sit tight and give him time, you will be rewarded. We had tuna, yellowtail, salmon, and eel nigari, and a futomaki roll and spicy tuna roll. The yellowtail tasted like butter!

Thanks for the good reviews. We plan to return to this place many times.

NAME: sarvey
SUBMITTED: 12/14/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: 10/2008
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: We have been here twice. Our last visit was in June, 2008. We sat at the sushi bar and had two different spicy handrolls--yellowtail and salmon---as well as a variety of nigiri (amaebi, octopus, whole scallop, smoked salmon, salmon roe, finishing the meal with otoro). Service was adequate.

With three Ichibans, the price was $55, which I felt was extremely reasonable given the quality. This restaurant serves by far the best sushi in Houston that I have tasted. It is comparable to high-end sushi restaurants in Seattle and the Bay Area of California. We have eaten grilled items from the restaurant before and they have been good, but do not reach the excellence of the nigiri or sashimi, in my opinion. As a previous poster noted, they have a variety of traditional Japanese items: natto, mountain potato, "real" wasabi, etc... This would be the restaurant I would take homesick Japanese natives visiting Houston (and then go to G**za on Westheimer for karaoke and bar food).

NAME: Gray Ghost
SUBMITTED: 6/8/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: 6/2008
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

MY REVIEW: This is the only place I've found in Houston that knows what gyudon is. Not only that, but they even made me a bowl, in spite of it not being on their menu. The popular (in Japan, not here) beef bowl is said to be a variation of sukiyaki, very thinly sliced beef on rice, with broth and onion and pickled red ginger garnish. That's an oversimplification of the dish. Photos and recipes can be found on the web. Teppay sure satisfied my craving, since I left the west coast five years ago and don't have Y*oshinoya beef bowl anymore.

NAME: Pirate Paul
SUBMITTED: 9/22/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: July
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: First time eating there. Recommended by a Japanese friend. Clean, simple decor. Excellent service, prompt, friendly. Food delicious. Fresh, beautifully prepared. Prices probably in line with other sushi. Would definitely recommend.

NAME: thorlo
SUBMITTED: 6/25/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: June 24, 2006
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: A follow up to my earlier review: this restaurant continues to serve excellent food. Last fall we had a seasonal mushroom soup that was scrumptious. If we're in this area, we always choose this restaurant because it is so consistently good. YOu can also get real Japanese treats like nato, not served elsewhere in Houston.

NAME: D. Koehn
SUBMITTED: 5/12/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: December 2005
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: This restaurant is the greatest restaurant more than anyplace in TX. I am a Japanese and always very strict to judge this kind of things. Taste, material, service, decollating food on the dish and atmosphere are excellent. I was living in S. California and where have a lot of Japanese restaurants locating with many competitors. But, I still feel this Teppay is the best Japanese restaurant compare with Japanese restaurant in California and even Texas. My favorite items are Hamachi, Uni, Sweet Shrimp, Fried Oyster, Noodles, Firefly Squid with Miso paste, and others. One things which I do no like restaurant in TX, everywhere except S*TARBUCKS can smoke inside restaurant. Some of people may not agree this comment but I do not feel comfortable to smell smoke when I was eating delicious foods also not good for health and mental.

Anyway, GO Teppay GO!!!

NAME: Japanese Girl
SUBMITTED: 6/22/2005   LAST VISIT WAS: May/2005
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

MY REVIEW: THE BEST JAPANESE RESTAURANT IN HOUSTON!!! Food are excellent! Highly Recommend: Beef Tataki, Chirasu, Raw Oysters, Freshwater eel sushi, Una-don! Services are wonderful! Nice and Sweet!!!

NAME: smcc99612
SUBMITTED: 5/12/2005   LAST VISIT WAS: May 2005
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: The BEST sushi in town!!! 2 thumbs up for them~ They're so friendly and sweet!! I love to sit @ the sushi bar, chatting with them make the meal even more enjoyable~ ^____^

NAME: J
SUBMITTED: 10/23/2004   LAST VISIT WAS: 10/16/2004
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: This excellent Japanese owned and operated restaurant with natural wood interior serves much more than just sushi. Try the sukiyaki (you can choose to prepare it at your table, which is much more fun), and try the many small appetizers. Sushi is best in town and will ruin you for lesser sushi joints. I lived in Tokyo for one-and-a-half years and this is my favorite Japanese restaurant in H-town.

NAME: maxconsultingus
SUBMITTED: 12/17/2003   LAST VISIT WAS: 9/2003
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: Absolutely incredible deal. Totally authentic, perfect cuts. The best kept secret though is not sushi, but cooked fish. About 50% of what you'll pay in Tokyo for this quality of cod and tuna. The selection of sushi would be somewhat limited to a gourment, no exotics.

NAME: Ilia
SUBMITTED: 3/15/2003   LAST VISIT WAS: 2/03
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

MY REVIEW: This restaurant is the only Japanese eatery that I've visited where the food smells and tastes like it does in Tokyo. Excellent seasonal specialties in a nice atmosphere.

NAME: D. Koehn
SUBMITTED: 1/30/2003   LAST VISIT WAS: 01/03
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

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