Sponsored by Monument Inn Reviews     Profile     Menus     Website

Osaka Japanese Restaurant

MY REVIEW: Four of us went here based on the recommandations we read on this site and Houston Press. We were NOT disappointed! 1) GREAT service. From the minute we walked in, we were made to feel very welcome. Waiter was efficient but not hovering. 2) Food was fantastic! Both the sushi fans and the non-sushi-eaters had plenty to choose from and everything was delicious. The sushi was fresh and top quality. Tempura shrimp and veggies were cooked perfectly, with a wonderful crisp crust and yummy dipping sauce. Seaweed salad was plentiful and yummy. 3) Prices are very reasonable. 4) We got a complimentary order of the scallop appetizer (excellent!) and complimentary desserts (fried banana with green tea or strawberry ice cream). What a nice surprise! 5) Small restaurant space, not noisy, pleasant and relaxing atmosphere. 6) Lots of FREE parking! This is now our go-to sushi place.

NAME: LauraS
SUBMITTED: 9/24/2011   LAST VISIT WAS: 9/2011
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: Am visiting Houston from Nashville and needed to fulfill a serious sushi craving. Checked b4-u-eat and decided on Osaka but on the way, stopped in at Tomo as I have eaten there previously with happy results. Was seated at the sushi bar and summarily ignored. I left after 5 minutes of no one taking the trouble to assist me. Went over to Osaka and was greeted and seated promptly, brought water quickly, and received attention as tho' I eat there every day. The waitstaff brought little bites from the kitchen for me and were attentive without being overbearing or insincere. Everyone was wonderful.

Now to the food. I ordered yellowtail sushi, the caterpillar roll, and the 911 roll. My waiter recommended the fatty tuna sushi so I added that and also a bowl of miso soup. Way too much for one but I had a taste for everything on the menu. EVERYTHING WAS BRILLIANT! The toro was pure heaven as were the rolls and the green tea ice cream that topped off my meal. I am going to bed with a happy and very full tummy! Will make Osaka my Houston sushi hit from here on out!

NAME: ArabellaPitt
SUBMITTED: 8/11/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: 08/2010
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: Haven't checked out the reviews here in awhile. Osaka was remodeled and is a much more appealing space than it was previously. (It used to be very plain. Now it is very warm and welcoming.) I've been a few times in the last several months. The food is hands down, the best sushi in Houston. Extremely fresh, and always generous. Sashimi is huge. Rolls are inventive. Everything comes out promptly. Service always includes little free extras surprises like a small appetizer or little roll. We did have one instance of terrible service at dinner sitting on the west side of the dining room. Much of our order was delivered to another table. We could see them eating our food and heard them talking about the fact that it was tasty but not what they ordered. Our server kept ignoring our expressed concerns that this happened. "It's coming...I assure you...just a few moments." She kept repeating this for 45 minutes until another server came out to confirm what we had ordered. It was really frustrating and we didn't go back for quite some time. Ultimately, I missed the delicious food and went back. No problems since then. Excellent service is more typical here.

NAME: Ready Theodore
SUBMITTED: 6/28/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: 06/10
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

MY REVIEW: My favourite sushi place in Houston. Affordable, fresh fish, friendly service. Both locations are good but the Montrose one is better to dine in because it has many more tables. My kids love sushi and they are made to feel welcome here. Big TVs are either a bonus (keeps the kids interested), or a little distracting (cage fighting ISn't a pretty sport to watch, especially whilst eating). The lunch menu has a bento box option which is good to try. Some of the house sushi rolls are delicious (Osaka roll, 911 roll, dragon roll)!

NAME: adi
SUBMITTED: 12/22/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: Dec 2009
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: My husband and I go here about once a month for lunch and absolutely love this place. We can be pretty high maintenance customers, but the staff is always kind and ready to help with our somewhat idiosyncratic requests. (I'd like a lemon cut in quarters. Please no shellfish in the churashi sushi, I'm sorry we make a terrible mess and I need an extra seven napkins... you get the idea.)

I don't think service has ever been less than flawless. The food is delicious-The fish is always fresh. The miso soup and salad is acceptable. The little extra surprises are so nice--either the agadashi tofu that shows up as an extra dish with the broiled mackerel, or the edamame or other little appetizer. Their complimentary ice cream is a nice yummy end to a wonderful meal.

We come at lunchtime because the prices are so reasonable and we're suffering along with the economy--but this is a great way to spend a little disposeable income. We've introduced as many lunch dates as we can to this place and no one's walked away disappointed. Try it. You'll like it.

NAME: Pescetarian
SUBMITTED: 10/24/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: 10/09
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: This sushi joint is fantastic. The prices are great, service is good, fish is fresh. Usually, they give you a free appetizer while you wait for your food. Their sashimi portions are very generous and priced right! Try the Escolar (Super White Tuna) for a wonderful light, buttery taste!

NAME: James W
SUBMITTED: 10/1/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: September 2009
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: fresh sushi, friendly staff. The place is tiny so we always time it where there is parking and a place to seat. I am willing to go a little out of my way to eat fresh raw fish

NAME: sushi lover
SUBMITTED: 9/24/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: 08/2009
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

MY REVIEW: Do not go here if you are driving: They will have your car towed! If your car is towed, fight it!! The sign is not in accordance with the towing laws, as the sign is not conspicuously visible or facing the driver that enters from the Stanford street enterance.

NAME: houst12
SUBMITTED: 2/5/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: 01/2009
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: Can any restaurant in this economy afford to offend its customers? Apparently they can at Osaka. I met a friend for lunch there today. We were seated at 11:45, ordered right away, ate our meal in a normal amount of time, if not quickly, declined dessert and asked for our check. As we dined the restaurant began to fill up and a line developed. While we awaited our check, the maitre d came to our table and asked if we would move so that he could have our table. I was shocked. In over 50 years of dining in restaurants around the world, I have NEVER had this happen. I could understand if we had been lingering over our food, but that was not the case. Osaka should be ashamed of themselves. Even though I live in the neighborhood, I will never be back. That is inexcusable. There are just too many good options to dine where the customer is NOT respected.

NAME: houstonalle
SUBMITTED: 1/30/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: 01/30/09
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

MY REVIEW: I went here last night with some friends based strictly on the reviews I read on here. We've been looking for a new sushi place because the quality just about everywhere has seemed to go way downhill lately. I am SO glad we found Osaka. This was seriously the freshest sushi I've ever had. The tuna pieces were huge and melted in your mouth. The rolls were amazing, we had the 911, Volcano, and Mt Fuji. I'd highly recommend each of those. The service was also a great experience, as they brought us dumplings, wasabi shumai, and ice cream for free on the house.

Great great restaurant all around and i highly recommend that everyone tries Osaka. It's our new Sushi spot and I can't wait to go back.

NAME: H-Town Reviewer
SUBMITTED: 11/29/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: 11/2008
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: Great atmosphere, delicious sushi, always something on the house, friendly wait-staff, decent prices. You can't get better than this in Houston! I prefer the Westheimer location to the Holcombe location; however, both are great!

NAME: Sushi Lover
SUBMITTED: 11/23/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: November/2008
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

MY REVIEW: This is one of my favortie sushi places I've been to in Houston so far. The pieces are large and fresh and the atmosphere is laid back. Prices are in line with most other places.

NAME: lovefood
SUBMITTED: 11/4/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: 08/08
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

MY REVIEW: service was great here, the place looked decent, i loved the sushi and i had a great time, i would definitely go there again, it is a must try if you like sushi, music was different but interesting as long as you have an open mind

NAME: jcanik
SUBMITTED: 8/28/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: 07/08
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: Our first visit was a group event. Today, we were hoping for a quiet, peaceful dinner. The ambience seemed cheerful, but the techno music in the background didn't seem to be a good fit. The waiters were dressed in short kimonos. The green seaweed salad was crunchy and fresh. The miso soup was steaming. The agedashi tofu was flaky on the outside and nice and soft on the inside. They brought a free order of gyoza, which my fiancee claims were authentic. His grilled mackeral was small, dry, not as fresh as we had hoped. On top of sprouts and a very tiny bowl of rice on the side (appetizer sized?). The Osaka roll (spider roll, unagi, mango, avocado) was very tasty!!! We were still hungry so we ordered tako (octopus) and they didn't have fatty tuna so regular tuna sushi. The pieces were large -- the tako had previously been frozen, but the tuna was not. Overall, not a bad experience, a little pricey -- no alcohal, but with tip came to be $80.00 -- I wonder if they have a happy hour!!!

NAME: drfoodie
SUBMITTED: 7/23/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: 07/08
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

MY REVIEW: OK, I must conceded I had an OK dinner here the other night. (This was my 3rd visit - the other 2 were PHENOMENAL. This one was mediocre.)

Here's what killed it for me. I mitakenly ordered sea eel (anago) rather than my intended favorite freshwater eel (unagi) because I got them mixed up. After tasting the horribly dry and overly fishy product, I politely told the waiter that the dish was not typical of what we usually get there. He informed me that I ordered the wrong thing and said, "Nobody really orders sea eel because it's not as good as unagi. I was surprised you were ordering it but just figured that this was what you wanted." He did not offer to take it back and bring out what I intended. The underlying message was "You ordered the wrong thing man, your mistake, not mine." He did ask me if I wanted to place an order for some unagi, which I did, but it was obvious that I would be paying for my mistake. I expect that in most sushi restaurants. Clearly the mistake was mine. However what makes Osaka special in my mind is that typically they would be VERY gracious about this mistake. I was looking for him to say, "We're so sorry you're not enjoying that. I think you meant to order UNAGI, let me go get you exactly what you like."

Also, they were not practicing their usual charming practice of bringing you tiny "bonus" dishes "on the house". They have done this all other times I have been - even on busy nights. when you're spending $200 on dinner for 4, it's nice when they spoil you with $10 worth of surprises.

NAME: festusbodine
SUBMITTED: 1/1/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: 12/27/07
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

If you don't agree with these comments, agree with them or have additional comments,
click here to Add Your Review.