How Do You Roll?

I do not want to roll back, just put it that way. Food poisoning = not covered seafood…

To preface this review, I’ve lived nearby for a little over a year, and avoided trying this place because of the lukewarm Unilocal reviews (also, being next to two popular taco and kebap restaurants hasn’t helped their case either). Additionally, in the interests of full disclosure, I’ve lived in California most of my life, so I’ve found that my standards for sushi and Japanese cuisine are generally too lofty for what Texas has to offer.
Fast forward to a desperate night earlier this week, when we ran out of time to make dinner, and finally decided to give How Do You Roll? a chance. Big mistake. The place was empty (there were more employees than customers when we walked in), and a TV was blaring Family Feud in the corner. For the uninitiated, this place is basically the sushi equivalent of Chipotle, in that you choose from a bevy of protein, veggie and sauce options to design your own rolls. In theory, it sounds doable. However, in practice, it didn’t work so well.
My instinct was to avoid having any sushi, and I opted to try their ramen. However, at the last second, I added a spicy tuna hand roll. Unfortunately, they made me list out the ingredients I wanted in the spicy tuna hand roll, including the sauce. This was annoying. I get that this is their thing, but for traditional favorites such as a spicy tuna roll, etc., you should be able to just order it and they make it with the traditional accouterments. We ordered and sat down to wait.
The ramen was first to arrive, and the broth was actually half decent, though it was barely warm. The egg it was served with was an ice cold, normal hard-​boiled egg, cut into slices. No pickled egg. Like all their menu options, you get your choice of protein, and I went with chicken, thinking it would be the safest bet. Fail. I have never eaten saltier chicken in my entire life. It had the taste and texture of that precooked sliced chicken one can purchase at any grocery store. Not a good start.
My «hand roll» arrived next. I say «hand roll» because my order was messed up, and it was served as a traditional maki roll. And good lord was it awful. The rice was just normal rice out of a rice cooker, not sushi rice. Most of the pieces didn’t seem to have any tuna in them, and the rolls themselves were very poorly put together, basically falling apart. This was no doubt due to the non-​sushi rice they used. And the sauce. Oh, the sauce. I went with the wasabi mayo on a whim, and it was one of the most bland, tasteless sauces I’ve ever eaten.
Ultimately, my dining partner (who ordered 2 rolls and could barely finish one) and I both took our remaining sushi to go, and dumped it in the garbage outside, to be polite. With the limited, but decent sushi options in the Anderson Mill area, there’s no reason to ever set foot in this place again.

Disgusting. Not really sushi at all, actually. An approximation of what constitutes sushi was mixed together into an inedible, roll-​shaped mass. I’ve never had a dumpling of that texture before. It reminded me of thin boiled leather and had a waxy chew to it.
The girl working here was sweet but I have a feeling she should start applying for new jobs. This place won’t be open long.
Edit: Also, wtf? The wasabi is not wasabi. It had no flavor. This is not «basic» sushi as in «simple,» this is just bad.

Not as impressed as I usually am. Stopped in at 4pm for a really late lunch & am the only customer. I ordered my usual custom bowl, but tuna portion was much smaller than usual and avocado was brown.

Crappy quality sushi, crappy customer service. Waited 20 minutes to get my food when the place was completely empty because the workers were talking about who to prank call next. It only took them about 5 minutes to make our food when they finally decided to stand up and make it. The food is a joke. The people working there are a joke. I would prefer to just go to the grocery store and get sushi from there than go to this place again… No wonder this place is always empty.

Rice dry. Very slow service. Very little sushi, per roll. I will not go back again.
Store was dirty. Expensive for quality.

Not going back anymore. Empty place.Found this becoz of Torchys and the pictures outside looks good, so BEWARE. ordered ramen and udon because of the weather today. just by looking at it I know the noodles are frozen. Just a waste of money! If there’s zero to describe the food maybe I’ll do that (sorry if im too harsh but Ive been in those good ramen & sushi places). Im giving 1 because of the service. Btw, before we leave the place we found out that there’s no chef inside to do your food thats why we got a frozen microwabable noodles. ewww!

I recognize that the sushi sold here is basic and my expectations were low. You should do similarly.
Pros:
* So far I’ve liked most things that I’ve tried
* Good service
Cons:
* Soup was blah
* TV
* As it’s essentially fast food sushi, some other items I’ve had were just ok
Suggestions:
* The vegan sushi tasted fresh and healthy

Tried this place because it was next to torchys tacos. Should have went there again.
The place was empty and the rolls seem all premade to ‘american’ standards. I was hoping for more of a ‘authentic’ Asian type but alas my quest for a teriyaki bowl, is still in the search. The cucumber salad had no ‘sauce’ with it. No vinegar base with green onions, just sesame seeds and cucumbers. Boring.
The seaweed salad at least has ‘dressing’. The teriyaki bowls had no teriyaki sauce. The meat looked cubed from a chopped steak, not traditional, but at least there was green onions on it. The bowls were all cold when we got home as I saw them sitting as the other items were getting pulled from the back and being ‘made’.
At least I tried it, but I spent way to much for the family to eat.
Next time I’ll go get my own thinly sliced steak from HEB and do it myself.

Ate here the other day and it was great. Came back today and have been waiting for my to go order for well over 20 min. There were only five people in here when I walked in. Geez. And when I got home I realized there was no dressing for my salad.

It’s a quick way to enjoy Japanese food and sushi but was not that impressed with it.

Good spot for consistently «OK» (i.e. just slightly above average) sushi rolls. I’ve tried a variety, and it has all been pleasantly edible.
Their ramen, on the other hand, is relatively bad. I ordered it a few weeks ago with shrimp, and it was delivered to my table fifteen minutes later with spicy tuna (?) and stale-​tasting noodles.

Slightly rounded up 2.5 stars
Came on the wrong day (National Sushi Day) at the right time (late afternoon) to order the wrong thing (beefinator) as a noob.
The menu was a little confusing (okay a lot confusing) and although they had plenty of folks there, a couple were visiting a friend/​patron who chatted their collective ear off for most of the time I was there (and the entire time they ordered LOL) By the time I thought I knew what was going on, there was a line (dinner rush) so I didnt want to ask too many (i.e. any) questions and keep the hungry masses at bay…
So the missus and I both ordered separately but the same order to go (we didn’t want to miss out on the free philly roll) and proceeded to wait. Because of the aforemention visit and the dinner rush, the orders started to get a little scrambled (I got my order before the missus’)
We got the food home and… meh.
The sushi tasted okay (yes I know I ordered a non sushi roll) but looked horrible and really small in the carrying case. It looked like I made the dish as an appetizer. Oh well.
It is close to the house, and I will try it again, but for the price, I could hit up HEB next door.

This used to be the subway of sushi. I would always come up with some great concoctions on the fly. I loved it and was excited to come (and it was so close to home!). Now — not so much. ONe day I came in and was instructed to come to the front and place my order of a menu??? I was pretty bummed out. The menu-​style system of ordering took away the magic that is HDYR?
That being said — service itself has been OK. Usually the staff is pretty friendly. On occasion you can tell they are understaffed and they are a bit frustrated. In general the 620 location just has never matched up with the Mopac location, even before the menu system — I can’t quite explain it. Maybe it’s the layout of the place. It feels a little stuffy. Again — I can’t blame the staff, they do what they can.
Unfortunately with the quality of sushi places near and around I’m not in a hurry to come back unless I can swing by during an off-​time (usually weekday evenings). At this point, if you can get HEB sushi fresh (around lunch-​time) it’s pretty comparable and much faster.
To sum it all up — the menu system is no good and if you have to sit inside, it’s a bit tight. It’s a real shame as I used to love this place.

Affordable. Consistent. Friendly staff. Tasty food.
It’s not gourmet sushi, but it’s still quite good. The ramen and udon bowls are also yummy (and popular with picky eaters like my youngest son).

Shark Tank ruined this place for me.
We used to love HDYR. As another reviewer remarked, the Subway style of walking down the line and making your selections as your rolls were created was perfect. Although you can still specify what you want on your roll when you order, the new method creates a greater opportunity for error and it seems to take longer to get your food.
Sadness. =(

I feel so conflicted about this place.
The staff has always been friendly, the place has always seemed very clean, but I think the main issue is the inconsistency in food quality.
I’ve been here several times and during their $ 5 week I went there almost every day to try new things. Sometimes I walked away with a roll that was DELICIOUS. But then the next night ordering the same thing it tasted totally different.
Bottom line, its not bad and its not great. Its a crapshoot, really. If I get a big hankering for Sushi and I want something better quality than HEB, but not as expensive as Cho’s, then I will go here.

This is the Subway of sushi. It’s not bad, but it’s not nothing to write home about. I had escolar on spinach with cucumbers in a bowl; the ingredients were laudably fresh, but the combination was bland and boring. That’s probably my fault, but it’s a flaw in the system; I’m all for creating your own combinations, but the dearth of pre-​selected rolls and bowls makes it hard for the amateur to have a good meal. How the hell am I supposed to know what goes well together?
Otherwise, the place was clean and well-​decorated, the (one man) staff was friendly and helpful.

This is a welcome little quick-​food (as opposed to fast-​food) restaurant in the Four Points area. I like sushi, though I’m not too terribly adventurous in what fishy items I will consume raw. The benefit to going here is that they will make it to order as you select your ingredients from behind the glass counter. This is important to those of us who like to know what’s in those little sushi rolls.
There are several standard pairings you can order, or you can «roll your own» and choose whatever you feel like having on there. They do the actual rolling and will put toppings on as you desire, and you can get your own wasabi and pickled ginger at the condiment table.
It’s true that this is the Subway of sushi places. You won’t get the seasoned Asian chef to prepare your sushi, you’ll get an American college student. It’s not as pretty or rolled as tightly as when the real chef makes it, but it’s fast, and it’s ready, and you can eat in there and listen to fairly loud classic rock music, which I find rather pleasant, or get it to go and eat it in meditative silence if you prefer.
They also have a variety of soups, a seaweed salad, and a cucumber salad. I’ve tried both salads and the miso soup, and they’re tasty.
So now there is absolutely no reason to go around the corner to that black and white «Express» place if you are craving instant Asian food. Not that there ever was…

How Do You Roll? opened a new location at Plaza Volente off of FM 620. This location is officially my favorite and not just because it is the closest one to home. The customer service was spot on, the restaurant was clean and the ingredients fresh. They have outdoor seating with a play scape.
For those of you who have not been to a HDYR? you place your order at the counter choosing your wrap, veggies, fruits, meats and toppings and watch your roll being made. Today I ordered traditional (seaweed) with jalapenos, cucumber, mango, shrimp with chili powder and sesame chili oil on the side. I loved this roll especially with the spice from the chili powder and jalapeño. The process is quick and a good alternative to fast food. Make sure to pick a rewards card.