Kenobi Sushi

I am so sad that this place is closed :(
I am quite the sushi snob and I think this place had the best sushi in Austin — even better than Uchi or the more expensive places. This place was so good that I was always willing to drive all the way up north (I live south) to get my sushi fix.
RIP Kenobi

***This review is specifically for Kenobi’s Monday Madness***
I thought Kenobi was one of those restaurants I wanted to experience a few times before I told you what I really thought. Maybe I need to reassess my criteria for restaurants on the ‘wait to review’ list. Actually, I probably need to define the criteria before I try to refine it… oops. Anyway, the important part is this: Monday Madness at Kenobi is the bomb diggity. Can I get an Amen? (Heck, I’ll give myself an AMEN… AMEN!)
I’ve been here __(places hand over mouth as she spews out an ungodly number)__ times in the past few months to experience the holy sushi making love Kenobi treats their customers to every Monday. Each and every time the customer service has been fantastic. I’ve been here with only one other person, 5 other persons, 11 other persons, and tonight with 25 other fantastic creatures. No matter how big the group gets the customer service is grade A+. Superb customer service is rare for large groups of people, so I have to give a shout out to all the wonderful worker bees at Kenobi. Intro canned clapping… Great Job!
Great Job and a Whoop! Whoop! for the sushi and the sushi prices. Every roll is dynOmite. Every price (between 2 and 8 dollars per roll) is unbelievable. We have tried every roll on the Monday Madness menu and they all rock. They rock so much it’s happy hour every Monday for my friends and I at Kenobi. If you’re looking for something specific to try you won’t go wrong with the M & M roll. I can’t remember exactly what it has inside, but it is a lightly tempure’d rock and roll tune blasting on this palette. Don’t worry, if you need recommendations the wait staff is great at handling that.
On to my new favorite drank… sake! I’m new to sake. Very new. I’ve always been a good girl (big grin) and stayed away from the sake. I’ve realized being a good girl doesn’t pay off. Ha! I have dove head first into the land of sake drinking heathens and I am not coming up anytime soon. Kenobi has Sake Flights… SAKE FLIGHTS. These sake flights are exactly what I need to add to my love of delicious alcho… I mean sushi.

I recently hit up Kenobi for their Monday Madness with a bunch of my girlfriends. $ 2 drinks, $ 2 select apps, $ 3-​$ 8 dollar sushi rolls. What’s not to love? I sampled the Kenobi lemonade– delightful. Blueberry vodka and lemonade. I also tried the Millenium Roll and the Shoi roll — both fantastic and only set me back $ 11 for BOTH. Other foods tried around the table were: pork dumplings, edamame, veggie tempura, and various other rolls. Despite having 11 girls, the waitress was amazing… and our drinks were constantly replenished.
We had a ton of food and a blast.
My only complaint is that we needed a bigger table, some of our friends ate at the bar.

Since the bf is not as big a fan of sushi as I am, we made a deal — he could order two non-​sushi dishes, and I would order two rolls, and we’d share everything. So we ended up with quite a variety of food.
1. Corn chowder with lobster tempura. A very unusual dish. the chowder was very thick, more like butternut squash than corn chowder. It was best when combined with the lobster tempura. Interesting.
2. Shrimp & Lobster mac & cheese. Another interesting choice for a sushi joint. I liked this take on mac & cheese since it was spicier than usual and had the occasional fish surprise. I like fish surprises.
3. Seven and a Half Roll. Not my favorite. I don’t generally expect my raw sushi rolls to be hot, like this was. I couldn’t taste any of the individual fish, and my palate was confused by it being warm. I wouldn’t get this again.
4. Fernando Roll. This was my favorite. It had several fish, each of which I could taste separately, in a slightly spicy citrus sauce. Simple, tasty, COLD.
I think we will go back, probably on a Monday, given all the raves about that happy hour. I’d like to try some of the other rolls mentioned in other reviews, and hopefully find more to like than I did tonight.

My friend and I went to Kenobi Sushi the other night, and since we had a sweet Groupon and it was my friend’s birthday, we went all out. ALL OUT. I’m talking multiple martinis, rolls, sushi, an appetizer AND dessert. Take away the first sentence and my bank account would be crying. BUT it’s sushi, so it should be expected that it is a more pricy meal, especially with the quality we got at Kenobi.
On to the better part — the food and drinks! I’ll break it down for ya.
Martinis: pomegranate, tropical, peach, mangotini — the tropical and mangotini stood out to us as the better ones. I thought my pomegranate martini was a little weak. Also, when we were there it was $ 5 martini night! Woohoo!
Appetizer: The edamame was good but a little bland to me. I thought it needed more salt.
Rolls: Fernando, Brandy, Lickety Split, Terry — SO GOOD. I like shrimp tempura, so the Brandy was one of my favorites, and loved the spicy and sweet of the Terry.
Sushi: Maguro, Belly Salmon, Bluefin Tuna — YUM. The pieces were fresh and pretty much a party in your mouth. (I seriously zoned out while typing thinking about how good it was…)
Dessert: Godiva Cheesecake — I die. I mean, come on, it was my friend’s birthday, so we HAD to get dessert. ;) It was rich and sweet but not overpoweringly so. A great end to our meal.
Our waiter was really nice and gave us great recommendations, obviously. He even brought my friend a bouquet of balloons.
I’ll definitely be back! Especially for the Monday Madness I read about in other reviews. Yum.

I’m furious. Just FURIOUS that I didn’t know that Kenobi (not to be confused with Kenichi) had an amazing Monday Madness deal! From 4pm-​close there are $ 2 appetizers, sushi, rolls and drink specials.
We had (and I’m not kidding here) a millenium roll, an m&m roll, a shrimp tempura roll, some sashimi. a roll with peppered tuna on it, a house salad with ginger dressing, veggie tempura, dumplings and some other small soshi something something. It was a freaking TON of food, split between three people and my bill was $ 18. Since I’m cheap, this was like a halleluah moment. The sushi was all really great — flavorful, fresh and well put together. Nothing tasted «fishy» — it was all just smooth and delicious.
Plus the place is gorgeous inside — dark corners and alternative lighting and deep cushions and huge bottles of liquor on the bar. Not kidding — they were like 2 feet tall. It was a little like someone knocked me out and I was having a dream. Unicorns could have arrived at any moment and I wouldnt have been surprised.
Long story, short. If you’re looking for me on a Monday, I’m probably here. And actually, probably on all day happy hour Sunday as well. And maybe in between. Come on over and join me; I’ll buy you a $ 2 roll. You’re worth it.

I ventured to Kenobi for lunch and found it to be a popular/​busy restaurant during lunch. The staff is friendly but Kenobi is so busy that service tends to be slow during lunch. I recently ordered the Fiery roll consisting of yellowtail, cilantro, thai chili topped with misago and a side of citrus oil. The roll was good and the citrus oil complimented it well. I was also a little disappointed on the amount of fish actually in the roll. The ginger was so watery that it saturated the wasabi making the ginger taste of wasabi (sort of defeats the purpose of ginger cleansing your palate).
I have been to Kenobi a few times now and always feel mixed about the experience. During Happy Hour the service is much quicker than lunch, however my experience is that the fish often tastes less fresh.
My most recent visit during Happy Hour I got the spicy tuna roll. The fish did not seem very fresh and the roll was overall a bit bland.
Three thing I enjoy about Kenobi is that it offers a variety of dining atmospheres with a dark bar/​lounge area, dining area, sushi bar and outdoor seating all very modern and cozy, they have great Happy Hour prices (I like Tuesday $ 5 martini night) and they have a decent wine list.
Kenobi’s menu is slightly steep for my standards as far as lunch goes but as I mentioned Kenobi does have some great Happy Hour prices.
Happy Hour runs Mon-​Fri 4pm-​7pm & all day on Sunday (lounge only) and offers $ 5 appetizers and rolls
Monday is «Monday Madness» 4pm-​close with $ 2 appetizers, sushi, rolls and drink specials
Tuesdays are $ 5 martini nights

I bought an online discount certificate for Kenobi, and last night decided to use it. Neither my friend nor I had been there before. We strolled in a little after 7 and were seated immediately. We order drinks, then appetizers, and then after a while, the rest of our order was taken. I thought that the multi-​stage ordering process was a little strange, but heh, I’m open to new experiences in ordering food. After quite some time (we had been there approaching an hour), I commented to my friend that apparently Kenobi observes the European norm, wherein dining out is an «all evening» event and no one is in any hurry. My friend commented that he thought perhaps they had gone to catch the fish. I speculated that they were attempting to raise them from the roe. Eventually, our waitress told us that the chef had caught up and a few minutes after that we received our food.
We ordered three rolls — the Seven and a half, the Lickety Split (oh, the irony), and one that had tiny slivers of Kobe beef (and which I can’t remember the name of). My friend enjoyed the Lickety Split, particulary the tiny fried crustaceans (he think they were crawfish). I liked the one with Kobe beef — it had a nice, spicy sauce on top but sadly, what looked and tasted like surimi in it. Surimi. Really? With Kobe beef? At these prices? I still liked it, but thought that was odd.
I enjoyed the décor, and my friend and I particularly enjoyed the sinks in the restrooms. No, I’m not going to explain them. Go look — it’s worth the trip. There were three large groups in the area where we were seated, so the noise level was a little higher than I would have liked — I wouldn’t recommend this place for a quiet, romantic evening.
I enjoyed Kenobi. I thought they were a little too pricy and a little too slow, but the food was good.

Slick, sleek, stylish, asian, with a twist.
From the graceful and intriguing décor to the very fresh sushi, this place is a keeper. It’s downright beautiful yet not overstated. The service, the sushi, the sake, all are great. I’ve been here 10+ times, mostly for lunch and I’ve never been disappointed. I’m a traditionalist so I don’t go for the funky rolls but stick the straight sushi and sashimi. The fish quality is top notch. I don’t order it, but my favorite co-​worker always orders the firecracker chicken and she loves it.
The bathrooms are totally cool, seriously. Make sure you check them out when you come.
I never knew about the monday specials here, have to hit up Kenobi on one of these monday nights.
_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​
Bah. I tried to paste a Japanese sentence in here but Unilocal wouldn’t take it. You’d think Unilocal wouldn’t be holding grudges from 1941.

I recently went to Kenobi during their Monday Madness to celebrate a friend’s birthday. It wasn’t as crowded as we had imagined, which was good since we had 15 people in our group. I liked their décor, especially the organic onion-​looking lamps. The MM menu had a reasonable selection that was affordably priced. I ordered the Millenium roll and a Spicy Salmon roll as well as a piece of escolar sushi and peppercorn tuna sushi. I think the rolls are a better deal since you’re paying $ 2 for a single piece of fish.
The Millenium roll sounded really good when I read the description, but I was underwhelmed when I tasted it. The Spicy Salmon was pretty spicy, but I liked it a lot better than the Millenium. I wasn’t a huge fan of the peppercorn tuna; I felt like there was too much pepper on it, but at least it was fresh. I didn’t really like their escolar either; it tasted too oily. I think they might have drizzled more oil on there.
I think the décor impressed me more than their food. If you’re looking for some sweet sushi deals though, Monday Madness is definitely for you.

I went there yesterday. I realized that you should only go for Monday Madness.
Pork Gyoza– alright.
Veggie Tempura– alright. oily.
Seven and a Half– ehh not worth it. I don’t know why it’s a crowd favorite.
Scuba Diver– ehh not worth it.
don #2– good.
I always over order because I just want a little bit of everything. The only reason I come here is because I have coupons from
. Silly me, I should have only gotten one so that I would not have to come here again.
Summary
Only go during Monday Madness. & make a reservation before you go!

L is for the lighting blinding me
O is for the ok offerings
V is very very average-​ordinary
E is either/​or, just so-​so plating and décor
My HH partner and I sat at a table in the bar area, which wasn’t too shabby. Pleasant, with high ceilings and ambient lighting. ‘Tini Tuesday means $ 5 martinis, so I went for the lychee (mmm. lychee). I saved the lychee for after sushi, as my pseudo-​dessert. Those who know me understand it was just meant as a dessert appetizer, yes?
The sushi was decent. They were out of some of their HH apps (lobster dumplings, which made me sad) but this first visit included some ok items: spicy tuna roll (on HH menu), a Scuba Diver, and a Fiery roll. The Scuba Diver had the most interesting flavor combinations; the fiery almost scorched my tongue off. All three rolls were kind of small, but we were chatting so it was alright. Eating equal parts air and food, as my dad would say.
Lighting: I had never gotten a light-​migraine until I stumbled into this joint, and I didn’t realize it soon enough to correct the problem. Sitting in the darkly-​lit bar area, the bright blasting frickin light inside the adjacent room, where staff was working, slowly burned a whole in the retina of my left eyeball. It was in my peripheral view, and so super annoying. I know the room was empty, but just pretend something fun’s going on there. Instead of dispensing migraines with lightbeams.
And then, the clincher: the waitress grabbed my lychee glass while I wasn’t looking. Two perfectly sweet lychee dessert apps, gone. I felt robbed.
Naw, I didn’t love it. Nat King Cole’s buttery voice was not singing in my ear. But it was ok, and I might go back sometime. Probably not making a foxtrot entrance or anything romantic like that.

Walked out… and will never return!
Those who follow me know, that I tend to write only positive reviews. I am a big fan of businesses that do a great job and want to do my part to spread the word and help them succeed. I don’t waste my time reviewing mediocre places, and until now, have never wanted to put up a negative post.
But, that’s just not the case with Kenobi. I am going to break out my soap box and let the world know about my terrible experience. I encourage anybody who finds this review valuable to rank it highly and share it with all your email, facebook and twitter friends.
And the reason is because I think Kenobi is blatantly arrogant and full of themselves.
I’d like to think that my experience was unusual. But there are just too many people with similar experiences on this board for that to be true.
In fact, David S. writes: «Uggg… so I went to Kenobi’s again, and it’s like the service gets worse every time we go. The food is fine, but the service is terrible! I think I might have had the same waitress every time, though, so that may be part of it.»
David… I think I had the same prima donna!
My family brought me there for my birthday the other night. I wanted to go somewhere special and had never been there before.
We walk in the door, and the place is 75% empty. The hostess chastises us for not making a reservation. Take a look around sweetie. I could have brought 2 bus loads of people and still not filled your place. You’re not THAT good!
She asks us if we want a table or a booth. «Table, please» we reply. To which she promptly sits us at a booth!
Then, the waitress comes over, oozing attitude. My son orders a drink, and the waitress won’t give him the happy hour special because we are seated in the empty dining room. She tells us we can go sit in the uncomfortably low lounge tables and eat our meal off of the glorified TV trays if we want a drink special, otherwise, the waitress informs me the manager will get «really, really mad!»
Imagine that… let’s make the customer uncomfortable, because we don’t want to upset the manager!
I always, always, always go out of my way to give servers a chance. I love good service and also love to reward and compliment those who give it. But this person was the exact opposite. Lady, you need to find another career. I mean this woman actually tried to start arguments with me. It was the craziest thing!
«I’ve worked all over this city, she informed me… and you will never find anybody that will serve you happy hour specials in the dining room.»
Well, honey, now I understand why you have worked all over this city. When you chase away customers that are prepared to drop $ 100-​$ 125 dollars on a meal, and turn them to Unilocal to let the world know about their terrible experience, you’re not likely to find a place that will keep you for long. Or maybe you’ve found a home at Kenobi, where the managers come before the customers.
So we left. We went across the street to Macaroni Grill and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! The food was great. The service was great. And they made me feel like they appreciated my business.
Sayonara, Kenobi!
Oops… I almost forgot! My wife, who is not a big fan of Japanese food, had trouble finding something to order. She finally did find something, only to be told 10 minutes later that they were out of her dish. «That’s a shame,» says our waitress. «You would have really liked it. It’s one of our best dishes.»
Thanks. Why don’t you just stick the knife in and turn it a little more!
Geesh! I keep remembering more! My dynamite server was training another server. What a riot! «Here’s how you upset our customers!!! Now, you give it a try!!!»

I’ve been to Kenobi twice and I’ve just not been very impressed by it. The first time for a friend’s birthday and the second time was today for Monday Madness.
Monday Madness has a pretty decent selection of $ 2 appetizers, rolls, and drinks.
The atmosphere would be better if it wasn’t so noisy. The food is mediocre and overpriced. Not somewhere I’d want to return to time after time.

I really enjoy the décor of this sushi restaurant. The staff are friendly, especially the waitress, Moon. The food is good. On Mondays they have great specials.
The downside… the women’s restroom sink faucet stays on too long which wastes water.
Also, they (like so many other places) use disposable chopsticks. This is wasteful and non-​sustainable/​Eco-​friendly.

I’ve been to Kenobi several times for lunch as it is near my work. The lunch specials are pretty good and not too expensive, the sushi is pretty good and the décor is nice. It is a bit pricey compared to some other sushi places I’ve been to in town, but no out of the world.
The bathroom is a must visit, even if it is just to wash your hands. The sinks in there are works of art, solid porcelain slabs with water that flows out of a hole in the wall when you present your hands. The urinals and stalls are in good repair as well. Top notch facilities ;)

Kenobi is a relatively dressy tasty sushi establishment ensconced in the Arboretum smack between Serrano’s and Friday’s. I like this place not quite as much as Mikado, but nice high ceilings and the outdoor gravel hangout section with bamboo and smart lighting makes you forget you are in any kind of mall area. The restroom sinks are interesting, but I’m not sure why the earlier reviewer was all gaga over them. It’s not like they give you a full body massage.
Good work, Obi-​wan.

Unagi (n.)
/​oo na‘h gee/​
Etymology: Japanese
Date: 1893
Def: A state of total awareness. Only by achieving true Unagi can you be prepared for any threat that may befall you. DANGER!
The hand rolls I tried were the Fiery and Freshwater Eel — also known as Unagi. Spurred on by a comparison to the cuisine with the preventative sense ancient Japanese [and the writer’s of Friend’s season 6], E and I agreed although Crane & Kauffman’s spin was funnier, Kenobi’s was tastier. My compatriot had a chicken of sorts with something fascinating perched atop the peak of the dish: apple foam. What?! Yes. It is actually Granny apples distilled into a liquid-​y sauce, distilled into a frothy liquid, further distilled into a fluffy foam. Cool.
We dined in the near-​deserted (front?) patio amid tall bamboo brushes and throne-​like lounge seating. Low-​lighting table candles coupled with the bamboo’s protection from glaring street lights and falling temperatures made for an ideal chill-​out ambiance. Once things heat up closer to summer however, I’m heading inside. Which brings me to the bathroom sinks: they are undoubtedly Zen-​looking, but I wonder about temperature modification. There is one motion-​triggered spout that deploys pleasantly, possibly-​the-​perfect-​temperature-​to-​sanitize-​bateria, warm water. But I have to ask: what if you need cold water to cool off with, or wake up, or calm down? This isn’t enough to warrant a renovation of washing facilities, but, y’know, these are just my observations.
So, be prepared to have a very chill experience, and pretty good Unagi here, or as other fictitious personalities would say,
«Ah… Salmon Skin Roll»
[Explanation:

I just left this place about 2 hours ago and I already have to review this place because I was so excited!
About 6 of us came here on a whim after volunteering in our t-​shirts and sweatshirts. We just needed somewhere other than the Cheesecake Factory so we wouldn’t have to wait 2 and ½ hours! We came in and immediately knew that we were super underdressed and predicted the uncomfortable dinner… the opposite actually happened! Our waiter was very cool and we felt very welcome. My friend and I even had the to-​go cheesecake in their restaurant and they absolutely didn’t mind!
I loved their sushi, my friend was still goo goo gagaing about her uni sushi. Everything was very pretty and I’m going to bring my boyfriend here for our 2 years or Valentine’s Day! On that note, yes, it’s a pretty intimate place… more for couples and small groups than a large loud group. Eek! I’ll be back!

The décor alone deserves 5 stars. When you first walk in, you think you’ve transported 200 miles north to an exclusive you-can-come-in-only-if-you’re-on-the-list Dallas lounge (if you’ve been to Sense in the Knox-​Henderson area of Dallas, you’ll understand my reference). Tall ceilings, dark woods and intimate seating areas in the bar area and you’ll have to check out the Dr. Seuss-​like garlic shaped lamps in the dining room.
Every surface seems to have its own unique texture and beware the 3-​D walls which can make you a bit dizzy if you stare too long. Try walking down the long hall to the bathroom after a couple of sakes, pretty in pink «martinis» or Kirins and you’ll see what I mean. ;-)
I’ve been here twice and I’ve got to say, it was pretty desolate both times. The bartender said that they do have busy times, but there’s no distinct pattern.
If you’re going to go, try going during happy hour (5 – 7 pm, I think). The $ 5 appetizers alone make it worth the visit. Try the sesame scallops and sirloin yakitori, my favorites…
The staff is really nice and friendly and overall, I can’t wait to go back – maybe happy hour today on my way home from work.