Coco’s Yakitori/Sushi Bar

Coco’s is to the Houston sushi scene what dive bars are to Washington Ave. By that I mean: If you care more about how a restaurant looks than the food itself, then skip Coco’s. Coco’s is substance over style, and that’s just fine for me.
I’ll be honest — the décor is awful. I have no defense to that except to say: THANK GOD there’s a high-​end sushi place in Houston where I can come in jeans, flip-​flops, and with a raging hangover and nobody will look twice. By the way, Coco’s also has a karaōke room, complete with flashing disco lights. So random, but I love it!
All those people saying the service is terrible are the same people who expect servers to return constantly just to say «Are you ok?» Listen, guys, this is only necessary if the server has gone to a completely different area — which isn’t the case in Coco’s because it’s TINY! Either the owner or your server are within 15 feet of all the tables at any given time and respond well to being flagged down.
The rolls are delicious and generously proportioned. I’ve tried the New York (crunchy), Dylan (a little spicy), and Mt. Fuji (baked) rolls and enjoyed them all; I also tried the Kid Rock roll and wasn’t so much a fan — it was a little too bland for me. I’ve been there twice in the last week and both times, the fish was wonderfully fresh and high-​quality. This makes a big difference to me — it seems like a lot of the places serving «fusion» rolls around town use the non-​traditional ingredients to mask the fact that the fish is lower-​quality or that it’s been frozen for months.
Coco’s in three words: Informal, delicious sushi. I love it!

Sushi: Nothing bad, but nothing notable.
Ambiance: This is where the review goes south… I’m in a Japanese restaurant but there is this giant poster of that naked guy that is really reminiscint of European art or medical stuff. And then there are these christmas lights. And then there are Valentine’s balloons at the front even though I went at the end of February.
I’m almost confused by the atmosphere instead of getting an atmosphere that puts me in any mood. Not to mention the cheap feeling of the inside. The concrete floor and the cheap tables did not give me a nice restaurant feel at all, which is kind of expected for joints like this that serve alcohol.
Service: Super slow, despite the thin crowd. We had a young server who really was more interested in talking to his girlfriend than taking care of our table. It seemed the owner was also more interested in socializing with friends rather than paying attention to customers.
I also felt the place had an unpleasant odor.
The only reason you might want to go to this place is because they have a side room that can accomodate 15 – 20 people easily. I think that area has a karaōke machine.
This is NOT the right spot for a romantic date, and definitely not a good first date experience. While they serve some beers and sake, they do not have a fully stocked bar and my date asked for a certain beer (either Guiness or Heineken) and they didn’t carry it (even though whatever he ordered is a popular beer) so they gave him some über Japanese brand of beer instead.

Blink and you might miss it, but if you are up for a change from your typical Houston «sushi club» I would certainly give it a go. I have frequented Coco’s for years — even when they were at the old Fountainview location. Sure, the atmosphere is well… eclectic, the service is deliberate to put it lightly and you get your fair share of «house music» but the sushi is bang up. Mama herself is very nice and you will likely end up with some free low end sake. Hey, if it’s complimentary I say party on!
If you order off menu, I would definitely give the J Roll — (spicy tuna and avocado base) and Mt. Fuji — (I believe white fish, baked flying fish eggs and an amazing spicy mayo) a try. For those who like crunch, go with the NY Roll (shrimp, crab meat, crunch and spicy mayo). All of the specialty roll are very generous portions and even the standard one note rolls are are larger than typical. If anything, you will not leave hungry.
Note, ask if LT is working there. He is a hit or miss regular chef at the establishment and will make many off list specialty rolls that are worth trying, so it is worth the ask.

Total. Montrose. Flavor.
I understand that this place is a bit… odd. Random. Aloof. Weird. But take a look at the street you are on. You’re in Montrose, people! It’s perfect!
I don’t recommend the complimentary edamame. Def con dry the night we were there. However, the value for the roll you are getting is pretty spot on. I was the one who had the sheet and pen during our dining experience and didn’t quite know how large the rolls were. When the 5 rolls showed up, The owner was a little skeptical about whether or not we would be able to polish them off.
The stand out of the night for me was for sure the J roll. If you can’t handle raw fish, stay away but not only was it delicious but the roll itself was very generous in size. The Mount Fuji gets an honorable mention with what i can only describe as special sauce drizzled all over it. Delish.
Now, if you are offered sake on the house — have some. But know that it’s the little brother of rubbing alcohol warmed up. Gang bei!

The proprietor of this sushi restaurant is very charming, and you might get a kick out of hanging out in the random dining area slash playland. Yes, playland. We had a fun time chatting with Mami, but we just didn’t really enjoy the food.
It’s expensive for what it is.

It’s been a while since I’ve gone here but I remember the service from Mama and the crazy stuff inside the restaurant… especially the karaōke room!
Yes it’s true, it is possible that you get free sake because I sure did (several times)! Mama is such a sweetie! There were some unusual entrees to choose from when my girl friend and I went and that’s exactly what we ordered since we felt adventurous. So food-​wise for us, it was hit or miss since we never really had any of these entrees before. I remember they were having trouble establishing a sushi chef. But, the sushi was decent too.
It’s in the heart of Montrose which I have a special place in my heart for. *cheesy smile*

This has gotta be one of the worst decorated places in the area with some pretty slow service but it’s definitely worth a go for any one who hasn’t tried it.
We went on a Thursday to watch (and only watch!) some karaōke that apparently starts at 9pm. However, no one was brave enough to kick off the festivities while I was there so we had to entertain ourselves. A bottle of warm sake and a few laughs later, and we were having a great time when Mami came by and took it to a whole new level. She is funny and quirky and loves to see people having a great time, which I love. By the way, Mami’s views on the subject of karaōke are pretty hilarious.
As for the sushi, it did take a long time for the order to come out but the horribly named Kid Rock Roll and the J-​roll were the table pleasers. The Nagehami was by far the blandest.
3.3 stars.

Back when I used to live out near the area I would come here often because of convenience. I really can’t remember when was the last time. I will say that they do have fair prices, good New York rolls, and a very nice host/​owner. She is very friendly and attentive. I remember getting Sake on the house from this lovely woman.
I Can’t say this place has the best sushi in town but if you’re around and not in the mood for pricey upscale sushi this will hit the spot. As I said, the New York and Spider rolls are my favorites here.
Parking is sufficient considering this place never really gets packed. The restaurant reminds me of a Japanese disco karaōke joint. Don’t come in with high expectations. It is what it is.

Love Love this place! The sushi is great and the service is fast. The owner Mami, is very sweet and always comes over to check on us. Coco’s is so close to home for me that its where we always go if sushi is involved. Get to know your waitstaff/​sushi chefs and you wont regret it!
Best thing… free sake!

Coco’s is my favorite place for sushi in Houston.
Ok, the interior is a little strange, but I think given the location and the neighborhood that it is quite fitting. If you can get past the concrete floors, and the overall unfinished look to this place and look toward the sushi offerings, you too will vow to make this a regular stop.
As Farrah mentioned earlier, everyone gets complimentary edamame, and if you drink, usually some sake too.
But really, if you’re going out to eat sushi, chances are you don’t care about free — it’s more likely that you care about fresh, and Coco’s is definately serving some of the freshest and best tasting sushi I’ve ever had in ALL of Houston. Try the Hamachi, I swear to God it’s the absolute best. It is delicious and icebox cold. I always order this. As far as the rolls go, ask Mami what the specials are that evening. These are normally winners.
If you are gonna whine about splitting checks, well I guess that’s legit. For me whenever I go out to eat with friends, just as a rule of thumb I always bring change. Inevitably the «El Cheapo» of the group will not have enough or have to charge it, so at least this way, I know I don’t ever overpay or cover for the mooches among us. ;)

I’ve been on the hunt for a new neighborhood sushi restaurant since my prior favorite decided to turn to the dark side. Though I’d never been in, I thought that maybe Coco’s might fill that void since I’d heard interesting things about the place and it wasn’t that much farther from my apartment. After having finally visited with a friend this past Friday, I kinda doubt Coco’s will be taking the crown after all. In my opinion, there’s a fine line between «quirky charm» and «bare-​assed crazy». Coco’s definitely crosses too far into the latter.
Walking in, it does smell enticing – the yakitori grill was hoppin’ and the smell of meat, meat, meat was definitely in the air. I soon realized that the delicious scents weren’t wafting naturally toward our waiting noses, but were being propelled there by an industrial-​style floor fan. Hmm, puzzling, especially considering it’s not that hot out yet, but I guess I can deal. My friend and I moved toward a table to seat ourselves but then realized it was covered in plastic wrap, unused. Well… okay. We decided to sit somewhere else and realized we were abutting a plastic playhouse. Getting the idea?
Coco’s is just plain strange. Its bare concrete floors make it feel as if this place should be called Sushi Warehouse. The back quarter of the restaurant is used for what looks like storage instead of seating. Perhaps Coco’s is also a Public Storage alternative? I just felt like I was eating in someone’s messy front living room, which they’d haphazardly turned into a restaurant. The indifferent service only served to confirm my suspicions.
As for the food itself – it was decent. The fish itself on the nigiri was very tasty and cut thick, but it was heaped onto huge portions of rice that didn’t have the sweet, distinctive flavor of sushi rice and just tasted like the regular sticky variety. My spicy tuna roll was good, and the California roll was equally decent, but after all the strange lead-​up, we were less than enthused.
A totally weird experience. After paying (with our non-​split check) we grabbed a dum-​dum from the huge offering plate by the door, fled the scene, and vowed to take cold showers.

After bookmarking Coco’s some time last year, I finally got around to trying it out this past Thursday and it was everything I had hoped it would be. I didn’t come for the sushi and although what sushi we did order was great, the yakitori is amazing.
After a couple of Sapporo’s our order started coming out. First, shitaki mushrooms. By far my favorite! The flavor is amazing and the mushrooms almost tasted like they had a crunch but were soft on the inside. I could have just eaten the mushrooms alone.
The yakitori (chicken) was delicious as well and tasted just like a restaurant that I ate at in Tokyo. The pork dumplings were my third favorite.
I also met the owner that I’ve read other reviewers mention, Mami. She is fantastic and made the experience so much more enjoyable. We talked about Japan and about her struggle in coming to the States from Japan to start a business. To top it all off she gave my date and I some hot saki on the house.
Nothing was going on with the karaōke while I was there but I will definitely check it out next time. This place is just too cool not to come back too.

So Ive been to one of the «Gucci-​est» sushi places in Houston… I must say, the amount of money spent being Gucci is not worth is when I can walk a couple of blocks and get fresh sushi at Coco’s. Love the owner. She’s very pleasant to us when we come in… I think she has a school girl crush on my boyfriend which I definitely benefit from as well lol Ive had their Yakitori and the CHICKEN SKIN IS TO DIE FOR. OMG. The escolar is soooo fresh and yummy. and the FATTY ZEBRA STRIPED salmon (Sake) is always good…
Haven’t really tried the rest of the menu items and I know there’s a karaōke part of the restaurant. I just cant get over the grilled chicken skin on a skewer part… wow.

This particular address/​location has seemed to be unlucky for a lot of places as I’ve seen a good 3 or 4 places come and go within the span of a year. Coco’s on the other hand has stuck around for quite a while now, so I figured it must have something going for it.
But, as it turns out, my visit there today was more as a result of circumstance than by choice. I originally had planned to meet folks at another place nearby but failed to get a message that they were elsewhere, so my small lunch group ended up here instead, and we were quite pleased. Started off with complimentary edamame which was unexpected but welcome of course. Then we split 4 rolls between the three of us, and they were all quite good. The Mt Fuji in particular was very tasty, and the Tiger Eye was great as well. Some of the rolls were a little heavy on the cream cheese but I’ve never said no to a little extra cream cheese :) The service was very polite and prompt, with the exception of when we needed our check, though when we started looking around one of the sushi chefs immediately signaled for our check.

I come here just for yakitori and karaōke. This is one of the coolest place to go and hang out. Yakitori is very good esp. with some beer or sake. If you come here, try all the yakitori (chicken skin) yummii…
If this place was in a better location and have more parking, I think this place will be super busy…
As for every1 that say the food come out slow, it alway come out fast for me.
The lil old lady is the best. 5stars for her customer service alone.

The GF wanted sushi since she always passes a ton of places on the way to work. So, while she’s serving Luby’s to the Czech Ambassadors (Note: Luby’s = bad choice) I scour Houston Unilocal for a nearby, and delicious spot, and Coco’s is where the magic finger lands.
This place is crazy cool, in large part due to Mami (not mine). «Hai, hai, hai, hai, hai» she says in response to «hi» or «we’ll have the veggie tempura».
The sushi was not the best I’ve ever had, but it was good and reasonably priced. The yakitori was good and was a good portion as well. The only complaint is that the mushrooms were just WAY too salty, and we had to stop after one each.
I’ll definitely be back when i swing through Houston again.

«Do or do not! There is no try! Come here, you must! HRMMM!!!» Mami, aka Japanese Yoda.
Just for the comedy factor alone, I would return to Coco’s! Mami, the Japanese lady (owner?), was so accommodating to us and managed to entertain us the whole time we were there. We came here solely for Yakitori, but Mami managed to give us a few suggestions for other items, including some off menu items.
Our favorite item from our entire order ended up being the hamachi collar. Just thinkin about it makes my mouth water! It was perfectly cooked so that the fish flaked just right when you stuck your fork in it. It was also seasoned well. My friend and I devoured it quickly. If I were to recommend one specialty item from this restaurant, it would be this!
We also ended up ordering a few nigiri pieces, which I was originally apprehensive about due to the bad reviews here on Unilocal.However, my friend is a brave soul and a sushi-​junkie so we ended up ordering a few salmon, mackerel, and tuna pieces. We were both surprised at how FRESH they were! I’d have to say they actually came out fresher than all the sushi I’ve had this week (and this was my 5^th sushi joint).
When we finished our meal, Mami ended up giving us two complimentary bottles of hot sake (instead of one) which we polished off properly. I’d like to think it was because Mami had a slight crush on my friend, whom she appeared fond of for looking Japanese. Lol.
Overall, possibly the best gustatory experience all week.

Hello. My name is Andrea R and I’m a sushi addict. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner… I’m ALWAYS craving my raw fish. However, the past few days I haven’t really had my desire for sushi… and I blame this on Coco’s.
This is one of those places I really wanted to love… funky atmosphere, they even have karaōke, etc. Would this be my new go to spot for sushi when traveling to Houston? Ummmm, no…
Our lunch meal started off OK with a huge bowl of miso soup– enough salt in there to bloat me for a week, but pretty tasty. And then came out the sushi/​sashimi that we ordered. We decided to go heavy on the tuna so there were was lots of raw tuna soon staring up at us… and apparently this was a mistake because the tuna just had a funky taste to it. I can’t actually describe the funky taste, but it just didn’t taste like the raw goodness I“m used to. We also got a yellowtail roll, which was better, but couldn’t quite get the funky tuna out of my mind. Oh, and the worst thing yet was the esocolar. melt in your mouth sashimi this was not! It was so tough I could hardly bite into it, which I took as a sign to put it down on my plate.
The 2^nd star is for the entertaining owner– now she is one cool granny. I was with Houston’s new Unilocal Community Manager, Farrah A, who kept calling the owner «mommy.» After spending 3 days with Farrah in Houston I realized the gal knows everyone in town, but figured she must really know Coco’s owner (who’s name I figured was Coco?) to keep calling her mommy! But by the end of the meal I realized granny’s name wasn’t Coco, but Mami… and while Farrah certainly does know everyone in town she saves that term of endearment for her own mother.
Mami– I love what you’ve done with the place and your spunk, but funky sushi is no good…

I went here on a date a while back, and a few things struck me as odd. This place was dead. I think there were maybe 5 other people in it on a Saturday night. This is very odd as I thought this part of Houston was supposed to be a hopping area.
The food was pretty standard sushi fare, with nothing to complain about. It was fresh and yummy. We had several rolls along with sashimi. Try the white fatty tuna. It is delicious!
The owner came out and gave us some plum sake, and chit chatted, which I thought was nice. My date was a musician and that brought the owner to tears — literally — and not in a bittersweet/​happy kind of way. Don’t ask about musicians. I’m serious.

Great sushi? Check. Large portions? Double check.
So previous reviews have already covered the dishes, so let’s talk about why people really come here: the environment and Mami, Coco’s spunky and humble front lady/​owner.
In typical Asian fashion, the eatery is a combination of multiple decorative themes. Vintage Coca-​Cola ice box, disco balls, Christmas tree lights, beaded curtains, Little Tykes car for the kiddies … You name it, Coco’s has it. It’s what attracts the eclectic Montrose area patrons.
Then there’s Mami. A lovable Japanese woman who works the front of the restaurant, bringing complimentary edamame and – more than oftentimes – a free bottle of sake if she notices that your party is drinking. And to top it off, each item she sets on the table is followed by her signature «HAI!»
I recommend this place to anyone, but I always forewarn that service is really slow, so don’t go with big parties or if you’re about to knaw your arm off.
And though it says «No» to child-​friendly, Mami is all about the kiddies. I brought my 8-​year-​old nephew to lunch here, and Mami came out from the back and surprised him with a spankin’ new toy. And when she’s not habitually yelling «HAI!» or treating patrons to free goods, you can find Mami standing out the front door to wave good-​bye to customers or even chasing them down for a hug.
You see, what they lack in waiters, they make up for in sincere customer appreciation.