Kirin II Japanese Seafood Buffet

This is one of my favorite sushi buffet in Houston, TX. There are many varieties of sushi of your choice. Hand rolls are made freshly. Beside sushi, there are hot cook items and delicious seafood. Service is always great.

This buffets had a great spider roll. The best. I try a lot of place, I find this has the best roll I love, other food is ok

3.5. Mom’s advice: don’t go into this thinking you’re eating Japanese food because you’ll be disappointed. Go into it thinking that you’re eating food, and you’ll be alright.
This place could use a facelift. I can’t get over the 1990s cafeteria vibe here. But hey, I’m not here to eat atmosphere, right?
This is one of those restaurants with a mild case of identity crisis. Kirin is Japanese in lip service, owned by Chinese, and accompanied by Korean banchan and pedestrian «Chinese buffet» dishes.
Make sure you get your hands on the disappearing portions of «teriyaki steak,» which are marinated and grilled short ribs. Meaty and tender, this is the best bang for your buck and done well. Some seafood items are superior to others! Mussels baked with stuff on top were not very appealing to eat, but Korean octopus was tasty.
Another Unilocaler said to trust this place because of an «overwhelming Japanese clientele” — I beg to differ. Just like their food looks like an Asian economic convention, Asian people are there, but not necessarily Japanese. (Lots of Chinese.)
Beware of the sushi rolls! Copious amounts of rice on sushi rolls are meant to sink you. However, rice quality and consistency are surprisingly decent for a sushi buffet owned by non-​Japanese people!
Not sure I would pull out the stops to eat dinner here, but at 12.95 for lunch, I would swing by again.

Seafood is something I would gladly eat daily, raw is certainly no exception. I would call myself a glutton for sashimi more than an aficionado. I will gladly pass by the flashy place for the one in the basement of some building in a dicey alley.
Kirin has an overwhelming Japanese clientele. The only sushi house on 1960 that I know of that is this frequented by Japanese diners. That should clue you in. Dinners and weekends it can get very busy.
This is set up in buffet fashion, but don’t let it deter you. It is far beyond the quality of a buffet.
If this is your introduction to more traditional Japanese fare, you may not do so well. There are some dishes that may be less than appealing to the American palate at first glance. But with an open mind, and a global stomach you won’t be disappointed.

Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait a damn minute. You can barely call this a buffet. Moved to this part of town 3 months ago. Found 2 places we like. One we liked so much, we have gone 4X. During the entire time I understood this place has always had higher stars. So g/​f received her Christmas bonus, decided to celebrate a bit. So let’s hit the best-​rated buffet.
Big mistake.
First the selection is down right disappointing. Mabye had 20 options. 80% of that is seafood. They do have all you can eat crab legs, but it is cold. Still good, but I much prefer warm. We both found ourselves eating dinner to appetizers. The shrimp and vegitable tempura. Hey if you love Sushi, this is the place for you. You have to try it. It is really good sushi. But for $ 24 a person, I wanted a true blue buffet. This was not that.
Down the road less than .2 miles is E Star. They have 4X the buffet space. Modern, updated visual appeal. Not to mention almost as much Sushi. They do have crab legs also, but the fried ones that get you all messy.
So I am hitting this place hard because it had poor selection, outdated restaurant, and WAY overpriced for the selection you get. If you love sushi, this might be the best restaurant in North Houston. But man if you are not a die-​hard fish fan, you are going to wish you had choosen something a bit different.

This Japanese buffet in Willowbrook is solid, solid, solid. As noted before, one must be especially cautious of Asian buffet sushi. However, I came here for a weekday work lunch and was pleasantly surprised to find an aesthetically pleasing array of rolls and sushi. The sushi was fresh, cut cleanly, plentiful (they kept all their good sushi well stocked) and presented well. There are standout rolls, such as the Ki rin roll, tempura rolls, and the kiwi roll. In addition, your standard sushi selection –salmon, tuna, shrimp, and red snapper were quite fresh. This place beats Tokyo One by a long shot.
In addition, they have a decent Korean selection, including octopus, kimchi, and seaweed. I also liked their soups, flounder, fried chicken, soba, and short ribs. The service is quite attentive and friendly, and keep your drinks filled up. The lunch price (12.95 on weekdays) is a bargain, if you fill up on sushi and rolls. Left me feeling quite satisfied! Will come again soon.

I’m reluctant to give this buffet 3 stars but I will anyway because the service was actually pretty good on my recent visit. To me, this is your run of the mill asian buffet and they don’t really even have all that many items to choose from.
For a weeknight, the price is just too high for what you get and should be a few dollars less. Even the weekend buffet price is just $ 1 more, so that should tell you something.
The best bets for me were the:
Clams
Short ribs
Green beans
Sashimi
I don’t plan on coming back anytime soon.

Kirins is on of the best sushi places in Houston. They have good costumer service, really good food and for a good price. Oh this place is a buffet, they have a lot of variety of sushi rolls. This place is A MUST IN YOUR LIST.

Came in for lunch. Ehhh… No sashimi options. Asked for a spider hand roll and told that’s only for dinner. Asked if they could do a spicy salmon. Nope. They offered spicy tuna or shrimp tempura. Pass. Sushi rice tasted a little off to me. The crawfish roll was kani! Hot food was okay. Only place I know that chops their baked mussels! Tempura batter waaaay too thick on the veggies, but fine on the shrimp.
I think this place used to be better; it’s been a while for me. Mayhaps the dinner selection is more satisfying.

We were happy with the service but our satisfaction only last about 2 hours after that.
We went there for Saturday dinner and paid about $ 55 for an all night suffering.
We had sashimi, crabs, roasted duck, quail and other cooked food. I quite like the noodle.
After leaving Kirin, we stopped by a few places to shop. But after about 2 hours, food poisoning kicked in. I started to throw up and spent 30 minutes in the restrooms in Wal-​mart and a few other places. My husband had the same when we got home. Both of us spent time in the restroom all night. We slept on the bathroom floor because neither of could make it back to bed. He occupied one bathroom and I occupied the other. We are still in pain but the vomiting has stopped.
It was the only meal I had yesterday so it was definitely from them.
Will never go back again. I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone.

Another 5 star visit. Excellent quality sushi. Unlike other customers, I only eat the sushi. I do not bother with the other items in the buffet.
Sushi is bigger in size and well prepared. Servers R attentive and quality of food is fresh and good.
They have the best salmon sushi and the Norwegian role which is from salmon also. Their seaweed salad is one of the best in the city and their tuna sushi is amazing also.
They have a big selection seafood for dinner and a huge selection of dessert. They also take special orders for sushi. The owner is friendly and comes to greet her customers.
On weekends, it gets very busy during lunch hour and the servers are handing out tickets for wait time.
The have a wide variety of sushi in one side and the other side has tons of other oriental dishes. Try their beef teriyaki and their calamari is pretty tasty also.
They have a soup section also.

Kirin is very delicious and filling! Not only is there a wide variety of sushi, but there are plenty of other options if that’s not what you’re in to. Everything from the skewers to the miso soup was delicious, and the tiramisu bites are fantastic!
We arrived in the middle of the lunch rush but didn’t have to wait more than 10 minutes to be seated. The atmosphere is very moderate, so you can go dressed up or in gym shorts and not feel out of place. Certainly worth the lunch price (~$ 13 – 15), but dinner prices will add an extra $ 10 a person.

Finally decided to try out this place and I can definitely say, I’ll come back again! The staffs are very attentive and the place overall was very clean.
Sushi was of good quality! They had more selections of sushi and rolls than I anticipated so that’s a plus. The hot food side also had a diverse selection to choose from. Next time though, I think I will come in for lunch, I don’t mind paying the $ 13 bucks difference but I only had one snow crab leg so basically I went there for the sushi
All in all, I definitely recommend.

Food was ok, there was nothing so special about this place besides the fact that they serve buffet. I had better Japanese buffet before. To be honest, their Japanese options were not that good, they did have variety of sushi and sashimi, but those were not really up to par. Of course you can not ask for real fresh fish if you decide to eat at a buffet, well. One of the things that turned me off was food tongs were pretty filthy, their handles were slippy, restaurant staff should check on that more often and change the tong if necessary. Some of the rolls I remember they offer were: California roll, Houston roll, shrimp tempura rolls, spicy tuna, and assorted raw fish (tuna, salmon, …). Others Jap related: seaweed salad, octopus salad, edamame, udon.
On the other hand, I liked their Chinese options more but with the price I had to pay for dinner, well, I could have Chinese buffet at any where else and of course too much cheaper. Dessert and food station were the only thing that up to par, in my opinion. Fresh fruit that offered were fresh and sweet.
HINT: they have green tea and plum ice cream, but you have to ask waitress for this.

I give this place five starts depending on five things: Service, Food, Quality, Cleanliness, and Appeal.
The service was alright, but the fact that I only needed them to replenish my tea was why I gave it a star. Every time I finished, they’d ask me if I wanted some more or if they were busy with another customer, waving them down and requesting for more resulted in quick service.
The food, in overall, was good. The quality of the fish did not taste frozen, and if t was, they made a nice job of covering it up and make it taste fresh. The fish practically melts in your mouth. The rice is not mushed but falls apart too quickly and yet it still holds it shape long enough for it to be placed in the mouth. The miso soup is great as well. Nice and hot, awesome for the winter if anyone eats here. Although everything is great, some of the food could tone down on the saltiness, but then again, it may just be the soy sauce they use. One star for this section.
The quality of the food, as stated, is very good. Fresh, sharp, and warms the soul. I ate a few dishes that have not been welcomed to in other restaurants: Grilled Saba Fish. This delicious fish can be eaten with steam rice but I prefer it by itself. The Saba Fish is small, which makes the bones small but soft, so if you manage to swallow some, wash it down with some hot tea and you’ll be fine! It was grilled nicely, perfectly so that it wasn’t burned but then it wasn’t raw. Just perfect. The Saba Fish isn’t easy to cook either, so doing such a wonderful job at cooking this deserves a star in quality. So much care is put into the food.
As many people can say, if the bathroom isn’t clean, then the kitchen isn’t clean. The bathroom is so clean! It’s like someone’s mother cleaned it. Turn up the lights though, the hallway to the bathrooms makes it seem like the grudge was going to kill me! One star for cleanliness!
The overall appeal of the restaurant was alright. The seating was arranged in a way that people wouldn’t hit eat other, and it never became crowded. The food appeal was rather nice. Some of dishes called to me and said,” Eat me. Now.” So yes. One star for this.

I recommend coming here if your in the mood for a good buffet! I wished they had more choices for sushi, but from what they had, it tastes great! It gets pretty busy during Kung hours but worth it. It’s pretty much like any Chinese/​Japanese buffets. You see a lot of the same things but I must say there’s a lot more flavors to the food here!

I can’t add too much more than other reviewers. I’ve been coming here for years since I’ve lived in Cypress. Whenever I am back visiting my parents, we usually make a trip out to here. We’ve come so often that the managers/​owners recognize my family.
Nothing can compete with their lunch buffet prices. At dinner though, they have king crab legs– which are delicious.
Food: Sushi isn’t the absolutely best quality out there, but for this area, it is. And for the price! So good. Nigiri and sushi. Other non-​sushi options: rice, veggies, meat, seafood, soup. All great!!! Ice cream, too– on request.
Service: Always very friendly, efficient. Can’t ask for too much more.
Ambiance: The outside is very unassuming. Inside, it can be packed– especially on weekends. The place doesn’t have anything too memorable in way of decorations. They have a private dining room area for large parties. Two large dining rooms with tables. Two buffet lines– one for sushi, one for all other non-​sushi. This place is pretty casual, laid-​back.
Overall, absolutely love Kirin and totally recommend for sushi lovers!

This is our go to buffet in «Houston»; it is over half an hour to get here from the medical center but worth it! I definitely recommend lunch since it is over a $ 10 difference for dinner! I’ve dined during both hours and will say come to dinner if you like king crab legs, oysters, sashimi, Spider Rolls, and complimentary ice cream, otherwise save your money and dine during lunch. Oh, and if you live/​work nearby the buffet is $ 1.50 cheaper during the week with Saturday, Sunday, and Holidays costing $ 13.95.
Kirin II offers so many things that you almost have to have a game plan. I start off on the sushi side filling my plate with at least a piece of each roll offered, raw/​hot sushi (my favorite being the Smoked salmon), tamago, and seaweed salad. Then I head on over to the hot line and fill up on as much as I can there. My favorite offerings are the perfectly fried pieces of calamari, fried shrimp, fried/​grilled fish, fried tofu, and Korean BBQ, and their long beans. Then, I go back for hand-​rolls on the sushi side, and go back to the hot side to get soup, typical hot and sour or egg drop soup. However, Kirin II also offers make your own udon noodle! Bowls of udon are provided, and there is a dispenser for the broth and a side station for green onions and seaweed. I repeat with more hot food choices but also try their other cold food section where you can find soba noodles, tofu and other typical Asian starters. Then I finish with a couple rounds of dessert, which is kind of all over. My favorite red bean filled sesame buns are on the hotline, then I go to where they have the cakes and cream puffs to get my favorite mini coconut tartlets and fruit. Lastly, I finish off with some red bean soup by the udon station, and some more coconut tartlets, or if coming for dinner the green tea ice cream.
Overall, I really love the service and choices provided at this all you can eat buffet. My only comment is their sushi rice isn’t the best, kinda hard and lacks that balance of sweet/​vinegar of sushi rice. However, they kindly warn you to «Please eat what you get. Wasting food (especially sushi rice) may incur extra charge.» So, if you can eat a butt ton of sashimi then you might actually get your money’s worth at dinner instead!

An all you can eat Japanese feast for just $ 14 on Sunday afternoon? What a score!
Kirin II Japanese Seafood Buffet provides a pretty wide spread of food from noodle soups to salads to cooked dishes, and last but not least, sushi. All this while still keeping an eye on some quality control so while it won’t be the best sushi ever, it’s still going to be fairly decent too especially for a buffet.
Standout dishes I remember include the soba noodle salad, the octopus salad, the bean sprout kimchee, salmon nigiri, fried mackerel, and glazed fried salmon. Some of the sushi rolls might have gone past the tipping point of inventive (one had slices of kiwi around it) but for the most part, are pretty good. Plenty of choices to go through so you can always try something new on your return to the buffet.
We got in slightly before noon but the restaurant really filled up 30 minutes later. Our friendly server, Jacky, took really great care of us and made sure our plates were cleared speedily and our water glasses constantly filled. Overall, Kirin II Japanese Seafood Buffet provided a lovely spread for a leisurely lunch coupled with great service and reasonable prices.

Arch rival of Tokyo One (now called Tokyo Japan)! This place does a good job competing with them. Although Kirin’s is smaller than Tokyo Japan, they serve just about the same food during lunch except for ramen, udon, and a few others.
Lunch buffet is spectacular. The food ranges from calamari, egg rolls, raw sushi, cooked sushi, and much much more. For a price (less than $ 15 total), you really can’t go wrong with an all you can eat sushi buffet.
My last experience here was pretty good and I ate until it hurt. I’ll be sure to do the same next time.