Shimako Sushi Bar

I am not sure why this place is getting so many low reviews, I have been there 3 times now over the last month and find it to be one of the best Sushi restaurants in town.
The place is very trendy, nice bar area and the sushi chef is wonderful.
The owner/​manager is very personable and attends to all of your needs.
I absolutely recommend this place to anyone looking for good sushi in a trendy environment.

Shimako is like that guy/​girl you first meet that is handsome/​gorgeous and dresses sharp/​cute, but as soon as he/​she opens his/​her mouth, you realize he/​she lacks a brain. Shimako has all the right elements to make it a successful restaurant — good location, trendy ambiance, top-​notch (borderline desperate) service, but it lacks the most important element… good food!
Like others before me, I only came because I had a
certificate. The yellowtail was sour and the escolar tasted like a sponge. The skin on the hamachi kama was not crispy at all and when I asked for ponzu sauce, it was served with soy sauce with scallions. The tempura ice cream tasted okay, but the ice cream was halfway melted when I got it. The only thing I liked was the chopped scallop handroll, because there was a generous amount of scallop and masago.
The prices were pretty up there too. For the same price in the same area, but better and fresh sushi, drive down the street to Ginza or Teppay.

For some reason this place is always empty. Better than some of the sushi places I’ve been. I had the
coupon so I ordered a lot of food. $ 60 worth for 2 people to consume. Everything was tasty, and the service was nice. He took care of the coupon right when we sat. Like the others said, this place is desolate. Décor is contemporary and a small bar in the front. I recommend!

Best Sushi in Houston. seriously. if you want atmosphere, go to Uptown, if you want girls go to Kona. if you want cheap go to Koto’s. but if you want it all, go to Shimako’s… Not only is the Sue Chef Mexican, but he lived in Japan for 7 years!!! Now that is what I call QUALITY! oh and did I mention they have HUKAH?

I live near Shimako and have been several times for Happy Hour; however, if you stay after be prepared to pay Uptown prices in a hole in the wall place. No matter how early I have gone, and little I have eaten, the bill is always $ 35+ for Happy Hour. They do have a large portion of VERY good Miso Soup, but the other items tend to be over priced. The trendy décor doesn’t fit the location in a shopping center next to a Wal-​Mart. The service is slightly lacking considering each time I have been there are only 1 or 2 other tables.
If you’re in the mood for mediocre sushi in a nice quiet venue then this is your place. If you want good sushi for a night out, then try somewhere else.

so i was completely in the mood for some GREAT sushi after work (on memorial day… booo) and 713 didnt open until 4:30 (it was 4:09). i can be pretty impatient at times and didnt want to wait, so i went to Shimako’s for the first time and oredered to-​go. The place is very nice. Contemporary décor. The waitress that took my order was nice as well. she even brought me water while i waited for my food.
i got home and i was pretty disappointed with the rolls. I donno if it was the rice or the fish that had been sitting out for way too long. over all, not good.
maybe it was just MY rolls on THAT day that were bad… i guess i will never find out. For $ 12 a roll i would expect something way better…
i’ll stick to 713’s happy hour specials. :)

Shimako. Sushi without the formality. I went to Shimako for 1 reason, and one reason only. I had a $ 25
coupon, and I can put away some mad sushi. For a Saturday night, this place was dead. There was only one other person there. Eventually 6 other people came in, but not what you would call a crowd. The service was nice, but a bit slow considering I was the only customer there.
On my plate this evening:
Salmon Roe $ 4 — Served 3 ways, wasabi infused, soy infused, and regular. Pretty standard. Not out of this world, but not bad.
Alamo Hand roll $ 3 — fried jalapeño, cream cheese, mmmm yummy
Torpido Hand Roll $ 3.5 — I can’t remember what was in this, but it was pretty tasty.
Chopped scallops Hand Roll $ 3.5 — chunks of scallops inside the roll. Yummy!
Octopus Sushi $ 4 — Pretty standard, nothing exciting.
Las Vegas Roll $ 10 — This one was awesome. Tempura battered roll filled with salmon and cream cheese. I know it’s not traditional, but I like-​y like-​y.
Ice cream Roll $ 7 (I was only charged $ 3) — Vanilla ice cream rolled in very thinly sliced pound cake topped with strawberries, kiwi slices, and chocolate sauce.
I’ve gotta say, this place was pretty good for looking like a deserted hole in the wall. The sushi was fairly tasty, ranking way better in taste than Kyoto’s in Austin, and about the same as Osaka on Bellaire, but definitely no Uchi. With my gift certificate, my bill came out to $ 9.03 after tax. That’s pretty dang cheap in my book.

The other two reviews pretty much say it all. Bad Service, Overpriced Food. Expect your order to be messed up and to pay a lot for being let down.

Apparently Shimako is a japanese word which means give all your money and smile while you do it.
I was flying down Westheimer around lunchtime and noticed a sign for a Sushi Bar I have never seen before. HMMM… I thought it might be nice to capitalize on some Tuna’s misfortune. Turned out I was about to get rolled! Look, I have no issue dropping money on good food, especially Sushi. BUT… It has to be good Sushi.
I was told that sitting outside is not possible for Sushi. Huh? Are you kidding me?
The décor in this place is what I call generic-​trendy. It looks nice and is totally devoid of atmosphere. Literally, you walk in and feel nothing.
The Escolar was TERRIBLE! (Can you catch that in Lake Conroe?) It didn’t even look right and tasted worse.
The Rainbow Roll was actually served in one of the most beautiful presentations of Sushi I have ever seen. It had absolutely ZERO taste. Nothing! Nada!
The only two bright spots were the Miso soup and the Spicy Tuna Hand rolls. The get no points for that because, seriously, how can you screw up Miso Soup? I had them make the hand rolls special. (Chunky Style, the only way to eat them) So no points for those either.
To top it off, my lunch was in the $ 40 range. No kidding!
Nothing to see here folks. Move on!!!
This is Houston. You can stand on any corner, throw a rock and hit a place that serves better Sushi for much less.