Uchi

I have been to Uchi several times throughout the couple years that it has been open. Each time more outstanding than the last. The waiters are very knowledgable about every ingredient on every dish on the menu. I always leave ordering up to my waiter as I love to get a taste of everything. I like everything but you can inform your waiter on what you do not like and he will serve you accordingly.
I always start with the brussel sprouts. Even if you do not like brussel sprouts I can guarantee a 90% chance that your taste buds will thoroughly enjoy these. As I mentioned I usually leave ordering up to my waiter so I do not usually remember what I am eating but off the top of my head I highly recommend the Walu Walu, Hamachi Nabe, and hands down the best Foie Gras I have ever had in my entire life. I am not a huge dessert fan but the fried milk to conclude my meal is an absolute must every time as it is not too sweet.

Uchi has became one out of my most 3 favorite Japanese restaurants in Houston. I’ve been wanting to give it a try in so long and I finally made it there last saturday night after booking a reservation 2 weeks ahead (It was worth the wait, of course). We came on time at 8PM and had a table right away. Our server was Kenji, he was very nice and knowledgable .
We ordered total 12 courses, and all of them were insane. My most favorite were foie gras nigiri, hot rock and machi cure.
Highly recommend you to come here if you’re a huge fan of Japanese cuisine, because I am and Uchi nailed it.

Absolutely awful service. We have been loyal customers for years but will not be coming back. Overpriced sushi and terrible wait times. This place is completely overrated and overpriced. Do not waste your time coming here. Waited for three hours for a «1 hour» wait. Will not be returning. This place has gone quickly downhill.

As someone who was born and raised in Houston (the city New York Times calls «the most exciting place to eat») I’ve been to my fare share of amazing restaurants. But honestly, Uchi is my absolute favorite restaurant in this city. Haven’t tried one dish I didn’t drool over. Probably spend way too much money here (my boyfriend and I order almost the entire menu when we go… oops) but it’s oh so worth it. I always recommend Uchi to out of town friends… even printed out/​highlighted/​and color coded a menu for my friend who was going to take her parents there to help then decide what to order (a little overboard, but I’m a foodie what can I say). I mean just read the reviews. You’ll love it.
Cannot leave this restaurant without ordering: Shag roll, Bacon Tataki, Brussels Sprouts, Fried Milk (dessert)

I would NEVER go back. First, we called and they said there was no wait.
Okay, we step in five minutes later, and the hostess says there is a 30 – 50 minute wait. So we waited about an hour outside.
The food took an eternity to come out, and the portions are ridiculous and overpriced. We ordered the Alaskan King Crab and Caviar roll. Each little slice was $ 12 and $ 18, and the waiter brought two of each without asking how many we wanted.
Do the math.
We ordered more food later, a shrimp tempura spring roll and scallops, tab was $ 150. Our drinks were $ 12 each, and we got three.
The shishito peppers we wanted as appetizers were never brought out, and the place was UNCOMFORTABLY HOT. My husband told a waitress, and although she agreed it was hot, nothing was done about it.
I will never understand the hype or why this place has so many great reviews. If this is high quality sushi, I’ll pass!

I don’t think I need to say further more about this place as many people already have raved about Uchi.
I made a reservation here for Friday at 5:30 and we were seated right away. The waitress was extremely friendly and explained everything to us.
We ordered about 6 items from their social hour menu, 2 items from regular menu, and 1 from daily menu. This amount of food was more than enough for the two of us.
Each time brought they brought out each dish, they gave a detailed explanation about how it was prepared and we really appreciated that.
Few of our favorites were uchiviche, soft shell crab, machi cure, walu walu, nasu nigiri, and buta pea. Everything just melts in your mouth! We liked how they incorporated fruits into many of their dishes. Very refreshing!
We went to celebrate my husband’s birthday and the waitress brought out yokai berry dish as a gift! So sweet ;)
Also, fried milk is a must try! It’s an experience you will not regret!
Even if you can’t afford to spend so much $$ on one meal, you can definitely enjoy the experience by joining in for the social hour and order off of that menu. Portions are small, but your tongue will be dancing with such an intricate combination of flavors!

It’s impossible to put into words how amazing Uchi is. The food, staff, and service are all top notch, and I haven’t found a better sushi place anywhere in Houston. The chefs do an incredible job pairing simple ingredients together in combinations that you wouldn’t ever expect (yellowtail over orange slices, what?), but the tastes and presentation are always beyond perfect.
We sat at the wine bar and had incredible service, probably better than if we ate at a table, because he was like our own personal waiter. Our two MUST ORDER dishes are hama chili (previously mentioned yellowtail over orange), and the hot tastings hamachi nabe (yellowtail, koshi rice, farm egg, soy). There are so many incredible items on the menu that you really can’t go wrong! Just be sure to make a reservation weeks in advance, because it seems near impossible to get one within a few days. We normally walk in and wait for barstools to open up. There is also a sushi bar (reservations only), as well as a private room for larger and more intimate parties.
If you’re in Houston and want a high end food experience with a relaxed environment, go to Uchi. You won’t be disappointed.

It took me while to write this review because honestly I didn’t know if I wanted to write about the food or my new found love affair with this place. OMG BEYOND AMAZING! I mean where do I start I could tell you about the awesome service the moment we walked into the restaurant. I could tell you about how knowledgable the waiter was and how everything he suggested was superior. I could tell you how hip and modern this place is. I could tell you how fabulous the drinks are. I could sing to you about the food! I just don’t know where to start lol!!!
This is a dining experience like no other that I’ve experienced and if you haven’t been I don’t want to ruin it for you. The menu is simply flavor nation, the options are very unique so I had to ask tons of questions and the waiter was so helpful and made great recommendations. Everything we ordered was incredible. The deserts were very unexpected because Jesus was in the kitchen preparing the deserts!!! DIVINE!!! Fried milk… LORD… The fried milk…
GO GO GO, you welcome in advance :-)))

In my 9 years of Unilocaling, this is my 13^th 1 star review. It takes a lot to get a 1 star rating from me. I’m actually shocked. Head Sushi Chef Yoshi was incredibly rude, condescending, and really does not seem to be someone who cares about customers. Given I have worked in the restaurant industry in the past, I have a lot of respect and give the benefit of a doubt when things may be slow or go wrong at restaurants. I have so much love for chefs and people who create amazing food. However, I will never condone disrespect and rudeness.
I have a food instagram and recommended Uchi to many people in the past. When I recommend Uchi now, I will now be adding the caveat that I only recommend the locations in Austin and Dallas and not the one in Houston. I loved Uchi so much that it is actually what I put down in my Unilocal profile as «My Last Meal on Earth.» I have now added that caveat to not go to the one in Houston. So incredibly disappointing.

Sushi. The way to every woman’s heart… Ok– just mine :) HAHA I’ve been here plenty of times but haven’t had a chance to write a review until now.
First of all, Uchi has a BOMB HH if you aren’t trying to spend too much for their tastings. It’s a short period of time though. It’s from 5 – 6:30pm, but if you want to make it in I would get there at 4:30pm. They don’t open their doors until 5pm, but the wait is worth it. We got there at 5:15pm and grabbed the last table.
Their waitstaff is amazing. Always tentative and very knowledgeable about their sushi/​plates. Please don’t ruin your sushi with soy sauce. lol Trust me. It’s THAT fresh and amazing. Although this place is kind of pricy, I would say it’s worth it. Probably $ 150 per price with drinks depending on what you want to try.
Couple of my favorite HH dishes are the:
Ham and Eggs
Machi Cure
Spicy Crunchy Tuna
Uchiviche
Not on the HH menu:
Foie Gras — Melts in your mouth like butter — $ 9.5
Scallops — $ 4.5
Seared Escolar — $ 3.5
Brussels Sprouts
Uchi Salad
Dessert — FRIED MILK. Yes, I said it. FRIED MILK. So good you won’t want to share.
Although MF sushi still has my heart, Uchi is definitely up there.

FINALLY MADE IT TO THIS GLORIOUS RESTAURANT OMG.
Now that that’s done.
Did a six course tasting. Which is apparently for two people. I just about finished it. Shrug?
Signature Tasting:
fried milk
hama chili
hamachi nabe
maguro sashimi and goat cheese
walu walu
zero sen roll
It’s rare when everything is amazing, from the food, to the wine, to the service. Uchi has this down pat. Since it’s rosé season (call me a basic b all you want idc) I asked for help ordering one. I’m not a huge merlot fan, so I crossed that one off the list. I ended up ordering a pinot noir with floral notes. Floral over fruity. Every time.
¹⁰⁄₁₀ would eat again. Every day if I could afford it. Guess I’ll be visiting their elusive happy hour.
A little sad the fried brie I heard about is now off the menu, but I’ll find it somewhere.

Deliciousness galore!!!
Definitely sit at the sushi bar and watch the masters at work. Daniel San was sweet and there is a fish chef in the black coat. Presumably the most senior dude with the masterful knife skills who does all the sashimi cuts.
The social hour menu is definitely the best bang for your buck with tasting portions of their freshest fish and popular dishes. You should definitely show up like 5 to 5 if you want to ensure you get a spot.
Check out the photos for the food!
The uchiviche is the most beautiful: salmon + striped bass + tomatoes + bell peppers + yuzu sauce.
The kale and salmon — magnificent! Super crispy dinosaur kale on top of big thick slices of salmon sashimi, sprinkled with some crunchy spicy sauce (possibly quinoa? possibly peppercorn? possibly just minced red peppers) with chunks of asian pears.
Hama chili — hamachi on top of juicy clementines (orange supreme?). perfect amount of slices of fish to go with each piece of clementine. No clue what the little pebbly bits are… fish roe? but they were so translucent and yummy! The chili oil sauce was lovely too.
Machi cure — smoked fish. A little too salty for my taste. But the yucca chips it came with were excellent. Golden raisins were delicious and very dried fruit-​y. And generally it made for a nice «nacho» as others have put it.
Big eye tuna with goat cheese and fuji apple was a surprise delight and definitely the most beautifully crafted. Each slice of tuna on top of a splice of fuji along with a sprinkle of goat cheese!
Great sharing portions for the price. Or you could be me and get everything for yourself and have a $ 150 eight course meal…
We got the daily special dessert which was a coffee panna cotta like cup with passion fruit jelly or jam idk and crispy crumbles of caramel.
Honestly everything was outstanding. Super fresh and excellent. You can’t go wrong basically. Our neighbors got two orders of brussel sprouts and dayum they looked good.

Since opening, this outshoot of the beloved Austin restaurant has become a culinary Mecca for locals, celebrities, critics, and everyone in between. Situated in a star-​studded stretch of Westheimer, the building is low-​key and there’s complimentary valet out back. The inside is moody and elegant, from the antechamber made from stacked wooden planks, to the «bar» where you can watch master sushi chefs at work, to private and communal seating areas. It is notoriously difficult to get reservations, so either plan ahead or avoid peak hours. For more budget conscious individuals, there is a Sake Social each day from 5:00 — 6:30 PM where you can sample some of their most popular courses at a smaller scale (and cost) along with cheap beer and sake. There is typically a line, so make sure all members of your party are present as close to 5:00 as possible.
While renowned for incredible sushi and sashimi, Uchi’s menu has much more to offer in the form of hot and cool «tastings» as well as larger courses. The cuisine is far from traditional Japanese, opting for an avant-​garde approach to classic ingredients and preparations. You truly cannot go wrong. The dishes are consistently surprising, beautifully arranged, and incorporate the freshest of ingredients in unique ways. Here are my recommendations:
Uchiviche — Arguably my favorite offering on the menu, it’s basically Chef Cole’s take on ceviche. A refreshing mix of salmon and bass marinated in lime juice, golden cherry tomatoes, and bell pepper topped with cilantro. Sliced chilies give the mouthwatering dish a crisp finish.
Machi Cure — Buttery smoked yellowtail, wavy yucca chips, almonds, and juicy slices of pear. This dish is an explosion of flavor and texture. Use the crisps to get a little bit of everything in each bite.
Walu Walu — Grilled escolar with a beautiful sweet ginger-​soy glaze poured over top. The fish itself has a very distinct taste that is accentuated by the citrus. Funny note: humans can’t digest the wax coat of escolar properly, and it can act as a laxative in large quantities. So as tempting as it may be, don’t order more than a few of these!
Bacon Otoshi — I find it hard to resist the seafood dishes, so I often have to remind myself that Uchi has some exceptional meat options as well. Case in point, this astonishing savory mix of fatty pork belly, onions, and jalapeños drizzled in an orange kimchi sauce. Normally kimchi is not my cup of tea, but this version was tart and piquant. Doesn’t hurt when the pork melts in your mouth either.
Fried Milk — It’s an utter travesty if you dine here and don’t order at least one. This is a whimsical re-​imaging of breakfast, with little cornflake-​crusted pouches filled with milky custard, velvety mousse, and milk sherbet. Definitely in the running for my favorite all-​time dessert.
The nigiri and sashimi are to die for. The uni (sea urchin) disintegrates into briny nectar on your tongue, the unagi (eel) is soft and sweet, and the hotate (scallop) is delicate and smooth. I anxiously await the day I can reasonably afford the omakase, the multi-​course chef’s tasting. The servers are very knowledgeable about the dishes, although they can sometimes come across as hurried and robotic. Uchi definitely runs like a well-​oiled machine when it’s busy. Take your time and savor every bite!

Two weeks later after making a reservation through OpenTable – yes, it took 2 weeks to find a 6:30pm weeknight reservation – I finally stepped foot in the highly-​talked about and massively-​hyped walls of the great Uchi that Houston journalists love to rave about. But is it worth all of the hype?
The FOOD, first and foremost, is unlike any sushi/​Japanese restaurant you’ve ever been to. Just to clarify: Uchi is NOT a sushi restaurant! It’s more along the lines of an «upscale Japanese» or a «Japanese-​tapas» category. Yes, they serve sushi, but it’s only ~15% of their overall menu, which revolves more around tapas-​style dishes titled «Hot Tastings» and «Cool Tastings.» Their sushi itself is solid, but there are plenty of other restaurants that do «pure» sushi better. Their «Tastings» are all very different and unique in presentation and flavor, and were all delicious (we ordered so many, I couldn’t tell you which ones I liked more or less. They were all equally great). I do regret not trying their nigiri/​sashimi, which will have to be saved for another visit. I will put another DISCLAIMER though: do NOT come Uchi if you’re looking to stuff your face! It’s not that kind of restaurant. Their portion sizes are quite small – think Underbelly small – and are best split amongst two people. Any larger, you’ll have to order more dishes. FYI: their Fried Milk dessert is TO DIE FOR. GET IT. :)
Their DRINKS are, for the most part, Japanese-​based, and the two cocktails I got were delicious. The Yuki Hyo should be synonymous with «Sake-​Sour,» and the Beri Cha is like a Japanese version of a mimosa. They also serve sake straight, and it comes in a glass inside a cute little wooden box. Two thumbs up on drinks all around at my table.
The AMBIENCE is definitely romantic. On a Wednesday night, mostly large groups occupied the tables, surprisingly, though there were a few couples at the bar. Great place to take a date if you’re willing to spend, which will be in the ballpark of $ 100/​person. Perfect lighting and a perfect blend of Japanese and American cultures in the interiors.
TL;DR: The Verdict? Uchi is like an expensive 25 year old bottle of Scotch. Unless you’re rich out the ass, you only drink it when the mood strikes or if there’s a special occasion. You can drink it to get drunk, but it’ll cost you dearly. It’s a bottle you whip out to impress a cute date or a group of out-​of-​town friends. It’s something you’ve got to try at least once, but there are plenty of substitutes and alternatives available if it’s not your thing.

The food is amazing as usual. Great happy hour menu, the rolls are the best bang for the buck. It’s too expensive during normal hours. Happy hour tastings are best if only 2 people go, still be prepared to spend about 30 per person during happy hour to feel full.

I seriously do not understand the hype to this place. I thought the food was ok at best especially considering the price despite going during happy hour. Maybe because I’m comparing this Japanese-​Western fusion restaurant to the ones we have in Toronto but still doesn’t explain why they have eggplant on a ball of rice.
I would not return.

My first time here this Thursday got here right at 5pm and was able to get a table right away. I honk if u get there by 530pm you should not have to wait long. The restaurant was a lot bigger than I had expected. Service was great they explained everything well and good was very different in taste and presentation!
Must try!!!
–Ham and eggs must get!!!
–Machi cure yummy
–Walu walu yummmy
–Edamame it was grill very tasty
–Uchi salad was super cute I didn’t want to eat it.
–Hama chili very good has a Thai flavor to it.
–Fried milk is good for chocolate lover I don’t like chocolate so much so I didn’t eat the mousse.
–Nasu nigiri was okay not much taste
–Spicy tuna roll okay

Fast attentive service and vegetarian/​vegan friendly !
Their sauces complements each dish. Every dish was a gastronomic experience you didn’t want to end.
Loved:
Brussels sprouts
Uchiviche
Hot Rock
Vegetarian sushi — avocado, nasu, kinoko
Fried milk — I usually order vegan but seeing the reviews that this is the dish you had to try… I didn’t regret breaking tradition

Perfect for a date night to impress or dinner with friends.
Really good, classy and pretty restaurant! Expect the bill to be pricey and the dishes to be pretty tiny.
I had a bit of everything with my +1. The server asked us what we liked and picked the dishes for us. We had about 4 plates to share. Everything was of course super good & fresh. I liked the salmon and other fish dishes. I was still hungry though and had to order a 5^th savory plate before dessert. Desserts were yummy.
The bill was about $ 80 per person. Worth it but really for every once in a while.

Hands down my favorite sushi restaurant in Houston!
I’ve been here 4 times to date.
My first experience was for my birthday. We rented the private room and had the omakase. Everything was absolutely amazing. food, service, wine, dessert. EVERYTHING. My first experience at uchi made me crawl back 3 more times since then.
Unfortunately, my first experience emptied out my pocket so since then I only go to their Happy Hour (5pm-6:30pm). But I always order everything on their HH menu and then never skipping out on their fried milk dessert and doubling my order of their eggplant (nasu nigri) aka melt in your mouth deeeliciouness. Do make sure to flip the eggplant so that it touches your tongue. You can thank me now because it’ll make a wonder of a difference to your taste buds. :)