Dokyo Dauntaun — Restaurant in Corpus Christi

We decided to come here on a whim one night for date night. We didn’t know on Friday and Saturday’s it was mainly reservations only…? Luckily we were able to get a couple seats at the sushi bar. It would have been nice to have a table, but we weren’t complaining.

Our waitress was friendly and very helpful! I wanted to try out one of their cocktails and she was able to pinpoint something I’d enjoy. She recommended the Monsoon. It had tequila, orange, lime, sangria, rimmed with black salt and an edible flower. The drink was delicious and strong, and the presentation was beautiful.

I ordered a seaweed salad to start, a little disappointing. It was very little seaweed and more cucumbers which was odd to me. We also got complimentary miso soup, nothing too exciting about it. Most places I go to always seem to skimp out on the tofu… the waitress also recommended the gyoza and it was good. Never a bad choice.

We ordered a ton of sushi. We were a little taken aback when ordering t the Dokyo Bridge. It feeds two people, a lot of food for sure. When we usually order these meals for two we kind of expect it to be served on a bridge… hence Dokyo Bridge. To our surprise it was just on a simple white square place, we usually enjoy the little details for the experience. It had nigiri, two rolls, and sashimi. On the menu it said it would have spicy tuna, but there was none of that on the plate. The fish was good. My husband also ordered the Kamikaze roll and he enjoyed it. Also got the Masago nigiri, and a couple more pieces of sashimi. The sweet shrimp wasn’t good at all. Just my honest opinion.

One thing that did annoy us was that our Dokyo “bridge” was sitting right next to me, and we assumed it was ours. It had been sitting for about 10 minutes or so, nobody claimed it until we asked our waitress where it was and the sushi chef pointed at it. He could have simply just given it to us…. It was just sitting there…

Our waitress was sweet, she noticed we didn’t finish our sushi so she packed it up for us and put extra ginger, wasabi, soy sauce, and chopsticks. Most places don’t do little things like that when...

Our recent visit to Dokyo in downtown Corpus Christi left much to be desired. Dining with a group of six on a Saturday evening, we encountered a series of service and operational issues that overshadowed the evening.

Upon arrival, we were informed of a 30-minute wait for a table despite visible availability. The absence of a waiting area added to the inconvenience. We managed to secure a table immediately after making a reservation through OpenTable on the spot, which highlighted an inefficiency in their seating process.

Service was slow from the start. It took ten minutes for our drink orders to be taken and another ten to receive them. The staggered arrival of our food was even more disappointing. While some dishes arrived within 30 minutes, the last two dishes took over an hour, leaving two of our party members waiting long after the rest had finished eating.

When we inquired about the delay, the server's response was indifferent and unhelpful, offering to cancel the order rather than providing an update or an apology. The lack of communication and hospitality was striking.

As for the food, it was a mixed experience. While some dishes, like the hamachi with yuzu sauce, were satisfactory, others fell short. The nigiri mackerel was notably unpleasant, with overly warm rice and fish that tasted far too fishy. It was difficult to reconcile this with the restaurant’s reputation for sushi.

Overall, our experience was disappointing, and consistent with a prior visit a year ago. The combination of service lapses and uneven food quality ensures we won’t be returning. Although they comped the mackerel in efforts to make up for the wait, the fact that 20% gratuity was still applied after such an awful experience only added to the frustration.

For those who appreciate quality sushi and attentive service, Dokyo may not be the...

The pros: The food was very good and service was prompt and friendly. The atmosphere is very trendy catering primarily to the millennial crowd, nice but not ideal for a quiet romantic dinner if that's what you're after. The restaurant itself was very clean. The dress code was all over the place, but smart casual seemed to be the primary look. Not a place for shorts and flip-flops. The most pleasant surprise was the price, my wife and I ordered high-end entrees and split a hot sake (one order was plenty for two and only $5!). The tab before the tip was $50, very reasonable for what you get. Both entrees came with sticky rice, which normally I avoid because it's rarely done right but this was excellent. The cons are few. I'm not a fan of the online reservation process as the only option and having to secure it with a credit card. The image is that the place is so busy you'll need to reserve a table well in advance but that was clearly not the case. We went on a weekday and the place was maybe 1/3 full, not exactly standing room only. I'm sure walk-ins are welcome but the website seems to imply otherwise. I could see this in place for the weekend, but not on a Tuesday evening. Also during the reservation process I was prompted if this was a special occasion, I replied that it was our anniversary but nothing was acknowledged during our visit. Lastly, the online-only menu may be getting commonplace but I'm not a fan. It's best to check out the menu with your phone before you leave or you'll be doing it at the table. Overall I highly recommend the place, primarily for the quality of the food and very reasonable price. We will...