Asahi sushi — Restaurant in Houston

This is my first review that I've written, so this just lets you know what a terrible experience I had in this restaurant. If I could give this negative stars I would! Me and my fiancé went here twice. The first time we went we just ordered sushi and we're pleased with the prices (lunch combo for like $11!) the sushi was of alright quality, sort of dry, but tasted fine. We decided to go back when we were in the area, this time I ordered the bento box with salmon and beef teriyaki, usually this is one of my favorite dishes! NOT HERE! The fist tasted super fishy and old, it was slimy and had a big piece of black skin (that's what they said it was anyways, didn't look like it to me) smack dab in the middle of the fillet. The beef was the worst beef I ever had. I've never tasted something so disgusting. I'm not normally one to be picky about my food, but this was just flat out terrible. I've worked in multiple food places, so I figured I'd let them know I hated the meal and wanted to exchange it for something different and there'd be no problems. Nope, the lady who helped me was totally rude and gave me a huge attitude when I said it wasn't good. She said "well what's wrong with it so I can take it to chef," even though I told her countless times it just wasn't good. She snatched up my plate and took it the back, returned and said "well the chef said nothing was wrong with it so i don't know what you expect me to do, this is what you ordered." To shorten the story, I ended up paying $30 for a meal I didn't even take two bites of. Terrible customer service and terrible bento box!!!! I recommend everyone steer clear of this place and if you do decide to go, make sure you don't order...

Decided to drop by this place because I pass it by on my way home from TMC. I was impressed and feel that it was some place I would come visit regularly. Overall I give it 4/5 stars and would recommend this to all my friends.

Asahi Sushi is conveniently located between Reliant Stadium (now NRG) and TMC. It's a nice quaint and clean place with modern decor. A great place for a casual date or a lunch break with a few coworkers. +1 star for the setting.

I ordered the crazy roll, spider roll and Houston roll (see picture). I have been to several other casual sushi places before usually around Chinatown, but only a few places pay particular detail in their arrangement. +1 star for presentation.

The sushi was fresh and the order came out very fast. The sushi rice was not as sticky as it should have been, but otherwise the taste was good. +0.5 star for taste.

Service was prompt, the lady was extremely nice and very helpful. They made regular rounds to check on your table and make sure you have everything you need. It felt like a mom and pop kind of business with a chic environment. +1 star for the service.

Price point is reasonable for the quality and location. They have great drink specials during happy hour (4-7pm) at $2 a beer and select appetizers for $3. They're lunch menu is decent, giving you a variety of sushi to pick from. I choose the 'pick three rolls' for $13, with the average sushi roll costing about $8. The next comparable sushi place is probably Miyako Sushi, which has a bigger selection but not as great of a lunch menu sushi wise. +0.5 star...

Prior to the COVID pandemic, my father and I had dinner here several times. The last time, he took advantage of the deal of purchasing a gift card worth $120 for $100 as we planned to continue visiting this restaurant regularly. My father was normally not fond of gift cards and he clarified that there was no expiration policy before purchasing the gift card. Unfortunately the pandemic came and my father passed away before we could return to the restaurant. This past Saturday (November 13), I visited the restaurant intending on using the gift card and reflect on memories of having dinner there with my father. The waitress (who was very nice) informed me that they “have got a new card reader” and that I could no longer use the gift card. I explained the situation and mentioned how we were told that the card never expires. The waitress said that she would need to speak to the manager. To add insult to injury, the manager never came to speak to me; this poor waitress had to go back and forth between us. A drawn out 45 minutes later, my attempt to use the gift card was still declined and no resolution was offered. I asked if I could be given a new card that could be read on the new reader and that was refused because I didn’t have “a receipt to prove the balance.” I repeated that this gift card was purchased pre-COVID and that we were assured that there was no expiration policy. I would not have made such a big deal of the card was for $25 or so, but a waste of $100 is unforgivable. Please be very careful about purchasing any...