Doko — Restaurant in Houston

My husband and I went out for an impromptu date last night sans kids and serendipitously chose Doko. There were no reservations but we decided to chance it, and it far surpassed any expectations. The location being tucked away plus the atmosphere makes both Doko and Bar Doko feel extra special. The Hospitality (with a capital H bc it was that good!) blew us away. The manager and our server at Bar Doko went above and beyond to ensure our experience was one we won’t soon forget. As a formerly picky eater, I am still building my comfort with and appreciation for sashimi. I will dream about the chutoro and can definitely say I’m now a sashimi fan. A pro tip: you will not need the optional soy sauce/ginger/wasabi. The maki rolls come with their own sauces which pair symbiotically to take the flavors to a level unmet in sushi I have had anywhere else. The servers are all outstandingly knowledgeable regarding the dishes and were spot on with sake recommendations. My only regret is that we didn’t try dessert! If you go to eat at Doko, make sure not to miss Bar Doko straight across. The atmosphere is intimate, and you feel transported immediately walking through the door. The gentle, dreamy fragrance of the bar and the hot towels feel especially luxurious. As with the restaurant, the Hospitality was unmatched. My Negroni was its own experience with the tiny toast with marmalade which made the drink an adventure for my taste buds. My husband’s drink was equally complex and well thought out. I can’t...

Was jazzed to try this new sushi restaurant in the Autry Park development. We went with some friends and had cocktails at Bar Doko before our 7 pm reservation. We checked in with the hostess and were taken straight to our table upon arrival. The dining space is bright and airy and feels very cool, but note that it is on the loud side.

Our waitress walked us through the menu options but strongly suggested that we do the tasting menu if it was our first time dining with them. We took her advice and also added a couple of appetizer dishes that looked appealing. Overall I was a little disappointed with the food. I feel this was largely down to the rice being under seasoned and not super flavorful and because the rice was included in so many dishes, that had a really strong impact. Favorite dishes of the night were Japanese chicken meatball and the eggplant. One other thing of note, and one of my biggest restaurant menu pet peeves, the chicken gyoza dumplings have fried chicken in them and then the dumpling itself is also deep fried. Nowhere on the menu does it suggest that anything about the dumpling is deep fried. I just prefer to have that information given to me on the front end and not when the dish is served.

Service throughout the evening was really great until the final dish was served and then our waitress kind of disappeared for almost 20 minutes before offering us a dessert menu. Ultimately, I would likely give this spot another try, but would probably order a la carte...

Doko is a sushi restaurant hidden in the Autry Park area, and the interior is nicely decorated with playful, bright colors.

We went on a Saturday afternoon, and they had an afternoon menu with sets ranging from $19 to $32.

I ordered the Set B with the hamachi maki and Set C with the masu (ocean trout) maki along with the A5 wagyu maki. The sets were similar, but the Set C came with an extra bowl of chicken fat fried rice garnished with an egg.

The hamachi maki came with tamari sauce, and the masu maki came with fish sauce with chili oil. There were five pieces of each, but they we both large and filled with crunchy pieces of fried garlic/onion, which I really enjoyed. The sets came with 5 nigiris, and mine’s consisted of akami, masu, hamachi, madai, and kanpachi. They were all fresh. My favorite was the hamachi!

The chicken fat rice with fried egg was topped with fried shallots and garlic and smelt delicious.

The A5 wagyu maki came with five pieces, but like the other maki, they were large and topped with an ample amount of wagyu pieces. The wagyu was torched, and you can taste the smokiness. However, the maki consisted of avocado, which I think drowned out the A5 wagyu, and it would have been better without the avocado.

The service was friendly and fast. The vibes were very casual, and I liked how the seating at the bar were booths! Would definitely come back for a...