Kata Robata — Restaurant in Houston

I wish I could come to lunch here every day - it's really rather reasonably priced for such an upscale place.

Roll Combo B $14 w/ a King Crab California $5 add-on. King Crab California Roll - the meat is sooo fresh - the best roll on this combo and it's an add-on. There's a place called Shiro's in Seattle that does a muchhh better crab roll but it's not a california and that's neither here nor there since it's so far awa.

Crunchy Eel Roll - this is the most 'expensive' or most 'dressed' roll on this combo. Lots of caviar on top both black and orange so it's got a nice crunch to it on top of the actual crunchy eel part. Most similar to quality of some of their regular menu rolls.

Rock 'n Roll - this is were Kata Robata sort of drops the ball. It's nice but nothing fancy or palatable. The rice seems like too much in quantity and I couldn't really taste any of the ingredients that well. If you go a few miles south there's a place called Asahi that does a lovely Rock 'n Roll with great seasoning and sauce for cheaper.

Tempura Udon Wow. For only $9 you get this amazing udon. The noodles are cooked perfectly. It tastes very clean - definitely not over-seasoned or over-salted. The spinach also tastes very clean - probably just thrown in there raw. The mushrooms and green onion are what give most of the flavor. We had the tempura on the side so that might have affected the taste a little but hopefully not that much. Would like it if it had a bit more salt to it. Tempura are fall apart in mouth fresh of course.

Service was relatively quick and friendly - Kristy/Christie/Kristie? did a great job.

..~ Also came here for Memorial Day They did not have lunch special that day so keep in mind on holidays they might be open but they only serve dinner menu.

The special day that was a crab karaage - I did not have this but we sat right next to the bowl containing the live crabs they were frying up. Apparently at one point one escaped and made it out onto the patio and they let them go instead of capturing them again since they'd worked so hard.

Miso Lobster Mac and Cheese Apparently they make this with cheese from dairy maids - a local cheese shop. Personally I felt like the crust of cheese on top was too much. It was too salty and just too much. I felt sick after having eaten less than half the dish - I suppose there can be too much of a good thing. There was a lot of lobster in it though and it tasted very fresh.

Unagi Sashimi - these usually come with 2 for one order but they only gave me one. I didn't ask about it but I wonder if it was a mistake or something they do different for unagi?

Sake Sashimi - of course just excellent quality. No fishy smell at all, very buttery.

They fly in 80% of their fish from Japan three times a week, never frozen.

Edit// Tried more things.

Shishito Mojito - viable for happy hour. Best drink I've tried here - very light and airy. Just a touch of spice but not too much. Refreshing.

Iberico Pork Shumai - wrapper is very sticky; will stick to the spoon. The chili oil on top isn't too overpowering. Very well seasoned. Don't know that they're really worth $3 a piece though?

Amaebi - sweet shrimp market price. They forgot to bring me the fried head for a while but brought it out pretty quickly when prompted. Great fry on this, fresh, nothing to complain about.

Yakitori There are two kinds, 'regular' and teriyaki. The just seasoned regular kind is very bland and tough. Definitely pick the teriyaki if you're going...

Everything about this place is good.

The food was excellent, and honestly some of the best food I've had in quite a while, but the miso lobster and crab ramen dish just didn't hit. I didn't like it's smokey flavor, and it just wasn't for me. The lobster macaroni and cheese though, by God, what a dish. I absolutely loved it. It goes so well together. The wagyu rice hot pot special was absolutely amazing, such a good dish. The Texas Hamachi roll was so good, it blew us away, and the Ocean Picante was pretty good. The bread pudding with chocolate ice cream dessert was absolutely phenomenal too. I'm still giving it 5 stars for the food, but the ramen definitely docks it down a little to more like a 4.7 since there's definitely a dish that wasn't very good (at least in this experience).

The service was good, nothing special, the waiter was really helpful and nice, but he seemed to spend a lot of time with each individual table (which is amazing!) but he seemed like he had quite a few tables, so he'd take a while to come back around. No big deal though, he was nice and did a pretty decent job considering, I liked him, but we did see the busboy that filled up our waters more though I think, and we really liked him too.

The atmosphere definitely lacked most. It felt a lot like any other restaurant, but without much setting it apart. It was loud and crowded (make a reservation for sure!) and pretty bright. When I think of a really nice ambiance I think of MAD (the Spain food place) and think they do a really good job. Here is just a typical place. Eh. Kinda bland, but not bad either I guess, just not impressive.

One important thing, the bathroom has toilet seat warmers! That was really cool.

Definitely consider coming here. The food was absolutely phenomenal overall, and it was so well worth the price in comparison to some other fancy places I've been. Portions were really good too and blows those more fancy places out of the water! Definitely give it a...

If Sushi is your thing, you need to try Kata Robata!!! It will ruin all other sushi spots in town for you. And you’ll be back wanting more!

Save yourself the headache, make a reservation before you attempt to visit. There’s plenty of parking, so don’t worry there.

The only negative I could even note is the atmosphere. While the decor is beautiful, the small space can cause quite the echo. Making it noisy and loud when enjoying your visit.

But overall this place is amazing!

The server was also VERY educated on the menu. We described what we were after and made great suggestions on what we enjoyed. Not one bad pairing.

Honorable mentions: The highly suggested online starter. TEXAS KOBE BEEF SKEWERS! Do it and thank me later. They were so soft and tender. The juicy flavor was just on point!

While I’m not sure on the name, you can always show the picture or just ask for the dumpling. ;) HERITAGE PORK MISO GYOZA, be careful it will be hot when it comes to the table. You’ll enjoy the flavor and the heat. Its delicious.

The charred sushi options were items I enjoy at several other restaurants. However, Kata has more than just 1 of those options. So we ordered them all! HIGHLY SUGGESTED, you try them. While I’ll just murder the names. You won’t be disappointed.

The one that stole the show for us. We ordered it 3 more times. FOIE GRAS & SCALLOP SUSHI. This is now my number one for Foie Gras. Put a Scallop on it, and your on another level.

If you’re a fan of sushi rolls, the OCEAN PICANTE was a great choice for a little heat and good flavor.

Chef(s) you guys have something special here and can’t wait to continue to visit.

After looking up more information, if you loved Kata Robata as much as we did. Check out, KATAMI owned by the same people. We already have reservations for next Friday! Can’t...