RA Sushi - Houston (Highland Village) — Restaurant in Houston

This review is based solely on my experience and my personal opinion.

We went to RA on a Wednesday night, 8/4/21.

this was NOT our first time, but was our first time after Covid.

FOOD: I dod not remember everything we ordered, but if I do not it is because everything had a good flavor. we actually ordered alot, and you can see in my photos what was on our table. we ate every single piece of sushi roll. I've been eating Sushi, Sashimi, Nigiri, rolls, Temaki and so on, for years now. Here at RA Sushi, ingredients are high quality ingredients, cooked and made by professionals. Rice for example is not soggy nor hard... perfectly cooked. the rolls are never chewy nor mushy. The color of the seaweeds they use in the rolls tells you alot about the preparation. this sushi rolls are made fresh on the spot, by the order, they are NOT pre assembled or pre-made like in many other restaurants. None of the ingredients is frozen when you eat it and the rolls with fresh fish have real fresh fish. I tried their Sashimi, but not this time, so it wont be included in this review. Fried Zucchini = I want to spend few words for the extraordinary good fried zucchini they served us. it is a very simple dish but yet not simple to make. it was crispy, by the color of the breading around the Zucchini you could tell they were using a good frying oil and you could tell they were not the frozen kind. and the sauce that came with it.... unbelievably good!

One of the Sushi roll came with an amazingly delicious spicy honey mustard kind of sauce and if you ask more they keep bringing it. I had also ordered a Jasmine tea, but the waitress said they only had green tea. the very first cup had a strong green tea kind a flavor, but the second cup had a odd/off flavor... like wheat. I lifted the cover of the tea kettle to find out that was a weird mix of green tea leaves and grains. NOW, if someone was allergic to grains or wheat, they would have probably collapsed at the table. We tried their lemonade and ice tea too, but way too sweet.

STAFF: the two young girls at the entrance??? useless. NOT friendly, NO smile, dry long face and no expression whatsoever. they made us wait 15 minutes to assign us a table and then when we told one of them that we wanted a different place... she told us "I have to check" and made us wait 15 more minutes. Thank God the daily manager went by and found a very nice spot for us to sit. He was very dry and not friendly, but at least he was efficient. Our Waitress was super slow... she would come and then disappear for entire 20 minutes.... it was such a pain to order something else or just get a simple drink refill. She was dry, but somehow professional. When I told her about the fact that she had brought me the wrong tea, she put on a surprised face but she never said "Oh, I'm so sorry I am going to change it for you". So....

CLEALINESS: clean, very clean, even though I feel that someone should explain the bus boy that you CANNOT spray the cleaner right on the table, especially when it's next to a table where people are eating, otherwise the spray mist ends up on the customer's meals.

RESTROOMS: clean and nice. good smell, paper, paper towels and soap.

PRICE: it is more expensive than many other sushi restaurant, but the quality of the food is also higher, so the overall Quality/$ is a high number ratio.

PLACE: the place is well furnished, with a touch of high-end / luxury design. Modern looking interiors that give a very good vibe. Usually it is a very relaxing and fun place, even though this night after 7pm they turned the music all the way up, very laud and annoying. it is a very good restaurant for a date, an anniversary or a romantic night with your partner..... and very good to hang out with your friends.

CONCLUSIONS: we'll go back for sure, but I hope that the managers will eventually read my review and...

One of my favorite sushi spots near Galleria/Westheimer for formal/semi formal outings and celebrations. Perfect spot for birthdays, family dinners/lunches, and/or hanging out with friends. I have visited this location a few times, on all the different types of occasions mentioned, and the service from staff, and the taste of the food, never disappoints.

Not only is the food amazing, the interior decor and atmosphere is very trendy and an upscale style. They have floor to ceiling windows on one wall, so it’s really open and bright during daylight hours. At night, the vibe transitions to a very warm feel, with ambient lighting, and cozy vibes.

I’ve tried various sushi rolls and they’re always prepared fresh, tastes amazing, and the presentation and plating of the dish is beautifully executed. Here’s my go-to orders:

Appetizer / Shareable’s plate:

"RA" "RA" Shrimp: This is a tempura shrimp, usually 5/6 pc, and it’s tossed in chili mayo, then topped with green onions and red bell peppers. 10/10 highly recommend!

*(Not to be confused with their other, very similar, dish - which is called “RA”ckin’ Shrimp” - and that includes panko-crusted crispy shrimp; served with ginger teriyaki dipping sauce).

Sushi rolls: 1- “Viva Las Vegas Roll”: This consists of lightly battered krab and cream cheese; topped with spicy tuna, krab mix and sliced lotus root; finished with sweet eel sauce and green tempura bits. 10/10 🎉

2- "RA"ckin' Roll”: Probably my favorite roll here, this has lightly battered krab and cream cheese (I usually get it without the cream cheese and sub with guac); topped with guacamole and “RA”ckin’ Shrimp; finished with ginger teriyaki sauce, red tempura bits and togarashi. Excelling taste, 100/10! 💯

3- “Mango Shrimp Roll”: Krab mix, shrimp tempura, avocado and cucumber; topped with lightly seared salmon, fresh mango and sweet eel sauce; finished with green tempura bits! This also tastes great, only qualm is the salmon wasn’t seared last time I got it one 1-2 of the pieces, but usually made perfect. 8/10🙌

4- “Chili Shrimp Roll”: Lightly battered krab and cream cheese; topped with spicy krab mix and shrimp tempura; finished with sliced jalapeño and sriracha. 🌶️

During lunch time when I stop by, I noticed they’re usually less busy and noise level is quiet to moderate. Other times, such as birthday or family dinners during evening time, I’d say starting around 4-5pm they do tend to start getting crowded quickly. For weekends, I’d say it’s moderate to super busy all day. So depending on the time + day of the week you plan to come, there can be a bit of a wait to get seated. Servers are all very helpful, welcoming, and friendly, as well as knowledgeable about the menu.

Highly encourage checking this place out for a fun night out with...

BEWARE OF UNAUTHORIZED CHARGES AT THIS ESTABLISHMENT!!! I came for dinner with 3 other people and had a horrible experience. JONATHON was our server and provided us horrible customer service. He forgot certain items in our order. We didn’t even bother asking for them because he never came back to check on our table. It got to the point where the cleaning crew/busser had to refill our drinks because we had asked them to please get our server. After eating dinner, we decided to split the tab 4 ways, each person paying individually. All of our totals before tip equaled out to the same amount. However, we all tipped differently due to the horrible experience. Days later, I checked my posted amount on my bank statement and it was NOT the correct amount, I was overcharged. I asked all my friends to send me a copy of their posted banks statements and it showed as THE SAME AMOUNT. This could not be possible if we all tipped differently. I called the establishment and asked to speak with a manager. I was transferred to a billing call center, where I expressed the situation to the representative. He stated that I needed a copy of my receipt to proceed and if I did not have one, they would email me one within 48 hours… 48 hours pass and nothing. I call back again and speak to the manager GARRETT. He seemed really dismissive, downplaying the entire situation and told me that he would talk to the server and give me a $20 voucher. Then, EZRA, the “general manager” called me back and followed up on the situation, when I expressed to him that I wanted a refund for this entire experience, he stated it would not be possible because the system would not let him do it. After a lot of back and forth, he finally told me that he would call corporate and figure out a way to give me my money back. However, instead of refunding me he CHARGED me to entire total AGAIN. I called the restaurant and asked the receptionist to not transfer me to a manager and instead to the overcharge department or corporate… she transfers me to the manager DART. I spoke with him and it seemed like he was the only one on the management team who seemed competent enough to find a solution. He was able to cancel the pending charge and refunded me the posted charge for the inconvenience. My friends have also been calling and currently have an open case with the restaurant. We all requested the original signed copy of our receipts but were informed that original copies were “unable to be located”. This entire situation has been extremely stressful and I cannot believe the level of unprofessionalism that I have experienced from everyone, with the...