Soma Sushi — Restaurant in Houston

Soma Sushi is from the Azuma Group behind Kata Robata, Azuma Sushi, Izakaya, and more. It's located on Washington Avenue, and from the outside, it may not look very inviting. However, once you step inside, you will be impressed with the ambience. Let's just say it's unexpected as soon as you walk in! They have a private parking lot available with plenty of spaces. Whenever we dine here, it's never fully busy, and you're able to grab a table quite easily.

I am a huge fan of Kata Robata, and I consider it to be my favorite restaurant in Houston. Soma Sushi, although from the same developers, is not as good as Kata Robata by any means. For example, they have the Spicy Miso Ramen at both Kata Robata and Soma Sushi. However, Kata Robata's version is significantly better. I truly wish Soma Sushi would match the food quality as Kata Robata...

[COCKTAILS]

+Old-Fashioned (rye whiskey, turbinado, and angostura cherry bitters) for $14 - 4/5 +Mezzy Paloma (Illegal Mezcal, grapefruit, lemon, agave, and Fee Brothers Peach Bitters) for $13 - 4/5 +Ruby Rose (Japanese Roku Gin, elderflower, rose water, grapefruit, lemon, and grenadine) for $14 - 4/5 +Hokkaido Sunset (strawberry-cilantro infused vodka, lemonade, and soda) for $14 - 3.5/5

[APPETIZERS]

+Flavored Edamame for $6 - For the flavor, they pour some sort of spicy garlic sauce on top. - 3.5/5

[RAW]

+Kanpache Ceviche (amberjack, red onion, serrano, micro-cilantro, wasabi soy vinaigrette, yuzu, and black sea salt) for $18 - 4.5/5 +Yuzu Salmon Crudo (salmon, salmon skin, baby kale, yuzu juice, yuzu oil, dehydrated seaweed, dashi, lime zest, lemon zest, and wasabi yuzu) for $16 - 4/5

[NIGIRI]

+Salmon Truffle Nigiri for $10 each - 4/5 +Scallop and Foie Gras Nigiri for $9 each - 4/5

[ROLLS]

+Texas Long Horn roll (panko shrimp, takuan, avocado, peppercorn salmon, truffle shoyu, spicy ponzu, and chili garlic crunch) for $17 - 4/5 +Firecracker roll (chopped toro, takuan, cucumber, chili garlic sauce, spicy ponzu, serrano, peppercorn tuna, and green onion) for $19 - 4/5 +Tuna Truffle roll (tuna, boiled shrimp, avocado, yellow tobiko, green onion, and truffle shoyu) for $17 - 3.5/5

[MEAT]

+Yakiniku Beef (8 oz certified angus NY strip, fried egg, onions, mushrooms, garlic soy, pickled ginger, chives, and rice) for $25 - This is actually delicious. The meat was a bit tough when we ordered it "medium." If the meat was more tender, I would have given this a perfect score. - 4.5/5

[NOODLE BOWLS]

+Beef Udon (NY-strip beef slices, green onions, spinach, wakame, fish cake, dashi soy, and sesame seeds) for $15 - 4/5 +Spicy Miso Ramen (fried pork belly, green onions, spinach, wakame, habanero, chili powder, menma, and egg) for $16 - 3.5/5

Overall, Soma Sushi is good. It's better than the average sushi place in Houston. However, if you've been spoiled by Kata Robata and understand Soma Sushi is from the same developers, you will be disappointed. Try it out, and if you don't like it, just go to Kata Robata instead. Soma Sushi is better for a more chill environment, less people, and the ability to grab a table without a...

I love coming here to get really fresh sushi in a cute atmosphere. My friends and I always come here whenever we're planning to go out, since it's in the middle of Washington! For happy hour, I've only tried the drinks since the stuff I usually order aren't on happy hour. The drinks are good and there's a wide selection of specials. My must haves every time I come are: the sashimi salad, spicy miso ramen and the salmon belly sushi. Sashimi salad: (5/5) UM this is the best sashimi salad I've ever had!! The sauce is spicy which I love and it comes completely loaded with so much fish. I don't eat tuna so I always ask to sub salmon for the tuna, it's filled with a good amount of greens and Masago fish eggs. It is a steal for the price! Well worth it for the fish portion aloneSpicy miso ramen: (5/5) SO GOOD!!! Out of all the places that specialize in just ramen (tiger den, jinya, etc) their ramens don't compare to Soma's. The broth is so flavorful and the pork belly is just to die for! I love it! definitely worth the $16Salmon belly; (5/5) salmon belly is already the more buttery part of the fish, they sear it a bit that it just melts in your mouth. Gyoza/shrimp tempura: their fried appetizers are above average and definitely hit the spot before the sushi! The tempura is a mix between veggies & shrimp. Miso macaroni: (4/5) the macaroni is not THAT cheesy, but it has a good flavor and if you top the toast it comes with, with the macaroni, it makes it 10x better.The service is also really good here, from the servers to the managers, every one is very welcoming! I have to commend the bus boys here because they are always making sure all of the empty plates are bussed off the table. The food runners also didn't make any mistakes and presented the food to the exact seat of the person who ordered it! All in all, the restaurant is a bit pricier but you get what you pay for. They have complimentary valet, but there's also parking available on the side of the restaurant. Perfect place for...

Came at 9pm on a Sunday so don't have a great representation of what parking is typically like, but I did see a bunch of valet cones out front so I assume that it is relatively difficult to park here during peak times. It's located in a sort of strip mall, but the inside is rather large and very nice. A very modern feel.

Once you enter, the seating area is separated into two areas by a sports bar type set-up - bottles that go up towards the ceiling. It seems that this area is populated by sports fans - a nice twist to a sports bar. The right side of the restaurant has a large sushi bar in the center and was much less poppin' than the left with the sushi bar.

Happy hour goes all day Sunday and goes rather late (until 10p) so it's a nice steal. I was rather impressed by the food and service overall. Manny was very attentive and quick to check up on me.

Shrimp Crunch Roll - not traditional by any means. Cream cheese, jalapenos and eel sauce feel like that sort of quick fix take on sushi. It didn't seem like too much rice surprisingly, so I really appreciated this one. Only $7 on the HH menu.

Pork belly buns - there are also pork belly tacos which I'll have to try next time. These were SO amazing! Pork belly was cooked perfectly, the pickled cucumber added a nice crunch and the flavors blended so well together. A little too much hoisin sauce but this is a very minor complaint. Better bao than a lot of places that are dedicated specifically to bao.

Also had a hot sake carafe which was honestly too much alcohol for me to be drinking, so I only had two pours but was very lovely and warm.

Definitely would recommend this place for happy hour - better quality than a lot of similarly...