Uchi Houston — Restaurant in Houston

(Homer Simpson drool)

Just... I mean... Words can't allow me to describe the experience we had at Uchi. This place is PHENOMENAL!!!

First of all, the ambience is high end and definitely on the glamorous, more luxurious side for fine dining. They have a host that greets you as soon as you walk in and asks about your reservation details and valet parking validation (more on that in a bit).

Since our dining area wasn't quite ready yet, we had the choice of 3 different waiting areas, the bar, a standing room or outside. We chose outside. You are allowed to order drinks while you wait to be seated for dinner. My wife ordered the Otokyama drink. It comes in a glass that's also in a box. The drink is intentionally overflown into the box and you're supposed to drink the overflow from the box. My wife LOVED IT!

We were asked to be seated for dinner in about 7 minutes (we were early for our reservation so it was basically right on time). We were seated at the sushi bar directly in front of the chef who was going to be serving us for the evening. I BELIEVE his name was Kevin. Kevin was so laid back and cool, he made you feel like he was just a good friend making you dinner.

Unfortunately, I can't remember the name of the dishes we had but when I tell you this place puts Nobu to shame, JESUS CHRIST. The fresh, delectable, precision, quality ingredients, are just not fair. We did the Chef's tasting which allowed us to taste a variety of different rolls, tempura, etc. It was a 12 course meal. It was so damn GOOD! There was a crab and butter roll, holy moly. Freaking unbelievable! The flavors dance around in your mouth. It's an experience you will never forget. He gave us a few rolls that were on the house and we also had dessert.

I could go on and on about this place but you will just have to see for yourself. It's my overall favorite restaurant in Houston now. I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

A few tips:

This menu is pricey but worth every penny. Kevin and our server were nice enough to both give me a $25 gift card to use on our next visit which was nice. But this is probably best suited as a special occasion restaurant (it was our anniversary) unless you're just a baller like that. Hehe.

Valet is pretty easy but you will want to catch valet on the side street next to the restaurant instead of Westheimer. They use your phone number to help with the validation process. Valet was complimentary but obviously still tip accordingly.

There isn't a HARD dress code but it's supposed to be, "business smart" attire. I wore a button down, and white cloth shorts with casual shoes and my wife wore a dress with heels. That seemed to be on par with most dressed there.

Uchi...

Saturday evening, we hit up Uchi in Midtown for some AWESOME and surprisingly delicious plates.

First off, the service was impeccable, the food was delicious (except for Chris being an asshat and ordering Uni) and the Saki was flowing like the salmon of Capistrano. Well, at least for Jonathan it was.

With each plate, the servers would clear any unused plates, glasses, bowls, etc. which was a nice and unexpected touch as sometimes the plates build up with each new addition.

We started off with the Uchi Salad, which were little bundles of greens wrapped around diakon raddish with a dollop of smack-yo-mama in the mouf good cashew pesto for dipping/slathering/licking out of the bowl. That was followed up with the wagyu tartar which was fantastic as the were individual crisps with portioned tartar on them with.

We followed that up with a plate of the octopus which was SUPER tender and some Broccoli Katsu, Cauliflower tempura, and onion ring tempura.

Next up was the fish. Now, I have NO idea what the official name for these peices are, except to call them Effing Delicious. We had the flounder with olive oil, bigeye tuna with goat cheese, fatty tuna with olive oil, and yellowtail with orange zest (I think). Holy mothereffing moly. These were single peices and they were melt in your mouth delicious.

...then there was the Uni. I dont care how much Anthony Bourdain loved Uni, that was a rough bite to swallow. I'm sure it is an acquired taste, but this night was not the night to acquire it.

After we washed that down with Sapporo and Walkie Talkie as Jonathan likes to call it, we went for dessert. Fun fact about our group is we dont usually eat dessert at the restaurant. We try to find another dessert shop locally to hit up for coffee and sweets, our favorite being Red Dessert Dive. This time was different.

Balls. We wanted balls and wanted them bad. Milk balls to be more precise. They are the second plate from the top in the pic, fried milk balls with vanilla custard in sauteed fudge and chocolate crisps. It was Amaze-balls! The Jasmine cream with the cilantro granita was fresh and palate cleansing while the coconut tapioca could probably stand on it's own as a dessert were both filling and delicious. We did not really enjoy the Pistachio Chox. Not to say it wasnt good, but it didnt even compete with the others.

All in all a definite "will be back" was concurred around the table, even after we watched the tables around us flip 2 or 3 times. If you ever get the chance, make sure you make reservations and pick a spot in the back to hang out for a few hours, it will totally...

I had the great pleasure in having the opportunity to sample a bunch of the food at uchi. Great experience and this is a fine dining experience you will not want to miss.. especially if you're a foodie. Lots to say, lots to recommend so here we go: (stars are my favs)

Brussels sprouts*- this sounds crazy but I'm pretty sure they lace these with crack because they were all that! So ridiculously addictive. The are crispy, sweet, salty, savory and tangy. Like potato chips but way better. I would have been satisfied just eating this the whole meal.

Edamame beans- fair. Nice char on the outside, limey flavor. Beans are beans are beans.

Hama chili- so. Good. Make sure you eat each sashimi with the slice of orange. The fish is very light and the orange gives the taste a flavor burst. A dish for the discriminating palate.

Spicy crunchy tuna- Better than a roll from heb to be sure. The fish is quite fresh and the rice soft and slightly hard as meant to be. Well done.

Karage- this was fair. The skin was not very consistent. Some crunchy spots that were good and some soft soggy spots. Flavor was all there though- sweet, salty, savory

Zero sen- this was probably the best roll I had. Very flavorful

Walu walu**- this was one of the favorites if not THE FAVORITE. It's a slab of escolar... crispy, flaky, moist.

Akami te- this was interesting. The strawberries eaten in conjunction with the tuna has a nice flavor enhancement but not for those who find it weird to combine strawberry and fish (which does sound kinda strange) it was very artistic though and I think well done.

Gyuharu*- my personal favorite. It was SO. GOOD. Short rib was so soft and tender and melted in your mouth. Almost sensual. So juicy too. This piece of heaven just earned you that extra star uchi despite your location with no parking.

Fried milk**- best dessert. It's creamy. It's milk. It's ice cream on chocolate cake. Can't describe it you must Order and try

Peanut butter semifredo- if you take a piece of every component and eat it together it tastes like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

You guys. It's so worth the trip especially if you're a fan of Japanese food. I will be back because this is money worth spending! (Just once in a while though if you are a spend...