Sushi Zoa — Restaurant in Hutto

What up?! What up?! What up?!

Sushi Zoa! Is by far one of the best sushi restaurants in the east side of the Austin area! If not the best. I will keep looking for you wonderful people. Until then Zoa is here to satisfy your sushi cravings. Before we get to the details. I want to mention that, I will most definitely be back. Let’s get to it!

Atmosphere: It is a small but cute restaurant with an aesthetic of a higher end restaurant. It’s curious for a restaurant like this to be located in such an area. You’d think a restaurant like this would be at the Domain. But hey it adds to its personality. For those seeking a good place to celebrate a special occasion. They do offer isolated rooms to dine in. When talking to the staff they mentioned that they could accommodate for about 30 people.

Service: I keep reading the same things reviews about how the staff is friendly, but not engaging. I will agree the staff is welcoming and friendly. However, for the not engaging part I disagree. The master chef and our waitress were very engaging. In fact the master chef customized a dish for us. I don’t know about you all, but that’s pretty engaging if you ask me. On top of that the waitress proceeded to engage in conversations and was on point with topping off our drinks. Including our hot green tea.

Finally, Food: IF possible I would rate this place a 4.5 out of 5. but google again does not give you that option. From their complimentary miso soup to their sushi, and even to their hot green tea (which upon assessment was not made with just cheap Lipton tea bags). Every thing, and I do mean everything was delicious. My only critique on the food is their presentation was slightly off. Their rolls are too big, and due to their size the sushi fails to stay together. Some sushi will crumble more than others. We found that the those sushi’s that were soaked in some special watery sauces were more sustainable to this. So be careful what you order and if you do get that sushi. Be cautious how you eat it. The sushi still delicious despite not maintaining its composure. I hope they are able to find a solution to this problem. Some people have stated on their google review that the food here was too expensive for the quality of food they severe. I cannot disagree more. This place is actually on the cheaper side when it comes to a sushi restaurant. And I do eat a lot of sushi. So I know what I’m talking about. For the amount of food and the same ambience you get at this place for about $90 - $100. At other restaurants for etc. Uchiko (At N Lamar) you would get for about $170 - $240. The affordability, proximity, and quality make it worth going back to.

So to wrap up this review. The sushi is great, the ambience is magnificent, and the staff is welcoming. Please come down to Suhsi Zoa, and see what the hype...

Neighborhood gem? More like neighborhood trash. OMgoodness this place smells so fishy and nasty. I usually love sushi but honestly I should have turned around when the intense fish smell hit me in the face as I opened the door. They obviously purchased the positive reviews they have because they have literally been open for one minute and they have a surprisingly high number. But hey they are serving fish and since I have eaten sushi all over the world, I said “oh well so it smells a little fishy,” and I still want to try it cause it is close to my house. So I order a few rolls and some sake. Service seems great, i dig the k pop vibe, the waitress goes the extra mile to clarify some stuff on my order and I thought, “hey wow! Most asian places won’t do that due to the language barrier!” So now I am really looking forward to eating here every week for the rest of my life. Then, I get my Philadelphia Roll. The salmon looks really suspect. It looks too red if you know what I mean. Like old. But I try it anyway. The taste is that of the super discounted salmon at HEB when it is separating in the package because it’s actually probably expired. I immediately called the waitress over and tell her as politely as possible that the salmon literally tastes old. Oh but now she doesn’t speak English and just starts smiling and speaking over her shoulder to the male sushi chef. I don’t speak their language but I feel certain I know how that conversation went. It’s really awkward because I’m the only customer in there even though its Friday mid lunch hour. Another bad sign. I don’t even bother with the other rolls. I just ask for the check, pay it and leave. $62.50 down the drain later, I go to chick fil a because I’m...

TL;DR: My wife and I will not be returning. Details: The staff seemed nice and some of the décor looked upscale. The food was beautifully arranged and I had to take a picture of my food, which is not something I usually do. Both the menu and bill were printed in large, easy-to-read font. My wife's food came out much later than mine, though the restaurant was only at 20% capacity, but we'll chalk that up to the soft opening. Now the defects. We both thought the backs of the wooden chairs were uncomfortable; I recommend sitting in a booth. Many of the high menu prices shocked us but we found dishes that didn't cost too much. The miso soup (which was accidentally left off the menu) was darker colored, darker flavored than usual, and had a slight hot pepper kick; it wasn't bad but we prefer traditional miso soup flavor. Her crunch roll was tasty on the inside but tasteless on the outside. My veggie roll slices were way too big; I could barely fit the pieces in my mouth or chew them. The veggie roll had too much of a sour taste, overall. I'm vegan, I eat veggie rolls all the time, and this was probably my least favorite. The odd thing is that when I picked it apart and tried the veggies individually, some were nuetral and some had a nice sweet flavor, so I'm not sure why the overall profile is sour. I'll grant that other menu items may taste better than what we ordered, and they'll probably argue that we should return after the kinks are worked out during soft opening, but I don't think anything less than a 50% off coupon would...