Aokicho — Restaurant in League City

We checked out the new AYCE sushi spot in League City near Webster, and honestly, it was one of the best experiences we've had in the area. We've been to several AYCE places around Houston, but this one stood out for its Japanese vibe and beautiful interior with Bonsai trees. You can tell they put thought into the ambiance it felt calm, clean, and welcoming.

We started with the snow crab salad (solid 8/10) The spicy crawfish salad, which was incredible definitely a 10/10.

For appetizers, the garlic edamame was next-level, easily a 100/10 and a must-order. On the flip side, the Aoki chicken wings were a miss; over-fried, bland, and not worth keeping on the menu (1/10).

From the sushi appetizer section, we tried the tuna, salmon, and steak tataki. All were good, but the steak was unreal 20/10, tender and flavorful. The Aoki special scallops served over seaweed were another highlight, fresh and buttery, also a 20/10. The beef robata was so good I regretted not ordering more from the start. Next time, I’m doubling up early.

We also had sashimi yellowtail, octopus, scallop, and seared Kobe beef. I’m not a sashimi expert, but the seafood smelled fresh and tasted clean. The Kobe beef was the star; moist, tender, and worth every bite (20/10).

As for rolls, the Houston roll was decent (8/10) The Sky Diver with softshell crab was excellent (10/10) The Spiderman roll was also worth trying (9/10). The lobster roll was good too (8/10).

We also tried the salmon roe and other fish eggs, which were fresh with a clean pop. Not everyone’s go-to, but if you enjoy that ocean flavor and texture, they were well done here and worth sampling.

We finished with the combination yakiudon; great flavor, especially the steak and shrimp mixed with the noodles.

A few things could be better: 1- After our first roll, I asked the waiter to tell the chef to tone down the sauces, and that made a huge difference; the flavors really came through after that. 2- The chicken wings need to go. 3- Also, having the option for 4-piece rolls instead of 8 would help people try more variety.

What really stood out: The interior was top-tier for an AYCE spot. Fish cuts were fresh and clean. Service was fast, especially for a new restaurant. Every beef dish was tender and memorable. Most importantly, the staff made the experience special. Cody, our waiter, was friendly, helpful, and gave great recommendations. The owner and other staff checked in throughout the night, and that kind of attention makes a big difference.

We’ll...

Went here for the first time and left incredibly disappointed. It seems like to servers are severely undertrained as they inaccurately identified several of the sashimi items and could not describe differences between appetizers. I don’t believe this would be as much of a problem if the appetizers were described (at all) on the menu but they are not, forcing me to have to ask clueless servers and receive non answers. I truly don’t consider myself a hard customer as I also work in the service industry as well, but this experience truly threw me for a loop as my expectations were so much higher. I ended up spending way longer than planned here because of how incredibly LONG the sushi and sashimi (that was incorrect half the time) took to come out, which was AFTER the fried appetizers and rolls had come out although we had ordered everything at the same time. I also believe the system they use to put in orders needs severe updating as it took our server several minutes to put in orders (that should have been a click of a button) on top of the wait time for the actual food. I can understand being a new server at a brand new restaurant and not knowing all of the ingredients in every dish, however our server did not seem willing to go back and ask when he obviously did not know what was in something and would rather struggle to list unspecific items that were not accurate to the dish. My main concern honestly was that the manager never came to check on our table even though we had several items sent back. The food was mediocre, the sauces were not very good, and the server seemed annoyed but I mean… so were we that we didn’t go somewhere else for that amount of time and money. I am very sad to disagree with the glowing reviews but I was severely unimpressed by this place, brownie points for the...

We came in around 6:45 and were seated right away, but things went downhill from there. After ordering appetizers, they were brought out with no napkins, plates, or chopsticks. We had to ask for them, which should really be standard when food is served.

We ordered our rolls immediately after, but it took nearly 50 minutes for mine to arrive. I ordered the Texans Roll and the Tokyo Roll, both of which were supposed to include spicy salmon and sauces. The first roll I received (the Texans) had plain salmon, no sauce, and looked nothing like the rolls my friends got.

The presentation was sloppy, the pieces were uneven and small, and the roll started falling apart before I even picked it up. Then came my “Tokyo Roll,” which looked identical to the first one with the same ingredients and no sauce. The tuna on top was unevenly cut, one piece barely a sliver, and there was something random (maybe onion?) hanging out of the side. Definitely not what I’d expect based on the menu or the price point.

I had to ask twice about my order, and while the server was polite and said the counter was backed up, I was actually the first person at my table to order and the last to get food.

To top it off, they offered ice cream and mentioned a new “matcha mocha” flavor. My friend ordered it, and after bringing it out, the server apologized and said it was $5 for a small cup but that it was “all you can eat.” We declined.

Overall, the service was disorganized, the food quality was disappointing, and the presentation felt rushed. For $2 less, you can go to Ohayo Sushi and get the same quality of food but from a restaurant that actually knows how to...