Japan House — Restaurant in North Richland Hills

Updated on May 31, 2022: We've been looking forward to eating at Japan House again. We tried going on a Friday evening, but the parking lot was full and the waitlist was long. We recently tried going once more when they opened for dinner on Friday but was met with disappointment. The food didn't taste the same like before, and the service wasn't that great.

Whenever I visit a place again, I absolutely have to try the dishes that I loved from the beginning; however, it wasn't the same. The Mussel Dynamite and Fish Tacos had a strong flavor of sriracha, something that wasn't as visible previously. I'd say it was borderline overwhelming. The Tonkotsu Ramen still tasted fairly bland, and the egg was overcooked, again. On the bright side, what remained consistent were the nigiri/sashimi and Fried Oysters.

Again, I will come back with friends, but I'm not overly excited to return, not like I used to. The quality of food has changed for the worse, but maybe it was just a bad day. The only complaint I have is the amount of food you get per plate -- it's a bit surprising, to say the least. For example, I expected 4 Fried Oysters, but I only received 3. I expected 3 Mussel Dynamite, but I received 4. The worst of all, I expected a few pieces of Super Chy Chy, but I received a full roll, unlike other rolls I have ordered.

The location is quite convenient. It's right off the interstate and had plenty of parking spots. You cannot miss it -- it's a unique structure. Both the interior and exterior were nice. To top it off, there's a robot that delivers your food and sings Happy Birthday. For some, it's enjoyable and cute; for others, it's a tad bit creepy.

Aside from the quantity, which can be a big deal because you don't want to be charged if you cannot finish the food, the food is great -- it has flavor and quality.

The fish taco took us a bit by surprise. Don't get me wrong -- it was delicious. What took us by surprise was it was placed on a Pringle. We didn't realize it until it had cracked and flipped over. Still delicious, though.

The Tonkotsu/Pork Ramen was a bit underwhelming. I had high hopes for the ramen, but it was a bit of a disappointment. The noodles were great, but the broth was not flavorful. The egg was a huge disappointment because I always look forward to the boiled egg in ramen, but it was just that -- an overcooked boiled egg.

The Rattlesnake Roll wasn't as satisfying as I thought it would be. I wish there was more filling in the sushi roll.

The Pork Buns weren't what I expected. I expected more meat in the pork bun, but there were more onions. Nonetheless, it was pretty good.

If you love Baked Mussels, you should try the Mussel Dynamite. It's delicious, juicy, and flavorful.

The Japanese Short Rib is very similar to Korean Barbecue except the flavor isn't as strong. The meat is tender and great. It isn't overwhelming, which I love.

The Super Chy Chy Roll is a bit overwhelming. I wanted to try a deep-fried roll because I thought I would get 3-4 pieces. I thought wrong -- I received a whole roll. Aside from the quantity, it didn't taste that great. There were some parts that were a bit rough to chew, too. Overall, I did not like the Super Chy Chy Roll.

I love shrimp, but the Mega Shrimp Roll wasn't my favorite. There was more tempura than there was shrimp, and I didn't like the overwhelming flavor of sauces.

Shades of Green was rich with many flavors. It could be a bit overwhelming, but if you're looking for a kicker, this is it.

The Volcano Roll was probably the best roll I have had here. If you love Baked Rolls, this is a must-try.

If you love Fried Oyster po-boys, which is a staple where I was raised, you must try their Fried Oysters appetizer. It's juicy and delicious -- just sprinkle some lemon juice and dip it in the sauce.

Eel Nigiri was very saucy and strong in flavor. The amount of rice vs eel was a bit too much.

Yellowtail was very buttery and delicious.

Snapper & Surf Clam Sashimi was pretty good. The Snapper was sweet and very light while the Surf Clam was...

My family and I decided to try out this restaurant on 8/17/24. Without a reservation, the wait time was only 15 minutes, which is perfectly fine with me as I'm used to waiting longer at other restaurants. The atmosphere was nice, beautifully decorated interior. As you're waiting, they provide a menu to look at prior to sitting down. The only issue I would have with the decor is that the Qr code on the tables were peeling a bit, so it was a bit irritating to brush my arm past sometimes. Taking a look around at other tables, you can see that some tables have either low sodium soy sauce or regular soy sauce. For example, my table only had low sodium soy sauce, while the one beside me had regular. Personally, I'd recommend having both condiments at the table so patrons could choose what they'd prefer. We soon ordered some drinks: a Pepsi, diet Pepsi, strawberry lemonade, mango lemonade, and a Japanese old fashion. The sodas had no gas in them, meaning they were incredibly flat. The strawberry lemonade and the mango lemonade were decent. However, all these drinks had barely any ice, making them room temperature. I've gone to restaurants before where you have to ask for ice, or it's served separately with a can, or just in the drink already. I've never experienced having flat warm sodas with four small ice until yesterday at Japan House. The Japanese old fashion had extremely too much syrup. Yet was the only drink to have a decent amount of ice. Moving on to food: one of our dishes were Japanese croquettes, which is one of the main reasons for us going to this restaurant... It just flat out wasn't good. There was no taste and only 4 peas and another 4 pieces of carrot in the potato. (I took the croquette apart to let it cool and saw the filling, no exaggeration) Another dish was the Crab Meat Onigiri, which my family has had plenty of times before this restaurant, so we were expecting something similar. I assume the restaurant was trying something new with how they presented the onigiri, however it just looked like a child poorly wrapping a gift. As for the taste it was eh, I'd prefer to go somewhere else. Fried Gyoza was another dish we ordered, also ehh. It was edible, but I had to drown it in soy sauce for actual flavor. One of the most unsatisfying dishes there was the pork buns. I've also had these before elsewhere, so I knew what to expect, however that wasn't the case. In most review images of this dish, the bun seems to be filled a good amount with meat and vegetables. As for mine, it was scraps of meat and an overwhelming amount of onions; more onions than meat. The sauce was very delicious, that was all that dish had to offer. My mother had the crunchy salad, which she very much disliked. Having to spit out the food into a napkin, she asked the waiter to take it away. The only side that was not too bad, was the clear soup. It was a different flavor than any other clear soup I've had before, but it was unique and good in its own way. The shrimp tempura was meh, as it only tasted like breading. It was decided as a group to just go to another restaurant, so we asked for the check. Our waiter was very nice throughout the whole experience and charged each dish individually as it was cheaper than charging 3 all-you-can-eat prices. She did this on her own, as we were expecting and okay with paying $90+ and the leftovers fee. Was really hoping this would be a good restaurant, unfortunately it didn't meet close to any of our...

My husband took me for lunch on my birthday. Some of my family went too. They said we could have up to eight to our table. It was $32 for all-you-can eat or you could order off the a la cart menu. We all chose to eat off the all-you-can eat menu. The waiter had a tablet he was putting our order in and before he walked away from taking everyone's order, food started showing up to the table. He said we could each order up to 5 items each time. The tempura shrimp was good the calamari was ok, some of it was a little over done. It came with tentacles and sticks that I have never seen in Calamari. The pork buns I heard were good but they had onions on them so I didn't try them. I got a sushi roll that had 5 kinds of seafood and 3 colors of caviar, I loved it! I tried something that looked like a square potato cake but it was rice. Then they put a scoop of imitation crab on top. That was interesting. It had sliced avocado and a sauce on top and sesame seeds. Our husbands tried the stuffed jalapenos they were Hugh and good! They got two on an order. The miso soup with shrimp was good. They had something called a mushroom bomb it was stuffed with a little imitation crab meat and a tuna paste. I was not a fan of the tuna paste, it was meaty but a little spicy for me. The fried pot stickers Gyoza, were yummy. My niece and sister's husband got the riblets. They liked those. The hibachi steak was good. The tempura vegetables were good but a couple were doughy inside. It came with sweet potatoes, mushrooms, broccoli and zucchini, I wish they didn't cut the zucchini and mushrooms up because it makes it mushy on the cut side. It looked like they cut them in half. They had one of those robots come to the table singing Happy Birthday to me and the waiter pretended to scratch its head and the facial expressions were so cute. It looked like a cat that didn't want to be touched. The entryway and the lobby was nicely decorated but the seating area looked like a wooden rustic steakhouse with a few Chinese lanterns above the rafters. Not a fan. The Irving location was much nicer. We got a choice of chocolate strawberry or vanilla ice cream and the scoops were big even though we asked them for small scoops. We left so stuffed we could not even eat for the rest of the day. Seriously no dinner needed. We will definitely be back. I love sushi and Japanese food!!! You...