Osaka Japanese Restaurant Reviews

eww, Ewww, EWWWW!!! I can't for the life of me understand all the amazing reviews. This is the absolute worst example of Sushi being Americanized. An don't get me wrong, there is plenty about the bast*rdization of Sushi that I enjoy. However, DRENCHING everything in mayonnaise is not what sushi is about. Nor is the anything-but-fresh- seafood they opt to use. People seem to love that they almost always get something "free" when they visit this place. Please learn how to make my dish well before giving me more free stuff that tastes bad! As mentioned before, the fish is fishy and the eel is FULL of bones (which are small and quite sharp). Considering that Unagi is just about my favorite variety of Sushi, the boney eel might be weighing heavily on me. But when Sushi CUTS MY MOUTH, you are doing something wrong. And I am not talking about a stray bone. We are talking 7 - 10 bones per cut of eel. Everything about this place is wrong.

Located in Westchase, not far from downtown this is a very nice japanese restaurant. They really do offer many dishes. We tasted edamame, Tokyo rolls, Red Dragon Rolls and green tea icecream and all of them were delicious. As welcome from the chef they served us 2 dumplings, we were 2 people and 2 veggies and shrimp tempura. Both fantastic! We had 3 main dishes, 1 appetizer, 1 dessert and 1 asaki beer and we spent $20,00 each. Kind service and nice building inside.

First time here & I liked this place. Good food & service. My husband got the Tiger roll and he ♡ it! I got the Summer roll. I'm sure it not "very authentic" but we enjoyed it.

Have been here several times. One of my favorite restaurants in Houston. Small and friendly. Excellent service. They always give you us a free appetizer and desert with our main dinner. The sushi is fresh and well prepared with a wide selection. The bento box was more then I could eat. We were their on Christmas day and enjoyed our meal.

We had a party of 12. The service was fast, efficient and every one of the staff was friendly and eager to help. We ordered 2 of multiple appetizers and entrees to share. So many wonderful dishes! They brought us extra free appetizers and also complimentary ice cream (green tea, mango, plum) for dessert! The sashimi was my favorite. Super fresh. Try this place!

If you like Sushi this place is banging GOOD! Homestly, this is as close as yout going to get to be in Japan. Wait staff is very attentive and go above amd beyond. Love this place!

The bento box is a great bargain at $11. Sushi, tempura, roast chicken,plus several small morsels, a soup and sald! The chef usually sends a small complimentary tasting for each customer and green tea ice cream is given as a treeat from owner

Having lived most of my life in San Francisco, where we have an abundance of excellent sushi restaurants, not to mention other GREAT restaurants in Japan Town, I was disappointed with the quality of some of the food items. Additionally, anything deep fried, e.g. tempura, was poorly done (heavy and greasy...so much so that a couple of hours later you still feel it in your stomach). The Oyako Don was very good (chicken and vegetables over rice, with a little broth). The Tempura Don was mediocre. Too many noodles, the broth tasted like regular swanson's beef broth, and the tempura crust was not light....but heavy. It didn't seem like they used the standard tempura flour. Additionally, the Unagi, one of my favorites was clearly over cooked as the skin was chewy. The Maguro was actually quite good. I ordered a spider roll as well as I love the soft shell crab. Again, due to the batter they used on the soft shell crab, it was actually quite poor. Their dim sum was also mediocre. The service staff were very nice and attentive. I was surprised that hot green tea actually cost extra ($2.25 for one cup)! A pot of hot tea is standard at any Japanese restaurant in San Francisco....more common than water! They do offer some complimentary appetizers and ice cream which was a nice treat, but I would rather have had better quality of food.

Okay, I practically grew up eating at this place. I brought so many family members and friends here. I love it when they give you free appetizer and of course the free ice cream scoop! love the green tea ice cream. I mostly order their sushi and sometimes their katsudon. Love this place. I think I'll stop by this week. :)

The location inside a restored Historic house is lovely. We go for udon noodles served in a huge steaming bowl-- e Big enough for table to share.The broth is excellent the noodles thick and chewy- yum.

Delicious! Great portions! Only con is that it is slightly expensive.

Houston has lots of good sushi, but this TINY place might be the best! I have no idea what the bad reviews were talking about! We pick up from Osaka so often, they know our order!

This restaurant was a great experience. They not only provided great service, but also even provided a complimentary appetizer and a complimentary ice cream. I brought my family here and both my kids enjoyed the meal. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for reasonably priced, high quality sushi.

Surprisingly we learnt a lot about traditional Japanese food while we experienced the signature dishes of the resturant. The food is extremely high quality and the flavours burst through when eating each mouthful. Don't expect huge platefuls of food but extremely refined platters of exceptional tasting dishes. Catch the happy hour with friends, share the plates and experience a greater selection of what these fine chefs create.

Get the back room with a bunch friends and sake with your shoes off!

My wife and I ate at Osaka on our last trip to Houston. The Staff were very attentive, some of the best service we can remember. The food was very good and reasonably priced. We will be back next time we visit Houston..

authentic japanese food. not cheap, but sure as hell worth what you spend.

The best sushi!!

The food was absolutely delicious! I couldn't fault the service one bit. I mean they gave everyone a complimentary appetiser of little shrimp dumplings and some tempura and then after our delicious meal they offered complimentary ice-cream. Absolutely amazing food. Fresh sushi and everything was beautifully presented. We were travelling to the U.S. from Australia but we will definitely remember our dinner at this restaurant!

I have to tell the world about Osaka! My family loves the new location across the street. You walk in and boom... you are instantly transported from the city across the world to a welcoming refuge from daily stress. The intimate atmosphere with tasteful decor and accents are so reminiscent of my times in Japan. The Japanese cuisine is extremely satisfying. You can feel the care and effort chefs put into each dish from the quality of sushi to the photogenic plating presentaitons. Matt helped us as our Sake Sommelier, and chose the perfect pairing for our evening. A visit to Osaka whether you live in Houston or just visiting is a must!

Had lunch with a couple of my colleagues after a business meeting. It was very easy to locate the place and we didn't have a problem to get a table. The sushi was fresh and soup was tasteful.

You get 2 "free" appetizers. I don't eat raw fish but their are plenty of options for me when I accompany friends who do.

This is a lovely little Japanese restaurant. We arrived around 7PM, and did not have to wait for a table. After ordering, the server brought over a complimentary appetizer, which was very good. Most of our group had miso soup and sushi. The soup was typical average miso soup, but the sushi was quite good. We had requested they cut our rolls into smaller bite-sized portions, and the sushi chefs were very accommodating. After our meal, we had complimentary mango ice cream, which was very tasty. It even had lovely surprise by having a tempura-banana garnish. The only negative about this restaurant is that there is not a kid-friendly menu. My daughter is seven and enjoyed the tempura shrimp, but had my other children been with me, they would have had difficulty finding anything they typically see on a menu.

Service was fine, but the food was average at best. Found the sushi rice consistency to be off, and the eel we were served was undoubtedly one of the worst I've ever had. There are too many other better places for this to be considered among Houston's top 5 Japanese restaurants.

We stumbled upon this place, located in a strip mall, but this is NOT strip mall food. The gorgeous interior impressed us right from the start, but then we got an excellent seaweed salad for an appetizer, along with some super-fresh tuna and salmon sushi and several rolls, including one called the 911 role that was some combination of perfection I can't even describe. Furthermore, the staff sent over not one but two complimentary samples of shrimp tempura (out of this world) and something called a summer roll that was sushi with mango and strawberry in it. To wrap the whole thing up, we got some complimentary ginger ice cream. Can't say enough about the overall excellence of this dining experience!

What a great place ! Love the atmosphere and décor ! Wait staff was extremely pleasant, helpful and the service was great.... We were a party of 4 for my birthday, and we like a little privacy for having a good visit...and we got it ! Staff was not intrusive at all...very polite. And the food ! Wow...it was all excellent ! We ordered an appetizer to share, but also received 2 complimentary appetizers ! We had a mixture of rolls, shashimi. salads, etc. and everything was fresh and amazing. Complimentary ice cream for dessert too ! This is definitely on our list of places where we will return !

Not quite Nippon, but love the freebies

My husband and I are big sushi fans! We ordered Mt.fuji just like reviewers said and we ordered volcano roll and 911... they all tasted the same! The "crunchy" part of it was stale.. the free appetizers tasted better than the whole meal.. the green tea ice cream we didnt care for... we spent $75 for 3 rolls and appetizer, id rather go some where else and pay more for better taste.. food was just boring.

I've never been disappointed here. The sushi is fresh and tasty, the service and selection are great. Nice ambience and reasonable prices. This time we had a vegetarian roll, rainbow roll with 5 kinds of sushi, vegetable tempura (crispy and delicious), and a shaggy dog roll with crab and tempura shrimp.

This is the place I head too when I am wanting great value on Japanese lunch ($12 for a full meal) or a hotpot on a cold February evening. The service is kind and uncomplicated, food is rough, definitely specializing in traditional sushi, sashimi, miso soup and tempura. Great if you have never tried the 'good stuff' but a little disappointing if you were hoping for something authentic.

Go at least every 2-3 months.Nice little restaurant in the Montrose area.Younger crowd.Good food.Anything Sushi with very good quality.Service very good.One of our favorites.

We tried Osaka for the first time and loved it! We came later in the evening, so we got in right away without having to wait. The staff was friendly and service was good. We had several rolls, which all tasted great. I loved their fried rice too! This restaurant also had the habachi tables, which we may try the next time we are in town. Great place in this area of town to grab some sushi!

We walked to Osaka from Alliance Francaise and were early enough to avoid the rush. Extremely good sushi and grilled items. Several special touches and thoughtful servers made this evening a joy.

I love the food and the service is fantastic!

I went there alone, but was not the only one there alone. The staff was nice. I had delicious appetizer (on the house), sushi and dessert (on the house as well). I felt very welcome and the food was very fresh.

Went for lunch and had the fish fry. Large portions and good grilled vegetables, but definitely didn't feel authentic. I asked the waitress if koreans ran the place and they told me chinese. Ok, I understand. Lunch specials are reasonably priced but, the rest of the menu seemed priced high. The place is large and spacious, so probably rent is high.

The sushi and sashimi were fresh and very good, and the drinks were also well done. In addition, our server, Christine was polite, helpful, and timely. I would definitely go here again.

We took our daughter there to celebrate her 18th birthday. Service was awesome. The food was great as well. Portions are jist right. They offer a complimentary appetizer and dessert (ice cream with a piece of tempura fried banana. The ambiance is very romantic yet casual. Great for a date and also great for families.

Service and attention is superb, they send you some courtesy on the house, food is little greasy on my standards and some ingredients could be improved for better experience.

Although I did not go to Osaka, I did go to Tokyo and Kyoto last June. I had a blast to say the least. When I came back home to Houston, I decided to give this restaurant a try. It is equally as good as the foods of Japan!! The food at this restaurant is delicious! The girls that work here are sweet.

My fiancé and I had dinner here Friday night for the first time. We were seated as soon as we walked in. The service was great! The waitress brought us two mini appetizers on the house and we were not expecting that, so that was an amazing extra! After finishing our meal, she boxed our leftovers up for us, and then offered us complimentary ice cream as well! I ordered the Mt. Fuji roll and it was probably one of the best rolls I've ever had. The first time I ever had a sushi roll that was baked! The staff was also very helpful and friendly!

We were given edamame as our complimentary appetizer because of my fiancee's gluten allergy. The spicy tuna was one of the best rolls I've ever had. It's on the pricier side but definitely worth it because of the quality. Will definitely be back!

Was not impressed. My sushi was warm and I could barely eat it. The miso soup, salad, and complimentary ice cream was great. But I was very disappointed in my sushi pieces.

There are lots of other Japanese restaurants at this price range but Osaka will win you over with great service plus the chef sends over a small daily special sample while your food is being prepared----then a complimentary scoop of green tea ice cream is offerred at the end of your meal. I love the bento box--under $12. with miso soup and iceberg lettuce salad and housemade dressing. The ingredients are fresh and the staff is friendly.

I probably eat here three to five times per month. Formerly across the street, the new location at 500 Westheimer is a stand-alone structure with a little less parking. At the prior address I mostly ate lunch, sitting at the sushi prep bar speaking to Thomas and watching the tv. Due to a job change, I now come mostly for dinner. I consistently enjoy the second option sushi assortment, with their ribeye yaki niku don as a frequent second dish. Last night I tried a roll with tuna, yellowtail, salmon, and masago. Very tasty and fresh. I think my main draws are 1) the food is sometimes not stellar, but it's always at least B to B+, 2) the staff have always provided a complimentary appetizer, 3) the staff are attentive without being intrusive, 4) the space is clean, and 5) the price is fair for the quality and portions. I highly recommend for lunch or dinner.

There's something wonderful about sushi for lunch on a hot Texas day! Osaka's is a great place for sushi. The dining area is attractive, and the service is great. Every time I've been here they brought a complimentary appetizer. It's always different but very good. This trip I ordered a 911 roll to share and the assorted sushi plate. Both were excellent! The mango ice cream for dessert was the perfect end to the meal!

I have visited twice in two months and received excellent service and deliciously fresh food both times. My dining companions ordered rolls; I chose the Bento box both times--once with beef, the other time with chicken. Choose beef. The tempura was hot, crispy and they used fresh oil. Believe me, my stomach can tell the difference. My friend did not like the lettuce in her Spider Roll, but that's a matter of taste and expectation. And, to finish off our dining experience: ice cream (mango, red bean, green tea, or plum) with a tiny side of fried banana. Sweet. Excellent service, clean, pleasant seating. Four stars because they were out of most of their choice bits of fish before 12:30. So, it goes.

Nice place , I have been to this place many times , and I love this place never got disappointed . Many option for a reasonable price .

This is good quality sushi, with pleasant service, in an aesthetically serene environment, for a reasonable price. It's a winner. They have non-sushi entrees for those so inclined, but our party of 3 enjoyed 2 "chef's choice" sushi combos and an assortment of ala carte rolls, with miso soup (also ala carte). Our very nice waitress brought us complementary shrimp tempura - crisp and delicate - while we considered the menus. We washed down the fresh, tasty sushi with a bottle of sake (I had a Chardonnay). With tip, our meal came to about $140, which we considered a value. There was plenty of convenient, free parking.

very relaxed and great food!

We were so excited for having dinner here. We checked with the restaurant staff if it was okay for us to park here and run to the store across the street first, they said it was fine. Whenever we got back (less than 15 min), the car was towed away. We went to the restaurant and they said most likely because it had an out-of-state license plate and there was nothing they could do about it. We were really upset. If it is hoe they do want to do their business, won't be surprised if they are going to run out of business soon. Won't come back!

Being a huge sushi fan I always take the time to visit sushi bars during my business trips. My standard chain in Houston is Miyako, however, 6 months ago my very good friend pointed me to Osaka which is hidden of Westheimer in Montrose area. What can I say - super fresh fish, large portions, great rolls, and complementary 'bites'. Came back just yesterday and I loved it even more. Definite place to visit if you are sushi lover.

We were greeted and seated as soon as we walked in. We were in need of a late night dinner and they stay open until 12:30. The waitress was prompt, courteous, and helpful in choosing our meal. The food was quickly served, fresh, and delicious. You will not be disappointed with this restaurant!!!

This place is my favorite sushi place in the city and I have tried most of them. I have been coming here since the beginning and have witnessed three remodels. The most recent was just finished a short time ago and it really made the place upscale. I think they mainly did this because of the "new place" that just opened across the street. I can honestly say that I believe this is the freshest sushi that I have experienced in Houston. The prices are inline with most of the other higher end sushi restaurants... not cheap and certainly not overpriced either. As mentioned in other reviews the complimentary appetizers and ice creams desserts are a nice compliment that the owner adds to every meal.

They gave us some sushi on the house. very nice touch. great service. food was a little lacking.

I just had lunch at the new Osaka location on Woodway. The restaurant is very nice looking inside. The service was wonderful. They served a free appetizer that was very good. We had a tiger roll and a creamy wasabi roll. Both were excellent. The quality was better than I have had in any other sushi restaurant. Everything was absolutely fresh and presented beautifully. I will definitely be returning to try something different.

Osaka is more traditional Japanese dining than most. We sat at the sushi bar. We had Shitake Hasami Age Black Mushroom with Shrimp and Shrimp Oba Tempura which was actually shrimp stuffing on over a leaf. Yellow tail and salmon sushi. All were good and fresh. Then an Asparagus Roll and a Ricky Roll. We had complementary on an appetizer and desert. Great service.

This is a comfortable place to eat good quality sushi and simple Japanese dishes Friendly and helpful staff Reasonably priced - see the size of that battered prawn I would go again if inhouston

Went on a Sunday evening prior to an event at the House of Blues in Houston. Location was great, and easy to find. Sat at the sushi bar, by choice. The complimentary appetizers were very good! Had the osaka roll and the phoenix roll. Both were excellent in their own way. Phoenix was spicy and delicious. Osaka was amazing with soft shelled crab and eel. Complimentary green tea ice cream for desert with a tempura fried banana slice was awesome, too. Nothing but good things to say about this place. Will be back!!

it made me to love sushi

There are lots of things that make a Japanese restaurant and sushi bar great and unfortunately Osaka missed on a lot. Part of it was the price, but they are in a high rent section of town, and I understand some of that, but they did not back it up with the expected quality. The sushi rice was overworked in the rolls, almost to a paste. The sashimi octopus was cut way too thick and lacking some of the flavour I expect. The eel was too much for a single mouthful and a little too loaded with sweet sauce to the point where the taste was lost. A personal preference for spicy hamachi (yellowtail) was met with an acid hot pepper instead of a sweet hot chile. We got out of there for about $50 pp for the food, + tip and felt it was a disappointing experience in comparison to so many other places in Houston. It is ironic to say one of the main reasons I did not like it, was that the seafood portions were too large.

Had the 911 and Galveston rolls. It was hard to choose which one was my favorite. Both were excellant. They gave us 2 different complimentary appitizers, which we really enjoyed. We had our kids with us and they don't each much. Shrimp tempera is on the menu and they won't eat it either :-/ but I asked if they could do chicken, not on the menu and sure enough they did. Great food, great staff A must try

We've eaten at Osaka many times and the sushi is always fresh and tasty. We can usually get a table right away and the service is always friendly. They always offer a free appetizer and ice cream too. I like the booth seating best as the tables are a bit close together and they crowd the path by the sushi bar. The restaurant is a bit noisy so I prefer to eat at their new location on Woodway Dr (at Bering).

The sushi is always fresh and the array of rolls they have is impressive. Prices are reasonable, especially when you consider that they give you 2 free appetizers and ice cream.

I would like to give Osaka 3.5 stars but I don't have that choice so I'm rounding up since the service was good and they give you extras like free shrimp dumpling and deep fried shrimp patty plus free ice cream. The rest of the food, however, was average at best and really kind of disappointing. The California roll was fine but nothing better than one would get in a grocery store. The salmon sushi was large and too thick for nigiri making it hard to eat and it wasn't great either. Okay, but not great like so many sushi restaurants in Houston. The real disappointment was the udon soup. The pot was fabulous and the udon noodles themselves were good but it was served with white meat chicken that was flavorless, a hard-boiled egg (not the norm for udon soup, it should be a cracked raw egg that should be mixed with the hot broth), shrimp tempura, and seaweed. Nothing authentic about it and nothing great. The restaurant is clean, service is great but the food is not worth returning for.

Good sushi and surimi. Good service. I mostly appreciated the salmon, very fresh. Also the urchins were interesting. But if you over order it is easy to break the 3 digits per person.

Our family had a really good dinner at this place on a Monday night when all Japanese restaurants in the area seem to be closed! What a great find! We ordered delicious rolls and appetizers. Service was fast and courteous! Nice facility - I truly recommend this place!!

Nice place attended for Japanese people. Food is good. You should try edamames wich are good, spring rolls really good. Of course for main dish sushi. They have a really good variety of rolls.

This was my second visit to Osaka and .. definately yes, this is one of the best Japanese restaurants I have visited i Houston! Exquisite food, attentive waiters, great atmosphere. I ordered the scallop starter, the chef's recommended beef in Osaka's special sauce and the recommended Sapporo beer to go with it. What can I say - perfect! In addition we got both another complimentary starter and dessert. A perfect culinary and quiet evening after a long day at work. I definately recomment Osaka!

Having tried sushi all over Houston we finally found a place that tops them all. The bluefin tuna was like butter and the magura tuna was almost as good. The tempura shrimp was delicious and not oily at all. Great beer list and convenient location on lower Westheimer.

Osaka has been my favorite sushi bar in Houston for years. The sushi here is better than I have had anywhere, including Manhattan. The nigiri is so large and so fresh. The assortment of cut rolls is also very comprehensive. I enjoy sitting at the sushi bar when I visit, but the atmosphere of the restaurant is great no matter where you sit. You will get complimentary dumplings or shrimp cakes when you order... As well as comped ice cream after you dine. A menu must-order: the spicy salmon or spicy tuna salad. It's so delicious, healthy and fresh! You will be blown-away at Osaka, if you are a sushi-addict like me.

I happen to see this restaurant while trying to kill time before a doctors appointment. They were advertising 20% off on sushi rolls and some appetizers. The venue is somewhat average, clean, but not highly decorated (who cares if the food and service is good). The server brought me a lunch menu, a special sushi and appetizer menu which applied to the 20% off, which was actually a nice selection. I think they are somewhat newly opened because I asked foe sake but the server explained right now at this time they could not serve this to me. For my food order I chose, seaweed salad, flying fish eggs sushi, my main entrée, shabu shabu. When he bought me my starters he also brought me two items on the house. Everything was very nice,however I wish I could have cooked the shabu shabu myself. I wish they would have put some mushrooms and maybe shredded carrots in the shabu shabu, but it was yummy. I will definitely go there again.

Very good traditional sushi option in Houston (second only to MF Sushi in this category). I recommend the uni here, as it is fresh and comes in generous portions. The fish is always top quality [I have had their fatty tuna more than once], and service is very good.

It was great! I have never been here, but the service/food/atmosphere was spectacular. I will be making this one of my regular places.

The freshest sushi, sashimi that I've ever had. The service was wonderful! Will be our favorite go to restaurant whenever we visit this part of Houston.

Friday night dining with a large party. A variety of food was ordered from sushi to udon as entrees. The food was brought at the same time, excellent flavor, and perfect temperature.

Wanting a couple of good rolls, I searched reviews and found this place highly rated. It was fantastic! The restaurant is very nice, the service was very good and the food was excellent. We had a crunch roll and a tiger roll. Both were fantastic. They even give a complimentary appetizer and scoop of ice cream. We will definitely go back!