Soma Sushi Restaurant & Bar

Doesn't Recommend

Doug K.

Joined 2 months ago

2:00 pm Sunday 3/24/13: Walked in and was told no booths available... looked around... at least 5 empty, waitress was rude and difficult, brought my date a drink that tasted like gasoline... sent it back, was told they couldn't fix my jalapeno tempura (as they had made every other time I dined there)... had to talk with the manager... ordered several other items... got the bill... charged me for the returned drink... $12 for 4 jalapenos (every other Sushi place in town max $6). Got our Real Estate adventure off to a bad start... I hated leaving a tip... Forgot my iPhone... went back in... waitress had it wrapped up in a black napkin headed to the back... no attempt to walk outside and flag me down. You won't be seeing me or my friends there any time soon!!!

Recommends

Doris M.

Joined 8 months ago

Simply put, the Sushi is awesome (actually, unparalleled in Houston) and the atmosphere is unique!

Doesn't Recommend

cinnamonred1

Joined 10 years ago

Americanized, lacked authenticity. This restaurant is a mix of good and bad. The decor was eclectic, ambiance comfortable. The staff friendly. There was a lovely patio area with a fountain. The parking was very limited and valet coveted much of it. The menu is completely ala carte. There are no combo dishes where you can have a soup, salad, main dish or just a assorted selection of sashimi platters. The portions were very small, so one or two items still left you hungry. The raw sushi fish was tasteless. We has the Maguro, Masago and Salmon. The California rolls had no smelt egg, and Unagi rolls barely had any eel or sauce, no sesame seeds - both were bland and tiny. BLT was good but only had four on the plate. Seasonal tempura was ridiculously small (except for the giant broccoli stalk) with shrimp no bigger than a cashew and almost non-existant batter. The prices are very high for what they are presenting and we still were hungry when we left. I guess we paid for the neighborhood, instead of for the quality.

Doesn't Recommend

vixen06

Joined 7 years ago

Great Food, Horrible service. I'm giving them a 2 start because the food is amazingly yummy but I could not believe how horrible their service was. Everyone was polite but it took forever to get drinks and for our dinner I thought they went to get the cow in Europe. We all finally had to say something! I think our waiter forgot to order! I could not wait to just pay my bill and leave because it was way past my bed time!! The place was not that packed either, it was on a Wednesday evening. I sure hope they work on that because it truly is a shame.

Recommends

HoustonFun

Joined 5 years ago

Love their sushi!. I love their happy hours. 1/2 off certain specialty rolls. My favorites are the Crazy Irishman & Red Devil. Even my non-sushi loving friends agree that those rolls are delicious. Also, the beef capascio is simply divine!

Doesn't Recommend

TopolOpinion

Joined 3 years ago

Soma on Washington: Worthless, expensive, uppity. Attended a party at Soma last night. Where do I begin?...

I was a party of 15, the first six members of my party were seated and the waitress was more than persistent about taking the other chairs away. I explained to her that this was unacceptable. The remaining 9 people arrived and we began to order drinks. Some waited as long as 15 minutes before they were attended to for service.

The waitress then asked me, "Will everyone be paying with separate checks?" I responded with yes, to which she said, "Well... that's not our policy." Her tone could not be more condescending. Why would you ask me counterfeit to make a point? As a waitress your job is to provide the best experience possible for the patrons, fill their requests if reasonable and make sure the drinks and food arrive with accuracy and in a timely fashion.

She fulfilled none of these duties or responsibilities.

Onto the food: Let's be honest here folks, HEB has better sushi. They just do. We purchased the Relaxation and the gilled scallops. The scallops left something to be desired and the roll priced at $12 failed to live up to the first .50 cents on the dollar.

Our table was treated with no respect. We were presented with the moment of the check... The waitress kindly reminded us in perhaps the tackiest display of the evening that because we paid separately gratuity was not included. Thanks, we could see that when we received the bill!

The waitress then proceeded to tell our table that, "sometimes people just don't realize that and leave without paying the gratuity." Her behavior demonstrated an attitude of, "You've never eaten at an 'exclusive' restaurant before have you???"

So in closing, Soma failed on every level. The food was substandard, the service was an abomination, and my party felt like they were eating in a cave (turn some lights on!).

Don't waste your time, your money, or your goodwill. Save that for an establishment that will treat you and your guests with a little more respect. We went to Soma for a birthday party, the girl of the hour rushed off and had no interest of going out after.

The reason?... Had to be the sushi!

Doesn't Recommend

veenac

Joined 4 years ago

disgusting. I used to love this place and went her all the time. Recent went there and the waitress was rude and the sushi was absolutely vile.

will never go back again

Recommends

mf52

Joined 5 years ago

High quality Japanese fusion cooking. My wife & I went there for dinner on our anniversary. I highly recommend the 5, 7, or 9 course "chef's choice" meal. There was great progression of textures, sauces, and techniques as the courses progressed. It was some of the finest, cooked, Japanese food I have ever had.

The service was outstanding as well. Our waiter was super attentive and knowledgeable about the food. The manager stopped by to check on us twice. The GM stopped by to chat with us and, to top it all off, the chef came out of the kitchen and spent about 5 minutes discussing the dishes and his inspiration behind them. This was on a busy Saturday night no less!

The idea behind this place is not to be a traditional Japanese sushi, but rather to serve quality fusion style Japanese cuisine a la Nobu. Overall very well done!

Doesn't Recommend

csfealy

Joined 4 years ago

Nice place.... and that's about it. The sushi wasn't anything special at all, and I don't believe my salmon and scallops was that fresh. I could probably eat the same quality of food at Oishi, but besides all that I thought it was a pretty looking place. Seems like I'm paying for the scenery more than actual food.

Doesn't Recommend

CityGal222

Joined 4 years ago

Not my first choice for sushi. For a restaurant that aims to fuse French and Japanese cuisine, this place is a fusion fail! The food is subpar, especially for the prices. You walk in expecting a certain caliber from their food, but I was left more than disappointed. I would come here to drink, and that's about it. But then again, I could go anywhere to drink.