Soma

Soma for your B-day

by SOMAfan

June 30, 2009

Soma provided a great birthday for me and two dozen friends or so last year, so I asked myself why get creative and go with a classic palm tree sushi server on westheimer, when I can go with a great experience again for this b-day. The staff accommodates a crew for the upper level penthouse, so you will feel like you own the place . . . Consider it your O-Ren Ishii hangout. I will be there for my birthday again this month, with the rest of my crazy two dozen, and I cannot wait.

• Pros: dine here
• Cons: none

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Took a Chance and Didn't Regret It.

by Smashx0

March 08, 2009

My boyfriend and I do sushi AT LEAST once a week, and we have our favorites, but we passed SOMA for the first time after we signed a lease on a house in the Heights and were exploring the area. We decided to try it. The parking was anything but convenient, but the complimentary valet kinda makes up for it. When we walked in, the hostess was on the phone. I'm going to assume it was an important call, because she ignored us for 5 minutes, but that's not that big a deal. When she DID look up at us, we were seated almost immediately (it was only 5pm on a Wednesday). Let me say this about SOMA: The atmosphere is more pleasing than any other restaurant I have been to in my life. The LIGHTING is so artistic, the seating is comfortable, the bar is such a neat set up, and I LOVE an exposed sushi area so you can spy on your chef. Our waiter was VERY welcoming and gracious and made sure to ask if we'd ever been there before. I like the simplicity of the menu and thought it was well-organized. A friend of mine had mentioned the Crazy Irishman, so we ordered that along with Crispy Ocean and Deadliest Catch and THE BEST fresh-water eel piece I've ever had. You can tell the ingredients are high-quality. We were literally saying MMMM with every new bite. Our waiter was on top of our refills, he knew the menu backwards and forwards and I overheard him explaining a lot of the rolls to some clueless middle-aged women. He was just fantastic and so gracious. We loved it and we WILL go again, but definitely not on a night when it's packed.

• Pros: amazing decor and lighting, excellent and attentive wait-staff, delicious high-quality sushi
• Cons: parking

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We Truly Care About The Food

by somagm

February 13, 2009

I am the GM of Soma. I am writing this in response to the last reviewer who lumped us in with all the other splashy souless restaurants who have all the ingredients of a good restaurant except good food. That is not what we are about. Yes we may be the "it" place, yes it's trendy and yes we have alot of people who are here just to "see" and be "seen" but we deeply care about the food first and foremost. We buy very expensive ingredients and we have talented sushi and kitchen chef''s to execute. With as much volume as we do, and it pains me to say, sometimes some diners don't get the experience I wish for all my customers to have. If you have an experience that is not up to par, please let me know, my card is always displayed at the front so call, e-mail, or ask for me while your there. I will personally guarantee and oversee that your next meal is a great one and I will do everything in my power to show you that we care about the food and your experience.I do agree that Houston is littered with busy restaurants who could care less about the food. Comparing Soma to those type's of places is the worst thing a customer could say about us in my book. Just because we may be trendy, doesnt mean that the owner and I dont deeply care about the food and pushing the culinary boundaries to new and exciting places. Our Kitchen menu is far from boring and has unique dishes you will get in no other normal sushi bar. We buy our fish from the top sushi purveyors, buy the best meats and poultry and have a wine and sake list unmatched by any of our competition. Any customer saying in person, or in a review, that we dont care about the food and its quality or we just want to be trendy is so far from the truth. Again, to all our loyal customers and to all those that are new customers, please do not hesitate to communicate with me directly, anytime, about your experience aty Soma.I love to hear positive feedback,but am more concerned with those whose expectations weren't met.

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I don't get it, but I guess I get it!

by dragon2109

February 11, 2009

Obviously this is a place to be seen, b/c there were a lot of people here, but honestly the food was MAYBE average and the service was nearly non-existent. There a lot of places like this in Houston where it really doesn't matter what the food tastes like or what kind of service you get as long as other "desirable" people are there. Until we demand better food, we'll remain a second tier city, food wise. But, hey, you look cool if you go, so everybody RUSH over b/c in the end, at least in Houston, food and service don't really matter.

• Pros: beautiful people
• Cons: mediocre food and service

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some good, some bad

by coog78

January 31, 2009

I came to Soma skeptical after reading some of the reviews. Mostly, the reviews are off the mark, but not completely. The food is pretty good. The ceviche was interesting and the pieces of yellowtail really sets it apart as a tasteful dish. The crazy irishman roll is presented well, and pleases the palate. Nice atmosphere and cool decor. The waitstaff at our table was attentive enough and overall was a nice experience. I will probably return. Reminded me of a Montrose atmosphere, so it's good to see Washington Blvd. is moving forward.

Now the bad.... the bartender on Friday 1/30 has got to be the slowest bartender on earth, ever, seriously! We ordered two drinks while waiting on friends to arrive and 25 minutes later, no, 25 MINUTES LATER!, we finaly got our mediocre drinks. PATHETIC. Not quite as bad, but still worth mentioning, I was brought a cold cappucino with my dessert. Not warm, COLD. Again, PATHETIC. What would have gotten four or possibly five stars was brought down by some obvious incompetence by the waitstaff. Back to training they need to go. If the service does not improve on a return visit, I will never dine here again. Way too much quality in Montrose to deal with this nonsense.

• Pros: food
• Cons: service, incompetence

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Atmosphere

by nationalbarhopper

January 25, 2009

I am in town on business and asked a colleague where to go for good sushi and a good atmosphere for a 30 something dining alone. The sushi is good and fresh but the atmosphere was even better. The crowd was very classy and approachable and the service was impeccable.

• Pros: Atmosphere and Service

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Place to be

by pickneat

January 05, 2009

Besides the parking and the rude hostesses, the food and atmosphere was delightful. Sashimi was great and fresh! The wait staff knew their menu inside out and made great recommendations. When the order came out wrong from my special diet need, the manager came out and took care of it.

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Words Can't Describe.......

by eztrekkertraveler

December 14, 2008

I do not know where to begin. My husband and I enjoy food and wine and have been in the business for years. We came across Soma several months back because we are huge fans of Chef Robert Gadsby. The first time we dined, the food was amazing. I wish I could say that we had that same experience on Friday, December 5th, but that was not the case. It all started when we walked into the busy restaurant around 8:45pm and there were two hostesses. I stood there for over 5 mins waiting for someone to acknowledge me while my husband parked the car. There were two girls that were talking to each other but neither of them ever looked up and asked if they could help me. One, then walked around the booth to speak to another couple and left to seat them as the other looked at her finger nails. I was still in awe that almost ten mins later, I am still standing there and not one person had said one word to me. Then a nice young gentleman, a waiter I assume, walked up and asked if I needed some assistance. I said that I was looking for a table for two. He then handed the menus to the other hostess and asked that she seat us at the Sushi bar. She then rolled her eyes and said she would in a few mins. As I continued to stand there, another waiter, asian male, ran up and yelled, " OMG!! is this a Fuc$^%# joke?? Someone gave me a table of DEAF ppl." My jaw dropped to the floor in disbelief that he had just yelled this in front of everyone. The hostess then walked me to my seat as I felt sick at the fact that I would give my money to a place that hired ignorant ppl. My husband finally finished dropping the car to valet and joined me. He could see how upset I was. I turned around and saw a table of about 12 hearing impaired patrons and wondered how they would feel about tipping their waiter who had made such a degrading comment about them. I shared my experience with my husband and said that I did not feel good about dining there so we took our business elsewhere and enjoyed it.

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LOVED IT

by ABrignac

October 30, 2008

I went for lunch one day and I have been back several times and told many friends about this place. Its trendy, the sushi is GREAT and the prices are reasonable. I went on a Thurs. Night for a date (which is a great place to go, lots of people to watch, good drinks, and a DJ playing some jazzy tunes) the only thing that was an issue is the parking. GOOD LUCK, just VALET. But it is worth the wait. TRY IT!

• Pros: Great Food Great Price
• Cons: Parking Not Good

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Great date spot

by cboon

October 20, 2008

My husband and I went recently for a Saturday night "on our own." The hosts were so nice, and the bartenders were a lot of fun. We got a great table, and loved our food. The crab cake appetizer was amazing, and then we had almost all sushi. The order was very timely, not as previously written on this site. The dessert was great, too, something we usually don't have when we got out for sushi. I loved the atmosphere--its a beautiful restaurant!

• Pros: Ambience, sushi, drinks (martinis)
• Cons: None

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