11/07/09

disgusting

by veenac

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

• Cons: bad service and bad food

10/24/09

High quality Japanese fusion cooking

by mf52

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!

• Pros: Service, quality, great ambience
• Cons: Price, valet

09/10/09

Nice place.... and that's about it

by csfealy

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.

• Pros: The decor and atmosphere
• Cons: Everything else

09/08/09

Not my first choice for sushi

by CityGal222

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.

• Pros: Nice interior
• Cons: Food

07/15/09

Sashimi

by basque76

Went there today for lunch, not crowded, parked myself, sat at the bar and had the tuna, salmon, smoked salmon sashimi.....awesome...awesome taste and texture. That's it. Really good sashimi, how it should be...of course I could have eaten 3 more orders but I had to have some respect for the vendor who was treating me ($15 per order/5-6 pieces per order). I have issues with every restaurant I go to and I am very fastidious and hard to please so this really is something for me to laud a restaurant for simply sashimi. Living in Houston, I too hate valet parking, snotty hostesses, idiot waiters, uncleaniness, techno music while I eat, etc.....but on this particular occasion I didn't have to deal with any of that....probably better service during day than night when it gets crowded and rushed.

• Pros: Sashimi

06/30/09

Soma for your B-day

by SOMAfan

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

03/08/09

Took a Chance and Didn't Regret It.

by Smashx0

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

02/13/09

We Truly Care About The Food

by somagm

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.

02/11/09

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

by dragon2109

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

01/31/09

some good, some bad

by coog78

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