10/05/08

good, not great

by dankam

fairly good, not all japanese staff by any means, texas roll was good. average priced-had better but I'd still recommend it and give it a try.

• Pros: parking, texas roll
• Cons: not amazing-pretty average sushi

09/21/08

Less than impressed

by NacolesWorld

While the atmosphere and the food were both nice, it was not stellar. The price implies that you should either get large portions or fabulous service. The service was merely ok, the salad was puny and watery, the miso had so many onions in it that it should have been called onion soup, and the sushi (though good) was a VERY small plate for $20. I have had more sushi that was of the same quality for much less than that.

With so many other great choices I will probably not go back to Sushi Jin.

• Pros: good taste, close parking
• Cons: mediocer service, small serving sizes

08/09/08

Good dine in, Recommended too all Sushi lovers and admirers. *Helps if you know Japanese*

by Yuujirou

"I had just recently dined at Sushi-Jin and I would like too say that I was pleasantly surprised. My meal started off with a personal inquisition as too whether they had maguro-natto (please note that maguro natto is not something too start off a sushi meal with) or not. Surprisingly, despite all their American-oriented fare, it was nice too know that they offered something of traditional Japanese cuisine, despite the item being off menu. Next I went off with some white fish, the hirame and madai. Both were exquisite in terms of flavour. The momiji-oroshi that topped the madai complemented the fish well, as did the hint of ponzu atop the hirame. Following the white fish I ordered the maguro and hamachi. The maguro was soft and had a sort of melt in your mouth texture too it. The colour, however, was of something just past it's peak, but still edible and presentable nonetheless. The hamachi was typical, but not of poor quality. I ordered a few more pieces of sushi before finishing my meal with an order of tamago. To me, it was served as a temaki, wrapped in a sheet of nori with a little bit of rice within. The nori was of good quality, provided a nice crunch as I bit into it. The tamago however was a bit sweet. Just a little too sweet for my taste, but I would suppose it suiting too their typical clientele. All in all I rate Sushi-Jin a four. Their sushi is typical, but the price is rather reasonable for it's quality. A deal even. Other Sushi-Ya around Houston should raise their standards too either meet those of Sushi-Jin or surpass it. Otherwise, there's really not much competition. On a final note, I will probably revisit Sushi-Jin someday as they are a bit above some other local spots around town."

07/20/08

BEST SUSHI IN HOUSTON

by gsemtei

This is the best Japanese Restaurant in Houston.. no doubts. I go every week with my husband and the food and service is just perfect! Highly recommended

• Pros: EVERYTHING

04/03/08

Excellent

by newfieintexas

I have tried several sushi places in the Houston area and none of them compare to Sushi Jin. The waitstaff and owners are attentive and friendly, we have always been seated promptly. We have always received a creative tiny sample salad or appetizer once seated, also.

Their tempura vegetables and gyoza are beyond delicious, and the ROLLS! Amazing. They are so creative, both in presentation and taste. My favorites are the scuba diver roll and the new york roll, with an honorable mention to the crunchy crab roll, the rainbow roll and the spider roll. The spider roll is a little big though, two bites, which makes it cumbersome but it is still very tasty. Cannot comment much on the sushi or sashimi as I haven't had much but the freshwater eel, tuna, and salmon sushi are ones that I have tried and they were good!

I took some sushi newbies here once and they loved it. Will definitely go back.

11/02/07

Recommend for good sushi and lunch specials

by japanese_girlfriend

Sushi Jin is clean, has authentic Japanese chefs, and offers good lunch specials. Located on the corner of a strip mall, this modestly sized restaurant even has tatami rooms to have karaoke parties.

Its sushi is pretty good; I enjoyed the salmon sushi. I also ordered kakiage-don, which my friends and I all enjoyed. I felt that the menu was a little heavy on noodle and rice dishes for the affordable items. If you intend to be full with the sushi, you would probably spend somewhere around $30.

As a Japanese national, overall, I would recommend this place to my friends when they ask me where to eat Japanese food as they always do.

• Pros: Good food, clean
• Cons: Small

07/27/07

The real deal

by shadde

This is a real Japanese restaurant. I've lived in Japan and I've eaten at many sushi-ya's in Houston over the last 30 years, and Sushi-jin very good to excellant even by Japanese standards. The head chef (or the Itamae in Japanese) is classically trained, and by that I mean he paid his dues through years of the very tough Japanese apprenticeship unlike most of the other sushi-ya where the chef run the gamut from Chinese, Korean, Mexican and even Mongolian who never even been to Japan much less understand the nuances and safety practices of sushi - yes, there more to sushi than cutting up a dead fish and slapping it on top of a block of rice if you want to keep your customers healthy.

The sushi rice (meshi) here is very good and the nigiri-sushi as well as the sashimi preparation and presentation is among the absolute best I've seen anywhere. The head chef which you can ALWAYS tell in a real Japanese establishment is always to your left side of the sushi counter is amazing to watch as he prepares either sashimi or sushi. I have tried in good humor to trip-up the guy by asking about some decidedly obscure fish that are only available in Japan, and this guy unfailingly knew them all. Try that at any of the other places and you would be lucky if the chef even knows how to pronounce the fish.

07/23/07

Strip Mall Gold

by sushibandit

As a statistics user the all or nothing style of evaluation really irks me. Everything gets 5 stars, so what is truly superior? Sushi Jin is truly superior and there really isn't any way for me to show that when so many Japanese places share that rating. Obviously most don't, but I'm hear to praise SJ and not bury the other guys. To qualify my opinion, I casually apprenticed with a master sushi chef for 3 years, I taught him the catching end of the fish biz and he showed me the inner world of sushi. First, it's all about the rice. SJ gets an A for their rice. Second, fresh fish and SJ gets an A there too. Then comes knife skills and variety, A's in both categories. You get the idea. These days sushi joints come in a lot of different styles (let's leave out the buffets, hybrid cuisine and grocery store types) and you can go with a traditional Japanese restaurant like SJ or a sushi lounge like B*luefin or a classic bar like M*iyako. They all have their fans, but I'm a traditional restaurant guy and SJ pretty well nails that genre. If you want to invoke the stereotypical measuring tape of whether Asian folks compose a large % of the clientele, then SJ qualifies. You want good tempura and a fair selection of cold sake? Again, SJ meets the criteria. Really the only thing that might put you off SJ is that it's west, not ridiculously west but it's still a good trip out there. I look at the drive as time to decide what I'm going to order amongst all the great stuff on the menu (they have a secret Japanese menu for you more experienced sushi/Japanese fans) and build even more of an appetite. Don't let the fact that the waitstaff isn't Japanese throw you, they're very knowledgable regardless of their ethnicity. Having a Hispanic lady totally familiar with natto was a litle strange, but in a good way. If you're a novice ask lots of questions and turn yourself over to their experienced staff. Pretty much whatever you order it will be well past good.

02/14/07

Authentic Japanese Cuisine with Excellent Sushi

by hashu

Sushi Jin is the best Japanese restaurant I've been to in Houston. I recently moved here from NYC and this is the best place I've been to. Most sushi in Houston is: not fresh, not sushi quality fish, and crafted into gimmicky rolls. Sushi Jin is Japanese, not Korean or Chinese like many Houston sushi restaurants, and is Grade-A quality wise. The sushi men are Japanese, not Mexican or Vietnamese, and are very nice guys.The restaurant is tastefully decorated and peaceful, though it loses points for it's strip center location on Memorial at Dairy Ashford. The food is top notch though, you can't go wrong with anything on the menu.

• Pros: Decor, Food, Service, Ambience
• Cons: Strip Center Memorial West location

01/27/07

Don't listen to any bad reviews! This place is GREAT!

by kaysblackrose

We found this restaurant through houston.citysearch and decided from the reviews to give it a shot! And it was a great choice. Their service was friendly, the place was clean. And the food was great, and not too pricey. For all you sushi fans, this is the place to be. Oh and DO NOT listen to the guy on this review page who said the lunch was bad, we went for lunch, their fish is FRESH, and looked great!

PS They have a big screen tv that is amazing!

• Pros: Great food, great people.
• Cons: A little far from our house, but not TOO far.