Cafe Japon

04/15/2008 Posted by cougaboutown

For some reason, the concierge at Hotel Zsa Zsa recommended this place. I'm somewhat new to Houston and mostly know the handful of places downtown. I took a friend of mine from San Francisco. We both know good sushi. We've eaten good sushi. Good sushi is a friend of our stomachs. This was really pretty marginal and definitely overpriced. There were plenty of empty tables and it was only 7:00 pm, albeit a Thursday. The service was incredibly slow. My friend and I both travel a lot. I think we are pretty reasonable when it comes to understanding a place that is busy. But Japon was not. The wait staff acted annoyed at our presence. They got his drink order wrong. How hard is it to make a gin and tonic? Despite asking everybody in sight that we were ready to order, it took them 35 minutes to finally get around to us, and, like I said, you would have thought we were asking for the moon. To top everything off, we couldn't get another drink for asking or money. Incredible. I wonder if the owner knows what is going on there. Anyway, it took us another 45 minutes after eating to get our check. Horrible, couldn't-care-less service. If you have wheels, I recommend Ra Sushi on Westheimer or Azuma downtown. Ra has way, way better atmosphere especially in the evening and better sushi by far, although more expensive. Azuma is better sushi and ok atmosphere. Either has much better service.

Pros: Well, it is sushi, I guess.

Cons: Bad service, so-so sushi.

02/22/2008 Posted by imlazy

food was alright, toook ALONG DAMN TIME. we first entered and said "12" when the manager asked for a number, he made an ugly face as we walked to go set up the tables. after that was unbelievable. about 10-15 min a waiter came to ask for drinks. it took about 30 minutes before someone returned to take the order. and it took another hour for food to come out (this is a SUSHI place) come on now. and when the food came out only half of us got our food. took another 15 minutes for couple of more plates, but still couple of us didnt' even get out food. by now it was about 2-2.5 hrs and we had to get back to work. when we got there it was NOT busy. and yet when thsoe that never received food asked what happened, the manager had the nerve to say "the host didn't tell you we were backed up?".. we respond with "no".. and manager's response "they should have". HELLO YOU SAT US DOWN!" yes that manager, who had made the face, was the one to seat us. then when it was time to pay we asked for an itemized bill (containing details of what was ordered) instead the manager gave us an attitude "you were laughing at me"... first off no we weren't laughing at you (him), we were there laughing and talking the entire time cause it was a co-worker's birthday. then responding to the "itemized bill" the manager says "you want free meal for everyone" - our response , no we didn't say "free" we said "itemized bill-with all the orders on it" instead he kept talking saying that we wanted a free meal.. no we all had our money out ready to pay. that manager is an idiot, he should be fired. i dont recommend this place, there are three other sushi restaurants right in the area: Azumi Sushi, Rickshaw Bambu (definitely recommend), Bambu Lounge, Sushi King, Tokyohana Grill & Sushi Bar,. take your pick.

Pros: variety of food to choose from.

Cons: service was slow, manager was horrible (extremely rude and at the same time acted like a baby-"you were laughing at me" in a whining tone, no joke)

02/11/2008 Posted by sushipro22

I have waited tables before at a sushi restaurant (in a different city) so I am more understanding about the service of a restaurant and very tolerable. However, when I think a restaurant has bad service then it really is THAT BAD, and this restaurant is one of those. My coworkers and I came to Sushi Japon for the first time after work at about 11PM because we were craving sushi and this was the only place we knew of open that late. The place was quiet with only a few tables. We sat down and began looking at the drinks. 20 minutes passsed and no one had even greeted our table, much less taken a drink order. So I got up and went to the "bar" which was the manager and ordered our drinks. Instead of makign it right then for us, he had someone come back to our table to retake the order and that took another 20 minutes for the drinks to come out. When they had come out, they were wrong but we drank them anyway because we were tired of waiting. The drinks were DISGUSTING. One friend described it as drinking urine. We then proceeded to eat the less than mediocre sushi we had ordered with the server never comng to our table to ask if everything was ok. We waited around for another 20 minutes or so for her to come around to ask for our check and to also inform her that she had forgotten a few rolls. Our emtpy plates were never cleared, we were never offered more drinks, nothing. The sad thing is, they were not busy at all. And on top of everything, 2 of my coworkers were extremely sick the next day from the food. So a warning to all... DON'T COME TO THIS PLACE. IT IS AWFUL.

Pros: open late

Cons: everything else

12/02/2007 Posted by japanese_girlfriend

I went to Cafe Japon for the happy hour on a Saturday night at 11 p.m. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the nigiri sushi pieces which are just $1.25 each. I tried several pieces, and though not huge in size, most of them were impressively tasty. They also offer creative hand rolls for non-nigiri eaters. If you are strictly a roll eater, you may not be as entertained, but if you are like me, who enjoy eating nigiri, this is a must-try place. Their drink specials include $2 asahi as well as some sake mixed drinks and domestic beer. Some appetizers are also available at happy hour prices. The service staff was friendly, and the atmosphere is quite nice. I recommend this place for sushi-lovers who don't like to compromise on the quality or prices. To recap, the happy hour is: Mon.-Fri. 4-7 p.m. Fri.-Sat. 11 p.m.-2 a.m. Sun. ALL DAY

Pros: Good sushi, good service, good ambience

Cons: Hard to find off of I-59

09/11/2007 Posted by sushicraver85

after work i love going here for happy hour! the handrolls are so good. also the happy hour app. the waitress was always smiling no matter how late and she seem to always remember what i like. this place decent compare to other sushi places. good price and sushi (for the price you pay) so nice and quiet also and romantic. and the handrolls are good did i mention that? :)

Pros: everything

Cons: n/a

05/12/2007 Posted by expertk

Sushi is excellent - great creative menu (ask what is off the menu), good portions for a great price. Always seems to be seating, and it is open late. I've seen families with kids there and there appears to be no problem. I've eaten at lots of sushi restaurant in Houston, and this is my favorite (over Azuma, Miyako, Uptown sushi). It is pretty casual attire. Restaurant decor is aging and could do with a freshen up. Highly recommended for a great bite of sushi.

Pros: good menu, great price, great portions, fresh sushi.

Cons: Tired decor.

04/09/2007 Posted by stickybb

Cheap lunch with big portion for some dishes. I order seafood udon for lunch. On menu, it stated it has shrimp, oyster, mussel, scallop, octopus and crab meat. I cannot find any oyster and mussel. I asked the manager about the missing item. They told me oyster and mussel are "seasonal item". That is so ridiculous. Server never check on the table to make sure the foods are ok. Pricy dinner. The price of the hot dishes is almost double compare to lunch but the portion seems the same.

Pros: Cheap Lunch

Cons: Service and missing item

11/21/2006 Posted by missorenishii

a friend took me here because they couldn't stop raving about this place. honestly, upon first impressions, the ambience is much to be desired of and there was no touch of character that really makes it stand out from all the other sushi places. to me, it felt like any other not-so-great sushi restaurant. the sushi was decent, but i had a whole lot better quality elsewhere. the only highlight i can think of is that it's a hotspot to go during after hours or after clubbing, since they close at 2am on friday and saturdays.*

Cons: ambience

11/20/2006 Posted by lindznytxn

I just moved to Houston and went into this restaurant and inquired about a dish. I was instructed about a dinner special of the dish I wanted, so I ordered it thinking by her explanation it was the right food. Apparently, the woman misunderstood what I wanted and gave me the wrong dish completely. Instead of offering to rectify the situation and make me the correct dish, they decided to blame me for the mistake and refused to do anything about the problem. I asked to speak with the manager. When the woman that was blaming me informed me that she was the manager, I was in shock. She then offered to make me the new dish for no charge if i accepted the fact that the server would have to pay for the mistake. So if you want food you don't order, with a side of guilt, this should be your choice of dining experience. If you want superior customer service and good food, I would stay far away from this restaurant.

Pros: no pros

Cons: everything

02/24/2006 Posted by jumbosrule

Of all the places to eat sushi in Houston, this seems to be my standard. Comparing to other similar restaurants, this one is priced about the same, has a decent selection of unique rolls, and has been consistently good. Service is about average - don't have any complaints, and the atmosphere is fine, if a little white-bread. I am never dissapointed with my experience and would recommend it to anyone looking to try a different place.

Pros: Food