Oka

After another visit, the service has gotten much slower. They removed the sea bass from the lunch menu and raised the price and changed the menu. I would no longer recommend, I don’t foresee this restaurant lasting much longer.

Excellent quality and taste! Great Location, nice staff, nice menu variety.

Favorite sushi restaurant in Houston! Incredibly fresh and well made sushi. 5 stars on every level — taste, product, service, atmosphere, pricing.

Best sushi I have ever had and I have eaten sushi all over the world. I love how they are happy to make custom rolls to anything you want. Incredible and top ingredients. Exceptional service. Perfect in every way

With so many sushi restaurants to choose from in Houston, my boyfriend and I were a little skeptical coming into this restaurant. We wanted to try it out, though, and found that the quality of sushi was very good!
I would say this is a more traditional upscale sushi restaurant, as opposed to fusion ones like kata robata or uchi. Also, I’d say the price tag is between $$-$$$ – that might be because we ordered the pricier items though.
Tuna tower 5÷5− I feel like tuna towers can never go wrong, but this was better than Bluefish’s, which means it deserves ⁵⁄₅. I would order again.
Uni 4÷5− A big mouthful and fresh, but not as sweet as we’ve had before
Oka uptown roll 5÷5− Wow, this was worth it! You could really taste the flavor of all the different pieces inside the roll, instead of a big mush like not rolls. Would order again.
Deluxe Sashimi 4÷5− Big ‘ol slices of sashimi and good too! You get your money’s worth with this deluxe sashimi bowl
Parking: garage with ticket validation
Location: right next door to Caracol, the entry is a little hidden though

I was blown away with how fresh their fish was! Not that I was expecting bad fish from a snazzy place in Uptown, but I haven’t heard much about this place so I was very skeptical.
Honestly, I wanted to try Caracol and it was too packed. Oka was next door so it was convenient at the time. It was nice outside so we sat on the patio. Plenty of tables. The décor inside was neat — Nice atmosphere. The service was kind of slow which was surprising since there weren’t that many tables filled during lunch time. I’d say less than 10. She did stop to check on us more frequently towards the end of our meal though.
Their foie gras market price was $ 24. I’d rather go to Uchi for that price.
Lunch items consisted of some rolls, bento boxes, noodles and some appetizers. All decent pricing $ 11 — $ 17.
The chirashi bowl was legit! The cuts were thick and lots of variety. Fresh.
The miso marinated black cod was on POINT. I’m telling you it melts in your mouth and the miso flavor wasn’t overpowering. ¹⁰⁄₁₀ would get again.
Nigiri pieces were amazing. Do yourself a favor and get the Escolar. Butter.
Overall, had a great experience and probably will come again. They also have a HH Menu!

Amazing place with delicious food, try dumplings they are delicious. Try Oka uptown roll, red dragon roll and grilled Chilean sea bass & scalope. You will love this place)

Love this place! I am sad it’s so tucked away and is hard to see. The service is so good and the waiters are all so nice! I got the avocado roll and the white tuna on happy hour and it was delicious. Their patio is nice to sit at and their music is like mellow club music. It’s a great atmosphere. I highly recommend!

Great atmosphere with great food. Definitely coming back!
Service was good with every friendly staff. Sushi was fresh and well made.

In a city full of sushi restaurants (all kinds and cuisines of restaurants actually), it’s hard for places to stand out. Oka falls into this category. It was okay. But it doesn’t live up to it’s swanky Galleria area location. Traditional, average sushi at above average prices. Not a bad meal, but not a stand out meal either. Would no go out of my way to go back.

NOTED: IT’S STILL THEIR SOFT OPENING.
I have passed by here a couple times and Ive been waiting to here about it from friends, but there hasn’t been many reviews I have seen to actually have to go. Last night, I decided to come here to try it since one of the reviews had foie gras and we all know that that’s all I need to hear/​see.
It took awhile for the hostess to come seat us, there was no one in the front. When she did seat us, we only got the wine menu. The waitress later came and gave us the food menu, she seemed disconnected from the environment until the end of our dinner when the manager started talking to us. The service itself was great though, especially the manager named «Lin». He let us know that it was still their soft opening asked for our opinions and how they were still tweaking the menus and that’s completely understandable.
–Foie Gras (²⁄₅) It was overcooked, I couldn’t enjoy the melting in your mouth part of foie gras. I tasted the burnt and dryness all around, the flavoring was from the Russian caviar which had this smoked salty taste to it.
–Spicy Dumpling (⁴⁄₅) Dumpling was good, a little hard on edge of the wrap (maybe too much dough?) Dumplings are just dumplings, it was worth a try.
–Grilled Hamachi Kama (3.5÷5) A bit overcooked as well, it was one of the dishes I actually enjoyed more than the others though.
–Toro Tartar (²⁄₅) It was pretty mushy, had a lot more of avocado than fish. They also had put two small pieces of snow crab in there. It lacked flavor, besides the fact that they also put the Russian caviar in this for that salty smoked taste.
–Chop Scallop (Nigiri) (³⁄₅) Flavorless, at least it wasn’t too slimy or fishy for me.
–Oka Uptown Roll (²⁄₅) I had asked for them to put the truffle in here, which I didn’t taste, I actually didn’t taste anything in this roll. It was just as mushy as the toro tartar.
–Bread Pudding (⁵⁄₅) Phenomenally amazing. The bread was made of croissant and it was nice, fluffy, soft, but crispy on some parts with either a berry or a raisin with a side of ice cream. It was so good and I don’t even like sweets usually. The manager said they specifically have a baker come in and make this for them.
It was worth a try and I will be back to try again for their grand opening with a hopefully better update.

Appetizers:
Spicy dumplings (³⁄₅) — they were ok. The sauce It was drenched in was good, but the meat filling was lacking in flavor. Can’t really compare it to dumplings from authentic places in Chinatown though I guess.
Toro tartar (4.5÷5) — delicious! Wish there was more caviar since I didn’t really taste it much, but the toro was perfect. Get it, you won’t be disappointed.
Foie gras (⁵⁄₅) — seared foie gras with Russian caviar, how can you go wrong? Simply melt in your mouth delicious.
Hobo (white fish) ceviche (⁴⁄₅) — the hobo was really good! Never had it before but it had a light flavor I thoroughly enjoyed.
Sushi:
Uni (⁵⁄₅) — just the way I like it. Same as other quality uni sushi found at restaurants like Uptown, Kata, etc
Baby yellowtail (⁵⁄₅) — something they had that’s not always on the menu and I really like it! If you like yellowtail, you’ll really like this version of it.
Dessert:
Espresso ice cream pie (⁵⁄₅) — if you like coffee flavored ice cream, you’ll die and go to heaven with this one. We killed this dessert. It’s cut like a cake/​pie slice, but it’s really just all ice cream with chocolate edges. So. Freaking. Delicious.

I wanted to love this place. Its location is great and the ambience is really nice but I was very disappointed that 2 things I had ordered, they «had ran out of the day before.» That makes me question how/​when they prepare their food. I was here on Monday, Feb. 15.
We ordered the Foie Gras ($ 22), Blue fin premium fatty tuna/​o toro sashimi ($?), Orange dragon roll ($ 14), and Spicy tuna roll ($ 7). I was excited about the Foie Gras. After the waiter put in our order, he came back to tell me that they ran out of Foie Gras the day before. He asked me if I wanted to order something else instead. I ordered the Miso pork belly ($ 12).
I was surprised to see the O Toro delivered first because I was expecting the Miso pork belly since it was the appetizer. O Toro was ok, not the best. I think Kata Robata’s tasted better. I give Oka’s toro ²⁄₅.
Next came the Spicy tuna roll, 8 pieces. It was pretty spicy which is great! $ 7 for this roll is fine but I expect there to be a lot of spicy tuna in it! You can see from my pics that there’s not much inside :(3/​5
Finally the appetizer comes. Miso pork belly is served with plum sauce and steam buns (baos). It’s tasty, tender, fatty, delicious. The baos were disappointingly tiny. Not enough baos were given for the amount of meat. ⁴⁄₅
Orange dragon roll has spicy tuna inside, topped with salmon, avocado, and orange tobiko. Cut into 8 pieces. ⁴⁄₅
We were still hungry so we ordered the Hot & Flaming Roll ($ 18). Snow crab mix, avocado, cream cheese, shrimp tempura roll with soy paper, deep fried served with eel sauce and spicy mayo. 10 pieces; the shrimp tail was hard and difficult to eat. ⁴⁄₅
I wanted to try a dessert. Asked our server what he recommended, he said the bread pudding is what American people like. I said yes, that sounds great! Then he returns to tell me they ran out of it the day before. I was so disappointed that I decided I didn’t want any dessert.
Ambience is nice. Service was good. I wish the server knew what items weren’t available for the evening so I wouldn’t get my hopes up. Food presentation was nice. Food was ok; it left a lot to be desired. I won’t be returning.

Craving sushi, my trusty Unilocal app didn’t disappoint. I came in during Happy Hour, and ordered the following:
–Tuna nigiri
–Salmon nigiri
–Spicy dumplings
And, of course, some cold sake to wash down the goodness. Everything was tasty, and the pricing (Happy Hour) was surprisingly reasonable, especially considering I was in the swanky Galleria area.
Very good service, and the Manager, Lynn was a cool cat. He offered some recommendations as where to go (sans wife) in the general area.
Next time I’m staying in the Galleria area, I’ll return.

This new kid in town isn’t too shabby. I like the location and the valet is quick here.
It isn’t super busy yet so reservations are optional. It is a bright and clean restaurant with your standard Japanese décor.
The service here is wonderful and so is the selection of appetizers and rolls. The spicy dumplings and tuna tower was delicious, the rolls are all fresh and flavorful, and I especially like the seafood fried rice. They did not skim on the seafood! It has tons of fresh and plump shrimp, scallop, and crabmeat in it.
Definitely a new favorite.

That was a surprise. At some point from the time I went to Oka during their soft opening period to now they revamped their *entire* menu. Wow. The first menu needed refinement and there were some particularly ill-​conceived dishes. Pricing needed to be looked at as well, but the execution of the menu was pretty solid. Obviously adjustments were needed but a wholesale change? That tells me they canned the first chef. Wow again.
So really this meal was like I was eating at Oka for the first time.
Unfortunately, our experience at the newest iteration of Oka was not better than the first.
Let me first say the service was excellent. Friendly, knowledgable and attentive. They have professionals running the front of the house.
The issues we had? All food-​related for a variety of reasons. The actual shrimp and scallop dumplings of the spicy dumplings dish were quite good, but the dish as a whole was overwhelmed by an over-​abundance of vinegar in the sauce. The version at Qin Dynasty is much better. Our grilled Hamachi-​Kama was overcooked on the bottom half. The Healthy Roll was certainly healthy-​tasting but lacked flavor. The sushi? Okay, but pricey relative to the quality. See how thin the whole scallop is sliced. Why slice it at all? I don’t like it when they put mint with the fish also — it shows a lack of confidence in its flavor. The tempura udon was heavy on the soy-​sauce base. We all said the Peking-​duck style miso pork belly with plum sauce and buns really needed some green onion. Guess what — we missed it as it was wilted and buried under the stack of pork belly. There was some good in every dish but for one reason or another I cannot recommend any of them. All these issues wouldn’t get to me as much at a mid-​tier Japanese restaurant but that is not the kind of place Oka should be.
I don’t get it. If you open a restaurant where Oka is with its crazy high rent after spending a ton of money on the build-​out you have to be sure the quality of food is sky-​high. That includes execution that is spot-​on. Ideally there would be some standout, even mind-​blowing, creative plates that people rave about. Where were they? Do any of the other reviews specify any special dishes? At a minimum the staples that you have must be as good or better than what you find at other places around town. It’s not hard to go to Izakaya-​wa to do some comparison tasting recon and quickly realize that your tempura udon doesn’t measure up.
At Oka I found neither the imaginative dishes that I would expect of a high end Japanese fusion restaurant nor great execution of the standard dishes needed to keep the casual diner coming back. It’s amazing how often I used to go to Sasaki just because my wife liked the udon soup base (not anymore) there. And I’d order $ 30 – 40 of sushi myself every time. Include the others that dined with us and we’re talking about thousands of dollars, mostly because they had good udon broth. Every dish matters on a menu. Any dish can be the difference between the occasional and loyal diner. And it’s the loyal diners that keep restaurants in business for 10 years instead of 1 or 2.
But enough rambling from me. My verdict — aside from the excellent service the food was a letdown given my expectations.

If you are looking for a nice, romantic, upscale pretty fancy restaurant. You need to come check this place out right across the Galleria. It is located in the BBVA compass building right next door to Caracol. To find parking there is either valet or garage parking on the 2^nd floor, so get your parking ticket and get it validated through the workers or servers there.
The place also has a nice little patio to eat outside. The food was great and fresh. I recommend trying their Seafood ramen which consisted of shrimp, crab and tempura inside. It was so good. Their shaggy dog roll was pretty fresh also. Customer service is top notch, they really do want to take good care of you. Their calamari is also crispy and sharable. Overall I like this place and you need to check it out if you are reading this review!

Tried this place for Lunch today and couldn’t of had a better experience.
The manager was unbelievably friendly and helpful showing me some other local spots to try while staying in Houston.
I ordered spicy tuna roll, shaggy roll, California roll and asked for a eel avocado roll which they made with no problems.
Everything tasted great and would absolutely come back to try different items.
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Second time coming here and was just as good if not better. Please try the Bread Pudding dessert. Its very good

Had a quick meal here, standard Japanese fare carefully prepared.
Seafood ramen ³⁄₅: tastes like Chinese soup noodle, soup base doesn’t have much depth.
Gemini roll 3.5÷5: fresh ingredients, nice touch on the honey wasabi, otherwise pedestrian.
Chirashi bowl ⁵⁄₅: great selection of fresh fish, nicely presented with seaweed and a light dressing. Highlight of the meal.
I wish there were more unique items on the menu…

This is a fancy and nice looking restaurant! I assure you are going to enjoy your fishy dinner here. You can’t miss this place as it sits next door to Caracol.
I brought my brother-​in-​law to witness this place with me and we were kindly taken care of by the manager himself. We asked to be surprised with a drink selection and he had the waitress serve us some lychee martinis. I never really drink martinis, but damn! This drink was well prepared and mouthwatering. I am going to suggest you try these lychee martinis if you haven’t tasted them. It has real lychee sitting in the glass too. Remember, ask for a lychee martini!
The design of this venue is luxurious and classy. There is also a bar and two large rooms for those who would like to invite guests to join. I think you’re going to have to expect a place to be this nice since it’s sitting in the Galleria area. I was wow’d overall with the food and service. The staff are respectively taking care of anything you need and servicing you at your table.
The night went from apps, to sushi, and then dessert. I am going to say I had a glorying dinner that night. My bro and I was thrilled to be there to get our own perspective of this place as it was shining spotless from inside and out. I will be returning here to dine again and visit a good friend.