RA Sushi Bar Restaurant

My husband and I came here last night for dinner — in short, it was great and we’ll be back!
We had a reservation for 7:15; we arrived about 10 minutes early and were shown immediately to a table. Dim lighting, neat décor, fun atmosphere. We were seated at one of the tall tables near the bar. As other reviewers have noted, the music is a bit loud but it seemed like the music wasn’t nearly as loud at the tables toward the back end of the restaurant, so you may want to request a table there if the loud music will bug you.
Onward to the food — we ordered the spicy yellowtail roll, the tootsy maki roll, the ultimate shrimp tempura roll, and the chili ponzu yellowtail roll. Everything was nicely presented and tasted great — there was not a morsel left on the plates by the time we were done, and I would order all of those rolls again. The food came out surprisingly quick as well.
Our total tab was about $ 80, for the four rolls plus two beers and two glasses of wine. Happy hour ended before we got there, so full price on the wine ($ 10/​each), and I think the beers, which were 22 oz., were $ 7.50 or so.
Service was efficient and pleasant.
I would suggest a reservation on a Friday or Saturday night; the restaurant was packed when we got there, and it looked like there were quite a number of people waiting for tables at the front and near the bar. We parked in the garage on Queensbury, and on the very top level managed to snag one of the few remaining parking spots. When we got back out to the garage, there wasn’t a single space to be found and cars were circling over and over looking for spots. So just an FYI that you may be hunting for a spot for a while if you park in this garage depending on what time you get there.

Sunday Happy Hour, yay! There was a wait, so we sat at the counter. Great Pomegranate martini for starters. I would think that one of the benefits of sitting at the counter should be watching the sushi being prepared. Unfortunately you have a clearer view of the back kitchen area than the prep area (fogged glass + high counter = :0/​)
The sushi was good. The seafood was very fresh. I wouldn’t hesitate to go again.
Suggested improvements: 1) hooks under the bar for handbags 2) hide the view of the back room.

GREAT SUSHI, but I could definitely use a quieter atmosphere. The music here is so loud and with people talking it gets hard to hear someone next to you. That plus the modern décor creates a club-​like Asian fusion bistro which can be fun with a group of people.
Try the patios for a much quieter evening. Rooftop views are nice and during the winter they have heaters to keep people warm. They have a front patio AND a back patio past the bathrooms. The back patio has a full bar that you can sit at – great for if there’s a wait since usually no one is back there.
I had the Philadelphia roll (tasty but not very big, gf), the cucumber roll (boring, small and gf), the rainbow roll (big and great if you want to try the variety of fish, not gf), and the crazy monkey roll (THE BEST – NOT GLUTEN FREE THOUGH). Crazy monkey knocked my socks off it was so good. The ingredients sound weird: mango, cashews, beet dust?, etc. But trust me, it works.
We also tried the yellowtail appetizer – soooooo tasty and you can request for it to be gluten-​free.
Try a shot of the sparkling sake if you are feeling experimental! It’s very mild compared to typical warmed sake.

Came here for happy hour on a Friday night because we were craving sushi. Their happy hour menu is pretty solid offering both hot and cold items to satisfy most cravings. We ordered spring rolls, a rainbow roll, a spicy yellowtail roll, and then yellowtail/​salmon/​tuna nigiri. We did not like the spring rolls because they were fried — we missed the description because it was on the main menu, our mistake but we still did not enjoy those. Everything else tasted fine but our favorite was the nigiri: it was simple, fresh, and delicious.
Our service was great even though the poor guy was serving the bar seemingly by himself at times. My husband was given a water that had some weird substance on the straw so he asked for a new straw and the waiter brought him a new water all together. Very professional all around!
The only real downside is that the glasses of wine still aren’t very affordable even during happy hour. The surrounding restaurants in city centre usually do $ 5/​glass specials but RA’s glasses are only discounted by about $ 1-​$ 1.50 making them about $ 7-​$ 8. Those can add up fairly quickly if you’re catching up with friends over a couple of hours.
Despite not being the least expensive wine in the immediate area I would recommend going to happy hour for great service and skilfully executed sushi. Go early though, the place fills up fast!

We dined at RA on New Year’s Eve. Of course, it was crowded, but we got excellent service and terrific food. Can’t wait to go back again.
We were seated promptly when we arrived for our reservation. Our server was on point — knowledgeable and helpful and infinitely patient. Cocktails came out quickly and were pretty good. Our appetizers and Hubbie’s soup were also served quickly. Seems the kitchen was on the ball too.
We ordered three rolls. One came out before the others because it was done just a little different. The Scallop Dynamite Roll is what happens when you take a perfectly reasonable sushi roll, batter and fry it, and top it with spicy scallops and eel sauce. And it’s heaven. The roll is simply crab and cream cheese. But a light coat of tempura batter and a quick fry and it becomes special. (Warm, melty cream cheese goodness!!) But then, it gets topped with bits of spicy scallops modeled after their Dynamite Scallop appetizer along with a drizzle of eel sauce and it’s off the charts good. Like I spent the next week craving it every day good. Like I’m trying to figure out an excuse to get back to Houston to have it again good. The other two rolls were top notch, but forgettable in the wake of the Scallop Dynamite Roll.
RA Sushi Bar got our New Year’s Eve celebrations off to a terrific start. Looking forward to our next visit!

This review is based off the service and the sanitary keep up of our dishes.
There were six of us to be seated for happy hour on a Friday. Three of us were there but we were told that there was an 80% rule and 80% of our party needed to be there in order for us to be seated. A bit much but whatever. We sat at the bar and had a drink where the bartenders were very nice and attentive.
The rest of our party came and we were seated. Our server on the other hand, was very short and rude. She messed up on our order and when she acknowledged this she responded («well I got confused because y’all kept changing your mind). Not professional at all. When we asked for chop sticks, wasabi then silverware her body language was that of a person who did not want to be bothered. She was very rude, impatient, and came off a bit lazy. So when we found a bug on our plate, instead of notifying her, we just wiped it off and left our plate there.
In all, I’ve been to RA and have had a better experience but this particular time was very embarrassing for me seeing that I was bringing friends here for the first time.
It will be a lot of work to convince them to come back.

I thought this place was quite good. Got the Tuna2 roll and the calamari/​shrimp tempura roll.
The spinach on the outside of the roll was pretty awesome. Good food, great service with a server named Autumn but the place was a bit loud.

RA has a great HH menu and lots of outdoor seating. The service was attentive and our meal was quick getting out. I’ve always liked their rolls and appetizers. My husband had a steak since he isn’t a sushi fan and it was pretty good too. The meat was nice and tender. This place is great for a HH after work, loved the interior!

A novice only spot. Heavy on rolls, slow on service and really not well presented nigiri.
I was hoping for something better for my friend’s intro to sushi, but the rolls were too pasty and the CHUNKS of fish were not masterfully presented.
When are places going to learn to not cater to the Chili’s and all you can eat crowd. Sushi is meant to be delicious slices of pure protein, not hacked chunks. You can get that in a can.

Been here on a Friday and Saturday night… and it’s busy. Sushi is fantastic!
Happy Hour menu is still pricey but there are many options for rolls.

Happy hour was $ 43 for us. We ordered 2 sangrias and 4 items from the happy hour menu. Really fresh and a great deal. Loved the viva Las Vegas roll and the pineapple won tons.

i really enjoy the happy hour at the city centre location
It starts at 3pm which is awesome instead of 5 (traffic time)
Food came out fast and the scenery was amazing
You can see Mona Lisa from the balcony seating

I celebrated my birthday here and it quickly turned into GNO! Although it can be a bit tricky to find, Ra Sushi did not disappoint.
There is lots of indoor and outdoor seating. Great décor too. I particularly liked the funky, red lights hanging from the ceiling.
There are lots of yummy sushi options and some pretty tasty non-​sushi items on the menu too. We had a mix of appetizers and sushi rolls. But, the banana split «sushi» dessert was FANTASTIC. I will definitely order it next time.
One of the things that many sushi restaurants have in common is great drinks. This place surely didn’t disappoint. Whether you like wine, mixed drinks, beer or sake, there is something on the menu for you.
I’ve been to the Highland Village location but actually liked this one better. In addition to good food and drinks, the CityCentre location has a bit more of a chic edge. The patrons weren’t as young as others locations and the music want as loud. It had an overall nice flow.

The food is delicious!!! The atmosphere is very friendly. Nice view from the balcony. Their happy hour is awesome I love getting tootsy maki, garlic edamame and pineapple cheese wontons YUM!!!

A long long time ago, two best girl friends were on the hunt for the best happy hour spot to have a few words over some sushi and sake.
When my BFF and I need to have an emergency happy hour meet-​up, we always opt for RA.

The restaurant is in a very convenient spot.
Their happy hour menu is HUGE. Kudos to this. I tried almost everything on happy hour menu, and I love most of them (except for the seared Tuna, nothing special and Tuna did not seem fresh either).
I don’t know why but it seems like they are always packed as every time I walked in. Luckily, we were only two people so it was no big deal to find a spot here. However, if you plan to come here in big group (6+), think about call ahead to reserve a table, just saying.
I have not tried their regular menu yet, but hey, I believe it’s also as good as the happy hour one.
Definitely will come back because I go to City Center a lot.

Okay so this place isn’t your go-​to place for sushi and especially for their prices. I came here with a friend who wanted to experience their Happy Hour «again». We got seated pretty quick for a busy Saturday night. Some of the Happy Hour prices were good and some you have to question. I was a bit hesitant to try their sushi but I thought to myself «what the heck it’s happy hour and what can go wrong with shrimp tempura roll?», which is one of the most common rolls. So I ordered the shrimp tempura roll and chicken yakitori and my friend ordered calamari tempura and some crunchy roll (I honestly forgot).
The calamari was good or maybe I was hungry, but it wasn’t anything to rave about. The chicken yakitori was great! Although the food server placed the plate like across the table away from me, after I told him that was my order… maybe he didn’t hear me. My friend said his sushi roll was okay and he ate it all but as for me… my shrimp tempura roll was cold and not that tasteful. Now I usually eat all my sushi no matter how full I am. I usually would eat it all because take home sushi or leftover sushi is not good (well to me). After 3 pieces, I gave up on the other two. I rather go to Hokkaido in Chinatown for less price for the shrimp tempura roll.
Customer service was mediocre. They do the usual stuff checking in and checking you out. Will I come back? If I must for a certain occasion then sure, but best believe I am not ordering their sushi.

I recently went here for HH with my newly engaged cousin. We started out with the Emperor’s Margarita in the cucumber flavor and it was really good– I was hesitant to try it at first, but the waitress said that it’s a flavor that unexpectedly works. She was right. We usually order the blushing geisha drink cause it’s a girly tasting drink, but this time around it tasted like peptobismol. Maybe it just wasn’t as good as the margarita, and left the taste of disappointment in our mouths.
I don’t think there’s really any sushi roll that you can go wrong with at RA, HH menu or not. I like alllll of them. The Tootsie Maki, Las Vegas, and the Crunchy Calamari rolls are a few of my HH favorites. I’ve also had the salmon and tuna sashimi (I forget the name– I’m sorry). My cousin recommended the RA chips and salsa, which is really good too. The chips are made out of wonton and the dip is made out of raw tuna. There is always more dip than there are chips, according to my cousin so scoop up!
Overall, this place is one of my favorites for sushi. It’s a little pricey and you can definitely rack up the bill here, but it’s definitely worth it.

Decided to come here with a few friends for Happy Hour after work. First of all, this place is difficult to navigate to since its on a 2^nd level and only accessible via a staircase by Urban Outfitters.
The place was not too busy and the server initially was very attentive and checked back with our group often about drinks and our orders.
The food was really really good. I tried the pineapple cheese wontons which lacked pineapple taste, edamame, tempura shrimp roll, spring rolls, and the Vegas roll. All tasted great and everything in the Happy Hour menu was reasonably priced.
Only complaint is that or server left us high and dry near the end so it took awhile for checks to be distributed.

I feel like people usually come here for the environment; I love the ambience in the evening. RA is a cool place to catch up with friends over drinks if you’re planning on yelling :) the music is super loud!
It is way overpriced here, but the HH is awesome!
Edamame dip (⁵⁄₅) The chips run out pretty quickly but you can ask for more without charge.
Tootsie Maki (⁴⁄₅) Good but overpriced
Las Vegas Roll (⁴⁄₅) Good but I don’t get the hype
I love the food, but overall, I never suggest to come here because there are plenty of places where I’d pay much less and feel more satisfied.