Sasaki Japanese Restaurant

Saw this on the way to pick my girlfriend up from work. Curious, we went the next day for lunch. Best choice evah! Having been to Tokyo, Sakai took me back there. The small space maybe seated 30. The sushi was spot on. No fancy sauces on the meal or gaudy displays of decoration of the food. The sushi spoke for itself. I would recommend this place for those who want a genuine experience and not be dazzled by the surroundings. A hidden gem in a VERY small strip center off westheimer… It’s worth a look for sushi purists…

Always amazing, Sasaki is my wife and my favorite sushi restaurant in Houston. Yummy yummy yummy!

Best real Japanese food in Houston. Not Chinese people pretending to be Japanese. The staff is very friendly. I miss this place. I now live in Canada. If you want authentic Japanese food look no further!

I’ve been to this restaurant on several occasions for lunch, never had a chance to try it for dinner. I’ve been impressed with everything I’ve ordered, which is typically Katsu Curry or Katsu Don. My last two visits, they told me they were out of curry when I was really craving the Katsu Curry (hence the reason for 4 vs 5 star review). My girlfriend ordered the Ten Don on our last visit and did not like it at all. I tried it, and didn’t really care for the sauce and fryer drippings that were mixed in with the rice.

Pretty good place. Sushi is fresh and when they have good deals on Toro its a must. Good friendly service, no complaints. Can’t be mad if you have to wait in line, place is good. I’m just upset more people know about this place and I have to wait for delicious sushi.

A quaint family owned restaurant. While I’ve tried a few different things on their menu, I keep coming back for their udon. Everything about it is just lovely. The noodles are slightly al dente and have that bit of chewiness that I just love. The broth is deep and flavorful. Shrimp tempura is nice and crispy. And for a small shop, the consistency with which they make their udon is impressive.
The ramen here is traditional and while good, not something I would recommend to fellow Houston ramen lovers.
I most recently tried their zaru soba and thought it was better than most in Houston. The noodles were cooked just right. The dipping sauce was not quite concentrated enough but tasty nonetheless. To be fair, I’ve been looking for a local place that could live up to what I had in Tokyo. Many Japanese places in Houston have honestly been embarrassing when it comes to soba but I left Sasaki thinking they did a decent job.
The sushi wasn’t anything to rave about but everything I’ve had was pretty good. Don’t hesitate to order some rolls. There’s also a long sushi bar where you can interact directly with the chef.
I definitely recommend checking this place out, especially if you live nearby.

I only like to come here when the master chef is not too busy; otherwise quality isn’t good. When he is not rushing and in a happy mood, sushi is exceeding expectation. Rice quality has always been excellent and consistent. Of course, Tamago is the best in H town. Some menu items are too over price. They really need to adjust.

Three friends and I came here on a Friday night. We made reservation in advance, but there were enough tables open throughout our meal to accommodate any walk-​in customers.
After a 30 min wait, our food was served in piecemeal. The food was decent. Three of us ordered chirashi (assorted sashimi on sushi rice), and one seafood fried rice. My friends also ordered dobin mushi (clear broth with seafood in clay teapot) and chawanmushi (steamed egg custard with seafood). They both looked pretty good, and they are hard to find at Japanese restaurants in Houston. But, the friend with the dobin mushi commented that it’s a bit too sweet, even with the piece of lime that it comes with to augment the flavor of the broth. The chirashi comes in two combinations, A and B, the major differences of the two is that B has salmon roes, unagi, and more rice. The price difference is $ 5. I personally think A is enough food for a meal. My friend who ordered the seafood fried rice does not eat raw fish, and she really liked her dish. It looks like a good option for people who are looking for alternatives.
There are also a long sushi bar and two private rooms for larger parties. The restaurant is clean and spacious. The waitresses looked a bit overwhelmed at the height of the night, then they failed to check on us for a long while after our meal has wound down. The parking in the private lot is limited, but it looked like it may have additional parking around the back.
This is a place I would return to explore the rest of the menu.

My friends and I decided to come here and try out this place since it was so close to her house. We ended up ordering to go because the delivery man was coming with her new furniture.
We were the only ones in there at time and had placed our orders first. We were told that it would take about 20 – 25 minutes for our orders to come out. We ended up waiting there for about an 1hr and the yellowtail nigiri came out warm! It was quite disappointing and not worth the money at all.

Felt like I walked into a authentic Japanese restaurant. From the seats to the appetizer. Even the chef was Japanese Great prices we will definitely be back.

I’ve been here twice & have been impressed both times with the quality of the food.
It’s located outside of the beltway in a sketchy strip mall, when we drove up we thought we had the wrong address. They have a private lot in the back that has a crap load of pot holes but in my opinion, it’s worth the hassle! It’s beautifully decorated & I feel relaxed when I walk in. They have a small room for private events. The owners & staff are all Japanese (they actually speak the language!), they are not the friendliest but the food makes up for it.
They have proper green tea & I love the mushroom miso soup & shitake tempura. I have only has sushi here which as been highly enjoyable everytime although last time the chef put a little too much wasabi between the fish & the rice, it made for an interesting surprise for my tastebuds! The one thing that I suggest you absolutely try is the fat tuna, they don’t have it all the time though. I really want to try the soba noodle & the ramen, they looks slurpilicious.
I would not suggest going there if you are in a rush or if you plan on being out within 1 hour. The service is slow & unattentive. Overall, great fish quality!

I love the relaxing atmosphere of this place. It’s very traditional and the servers were extremely polite. I came here during their lunch special and ordered the Tempura Lunchbox and it was worth the price. I also ordered the unagi and salmon nigiri, and both were really tasty, especially the unagi. The unagis were HUGE and very high quality. They also put a little bit of wasabi and sauce within the sushi rice, so the rice had a distinct taste to them. Even though I had to wait for awhile, I think it was pretty worth it. Definitely recommend this place for anyone seeking high quality sushi.

I came here for lunch on a Friday. Located off Westheimer at Fondren, it’s a small place in a small strip. The parking seems small with more parking in the back. We were the first to arrive when they opened at 11:30am. Soon after, the place started to fill up.
My friend ordered the Chirashi (variety of raw sushi on a bed of rice) and I ordered the Katsu Don (fried chicken cutlet and eggs over rice). The Chirashi looks fresh and like something I’m willing to try on the next visit. She did say it was pretty good. The Katsu Don was only okay. They brought it covered, so the chicken batter came soggy. Both dishes came with a salad with peanut-​like dressing and miso soup.
The service was good, staff were friendly, but they leave you pretty much alone. The place was pretty dark and looks outdated.

Ordered the ten zaru soba. Buckwheat noodles were perfect, al dente. The sauce was tasty, not too salty.
This dish also came with tempura, one shrimp and a lot of veggies like eggplant, yam, squash, etc. Kinda oily for my liking, but my cousin liked it.
Restaurant — Authentic Japanese classic music. Cute «hole in the wall»… Probably wife and husband operated. Clean!
Service — our waitress didn’t come by our table at all after she dropped off our food until she came to drop off the check. She was kinda busy, but I saw her ask other tables how they were doing, wish she came by ours because I actually needed something :/​lol

Good sukiyaki. Good ingredients. I wish they brought it all to me to cook. The beef was overcooked by the time it arrived at my table. But it was a good dish.
My quest for the best sukiyaki in Houston continues !

Wonderful little cozy place! Very authentic as well, the server was very sweet. Enjoyed my meal, sushi was amazing! Orders the iced Japanese Green team and it was selfish! Will be coming back asap! :D

Hands down best value for sushi in Houston. Always very high quality and reasonable prices.
Please note this is not for those of you looking for sushi that is deep fried or slathered in mayonnaise (aka Americanized fusion). If you are looking for that, stay In midtown where you belong.
If you are looking for authentic Japanese sushi look no further. Highly recommend — 6 stars!

This is one of my favorite lunch places. I always get the sashimi lunch special, and for $ 12 you get some cuts of fish, miso soup, salad, sides, and a bowl of rice. I also add on an order of the unagi. Best unagi nigiri I’ve had. The sushi chef grills the top of the eel so some of the sauce gets caramelized and adds a crunch upon bite. Every time I frequent this place, it is filled with Japanese speaking patrons, so it has to be legit.

I went here for lunch and was shocked at how cheap the prices were. $ 14.50 for 15 pieces of salmon sashimi, $ 7.95 for ramen, I was so excited! I could barely sit still. My mouth was watering. I was fiddling with my chopsticks. My food arrived, my eyes opened wide, and then I was slightly crushed with disappointment. :(
The ramen is NOT good. I’m actually quite convinced that it is the packaged Maruchan ramen in oriental flavor. (Yes, the blue packages you can get for about 39 cents each and cook on your own stove.) For this taste at home simply follow the package instructions, add an overly boiled egg, bamboo shoots, and a single slice of pork. I will stick to Tiger Den and Soma Sushi for my ramen fix.
Salmon sashimi for slightly less than a $ 1 a piece… I should have known there was a catch. The pieces are pretty small. I wonder if the size was influenced by the fact that it was lunch time? The salmon was fresh and incredibly delicious, but for the portion size and price, I don’t think I will be back.

We arrived a little before their opening time of 11:30, and there were already a few people waiting to get in. Oh, it is that good! You do want to come early though, this place can get busy fast, and they always seem a bit understaffed.
As usual, you can’t really beat the lunch options here. The bento boxes are always a treat, and they really shine in the sides that they serve with these. It’s always something different and it’s always some sort of Japanese item you would not find elsewhere.
This time around I ordered the sushi combination for lunch which included eight pieces of sushi and a six piece salmon roll. Every piece of fish was fresh and distinct with its own unique delicate flavors. The tuna and scallop was exceptional. In fact, we ordered more of those lovely sweet oceany scallops. One other thing to note is the rice here is exquisitely delicious! If you are a fan of quality rice, this is really nice.
As always, we left full without feeling overly stuffed.
Seriously, come here for lunch if you are a true lover of quality, simple sushi.
If you are a fan of spicy mayo, cream cheese, eel sauce, or crunchy tempura bits taking over your sushi, you may not enjoy this place. If you like subtle, fresh, quality sushi, this is the real deal.