Sushi Raku

After getting to Sushi Raku we checked in on Yelp and got our free Sake Bomb voucher. We were told they would not uphold the voucher, despite it being on Yelp and clearly showing them we have a valid coupon for a free Sake Bomb. If Sushi Raku didn't want to continue with the voucher, take it up with Yelp, in my opinion it is in very poor taste to take it out on the customer and lie about a voucher you don't intend on fulfilling. Says a lot about the management.\r \r Won't be going back. more

I have no idea what gaercoal are talking about. Consider the location (best corner in midtown) and the amount of investment for this restaurant; I think Raku did a wonderful job with their menus and prices. I visited Raku couple times and each visit was amazing. For any Sushi-addicts, you know it?s good after the first bite. Try it for yourself. 5 stars from me. more

The price was so high and the food was so little I left the restaurant feeling as if I'm on a diet, especially my wallet. I even used a coupon to help lower the price but never again. This place is nothing but glorified overpriced fish and rice. more

I came to Raku sushi last weekend and the place is georgous. Great sushi. This place would be a romatic place for a date, if your date love sushi like me. more

This was our first time to Sushi Raku (found them through Bloomspot!)! We were blown away! As per the Bloomspot recommendation; we made reservations. When we arrived, I gave them my name, and we were escorted to our table which had a Reserved booth for me! It had my name on the Reservation card AND when we opened our menu, they had personalized our menu by stamping ""Welcome to Sushi Raku Miss Heather & Company"". I have NEVER seen anything like this. We were impressed! We had a very friendly waitress, and every last thing we ordered was absolutely superb! The sushi was delicious. Ambiance is perfect as well! Love, Love, Love this place! We have found a new ""Gem"" and home for our Sushi needs! Thanks to the great staff!! more

I had happy hour last night with some friends here, and wow, I was pleasantly surprised!!! The ambiance, and the food were great! We had the Ebi Mayo Shrimp and soft-shell crab sliders, and they were awesome! Their rolls were fabulous as well; the sushi is super fresh and melts in your mouth. The owner, is very friendly and treated us to sake on the house. What a great value this place is. This possibly may have shot up to my #1 favorite restaurant. more

I absolutely love everything about this place. more

I really could not bring myself to give this place two stars. Yes it was THAT bad. Ok first of all... Red flag #1: My boyfriend and I walk in on a Saturday night when a restaurant should be at its peak and there are BARELY any people there. That usually means the restaurant sucks...but still, on the bright side, we thought we'd get fast service since it was practically empty. WRONG. Red flag #2: We ordered water to start with...and our server gave it to us with no ice. Um...what??????? You should always serve your guests drinks with ice unless stated otherwise! Especially at a sushi restaurant! That was just really weird. Knocked off a star for that. I shouldn't have to ask for ice in my drink. Red flag #3: If the place is practically empty (see: red flag #1) you would expect quick service. That was not the case. It literally took our server forever to get our food and to ask if we needed anything. Too busy socializing at the overcrowded hostess stand. Red flag #4: For every sushi item we wanted, our server said ""Sorry we don't have that fish today"". Something about the vendor/person who orders the fish was on vacation. How unprofessional is that?!! We go to a sushi restaurant with barely any sushi available? Ok, that's just stupid. The food was not good and service was slow. Dont waste your money here...go somewhere else. The only good thing (I mean the only thing worth giving this place a star) was the decor...and even then, it was only 'alright'. Also, the restaurant was kind of hot...what's with the warmth?! Sushi Raku, step up your game. There are waaaay better sushi places in Houston than here, but we wanted to give new restaurants a try. Sadly, this just didn't work out. more

We were excited to try out the new sushi restaurant on a Wednesday evening. We arrived, without reservation at around 7PM. The place was buzzing and we were seated promptly. This all seemed to be a good sign. We were greeted and drinks were on the table in no time. It all went down hill after that. We had to flag the waitress down to finally place our order. Once the order was placed we sat back and waited. After 40 minutes, and no first course, the irritation factor began to rise. Our waitress informed us the sushi bar was backed up. The salads and veggie chips we ordered could have been a nice diversion while we waited for the rolls but we had to ask for them. Upon request, the manager stopped by and told us they were running behind. No kidding. When the food finally arrived, it sealed our rating of this restaurant. The rolls were small and not fresh. The 8 or maybe 9 oz. grilled black cod was tasty but not worth $30. I am now wondering if the fish looked so pathetic because it was on a huge plate all by itself. You would think a garnish would be worthy but I guess not. Overall, the place was understaffed, the food was not that good and we left hungry after spending $140.00. I did however,get a complimentary glass of wine for the wait. Pros: Curb side appeal, nice decor Cons: Service- Absent; Sushi- Not Fresh; Long Wait for Food more

What a great addition to Houston?s already impressive Sushi restaurant line-up. Sushi Raku delights us with some of the finest fish flown in from Japan itself. From what I hear, they receive numerous shipments each month so that they are able to serve fish as fresh as possible. The man with the plan is renowned chef Taka of Japan and with him behind the knife you are surely in for a treat. My dinner started with a smile from a very beautiful hostess that kindly showed us to our seats and presented us with our menus. I then realized I was in the middle of a just gorgeous restaurant that was designed to catch anyone?s attention. As the server approached he kindly asked if this was our first time at Sushi Raku and with a firm yes from me he then gave us a quick rundown of the place and menu. Which is quite extensive if you ask me but he noted as the restaurant is still in its soft opening stage the menu will still get a few tweaks. On to the food, as I was already impressed with the decor I was also intrigued by some of the menu items. I ordered the popcorn crab with seven spices to start off and would definitely recommend anyone to try it. The main course consisted of some more common rolls and one in particular that I chose to be my favorite of the night. The orange dragon roll is made of spicy tuna, avocado, tempura crunch, ponzu sauce and not mentioned on the menu a delicious piece of salmon is placed on top. To top off the night and satisfy my sweet tooth I chose their vanilla kabocha bean cream brulee which I have no words for because I am now drooling again thinking about it. Pros: Decor, Service, Food Cons: Price can be a bit high. more

Our whole experience at Sushi Raku was fantastic! First, we were greeted by the amazing decor! Huge red ropes create a barrier between the bar area and the restaurant. Unique lights hover over the booths. The sushi bar is surrounded by stunning white/gray marble. Our server, Sheng, was wonderful. So attentive and on his toes! He recommended his favorite rolls, and they were even better than we imagined! Before we even got started, the manager brought over an interesting appetizer (on the house!). It was baby, marinated octopus! It may sound bizarre, but I thought it was delicious! Then, while ordering, I noticed that there weren't any rolls with shrimp and eel together (the two types of seafood not yet in any of the other rolls we already ordered). But, no problem - they just whipped up an original recipe for us. It was delish!! Shrimp, eel, cucumber, avocado...yuuummm!!! The other rolls we ordered were the Maiko, Orange Dragon, and Ko-Haku. I can't wait to go back just so I can order them all again! We could resist dessert either! Vanilla bean creme brulee AND (yes, AND) chocolate truffles. It was a whole dining experience, to say the least. Every trip to Raku doesn't have to be this ""done-up"", but for the first time, we had to do it right! I will go back soon...enjoy the same amazing rolls, maybe try some new stuff, and I know the service will be fantastic! I highly recommend Sushi Raku!! Pros: food, decor, service Cons: none! more

My friend and I were first time there. I got upset after ordered our drinks. I can not believe their martini costs 9 dollars a drink, and the establishment was making them with McCormick! I spoke to the manager and he said they only use WELL liquor for a 9 dollars martini. If we want a premium drinks that will cost $12 dollars. Needless to say, we will not be going back to that restaurant as ridiculous prices for their drinks. more

I've been waiting to check this new sushi Raku restaurant out, it is right below 24 Hr Fitness Super Sports Midtown. Pros: Great Food & Awsome Decor more

from the time that we walked in on friday for our evening meal, we could tell we were going to enjoy this restaurant. upon entering sushi raku this past friday, the atmosphere sets the mood for a pleasant dining experience. the lighting has been thought through as well as the lounge music playing in the background. the contemporary asian setting was absolutely incredible when you see the little asian man painting a mural of a samurai in the far corner of the bar. even the bathrooms are quite nice! we had a wonderfully cute waitress. she was very pleasant and very informative of the items on the menu while not too abrasive with the upselling. she gave us just the right amount of time to order while bringing us our drinks and sake in a timely manner. since this was our first time in the restaurant, we were unaware of the fresh fish coming in from japan on fridays. so as curious as we were...we had to give it a try! unbeknown to what the fish exactly were, we turned again to our cute waitress for some nice suggestions. she recommended for us the ""Japanese Butterfish"" and she had described to us that ""it just melts in your mouth!"" we also ordered a cold appetizer which was a fluke sashimi and the sauce was heavenly. it had hints of a citrus flavor which really ignites the appetizer and prepares your appetite for a delicious onslaught of flavor. we ordered alot of the typical rolls you could find and several sushi pieces from their fresh menu. the rolls all came out in a timely manner and the presentation was of 5 star quality. it seemed that our conversation over our meal was all about our meal seeing as that was the only thing we could find ourselves talking about. once we had received the Japanese Butterfish, the excitement overcame us as we were about to try the entree we were waiting for. the waitress was correct in recommending it for us...it just melts in your mouth! without getting too much into detail, Sushi Raku is a restaurant of high caliber with great service. the restaurant is still in it's soft opening so having a quiet meal was all the more pleasant while we became immersed in the beautiful atmosphere. location is not too big of a deal as parking in the garage is very convenient. the food was wonderful, the fish couldn't have been more fresh, and Sushi Raku left a lasting impression on my palette. for a place you can take someone and enjoy a nice meal over casual conversation, this place could also be for you! i will be finding an excuse to bring me back to this restaurant very soon! Pros: good food, great atmosphere, fresh fish, and cute servers! Cons: the restaurant is still in it's soft opening more

A group of us went to this place last night for the first time. The service was HORRIBLE. I am not sure what the deal was but it took us 10 minutes to even get a drink menu when we first sat down. Then the guy only took the order from 1/2 the table and just walked off. The sushi was just ok.. nothing comparible to Fish, Uptown or Azuma. I thought some of the sushi was not that fresh. Maybe they will get it together but I won't be returning to this place. Pros: good atmosphere Cons: food and service more