Kubo's Sushi Bar & Grill

Will never go back. The place seemed okay when I walked in for lunch (although there was hardly anyone there). When tried to order 2 plates of sake nigiri (salmon) and maguro nigiri (tuna), the waitress stopped me and told me there was a special tuna (toro) and suggested I get it. I accepted. It was two pieces of tuna. When saw the bill it was $16.00 for the toro. It wasn't so much the price that made me angry - I was thoroughly disappointed at the way they tricked me into ordering a sorely overpriced item. My experience with sushi: I lived in Japan for 2 years. Mediocre food quality, disappointing business practice. I'll never go back to a Kubo's again. more

I have officially found the WORST Japanese/sushi restaurant in Houston. This restaurant was recommended to me for the ramen…which was just so so. In addition to the below par ramen (thin broth, 2 sad slices of pork, half an egg), we ordered the Omakase (chef’s choice sashimi) for $38. Trust me [who has been to Japan multiple times and half of the sushi restaurants in Houston], this was PATHETIC, FOUL, smelly fish. For $38, we got about 10 pieces of ordinary seafood (tuna, yellow fin, salmon, shrimp,…). My poor friend who ate each piece whole was not able to spit it all out in time to send it all back. I however, sent back half of our things because they tasted really bad. I told our waiter that everything tasted funky and the manager came over and tried to convince us of its freshness. He could have talked till he was blue in the face but it wasn’t going to save the meal because the sashimi was NASTY, CHUNKY, and CHEWEY! After the manager came over twice and AGGRESSIVELY tried to offer us more disgusting fish to replace the disgusting fish we sent back, we asked for our bill and they only took off 20%. \r Horrified that they didn’t try to make up for the failed meal with a dessert or a bigger discount LIKE EVERY DECENT RESTAURANT IN HOUSTON (although I have only once sent something back at a sushi restaurant for being served the wrong dish and they made up for it beyond expectations – yea Raku!!!), I asked our sweet waitress to see if the manager would reconsider the insulting $7 discount. He then came over and debated with me over how much fish we consumed. At that point, I didn’t want to explain that my friend didn’t feel comfortable spitting it in her napkin and that I ate half pieces of half of what we were served.\r \r Bottom line: This was a huge waste of our time, money, and patience. There are too many great sushi restaurants in Houston to deal with bad management and off fish. Don’t do this to yourself and/or loved ones.\r more

Great food. Great people. Great atmosphere. What more can I say?\r \r Went during happy hour so it was a little packed but overall it was a great experience. Will be going this weekend with the family, I just hope the kids will like it. more

Had dinner at Kubo's today and WOW!! Their sushi was TO DIE FOR!!! Excellent, fresh, great atmosphere! On top of all of this they have happy hour from 4-7pm. Can't wait to go back! You MUST experience this for yourself. more

only been there once but would go there again. i think everyone likes sushi king but i feel sushi king is overrated kubo's is the best in houston that I've been to Pros: best place in houston for sushi Cons: no cons more

I came here with friends. i ordered dessert cake and the guy told me the cost is $6, but the bill said $7. Pros: nothing special so far. Cons: staff informed me wrong price. more

the foods great but they need better service.. The staff looks lost with no register for get changed Pros: ok Cons: need to invest in a register more

We moved here recently from San Francisco and were really missing good sushi. This restaurant is definitely SF quality sushi- very fresh and inventive. We began by ordering from the menu- then turned everything over to the sushi chef. Everyone agreed that we would be returning here often. Pros: fresh fish, friendly service more

great! loved the sushi! more

Overall I think this is one of the best Japanese Restaurant in Houston! Great taste! Excellent quality! Prompt and polite customer service! more

We have been going to Kubo's since we moved here two years ago. We try other places from time to time, but keep coming back to Kubo's. The rolls and sashimi are the freshest that I've had in Houston. Their specials, happy hour, and frequent dining program are also great. The service is the most inconsistent quality of the restaurant; you never know if it is going to excellent or just average. However, I have never had horrible service. I have found that most people either like Kubo's or Azuma (which I give low marks to in all categories), but never both. more

We were seated promptly but the waiter was either over worked or stupid. We waited forever to get our order in and when ti finally came the pieces were small. I think this place is overpriced. Miyako's is so much better! Cons: Slow service, not value for the money spent more

This is my first restaurant review, but that does not have anything to do with my vast experience in eating at restaurants. I went to Kubo's last night with my husband, my sister and her boyfriend for her boyfriend's birthday. I have to say that was the best sushi experience I have had in a while. Although I was leery about him at first, our server was very informative and completely on top of it, able to fill our very demanding requests! Our service was impeccable. It was busy, but not as busy as I expected for a Thursday night. It was perfect, actually. The quality of the sushi was great and the pieces were big and fresh. My husband, a novice, ordered a non-sushi meal off the menu, and as picky as he usually is, he was completely happy and loved his meal. For our friend's birthday, they brought out a wonderful tray of ice creams, enough for everyone to share. I also felt the prices were completely reasonable. We will definitely go back soon. Pros: The service was excellent! Cons: Parking at Rice Village... more

I've always found Kubo's staff to be a little inferior but tonight's (Saturday) seating service was TERRIBLE. We stood at the counter for several minutes, during which the head host (a gentleman dressed in a suit though he lacked the manners) had his back to us and completely ignored/disregarded our presence. After a short wait we were seated by a hostess (who seemed to be more concerned about bleaching her hair and eyebrows than doing her job) and erroneously handed the Happy Hour specials (which were then reneged by our actual waitress because HH had already ended). Just as we opened our menus, the artificially blond hostess came back to tell us that she had seated us at the wrong table and would we please re-locate to a different table? How much more could they have turned off my appetite with such garbage? BOTTOM LINE: Happy Hour is so much better at Oishii or Rickshaw Bambu, but Kubo's does have a large variety of rolls and their frequent diner card is the reason I still go back. Just be prepared for an incompetent staff. Pros: Variety of rolls, monthly specials, frequent diner card, validate parking Cons: Poor (hosting) staff, lack of variety on happy hour more

My mom is Japanese and we have tried many different places in Houston. While this is not Nippon, it is a fantastic place for Sushi. Especially at happy hour. I was so sad to see that they were no longer catering the Sushi at Central market. Great atmosphere, great sushi, nice service. Fantastic food! Pros: Happy Hour Cons: Parking in the Village more

The meal/food is OK. But the service was just, literally, HORRIBLE. If anyone plans to go a at least with more than 5 people to this restaurant, one should keep in mind that or should be ready to face serious problems in service. The service is extremely slow and the waitress can be arrogant.\r \r When I was there, our table had 8 people. The waitress came only twice through all the night. I asked the waitress to make some changes regarding the bill, here is what she said "" Sir, I am too busy, I can not do it"". \r I told her, then send me someone who is not too busy. She said ""Sir, there is nobody....."".\r Of course, all the people at the table said ""Look to the stupid Bytch, what is this, is it restaurant or what"". \r \r I must say that, I could not care less, if a restaurant is busy or not. They should adjust themselves for any situation. If I am at a restaurant, a waitress should SERVE me. That is why they are there.\r \r By the way, since we were more than 6 people at the table, suddenly we saw in the bill that %18 gratuity was added automatically and shamlessly. All the people at the table were going to leave either one dollar or none to her(waitress, short japanese).\r \r Some of my friends were going to clash the waitress, I could stop them with big difficulty. They were really going to create problems by shouting at the stupid waitress (an of course actually they would be right for that).\r \r Basically, I certainly do not recommend this restaurant, particalurly at Fridays and other busy days. And certainly this place is not for big tables. Pros: Meal Cons: Service is just horrible more

I have visited Kubo?s Sushi Bar & Grill quite a few times at various hours, and I have so far had a pleasant experience. \r What I like the most about the restaurant is the upscale, stylish food selections and ambience without compromising on the quality and authenticity of the food. \r I get the impression that it is a successful, non-traditional Japanese business in town.\r Located conveniently in the heart of Rice Village, it is suitable for a semi-casual date. Kubo?s offers seasonal food items monthly, and they show the creativity and the good taste of the restaurant. Its happy hour and lunch menu are highly valuable meeting various needs and wants of general public. The sushi is known for its high quality by Japanese nationals in town, and I agree for the most part. The prices are not too high or too low for a Japanese restaurant at normal service hours. If you feel like putting a nicer pair of jeans tonight, it may be a place for you. Pros: Good ambiance Cons: Hard to find parking at times more

While there are many good sushi restaurants in Houston, Kubo remains our favorite because it offers more traditionally prepared Japanese dishes. You can find them in the appetizer menu and in the Japanese menu, if you go with a Japanese. If you just want to eat raw fish and ""Westernize"" Japanese food, then there may be better and cheaper places. However if you want to try something more Japanese, then Kubo is one of the few places that can deliver that. We eat at Kubo regularly about once a month over a three year period and the food quality is always very consistent. Pros: Great food; good selection of authentic Japanese food. Cons: Hard to find a table on Friday night more

Love Sushi, eat it at least 1x a week if not more. For the last few years, attempted to visit all of the sushi places in town, to find out for myself which is the best. \r KUBOS is the winner. They are ALWAYS on point with freshness and quality of fish. Service is almost always perfect, the staff is cool...sometimes when they are really busy you don't get that full attention, so we just go during the non rush hours and we are really satisfied.\r We even have their frequent diner card, that saves us $$ for going there regularly, which is what we would be doing anyways.\r Bottomline, there are others that are good..but never 2 x in a row, its just never consistent in my experience.\r Glad to have Kubos in Houston. \r \r Pros: Consistant Quality and Freshness. Price, Ambience. Cons: When it is busy...service can be slow. more

My husband and I love sushi so we've tried almost every sushi joint in the city. The best is the Fish in midtown. Kubo's sushi was mediocre at best. The fish just didn't taste like it was sushi grade and none of the specialty rolls were really all that special. We wouldn't go there again. Pros: fun area (rice village) Cons: sushi more