Kubo's Sushi Bar & Grill

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

Posted 08/17/09

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.

Posted 05/27/09

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

Posted 05/04/09

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

Posted 01/05/09

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

Posted 09/02/08

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.

Posted 08/08/08

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!

Pros: None

Cons: Slow service, not value for the money spent

Posted 08/04/08

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...

Posted 06/26/08

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

Posted 03/07/08

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

Posted 02/18/08

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.

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".
I told her, then send me someone who is not too busy. She said "Sir, there is nobody.....".
Of course, all the people at the table said "Look to the stupid Bytch, what is this, is it restaurant or what".

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.

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).

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).

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

Posted 01/13/08

I have visited Kubo?s Sushi Bar & Grill quite a few times at various hours, and I have so far had a pleasant experience.
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.
I get the impression that it is a successful, non-traditional Japanese business in town.
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

Posted 12/02/07

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

Posted 11/05/07

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.
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.
We even have their frequent diner card, that saves us $$ for going there regularly, which is what we would be doing anyways.
Bottomline, there are others that are good..but never 2 x in a row, its just never consistent in my experience.
Glad to have Kubos in Houston.

Pros: Consistant Quality and Freshness. Price, Ambience.

Cons: When it is busy...service can be slow.

Posted 09/14/07

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

Posted 08/23/07

This is the only place I've found in town that serves WILD SALMON. I called twelve sushi restaurants in Houston to see if they served wild salmon, and this was the only one that delivered. All the rest serve farm raised salmon which contains PCBs. FYI, for those of you who are wondering, PCBs are a carcinogen and doesn't flush out of your body for about 10 years...meaning you're accumulating it the more you eat it. Service isn't the best, but the food is great, and the atmosphere is nice as well. This by far tops my list of good sushi places in Houston.

Pros: Wild Salmon, fresh sushi

Cons: Ok service

Posted 07/21/07

Kubo has excellent sushi. The service is always slow. I will continue to return, but can you guys please step up the customer service ?

Nice atomshere too.

If you aren't in a hurry and want great sushi go to Kubo. Otherwise keep on walking.

Pros: great sushi, atmosphere

Cons: SLOW service

Posted 07/09/07

After researching sushi restaurants to go to for my birthday, I decided on Kubo's. The atmosphere is really nice, and our waiter was one of the best i've ever had. He was very attentive throughout the whole night. Sadly to say, the food was not so good. I had salmon sushi and white tuna, and the salmon was fresh as expected, but the tuna was gross. It reaked and tasted extremely fishy and somewhat bitter. Call me naiive for associating fishy-ness for unfresh, but I took a bite, and could not eat anymore. The 3 specialty rolls we got were not great too. We got the Kubo's roll, which was ok. The salmon skin roll was fishy as well. And the spider roll was a little less than mediocre. My boyfriend go the garlic beef. Although it was probably the most tender meat i've had... there was no flavor what so ever. It smelled like garlic, but that was probably because they sliced up 3 gloves of garlic and put it on top of the meat at the end. Too overpriced for simple, tender meat. It tasted much better than the tuna though. I found myself eating off of my boyfriend's plate most of the night. Three things I can rave about though... their Iced tea (YUM), the soft-shell crab tempura, and our server (Laurence i think). I should have splurged on the other popular restaraunt down the street Az**a, being my birthday and all.

Pros: Ambiance, service, Iced tea

Cons: Sushi

Posted 06/13/07

The food is good, the sushi is fresh, and the rolls are great for even the biggest sushi-phobes, but there are many restaurants that offer a wider variety of traditional and fusion Japanese foods. Their big ploy is that it's run by Japanese people, when the big thing that they should be concentrating on is the menu. I've been to great Japanese restaurants that were run by non-Japanese, because face it, it's all going to be cooked by locally hired kitchen staff anyway, so the ownership is a pretty moot selling point. The menu is pretty small even with monthly specials, so it's not really a place to be if you plan on being a regular unless you like repetition in life. If you're looking for traditional Japanese foods and a wide variety, there are many other places that offer more extensive menus.

Posted 05/12/07

Sushi isn't bad, sashimi is edible and tastes good. There's not a single thing that stands out about this place. Overemphasis on presentation and underemphasis on correct flavor combination. I wasn't disappointed per se; but I certainly don't get how anyone could say this is the best or even one of the best sushi places in Houston. Stick to some of the others I have reviewed and given a good rating. KubO, you are OK in my book, but there will be no writing home to mom about you.

Pros: nothing really

Cons: nothing really

Posted 02/24/07

My wife and I come here every Sunday for Sushi rolls. Rainbow Spider and the Shrimp Tempura Rolls are great. They do not taste too fishy and are more creative than your average sushi restaurant. Drink specials on Sunday are good too. Service can be a bit slow when they are full but it's tolerable.

Pros: Great part of town.

Cons: Congested area.

Posted 02/13/07

this is the place to be to eat the freshest fish and authentic japanese cuisine. this place isnt your typical chinese run wanna be japanese place like miyakos or the pathetic azuma , but kubos is ownered and run by japanese that know what they are doing. whenever I come I am always welcomed by the staff that makes me feel like family. The executive chef is known for the monthly specials that are all orignal with spectacular taste to eat dish. The sushi here is to die for the best I have ever had and beats any place in houston. the chefs here have mastered the special technique of making sushi and have prove themselfs everything I come and dine or order take out. this place is one of the hidden treasures of rice village with there great prices and always delicious food. Thank you Kubos

Pros: Great Authentic Real japanese food

Cons: none that i could find

Posted 01/25/07

The only reason I am writing this review is to defend kubo's against the ignorant and unqualified negative reviews I have seen lately. I will start with the last one. He stated Kubo's had served him fish that had a "fishy odor". Then this novice tells us how he is a sushi nut. Well let me tell you that when you order awabi, bonito and mirugai there will be a fishy odor. Those fish NATURALLY have a stronger smell! Only a novice automatically equates a stronger fish smell with being spoiled or bad. My guess is that he ate the more strong tasting fish first, then foolishly thinking he had bad fish, judged the tuna, seabass etc as also not good. I have never known any of their seabass or snapper to have even the smallest odor, as these types of fish should never have any smell, unlike the more exotic fish. That is typical american ignorance. Japanese love stronger smelling fish and every time I see an american notice a strong fishy smell they think it's bad. Every time I sit at kubo's sushi bar I watch in horror as american customers order more exotic, hardcore Japanese sushi and then complain or ask to return certain fish just because they smell a stronger smell. I have seen countless times american's eating the most prized tuna you can get( bluefin) and then dislike it and think it's bad because it has a stronger odor then the bland, odorless and cheaper yellowfin tuna that 99% of sushi bars serve. Don't you think Zagat survey may have a little more insight into what constitutes high quality Japanese cuisine then these clueless negative reviewers.( Kubo's is the highest rated Japanese restaurant in Houston). I have been going to Kubo's for years specifically because of it's obsession with high quality ingredients and the great skills of Horiuchi (execitive chef). If some person reads all those negative reviewes and does not eat there, then a grave diservice to their culinary enjoyment has occured.

Pros: Highest Quality Sushi amd Sashimi

Cons: Parking, limited seating at Susbi Bar when busy

Posted 10/26/06

I love this place, the fish is freash, the price is great! i'm a happy hour person like to try everything that's in the resonable price range. This place is one of my favorite place to go for good time and good food!!

Pros: great food, good price

Cons: parking

Posted 10/23/06

We ate low fish and roll,but it did not taste.I do not like that.I do not want to recommend over there. They used to be good taste,but now I feel different.

Pros: Eat noodle

Cons: Do not eat low fish and roll

Posted 09/10/06

I read the user reviews and decided to try this place out and see for myself if it was the best sushi, I was slightly disappointed. The sushi was good, but the Philly Roll was horrible. The smoked salmon they used was crusty, as if it had been sitting out for 2 days. Otherwise it was good and the scallop sushi was to die for.

Pros: Centrally Located

Cons: Parking

Posted 05/13/06

I've been to several popular sushi restaurants, and Kubos thus far, has the freshest sushi around. The waitstaff and hostesses are super friendly and very attentive to all your needs. If sushi is not your thing, just try the appetizers or their popular dish, the Pork Cutlet Curry.

Posted 03/24/06

Been to Kubos many times, never had a bad experience. Good food, polite but not over attentive wait staff, nice atmosphere.

Pros: fresh, specials

Posted 07/06/05

Kubo's is definately the best sushi restaurant in houston. Not only is the sushi the best out of every other restaurant in houston, but it looks beautiful. The sushi chefs are hilarious and very friendly. It is a nice environment and I recommend it for everyone.

Posted 06/19/05

My boyfriend and I have a tradition of having sushi Sunday evenings. We decided to try out Kubo's for the first time last Sunday. We were not impressed at all! The two hostesses behind the counter at Kubo's did not greet us - actually never looked up, never gave us eye contact until 5 minutes later when one of them decided to seat us (still without uttering a greeting). Considering we were the only one in the waiting area, this was unacceptable. The aloof and snooty attitude is laughable. C'mon, you're a hostess. Nothing more, nothing less. The service was terrible. Attentiveness and friendliness was completely lacking. Food was mediocre at best. There are too many restaurants in this fabulous city to choose from....Kubo's is definitely NOT on our list.

Posted 03/08/05

Best nights to go are Tues., Wed., or Thurs. night when the fish are the freshest. Friday & Sat. are just too crazy over there. I would definitely sit at the sushi bar where you can ask the sushi chef what is fresh. Im judging this place by their sushi & sashimi. If you likes rolls, I cant tell you much, cause I dont eat them.

Posted 12/02/03

Consistently the best sushi and sashimi in Houston, we tried tons of others.
The wait staff can be a bit erratic. Never that bad, in my exprience, doesn't detract from the food, but it's an irritation..
Regular non sushi menu is OK but Japanese snack menu is more exotic - ask them to translate it .
At its best weekday nights when the sushi gang are under less pressure. Then they'll make almost anything you ask for, even if it isn't on the menu.
Kubo himself is long gone (to Indianapolis I heard) but his former sidekick Hori runs the show and is one of the best.
They now have valet parking to address the weekend Rice Village parking horrors.

Pros: Freshest fish, Friendly atmosphere, Reasonable prices

Cons: Crowded weekends, Variable service

Posted 08/09/03

Kubo's has monthly specials on their website and I went in July when the theme was the crab. Their spider rolls were only $4! I went with a friend around 6:30 on Thursday. I was seated promptly and had great service because the restaurant was half-empty. The spider roll and the unagi rolls were very good. I have nothing to complain about this place.

Pros: not crowded, prompt service, relatively cheap

Cons: parking

Posted 08/07/03

I don't know what the hype on this place is all about. It is overpiced, I had the worst service, they forgot our food, and gave us the wrong order. The Manager found out this and did not care, no apology, nothing...
I will never go back here again. There are two many other sushi restaurants in town...

Cons: horrible service

Posted 07/28/03

food was ok, better than most houston area restaurants but the fish wasnt fresh enough and the service was horrible.

Posted 05/04/03

I don't kow what some of these people are going on about with their 2 ratings, but the food we had a few weeks ago was great. Bonus points for not cooking anything that comes from the Gulf of Mexico. Another bonus is that the whole street is alive at night, so you can walk around and sample other bars, etc. after dinner.

Posted 04/02/03

This restaurant had good reviews when it opened but, having been there twice, I am very disappointed. The last time we were sitting at the sushi bar. One expects freshly cut fish in a top notch restaurant but you don't get that here - unless you are Japanese. Most of the commonly ordered fish was precut and sitting in a plate; Not so for a couple of Japanese clients sitting next to us. The worst was when I ordered Uni. They actually used Uni from a box that was clearly several days old (and all mushy), and covered it with a thin piece of nice looking Uni from another box. Needless to say, I sent it back. At $6 a piece for Toro and $4 for Uni, one expects better. I am never coming back to this place.

Posted 03/15/03

Went to Kubo's from the North side of town with high expectations. The sushi was bland and the portions small. The salads came out as the same time as our appitizer and entrees. One of our party's order was forgotten and received his entre as the rest of us finished our meal. No appologies.

Very disapointing. Better sushi and service up on 1960.

Cons: portions, service, quality

Posted 02/04/03

The food and the ambiance were great, but the best part was my waitress, Saori. Waitresses just dont come any hotter.

Posted 01/30/03

The sushi appears to be very fresh and the taste of the spicy salmon and tuna rolls is good. The green tea is very good.

Posted 01/27/03

dark, sophisticated lighting & atmosphere. great saki list. try the $1.95 side salad!

Posted 01/15/03

decor is modern and stylish. clean. college kids, ladies and japanese frequent this place - you know it's gotta be good and it is. sushi is fresh and presented well. sake selection is mind boggling.

Pros: fresh, FRESH sushi an

Cons: parking could be bett

Posted 01/12/03

I've been going to Kubo's for one year now, at least once a week. As a traveling professional, I've experience a fair number of "great sushi joints". Kubo's consitantly serves oversized fresh sushi and tasty rolls. I highly recommend this place.

Pros: Fresh, Big pieces, Complex flavors

Cons: Slower service, Parking

Posted 12/15/02

It was my first time there and I had heard some great things about that restaurant, so I thought I'd give it a try. WHAT A BIG DISAPPOINTMENT!!! The food was not all that great. The fish I had that night was not fresh and it just tasted horrible. I have had better (and cheaper) Japanese food at other local restaurants. With such an expensive menu, you would think that the service would be somewhat decent, but that was untrue. The service was a whole different story... I was so mad at the waitress that I will never go back again. I have never been treated so badly before in a restaurant. I DO NOT recommend this place to anyone!!

Cons: Bad Service

Posted 12/11/02

I grew up eating Houston sushi about 10 years ago. At that time, if the fish didn't smell bad, it was considered good sushi. Then Miyako's was started and that was the rage for several years. Then, a few years, I visited Hawaii and Southern California and experienced good sushi for the first time. A visit to Nobu's in Vegas was the ultimate sushi experience, outside from visiting Japan. After those experiences, it was hard for me to visit any Houston sushi restaurant for the last few years. Kubo's is the closest thing you'll get to good sushi in Houston. Kubo's is so much better than any Houston sushi establishment. It's not as good as the sushi you'll find in California but you won't pay California prices.

Posted 11/22/02

Oishiikunai...Still needs improvement both in the service and the food. Perhaps for the American palate it is fine, but for Japanese, no.

Posted 11/06/02

So fresh and fabulous. Service stunk, but I haven't been since it was fairly new, so maybe that's improved.

Posted 10/19/02

We have been there a few times times. Sushi quality is not bad. Serice coud be pretty bad, as other poeple complained. Almost every time, we left with the feeling we would not come back.

Pros: convenient place

Cons: poor service, price

Posted 09/20/02