Let's Do Lunch: Ra Sushi

Houstonist first went to Ra for what we hoped would be a nice sushi dinner. We ordered a meal of nigiri, sashimi, sushi rolls and nabeyaki udon. For all the hype and fanfare, we were not only disappointed, we were actually angry. The fish was flavorless and overpriced. The Udon? More like U-don't. Since when did noodles and vegetables in boiling water cost $12.75? We've never had hot green tea taste like they used the same broth water as our udon. We had a hard time having conversation with the techno music blaring. A look around the dimly lit contemporary-asian restaurant confirmed it. Come to Ra only if:
a) you're good looking, wear black, want to 'be seen' and lack tastebuds
b) you just want to drink at the bar
c) you want less than mediocre food served by waiters who would rather be at the club
d) all of the above.
With so many better sushi options in town we vowed never to return...

...until a friend raved about their lunch sushi bowls. We grudgingly met up for lunch at Ra, by-passed the stripmall valet service, climbed up the long flight of stairs, got seated by the nauseatingly faux-sweet hostess and waited for our server. Without wasting any time, we ordered the Spicy Tuna Bowl ($9.00, comes with miso soup or salad). What we got was heaven in a bowl. Except in our heaven, our foundation-caked server would stop calling us 'Sweety' after ignoring us for long stretches at a time. But we digress. The large bowl was filled with sushi rice and piled high with big chunks of tuna and asian vegetables tossed in a light, spicy soy dressing. We kept eating but the bowl seemed bottomless. This is one of the best valued sushi lunches in town. For $9, you get an amount of fish that is equivalent to three or four spicy tuna rolls. Nevermind the overly trendy and yuppy feel of the place, go for the bowl. Don't bother with anything else and don't bother coming for dinner. No sushi bowls served at dinner, only techno music on a platter of how-the-hell-did-citisearch-rank-this-place-top-10-restaurants-in-Houston.
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3908 Westheimer Rd
(713) 621-5800
11am-midnight daily, bar open til 1am