October 4, 2007
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
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I have to say that I completely agree with your reaction to Ra Sushi. It's been frustrating to hear all the great reviews on a place that I so vehemently abhor. I actually work in Highland Village right down the sidewalk and when the place opened a year and a half ago I gave it several tries. Every single time, I had a snotty waitress who couldn't care less that I was hungry and on a lunch hour, and it would take forever just to get my one or two sushi rolls brought to the table. Somehow the place pulls in huge crowds on Thurs-Sat nights but I'm sure it couldn't possibly be for the food or the service.
Judy, you couldn't be more spot on about the food and service. The only thing that you forgot (and maybe you didn't experience it) is the "line" outside on a weekend night. My wife and I had to go to Ra for a friend's birthday on a Friday night. We were reluctant to go there as we had a very poor experience only weeks earlier, but we chose to brave the food for our friend's birthday. Upon our arrival, we were first asked if we wanted to pay an extra $20 to have the valet park our car only 10 feet from where we dropped it off. Then, we were forced to wait in line outside in the rain like we were at a club. All of our friends were already inside waiting to be seated, but my wife and I were told that they could not let us in because it was too crowded. We would've left, but we couldn't bow out on our friend's birthday night.
Eventually, they let us in, and the place was not very crowded. I could see no reason for the restaurant to make people wait outside other than to make Ra look like an "it" place. It is now a full hour after our reservation, and we are finally inside and out of the rain. Remarkably, the rest of our party has yet to be seated. We had to wait another 45 minutes to be ushered to our booth right next to the hot, noisy kitchen. Total time from the parking lot to our seats: 1.5 hours, including 45 outside in the rain (we arrived 15 minutes after our reservation). Needless to say, the experience of getting to our table only soured the bland, sometimes disgusting, food and flippant service.
I will never go to Ra Sushi again. I've had two terrible experiences there, and I'm not gullible enough to give them a chance at a third strike.
a line out the door huh? is that what that big ground-level foyer is for? that is the biggest waste of prime real estate. i always thought the line out the door was for people waiting for their valeted car (you know, since parking is so hard to come by in a strip mall). they really should consider advertising their place as a club that happens to have a sushi menu. kinda like a bar that happens to serve frozen pizza.
Yeah, they made everyone stand in the rain and look into the empty foyer. I can't believe everyone else was out there waiting. I would've taken off pretty quickly if I hadn't promised my friend I'd be there.
I also agree with the review of Ra Sushi. Something quite telling, though, is that the restaurant originated in Scottsdale, AZ -- not exactly a seafood mecca and one of the snobbiest (without much reason) and most overrated places in this country.
I think you forgot to mention how the valet is actually a way for people to decide preemptively if the new arrivals are worth getting to know. You'll notice that all the seats by the windows are taken--this is for the sole purpose of checking out what kind of "ride" someone shows up in.