The Room
Manabu Horiuchi opened Kata Robata on Kirby Drive in 2010 — Hori-san (Tokyo-trained, with a stint at the Imperial Hotel) building the kitchen as Houston's most-disciplined serious-Japanese counter outside the Uchi-and-Nobu brackets. The dining room is intentionally restrained — a long sushi counter at the front, a robata grill visible from the dining room, banquettes along the walls.
The James Beard Foundation has shortlisted Horiuchi for Best Chef Texas multiple years running. The Texas Monthly review held the kitchen on its top-Asian-restaurant list across multiple cycles. The omakase counter at $125 per person is the order for a serious Japanese dinner.
The Food
The sushi counter handles a serious nigiri and sashimi programme — fish flown in twice weekly from Toyosu and Hawaii. The robata grill runs an authentic Japanese charcoal-grill programme — A5 wagyu skewer, miso-marinated black cod, seasonal vegetables, chicken thigh. The omakase counter handles a twelve-to-fifteen-course tasting.
Sake programme is one of Houston's deepest. Wine programme is short, weighted toward Riesling and Champagne. Cocktail bench is short and Japanese-spice-led: a yuzu old-fashioned, a sansho-pepper Negroni.
Best Occasion Fit
Solo Dining: The sushi counter at Kata Robata is one of the most-reliable Houston solo-dining seats. Horiuchi will run the omakase at the right pace, the sake pairing is the conversation, and the kitchen treats the diner of one with the same care a four-top receives.
First Date: The sushi counter at Kata Robata is one of the Galleria-adjacent neighbourhood's most-reliable first-date seats. The chef's narration is the conversational scaffolding, the sake pairing is the second move.
Birthday: Birthdays at Kata Robata are warm, sushi-led, robata-friendly affairs the room handles with fifteen years of practice.