(From May 2012)

Stylish dark wood and bamboo give this hot spot a casual elegance that's hard to find in El Paso. Situated between the cozy dining room and the ultramodern martini and wine bar is the sushi bar, where Akari's chefs conjure up more the 50 varieties of rolls and are happy to take customer suggestions. Tempura shrimp in a tangy soy-aioli sauce is a divine starter, and the mixed grill of chicken, beef, shrimp, and vegetables served with a lemon-soy sauce is fresh and light. Bar.

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(From May 2012)

The name says it all at this small, unpretentious Japanese favorite. All manner of traditional appetizers, salads, rolls, and sashimi populate the menu, or you can go interactive with a hibachi meal. Take a seat at one of the tables and watch your select - no fewer than seventeen options, including filet mignon, lobster, and swordfish - cooked up right in front of you and served with soup, stir-fried vegetables, and steamed or fried rice. The aromas are delightful, the portions are satifying, and the servers are friendly. Beer, wine, & sake.

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(From April 2012)

Others have come and gone, but this evergreen continues to be the benchmark for Asian cuisine. A voluminous menu encompasses Chinese, Southeast Asian, and Japanese, with standard-bearers in each category. A recent outing brought a bold garlic frittered chicken, ready to be dipped in a sauce bright with chile and sweet orange. Succulent scallion-ginger lamb married the astringent qualities of ginger with sautéed scallion nubbins. We ended our evening with a temaki (hand roll), fat with salmon fragrantly burnished with sake. Bar.

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(From January 2012)

Sushi and a show! This Tokyo-style steakhouse cooks up tender beef, juicy chicken, and succulent seafood amid spinning spatulas and towering onion volcanoes. Sit around the hibachi to make friends and chat with the chef. You can make a meal from the ample starter selections; we’re especially keen on the walnut shrimp and the gyoza. Sushi and sashimi are ocean-fresh and varied: you’ll find conch and eel along with traditional spicy tuna and California rolls. For dessert, abandon all dignity and opt for a potent tiki drink, served in a wacky cup. Bar.

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(From January 2011) KABUKI ROMANZA Yeah, yeah—another Japanese steakhouse. Not so! Yes, it has the usual teppan-style favorites, but the sushi bar is where it’s at, and what sets it apart is the freshest, most varied menu in town. Buttery salmon and tuna nigiri are must-haves, as is the spicy Romanza roll (cucumber, yellowtail, salmon, avocado), all prepared by expert sushi chefs. The main restaurant’s decor is charmingly outlandish: a giant boat with a rain and light show every 45 minutes. Come for the show but stay for the sushi and sake! Bar.

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(From May 2012)

Despite the name (which loosely translates to “a type of grill”), we actually favor the cold platters, works of art featuring the likes of yellowtail sashimi and jalapeño drizzled with citrusy yuzu-infused olive oil; we’re also taken with scallop carpaccio and goat cheese dotted with tempura “crunch” and microgreens. Though a Kobe beef skewer proved fatty, we made quick work of fried tofu with mushrooms in a truffle oil sauce. It’s no wonder this attractive Upper Kirby spot attracts such a diverse clientele. Bar.

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(From July 2011)

This downtown spot was humming on a recent weekday evening. We sipped wine and watched the giggling girls at the next table snap smart-phone photos and Facebook them. When our food arrived, we got on task. The tuna tataki—togarashi-seared Hawaiian ahi with whole grain mustard and avocado salad—got us going, as did the delicious wild salmon with goat cheese, serranos, and a sweet onion sauce. Our server recommended the seared escolar with truffled ponzu and garlic chips, which we thanked him for. Alas, we found the Japanese Bagel—smoked salmon with cream cheese, avocado, and fresh strawberries with a honey-miso glaze—too sweet for our taste.

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(From March 2012)

Set well back from noisy, busy Broadway, Koi Kawa’s broad veranda overlooks a lazy bend of the San Antonio River, just across from Brackenridge Park. The menu features plenty of sushi; indeed, it’s perhaps the broadest Japanese menu in town. The Norway salmon with soy and salmon butter (marginally Japanese, but still) turned out to be the very prototype of moist, succulent salmon, while the seafood and vegetable tempura had the crisp lightness of the best Japanese tempura. The mostly white interior and huge windows make a pleasant space, and servers seem not only knowledgable but also determined to make sure you order something you’ll like. Beer & wine.

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009, 12:55 am
CKY says:
I been there one, but I’ll never return exept someone pay the check for me. I ordered a Tofu steak meal and a sipder roll at my last visit, the Tofu was not bad; but, as an Asian, I think I can figuar out which brand of tofu and sauce in my dish. The soft shell crab in the spider roll was cold, actually, shellfish like that should not prepared before dinner time. For my dinner, I paid 16 for the tofu and more than 8 (I can not exactly remember)for the roll. I do not think that was a good value by comparing the quality and $$. After few months I visited Koi Kawa, I heared a suprising story from my friends. They ordered a dish of sashimi as appetizer, when the waitress put the sashimi on the table, she suddenly took the sashimi back to the tray and told my friends "too many pieces", then brought the sashimi back to the kitchen.

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(From March 2012)

It doesn’t take much to stand out on a street lined with used-car lots and payday loaners. Which is why the stylish edifice from the Sushi-A-Go-Go proprietors has garnered quite a bit of excitement up on Airport Boulevard. Strangely, the dining room feels more like an annex of that sleek building, but no matter; there’s nothing wrong with spare and homey, and the ample crowds are testament to that. We were happiest with the izakaya-style offerings; the okra tempura was delightful, and the gyoza were great, with a savory filling of pork and vegetables and a just-right sear on the dumpling. As for the maki sushi, the rolls were nicely assembled but lacked distinction (with some suffocating under a heavy sauce). The staff is earnest but a little green; when servers struggle with the basics of the menu, it’s going to be hard to push that “unhatched egg” special. Beer, wine, & sake.

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(From December 2010) This up-the-escalator mall site is a go-to spot for Rice Village shoppers and multigenerational Japanese-American families. We found the fried pork dumplings so meltingly good we wished we’d doubled our order; fortunately, the crisp vegetable tempura that followed helped assuage our grief. We finished with a chef’s choice sushi platter and gave it (and him) high marks. Look for special seafood flown in from Japan’s Tsukiji market on the weekends. Bar.

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