parking: 5/5! very spacious lot. ambiance: 4/5. i think this place is super cute and cozy, but it can also feel a little cramped. service: 5/5! we always have super nice and informative servers. memorial, crispy tempura, negihama, toro taku, salmon rolls: all 5/5! the fish here is soooooo fresh and delicious. overall: 4.9/5!!!! read more

This is my third visit, every time I ordered different dishes. I ordered Beef Sukiyaki from menu and look what I served. You will be the judge. Our server was so busy to check back us. Disappointed in his performance. read more

Izakaya Wa - Memorial - I ordered Beef Sukiyaki from lunch menu and what I served was without small salad and miso soup which described on the menu. - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Have some friends visiting from out of town and wanted to have sushi. Brought them to our favorite sushi place. We were seated outdoors under the tent area. There were 6 of us for a change and we ordered the six kinds sashimi (medium fatty tuna, tuna, salmon, yellowtail, whitefish, white tuna) to start. Sashimi were very fresh. High quality. We often ordered the 3 kinds sashimi. This was a treat! We also ordered our favorite Memorial roll with spicy tuna (salmon top). Come in 8 pieces. Delicious. We also ordered the grilled pork belly and chicken thigh skewers (salt option). Pork was very tasty. You can really taste pork. Chicken was delicious... tender and juicy. First time to tried the chawan mushi (steamed egg with chicken and shrimp). Great starter! Staff was friendly and efficient. It didn't take long for us to receive our orders. Highly recommend to try them if you have not been. They also have another branch in Montrose. read more

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It had been years since I came here. Today was the day to indulge in some good Japanese food. I had the agedashi tofu and tako Kara age to start. Portions were small, but the food tasted good. I had the nigiri sushi & noodle set lunch special. The soba was well cooked, and the sushi rice was well-seasoned. The restaurant gets very busy during lunch time. Tables and chairs are pretty near to each other. They have outdoor seating too, which is perfect for bigger groups. Parking lot is decent size, but could be difficult to get a spot during peak hours. read more

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My goto place for the japanese curry! Along with many other small plate items. As the name says, this is a izakaya that serves japanese beer, and small plate items like potato croquette, karaage, tempura, grilled skewers, sushi, curry and more. I especially like getting the potato croquette here, its always fried to perfection and is very crunchy. The Pork katsu curry is delicious and i can never go without finishing the plate! I recommend getting some asahi or Sapporo and you'll have a great time! They have a very nice covered patio outside that's perfectly for enjoying the cooler weather over drinks and a meal. Parking is plentiful, I've never had a problem parking here. It does get fairly packed in the restaraunt though. A testament to how popular this place is. read more

Izakaya Wa - Memorial - Potato croquette - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Houston, Texas

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I would rate this place a 3.3 out of 5 stars. There's plenty of space for parking so that's always a relief! When my friend and I walked in, we were greeted by the host who was very sweet and friendly. We decided to sit outside since the tables inside had a wait time and the weather was finally cooler. Here is the list of things we ordered: Appetizers: Shiso Kurage I love shiso and the crunchy texture of jellyfish so this was a nice, refreshing start to dinner Squid in butter soy sauce The flavor is there but the presentation was kind of eh and the sauce was watery Skewers: Japanese sausage Delicious! Maybe a tiny bit overcooked but I enjoyed the sweet and savory bite Gyuu Kushiyaki The meat was soft and tender but it definitely needed more salt or umami factor Shishito I personally don't love shishito peppers so this one was just okay for me Yakitori Negima The chicken was juicy and tender but similar to the gyuu kushiyaki, it lacked flavor Sushi: I ordered a variety (ikura, hotate, salmon, sweet shrimp, etc) and honestly, I thought it was just okay. The presentation for the sweet shrimp was lovely though! Overall, I'm not sure if I was impressed by Izakaya Wa but I heard great things about their curry and other dishes so I'd love to come back and try! read more

Izakaya Wa - Memorial - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Loved it!!! They have very good curry katsu It was delicious and very fast service It gets very busy so you need a reservation But they are very fast even if busy the food is served within 10min Will definitely come back again and recommend it to all ly friends read more

Izakaya Wa - Memorial - Curry katsu - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Houston, Texas

Recommended by a friend as her go-to japanese place! I especially liked the sushi + nigiri or sushi bowl + udon weekday lunch specials for $16. It took a little while to get the food, but it might have been because we happened to be there during the lunch rush. read more

Izakaya Wa - Memorial - Sushi Combo - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Houston, Texas

No outside food or drinks allowed. Eclectic place because it looks like it's in a house that's been restyled as a restaurant. I love the menu and the different options that they offer. The place was packed for lunch on a weekday. Solid food for decent prices. read more

Adorable Japanese restaurant, expect a wait time for dinner! I came on a Saturday night and was about a 30/45 min wait which I didn't mind. Skewers were one of the best here. Great tasting high quality sushi. Interior is pretty small, they do offer outdoor seatings w/covers as well. read more

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Izakaya Wa is my favorite Japanese restaurant in Houston! I usually go to the River Oaks location but decided to try the Memorial one this time. I came for lunch on a Saturday and it was super busy so the service was a bit slow. It took a while for our water and for our server to come and take our order. I ordered the Lunch Special Nigiri Sushi and Noodle Set and got 6 pieces of salmon nigiri with udon noodle soup. The salmon nigiri was fresh and buttery and so delicious! The serving size of the udon was a lot bigger than I anticipated so I feel like I got my money's worth. I definitely recommend coming for the lunch specials since they're good value. read more

Izakaya Wa - Memorial - Lunch Special - 6 pieces Salmon Nigiri and Udon Noodle Soup with Cold Tofu side dish - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Houston, Texas

I can't believe I didn't try this place sooner! We shared the Tempura Bukkake Cold Soba lunch special, and it really hit the spot. I love cold noodles during the summer. For the nigiris, we ordered Chutoro, Eel, Medai, King Salmon, and Spicy Scallop. You can tell that they use high quality fish. So good! I wish I ordered more. I'll definitely be back soon. Upon arriving, it kinda looks like a hole in the wall, but it is a very popular lunch spot! Service was good. Food came out in a good amount of time, especially for the lunch rush. read more

Izakaya Wa - Memorial - Tempura Bukkake - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Not really too thrilled with this place despite ratings. The rice is the big part of why I'm giving this rating. It was so mushy and barely stayed in the sushi when we picked it up and also so bland. The fish was okay (the salmon was so chewy we had to take several bites) but it took so long to get each piece and either our server just forgot to put in things we ordered or the kitchen didn't make it as we had to ask several times throughout the night about our orders. Overall, there are way better sushi places for the price point and quality in my opinion. read more

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I have wanted to try Izakaya Wa for a while now and I'm happy I tried it, but I will probably stick to my go-to sushi places instead of returning here. For a Friday night at 6pm it was very busy, but even with that, I was seated at a table for two immediately! There is a patio, main bar area, and back room. I ordered the shrimp tempura roll and the memorial roll. The Memorial Roll comes with a choice of spicy tuna or spicy salmon on the inside, fresh salmon on top, avocado, spicy mayo and green onion. The Memorial roll came out smelling a bit more fishy than I would have liked but it tasted good. I do think for $19 it is overpriced. The shrimp tempura roll was much better than the memorial roll and definitely priced better! The sushi was good, not the best I've ever had and I've had cheaper too. But I was very impressed with the speed at which I was served especially on a busy Friday night! read more

Izakaya Wa - Memorial - Memorial Roll - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Houston, Texas

This place came highly recommended but was honestly just ok, the famed memorial roll was the worst one in my opinion. Other than that the food was fine. Service was ok a little hard to grab a server especially when it wasnt that packed. Ambiance is nice but we were seated in a poor area. read more

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Wait time was long but we went on a busy Saturday evening. It's a small restaurant in Memorial btw. Parking is in a small lot as well but this place is easy to get to. We ordered a bottle of plum wine which was a good price split between two. We also ordered a few skewers and sashimi to share. Definitely would come here again and order more food. We really just stopped by real quick. read more

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My family has been going here for over 10 years now, and it is our favorite sushi restaurant in all of Houston. (And we've been to Uchi, Uchiko, Kata Robata, Ra, Nori you name it) The memorial roll, crunchy shrimp, and two new rolls on their new menu that just came out pictured below... not sure the name. The miso eggplant is to die for and the chicken karage is nice. For dessert try their match parfait... I ate the whole thing. read more

Izakaya Wa - Memorial - Memorial roll, crunchy shrimp roll - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Houston, Texas

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I drove by this place numerous times and finally decided to stop by. To my surprise the food was good. The udon curry was very tasty and I love it. The sushi was just OK. They have lunch menu price special too. read more

Izakaya Wa - Memorial - Lunch sushi combo - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Mathis a great sushi restaurant fresh and great service I would recommend it to anyone who wants clean fresh sushi read more

Izakaya Wa - Memorial - Sushi - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Houston, Texas

Great standard sushi place. I've had consistent, good fish here. Although, the Shepherd location is the "go-to" spot, this is solid and reliable. read more

This is my go-to place to get sushi. Memorial roll is always solid and Udon and tempura is great here too. There is plenty of parking since it is tucked away near the back of the shopping plaza. Service is usually pretty fast and sushi is always fresh. read more

This restaurant used to be our go-to sushi spot, but after today's experience, it will be our last visit. We initially came to dine in, but upon arrival our young daughter fell asleep. After being seated, I informed the waiter that I would place a to-go order instead. About 20 minutes later, our food was ready. At that point, our daughter woke up, so we hoped to continue dining in as originally planned. I politely asked the waiter if we could finish our meal there. We didn't expect him to continue serving us--we simply wanted to sit and eat the food we had ordered. I had already tipped him on the to-go order. His response was blunt and shocking: "No, you have to leave. The table was given to someone else for a 7:30 reservation." There was no attempt to find a solution or offer an alternative--just a direct order to leave. This was a Thursday night, the restaurant was not busy, and there were outdoor tables and other seating available. We felt incredibly insulted by the attitude. When we spoke to the manager, he simply repeated that the table was reserved and backed up the waiter, without suggesting another table or even asking us to wait for the next available one, until we brought up the point that he could have asked if we have an option to wait for the next table?? Then the manager went ok do you want to have another table just because we asked. What stood out most wasn't the reservation issue, but the complete lack of hospitality, flexibility, or basic courtesy. This experience spoke volumes about the customer service here, and unfortunately, it's the reason we won't be returning. read more

Beyond! This place is a complete vibe and not in a very urban contemporary kind of way. This is a place giving Cali vibes, charm and character. Like a restaurant you would see in a movie. It definitely is my kind of place. There is indoor and covered patio seating. This is just the first impression which for me raised the level of expectation for the food even more. We started with edamame which was very good. Simply seasoned with salt it was a nice way to start our meal. From there we went to one of the most famous rolls: the Memorial. Incredible. We also got yellow tail, eel, toro and unagi and finished with the rainbow row. Everything was fresh and the yellow tail, unagi and toro melted in your mouth. The fact that the service was as spectacular as the food just made the experience that much better. This was the first of many trips to Izakaya Wa. We will be regulars. read more

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Food was absolutely delicious deceptive and cozy dim lighting and lots of tables mid service.

Went here with my friends and honestly it was pretty solid. My friends got the chirashi A and B. That was a really good deal with a lot of fresh fish. They both enjoyed the dishes and I got the crunchy shrimp roll (I think). It was pretty solid and I ate everything. I also got the salmon nigiri and that was delicious. The salmon was very smooth and buttery. We made reservations for this place and there's plenty of parking. read more

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This is a solid Japanese spot with great choices of rolls or sashimi or rice dishes or simply nigiris ! Staff has been around for a while. They work quick but do good work. Food always taste great and if you're too impatient for food, grab a beer ! Sometimes it's sushi, sometimes it's their rice curry with chicken. All are served consistently and nicely. On a nicer weather day, enjoy their large patio outside. They say if you see a lot of locals in a specific restaurant, that must be a good sign. It's true that I often see visits from the Japanese community. It validates my choice in this place every time. Highly recommend ! read more

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Great solid Japanese food at a reasonable price. The restaurant is always busy but service is still almost always attentive. My family and I eat here at least 3 to 4 times a month and you can't beat their lunch special offerings! read more

Izakaya Wa - Memorial - Lunch half and half combo - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Houston, Texas

Second timer! We came in on a busy Friday night, waited about 25 minutes, placed our order another 20 minutes later, and waited another 20ish minutes for the food to arrive We had a movie to catch afterwards and had planned a good two hours for dinner and were disappointed that we had to rush to finish our meal to make it on time. The meal was just okay too! We had a couple of rolls and beef udon, the udon was my favorite. The server was nice but he wasn't as attentive unfortunately, due to the busyness. My first time here which was years ago, the service and overall experience was better. Heads up if you want to come in on a busy evening! read more

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Lovely Japanese restaurant, very unassuming but authentic and delicious! The restaurant is small and definitely older which adds to its charm and appeal. Service was adequate and efficient. A friend and I ordered several items to share and honestly everything was delightful. My favorite was the crunchy shrimp roll with spicy mayo. Everything was made fresh to order and brought to the table when ready. read more

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Ramen is good but there's almost no meat in it The roll is ok, not kind blowing Dessert is really mid. Not so much matcha ice cream - mostly cereals and cream. read more

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My friends are regulars here so they brought me for a nice meal while I was in town. We sat outside and enjoyed a variety of dishes that came out promptly. The memorial roll, rainbow roll, and katsu tuna roll were all delicious and fresh. The katsu curry, beef udon, and tempura udon were also tasty dishes that were shareable. My house salad with ginger dressing was a fresh complement to the meal. We also wanted some dessert and tried the mochi, parfait, and green tea cheesecake. The desserts weren't my favorite but were light and not too sweet. Overall this was a great bang for your buck with quality and no frills Japanese food. read more

Izakaya Wa - Memorial - Mochi, green tea cheesecake, parfait - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Houston, Texas

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I had a great night with my wife at Izakaya Wa. Everything that we ordered was delicious and the atmosphere was vibrant. We went for: - Vegetable tempura - Age Takoyaki (octopus balls) - Gyu Kushiyaki (beef tenderloin skewer) - Tontoro (pork belly skewer) - Memorial Roll - Skydiver Roll The service was good, the only (minor) inconvenience was that the waiting area was very cold - it was a cold day, which forced us to wait in our car. read more

What a great place! We went on a Sunday evening and luckily they had space for us. It was otherwise packed. Everything was delicious! I loved everything. I scraped the curry which was super savory. The potato croquette was perfectly crispy. And the nigiri was so fresh and priced just right. The staff were quick and efficient. Plenty of space in the parking lot and lots of outdoor seating as well. I'll definitely be back when I'm in the area! read more

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I tried the takoyaki, dinner sushi special, rainbow roll, and avocado roll with eel. Everything was delicious! The miso soup was a nice palette refresher. My favorite sushi was the eel and the salmon! The interior of the store is decorated beautiful. You can see the chefs working at the bar area. Our server was very attentive and very welcoming. I heard the lunch special is a good deal here! I will have to come back! read more

Izakaya Wa - Memorial - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Came here because of all the reviews. Although the hospitality was great, I must say I'm disappointed with the sushi; it's not spectacular like some of these reviews made it seem. It's not bad, just not something to write home about; nothing made the fish quality or the flavors stand out. It also took awhile to come to our table. The katsu on the other hand was probably one of the best katsu I've had, and it came out much faster. read more

Izakaya Wa - Memorial - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Houston, Texas

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This place has to be one of the best izakayas in the city. It felt like I was back in Tokyo with the decor and the feel of the place. Lots of people enjoying the food and drink and talking. Our food was great. I especially liked the various skewers we got and the curry was amazing. I also like the grilled sausages. And of course you can't go wrong with tempura veggies. The staff was very nice and responsive. They had great sake choices and also asahi beer which is my favorite in Japan. If you want to have a little slice of the Japanese izakaya experience in a down to earth place, then come here. It was great read more

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So good! Authentic, delicious, and amazing service! This place is a routine stop for us.

I came here for a staff meeting. I have seen Izakaya Wa 和 on newspaper ad before but just didn't know it's located in the busy Memorial and Beltway area. The building is kind of quaint. I just don't understand how the parking lot was formed. There is a small fenced parking lot in front of the entrance. In front of that, there are several takeout only spots. Certain days, the big old beer truck parked on the side of building which causing difficulties to maneuver for parking. GPS still shows 2 entrances on Boheme Drive, but there is only one. Food was really delicious. I ordered Salmon Teriyaki Teishoku. It came with a generous amount of fresh spring salad with miso dressing, a mound of steamed rice, 4 slices of salmon and a side of cucumber salad. Presentation was appealing. However, everything on a serving tray took up space on a small square table for four of us. Besides the entrees, we ordered some edamame and karaage chicken pieces to share. There should be salt shaker to season those appetizers. We only found Shichimi Togarashi (a spicy powdered assortment of dried chili peppers and other seasonings). The bottle looked old and greasy. But the spices were still fresh. Overall, I don't mind to come back to try other dishes. I heard the menu changes often. I know dinner and weekends are the busiest. I would come back during lunch for sure. read more

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We went in for quick lunch and order curry pork rice plate from lunch special menu. As there were still extra sauce left we asked for extra rice. No one said anything and it was a tiny rice bowl. When it's time to pay, it charges us $3 for a tiny bowl of rice. So I asked why no one said anything, the young lady waitress said everything extra needs to be charged it's on the menu. No, it doesn't list on the lunch special menu. It is not about how much it is about her attitude to answer my question. It is not listed 18% tips on the menu. but when she presented credit card machine, it defaulted to ask me pay 18%. It is truly disturbing to receive service like this but still asking for tips. Will not come back. read more

Really enjoyed the atmosphere inside. Great place for a quick dinner. Service and food here is decent. We enjoyed our meal here. read more

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