Neo

Amazing! I'll just start there. I attended my bestie's birthday dinner at Neo. The moment you walk through the first entrance you're in this minimalist, chic space and promptly served a glass of bubbly. After a quick moment of chatter, we were led to the main dining space which also served as a fashion boutique. We were all seated around a half moon dining counter and served more champagne. Next we were served 16 courses of the most delicious and perfect bites ever. So much thought and consideration was put into each course to create a truly special dining experience. I had a menu to refer to for my review but my dog literally ripped it to shreds so the menu was meant to be kept a secret. The Chefs and staff were absolute amazing, kind and patient with us while explaining every detail of each dish and what made it unique. You will absolutely need to book this omikase dining experience in advance and expect a hefty price tag.

My first experience at Neo (in Dec. 2022) left a lot to be desired. The composed dishes were great but I felt their treatment of their aged fish (which they are known for) was much too heavy-handed. Boy am I glad I gave them another shot because this time the food (and everything else) was incredible.SERVICE: Neo earned brownie points immediately upon my party's arrival by offering us glasses of lovely chilled cava and not boring champagne. I wish I had gotten the servers' names in order to give them credit here, but they were just wonderful. They were pleasant, efficient, unobtrusive, and kept my drinks filled. It seemed like they had a lot of experience in fine dining.AMBIANCE: The space is very intimate, which can be intimidating if you don't want other diners to eavesdrop on your conversations! But it also makes it easy to chat with the other diners and to ask the chefs questions (and if you're lucky, the other diners will show you pictures of their dogs!). The place settings were tasteful and it was obvious that a lot of care went into choosing the tableware.FOOD: The first course set the tone for the evening: kinilaw made with swordfish belly and celtuce. It was startling because who expects a home-y Filipino dish at an omakase? But it was packed with well-balanced flavor, as was every one of the 15 dishes that followed. Every dish had an element that was surprising or delightful (but usually both). Some standouts: kampachi that was aged so that it's texture was silky smooth, morsels of Norwegian lobster that melted in your mouth, wild-caught king salmon that is only available seasonally from Hokkaido, morels harvested in the Himalayas, a habanada-laden fruit leather.The nigiri courses were outstanding. Each piece was carefully formed by the sushi chef with fresh warm shari and plopped in front of the diner with a smile and only a few words about what the fish is. And then you bite into it and realize that hidden under the fish or brushed on top of the fish is an astoundingly complex mysterious condiment, like a three year-old mole, that was applied with restraint so that it takes the fish to a whole new level without outshining it. Once you recombulate and ask the chef about how the fish was dressed, he humbly tells you about the incredibly labor-intensive and completely improbable but delicious thing he did, like putting a strawberry concoction under the akami. Any other chef would be talking your ear off about their "Process" and how special each course was, but this guy just quietly makes the nigiri and lets the food speak for itself.At the end of the meal, when you think the artistry and craftsmanship can't get any better, these madmen baked pistacio coulants on the fly in copper molds and got them out of their molds perfectly.OVERALL: My most recent experience at Neo was just exceptional. The service and food are impeccable, and the novelty of their ingredients and imaginitive recipes will delight even the most jaded eaters (like me).

I just enjoyed a fantastic dinner at Neo tonight. Worth every penny. Very high end sushi. Can not recommend highly enough. Go you will not be disappointed

This is in the middle of a residential neighborhood, and in a clothing store. In the back, through a door, is the omakase 10 seat counter experience. The itamae made a short speech and our service began. The knife skills were on point, service was on point and our meal was outstanding.Our menu for the night was:Maguro Crudo ~ Green strawberriesMadai ~ Japanese Sea BreamKampachi ~ Hokkaido Salmon RoeSawara ~ Japanese King MackerelChutoro ~ Medium Fatty Bluefin TunaMaine Uni ~ Sea UrchinSepia Salae ~ Squid Garum Kinome Norwegian Blue LobsterUnagi ~ Fresh Water EelA5 WagyuMaitake ~ Hen of the WoodsHouse Fermented KombuchaCappalletti ~Butternut Squash, PecorinoTruffle Sando ~ JamonMamey Ice Cream ~ Pecans, Pixtle OilGoma Dofu ~ Wasanbon, Sesame SeedsEverything tasted fresh and it was an interesting fusion of flavors near the end of the meal. We paired our meal with Joy Junmai Ginju Genshi sake.I really enjoyed my meal here. Who knew that this clothing store had such an astonishing omakase in the back?Highly recommended!!

Great Omakase. Best in town in terms of quality and experience. Chef Luis and his team do a fantastic job with elevating the dining experience with custom dishes. Been here a few times and always enjoyed it. Highly recommend to check it out for a date night or if you are looking for a great omakase experience. I place Neo and 5kinokawa as my top two recommendations for Omakase in Houston. Make sure to book early or at least one month out as they fill up quite quickly.

I truly love this omakase experience. This is exactly what it should be. Food is too notch and unique. Alcohol is included and paired nicely. Service was down to earth and professional all at the same time. Must make reservations a good amount in advance. Recommend following their IG for info/openings. It's a little pricey but 100% worth it so be like nike and just do it!

The best and my favorite Omakase tasting I've experienced in Houston. This place is located in a boutique clothing store which is basically a house located in Montrose. The front of the place has clothes and art on display, that you can view before you enter the main dining area. The kitchen is located at the back of the house and is basically a kitchen with a round counter that surrounds where the food is made. Seating is for 10 people max making it an intimate dining experience. I love this as it's very personalized and you can easily make conversation with the chef plus view front row the food being made and served. It's also a great place to meet other guests and connect. For drinks, they provide complimentary sake and wine. They do not have a full bar. You are allowed to bring your own alcohol and we usually bring wine with us to share with the table.Onto the food...everything here is amazing! The menu is mostly sashimi and each course is fresh and unique. They have dry aged items on their menu that are absolutely delicious. There is not a single dish here that I have not enjoyed. The last time I came here the tasting was 18 courses and I went home stuffed and extremely satisfied. Overall, if you love sushi, this place is a MUST try. We've been to Uchi, Kata Robata, Hidden Omakase, and MF Sushi and this place is by far my most favorite! Reservations are released about 4 weeks out and required if you want to dine here. Follow @neohtx on instagram and click on their link to book a reservation. You will not be disappointed!

This has got to be my favorite omakase experience thus far! We've been wanting to come for years now, but I finally decided to go for my birthday. From start to finish, the dinner was amazing!! I honestly loved every dish and the attention to detail was top notch. At the end of the night, everyone was provided with a copy of the courses which I really loved cause it's hard to keep track of everything you ate! Alcohol is also included in the cost of your meal. The service was phenomenal and the ambiance was intimate and cozy. Perfect for a special occasion celebration. Would highly recommend for your next omakase experience!

This is one of Houston's best spots for sushi, and as a caveat, Luis (one of the chefs) stated that the experience was non-traditional. Please give yourself ample time to arrive at the restaurant as it is in a more residential area of Houston.Our menu for the evening included the following: endive with smoked maguro salad, kanpachi with fried shirauo, strawberry kombucha, madai, hotate, suzuki, hirame, masu, hon maguro akami, chutoro, Maine unagi, hen of the woods mushroom, white asparagus with hollandaise sauce, stuffed morel mushroom, amaebi, spruce panna cotta, sapote ice cream with dried persimmon, banana ice cream with kaluga caviar, and Alba white truffle ice cream.Whenever I go to an omakase establishment, I always judge the rice of the shari. Any serious sushi connoisseur knows that the shari is more important than the neta of the nigiri. I would rate the shari here as not optimal, but with small adjustments that it could be better. The rice of the shari must be warm and aggressively seasoned with akazu, more specifically, Yokoi akazu. I believe Luis said that the rice is seasoned with Iio Jozo pure rice vinegar and brown rice vinegar with kokuto. The amaebi nigiri I had was noticeably better than the other shari during the course of the evening because it was definitely warmer and served faster than the rest of the nigiri courses. I think with these two adjustments (warm shari and an appropriate akazu), the nigiri here would be in more of a top tier than what it currently is. However, the neta were of high quality and one could tell that their sourcing was on point. I especially enjoyed the Maine eel as it was done in an aburi style where the crispiness and fattiness of the skin of the eel was very apparent and optimally presented the flavor of the eel.There are additional toppings to the neta that included freeze-dried strawberry, dehydrated powders, and other herbs. Definitely do not come here expecting traditional edomae flavor combinations; but again, the chefs state that this is a non-traditional dining experience. I do understand this from a philosophical perspective due to the region they are in, their culinary backgrounds, and their Houston clientele. The most traditional edomae omakase establishments can be found mainly in New York with also some outposts in the Los Angeles area.The desserts here are absolutely stupendous. The desserts were easily the highlight of the meal for me here; unfortunately dessert is an afterthought at most omakase establishments. Out of the four desserts, the sapote ice cream with dried persimmon and the banana ice cream with kaluga caviar absolutely blew me away. The sapote is a species of persimmon native to Mexico as stated by the chefs, and it provided a very interesting flavor profile that highlighted the essences of sweet caramel, cocoa and persimmon. Simply phenomenal and extremely unique. The banana ice cream was velvety smooth, not too sweet, and imparted a wonderful flavor of banana. The salinity from the kaluga caviar provided both a textural and saline contrast to the ice cream. Very nice.If you are looking for a unique experience for non-traditional sushi, Neo is a safe bet.

A unique and delicious neo omakase experience. This omakase is not just the traditional sushi, but a mix of that along with a tasting menu of a few bites of cooked dishes and dessert to follow. There's a bit more of a mysterious feel as you enter what looks like a newly renovated home in a neighborhood. Street parking. When you enter, the waiting room is a boutique clothing store. And then as you walk inside that, the seating is around a home kitchen island counter. 10 ppl max. One of the differences between this one and some of the other omakases that I've tried is that the price of this includes wine and sake pairing that continue to be served during the meal. You are greeted with Cava wine as soon as you enter and wait in the reception room and topped off. Then you are given 2 other sakes during the meal. The sushi portion was delicious. I would say maybe have a few pieces that don't have the wasabi. Don't get me wrong I love a good fresh grated wasabi but I think a lot of them tasted the same because it tasted like the wasabi. Menu: MADAI KINILAW | Heart of Palm, CoconutKAMPACHI | Japanese AmberjackMUKI HOTATE | Hokkaido ScallopMANAGATSUO | ButterfishHOKKAIDO UNI | Sea UrchinAKAMI | Lean Bluefin TunaCHUTORO | Medium Fatty Bluefin TunaOTORO | Fatty Bluefin TunaBLUE LOBSTER | Seaweed HollandaiseANAGO | Salt Water EelBADGER FLAME BEETS | Abalone Emulsion, KimchiVENISON | Stinging NettleTSUKUNE | Hibiscus Tare, SanshoGUNGOGU | Grapefruit, HazelnutsCOULANT | Sicilian PistachiosMIGNARDISE | Yamamomo, Golden Berry, Fruit LeatherI couldn't bring myself to get this but they also sold a quarter of Miyazaki mango for $35. It looked really good. Bonus: I got 1 free scoop of caviar for my birthday along with a cute Polaroid photo. Everyone was super friendly. Although pricey, it was a wonderful birthday dinner.