A WEST AVE SUSHI SHUTDOWN 
Friday was the last day for West Ave sushi joint Katsuya in Upper Kirby. Next up to throw its use into the mix? Nara, which claims in a press release that it will be Houston’s first Korean restaurant inside the Loop. Katsuya was open here for about a year and a half, reports Eater Houston, feeding the likes of NFL pals Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow, but seemed to lose a certain something: “One Eater tipster reported that things had become grim at the end, with the restaurant only serving sushi but not prepared entrees.” Nara is expected to open this fall. [Eater Houston] Photo: Ryan Forbes
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Korean BBQ is my addiction. Go for the food and stay for the Sambec Sambe. I think that is a beer/rice wine/soju and something else thrown in a pitcher. Good stuff.
rent is too high at west ave. with allof these luxury apts and first floor retail going up its going to get messy.
Katsuya couldnt make money selling 1/4 oz piece of raw fish for $6. Korea theme is going to have to sell Top Ramin for $10 a bowl to make it. West Ave is obviously doing well with high occupancy in their overpriced apartments, but what about the other 50 complex that are about to be finished?
It’s kind of encouraging that Houston doesn’t have enough douchebags to keep this place open.
The high rents here are going to require a massively successful concept, or else the churn is going to be constant.
I like Korean food and will look into this new thing. It is competing with old standbys though. It is going to have to be good enough to compete with people’s other favorites.
Nothing to see here. These uber high end, see and be seen places come and go like the latest trend in hand bags. They make a killing when they open as everyone piles in and spends crazy celebrity/corporate expense account money. Then, they go out of fashion when the next uber high end place opens and eventually close up shop when regular folk start dining there.
Does Korean food really lend itself to a high end cuisine? I mean it’s good food but it’s more casual, eating in a stripmall in China town kinda place.
i liked the old Nara sushi on the west side back when it was still open. this sounds like a completely different concept though, but wish him all the best on finding the right mix that can be preserved indefinitely in this town.
“From Angostura:
It’s kind of encouraging that Houston doesn’t have enough douchebags to keep this place open.”
Exactly…
Sushi now Korean BBQ? This is West Ave, not East Ave..
A lot of residents probably considered the proximity to Whole Foods a plus when they decided to live there.
Something healthier and worth high prices might work there long term……gourmet vegetarian/vegan maybe.
I suspect there are a lot of restaurant/bar train wrecks on upper Kirby. Drove by Brio last night around 9pm and it was deserted. Made me wonder how they pay the rent.
KIRBY RETAIL IS WHERE YOU GO TO SWIM IN THE DEEP END WITH NO LIFE JACKET.
It closed because the owners could not get along.
Bets on when we’ll be hearing about Nara’s demise? I’ll say spring 2014.
A smart developer would price to bring in a variety of retail, not just high end.
Come on, people, Katsuya closed because it simply wasn’t that good and relied almost entirely on the scene. Who is going to go to Katsuya when Kota Robata, Oishi, RA, Uchi, and others are in the same vicinity? Pondicheri is killing it and it is neither fancy nor uber expensive. For Houston restaurants to make it, they have to have food that is good.
How long before Gables throws in the towel and converts all of that dysfunctional retail space into more apartments?
JB3 YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR TALKING ABOUT BIG TIME. FYI KATSUYA LAGUNA BEACH CLOSED TWO MONTHS AGO.
I held my birthday cocktail event there. Put simply this place was absolutely terrible. If you came for the food then you came to the wrong place. Just awful. The atmosphere was trying to hide the really bad food. Glad to see it go. Way too expensive but in that area but I get it.
West Village Dallas (Same developers as West Ave Houston) does very well on the premise that they’ve diversified, with both hi-end and medium-priced retail and added numerous patios for casual outdoor dining.
Taco Diner would take OFF here. Fun, great food and people watching. So would Mi Cocina.
http://www.westvillagedallas.com/
My doctor moved to West Ave. what a joke of a place. I’m looking for a new doctor.
I liked the place the few times I went. It was a bit hipster but it reminded me of old nights out when I’d go to Vegas often.
.
Meh, I’m getting old.
Mi Cocina already tried to make it in Houston. It failed. I love tons of stuff about Dallas, but Houston Tex-Mex > Dallas Tex-Mex.
Who said anything about Korean BBQ? There is more to Korean cuisine than just BBQ. I for one am excited about this new venture. I think putting ing a Japanese twist on Korean food will make it more approachable. And I’m sure there were skeptics about high-end southwestern cuisine at one time but Cafe Annie/RDG seem to be doing just fine.
Yes, we all know there is much more to Korean food than BBQ, when you’re stationed with the Marines in South Korea, they tell you don’t order anything that starts with a “K”, it might be dog.
Dana-X, not very many people want to eat vegetarian/vegan. I’m not sure vegans really like being vegans, except for the fact that they get to gloat about being vegan. A vegan restaurant would fail. Ask Radical Eats, who will now be serving meat at their new place. Put in a buffet for all the fat fatties in this town, and it would make a killing.
It would be pretty tough to turn a dog into Kimchi….
Taco Diner? YES PLEASE. Either that or Mr. Mesero.
True Food Kitchen (Fox Restaurants Concept) would be perfect at West Ave.
My prediction: The True Food Kitchen set to open at phase 2 of BLVD Place next spring will be Fox’s highest grossing store.
” claims in a press release that it will be Houston’s first Korean restaurant inside the Loop.”
Does Kobecue not count?
perfect location for red lobster.