Montrose’s New Sushi Restaurant Proves to be Much More — Soto is a Unicorn and Already One of Houston’s Best
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HThere is no shortage of sushi restaurants in Ouston, but Soto is something else entirely. Austin chef Andy Chen’s new Japanese restaurant in Montrose almost belongs in a category of its own. This is not another sushi place.
Soto is something of a unicorn.
Step into his great room on Westheimer Road – one that makes social distancing pretty stress-free, even in the age of the Delta variant – and this quickly becomes apparent. Soto’s menu is full of things that you will hardly find in any other restaurant that advertises itself as a sushi spot. These include a grilled Chilean sea bass, two ounces of $ 78 A5 Wagyu, a whole Hon Maguro (bluefin tuna) flight, and cherry trout sashimi.
Soto even has chocolate foie gras.
Yes, Chen is having fun here. And Houston foodies are the beneficiaries. The Chilean sea bass and cherry trout sashimi are two of the best things I’ve eaten all year round.
The grilled sea bass is marinated in sweet miso sauce with spring onions for 72 hours and dwarfs the typical red spicy dishes you find in many sushi restaurants (Miso Black Cod?). And I like Miso Black Cod, especially the standout version of Kata Robata. The Chilean sea bass from Soto is just as good.
Soto is not just a sushi restaurant.
The cherry trout is flown in from Toyosu Fish Market in Tokyo and is not always available. It’s part of the Japan Express side of the daily specials, which are almost as filling as the rest of Soto’s menu. If the cherry trout is available when you visit, get it. These three pieces of sashimi are more than worth the $ 19.
Yes, a trip to Soto is likely to be a swanky meal. As with most good sushi restaurants, your bill can add up quickly. And that’s without the $ 250, 18-course premium Omakase tasting (there’s also an Omakase option for $ 150). However, to enjoy a special evening – even if it’s just a Sunday – Soto is hard to beat. At the beginning of the summer, Chen quietly opened his Montrose restaurant in the former bistecca steakhouse in Westheimer 224, without many staff at his side.
Soto’s hidden power
The chef deliberately avoided arriving with a flood of attentions – and coordinated PR campaigns. But a recent visit makes it abundantly clear that Soto is now ready for his close-up. This is a restaurant that is already running at a high level.
The staff is knowledgeable and quick with good suggestions like the hamachi apple and the smoked tuna tataki that are above the usual suspects. Yes, Soto’s salmon over the fire makes for a dramatic presentation, but it’s not the best on the menu. And Soto’s waiters don’t push it the way it is.
This is the mark of a restaurant that has confidence, one that is well run. Other? When we showed up and my wife had some reservations about the lack of outdoor seating, we were almost hidden in a separate room by a side table. The fact that Soto was relatively under-attended at the time (I tend to have dinner later than most Houstonians) made this possible. But it also shows that this is a restaurant that aims to please whenever it can.
Yes, Soto is a unicorn. It has nearly 60 items on its regular menu and almost another 20 with all of the daily specials (including the fish flown in straight from Japan). It is also the rare “sushi” restaurant that gives more love to the outstanding sashimi. (Though my sushi-crazy son loved all of his rolls too.)
After his success in Austin, Chen has waited a long time to enter the Houston market. This place is definitely worth the extra preparation.
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