Reviewing Sushi Hana: Authentic Japanese cuisine in Katy, Texas.

Sushi Hana happened upon me when I was doing a beer run at a local liquor store. I didn’t want to have to travel across town just to pick up dinner. Not wanting to cook at home either, I decided to stop by a little Japanese restaurant, which happened to be the liquor store’s neighbor.

The store was a lot fancier inside than I expected. You wouldn’t expect to find such a nice-looking restaurant in this shopping center, but the dim (but not too dark) lighting is cozy and gives the entire restaurant a charming vibe, with a lovely hint of blue light emitting from the ceiling. The decor and seating look elegant and sleek. There was also a bar where you could watch them make your sushi while sipping on some local or imported beers.

There was no wait time to have my order taken, and the woman behind the counter took it quickly. They have a little table set up at the front of the restaurant to take to-go orders, which is clearly set up to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Sushi Hana allows people to dine in, but the other customers besides me also ordered to go, so I’m assuming it doesn’t happen often. I only saw one small family eating in the store, but take-out was alive and well!

The staff there is very prompt. I had my order given to me quickly, and I headed home.

Although Sushi Hana offers many delicious sounding items, I was craving some sort of comforting rice dish. That’s what led me to order quite a basic menu item: beef fried rice. But, of course, when you order something as simple as a fried rice dish, you can generally guess what to expect.

However, this fried rice is the best I’ve ever had. I’m not sure if it’s the way they cook it or a sauce they add, but it tastes drastically different than anything else I’ve had — and I’ve tried fried rice from all over the country. Who knew my favorite would simply be down the street from my house?

The rice is tender but not overcooked. The beef is seared just right, and there are plenty of vegetables, including mushrooms, which I was surprised to see but am glad I did.

It was technically listed on the menu as “Japanese style fried rice,” and it comes with a salad and a side of miso soup. This results in a lot of food for only about $10, so it’s well worth it in my opinion. The rice serving is huge; there was no way I could finish it in one sitting. In fact, I got at least three rounds of leftovers out of it, and I eat a lot.

The miso soup tasted great, though to be fair, it’s hard to mess up miso soup. The salad had a different dressing that was tangy and delicious, and it came with a fair amount for a free salad.

I’d go to Sushi Hana again for sure. The fried rice is still haunting me, begging me to return for more.