There have already been a slew of new omakase tasting restaurants opening in Houston lately — Sushi by Hidden, Kanau and Uwa, for example — and another one just joined the scene. Hai Hospitality group, the Austin-based, James Beard Award-winning restaurant group behind hits such as Uchi, Uchikoi and Loro Smokehouse just unveiled Oheya by Uchi, a new reservation-only, 12-seat, omakase restaurant, on March 20 in Montrose. It’s located at 904 Westheimer in the former Southside Espresso space. 

The intimate space, created by Hai Design Studio and anchored by a sushi bar, has two seatings per night at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., and is priced at $175 per person. 

Oheya translates to “the room” in Japanese, which plays hand-in-hand with Uchi’s moniker meaning “home,” which is the experience that Oheya is intended to evoke. The menu consists of 15 courses curated by a rotating list of guest chefs. Diners can expect elevated courses of nigiri, as well as hot and cold plates highlighting the bounty of the season.

One of the dishes from the 15-course tasting menu. Courtesy photo.

Chef de cuisine Stephen Conklin and head sushi chef Kevin Le of Uchi Houston helm Oheya, bringing their modern flair to this new venture. The first guest chef collaboration will be with Uchi Miami’s executive sous chef, Cristian Canencio.  

“Bringing new ideas to traditional food is a defining element of the Uchi experience,” said Hai Hospitality CEO Tony Montero via a press release. “We’ve done this through allowing our chefs to challenge the status quo and to continually build on each other’s experiences. This is why we are thrilled to introduce Oheya’s monthly chef collaboration, as it brings the Hai family together in a new and innovative way. This rotating omakase menu will truly offer Houston a one-of-a-kind dining experience.” 

Oheya is reservation-only, with the month’s openings releasing at noon on the 15th of every month via the website. Follow the Instagram page for more info.

Sean Hekmat

Food, fitness and family are the pillars of my life. Growing up in a Persian household, my mom instilled a love of cooking and food in me and that has continued as an adult. I love traveling, trying new cuisines/dining out, cooking at home and hosting dining parties, collecting cookbooks and learning more about all the facets of food in general. I have lived in Texas and the west coast and just recently settled down in Houston and am loving it.