California Sushi Favorite Opens in Houston’s New Park Place Development — Your First Look at Ten Sushi

Southern California restauranteurs Leslie Nguyen and John Reed — creators of Daily Dose Hospitality and  best known in Houston for bringing the wildly popular boozy Bosscat from Newport Beach to the Batyou City — have just opened another Cali-born and bred restaurant inside the loop.

The new Ten Sushi + Cocktail Bar is situated just a stone’s throw from Bosscat in the new 200 Park Place development off Westheimer near Mid Lane. Still, unlike the sprawling 7,000-square-foot Bosscat, Ten is clad in black inside and out with imagery from tangles of cherry blossom branches to lotus flowers decorating an intimate, low-lit space. One that incidentally spans 2800 square feet and can seat about 80 diners.

Apparently, the story goes, Reed and Nguyen took over the lease of a much-beloved sushi bar in Irvine, California named Ten and, given its loyal following, dared not jinx things by changing its name. (Ten is also short for “tengoku,” which means “heaven” in Japanese.)

Longtime executive sushi chef Toshi Miura curates a specialty sashimi and sushi roll menu. Standouts include truffle tuna sashimi ($20), sliced yellowfin tuna bathed in a fragrant truffle scented oil garnished with garlic chips and red onion, as well as smoked pepper salmon ($19) dressed in a wasabi and citrus vinaigrette with a nest of shredded carrots and cilantro salad by its side.

The sushi rolls, along with Ten Sushi’s ingredient-themed cocktails, are fast becoming a specialty. They include the forbidden roll ($20) made with an heirloom variety of black rice labeled “forbidden rice,” a nutrient-rich rice once reserved for only the most elite in Asia and used by Chinese medicine practitioners for its healthful antioxidant properties.

At Ten Sushi, the black rice, which takes on a purple cast when cooked, is rolled up with a mixture of seared ahi tuna, albacore, crab, spicy tuna, avocado and sweet soy, its plate drizzled with a fiery jalapeno sauce. The BG roll ($21) is created with soy paper which envelopes bits of spicy tuna, cucumber, avocado and yellowtail before it’s topped with a slice of jalapeno and finishes with the bright taste of fresh lemon.

Cocktails (and mocktails, too) lean on Asian ingredients like yuzu, lycee, shiso leaves and Thai tea, not to mention Japanese-made whisky and gin. With them, the bartenders conjure alluring elixirs like the Yuki Mori ($15) shaken with gin, elderflower liqueur, lime juice and coconut milk and the Lychee Rose ($15), a vodka base mixed with lycee fruit, rose petals and lime juice.

Houston’s Own Ten Sushi

Executive chef Peter Petro oversees the pan-Asian style starters and entrees at Ten Sushi, which borrow flavor profiles from China, Japan, Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. The offerings include dishes like the Chinese/American-inspired Kung Pao shrimp ($23), General Ten’s chicken ($23, and honey walnut shrimp ($23), as well as a Bangkok curry ($22) and Pad Thai and a Korean-style chicken dish ($22).

The Houston-based team for Ten Sushi includes Wilson Siew, Anthony Abreu and Andy Molleda. General manager Brian Gilic and bar director Matt Sharp oversee the front-of-house and cocktail program, respectively.

Ten Sushi + Cocktail Bar is open for lunch Mondays through Fridays from 11 am to 3 pm, dinner Mondays through Saturdays from 3 om to 11 pm and Sundays from 3 to 9 pm. Ten Sushi + Cocktail Bar is located at 4200 Westheimer Road.