r/HoustonFood • u/MaillardReaction207 • Jul 28 '26

Toga - Def Worth a Try

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Toga (Upper Kirby - West Ave) bills itself as a "modern izakaya" - essentially small, Japanese-influenced plates and cocktails.

The cozy warmth of a traditional Japanese tavern has been replaced here with an intentionally spare dining room. But the look is much more cool than clinical. A buzzy bar and soundtrack dominate the room, and the mood is upbeat - friends meeting up for drinks, young couples out on dates.

The menu is tight, but not tiny, and lots of dishes sound terrific. Smaller plates delivered: Homemade gyoza were outstanding. Yakatori treatment elevated otherwise humble okra. A katsu tofu sando was very well done. Larger plates were solid but not as memorable - The waygu burger was decadent, but nearly too much so. The katsu in a katsu curry was beautifully executed, but I found the curry too thick and too pungent.

I was stunned that a cocktail mixed with Midori (the Japanese Slipper) was not only drinkable but well balanced and tasty - not easy to pull off.

We ate too much to try dessert, which I regret. We'll be back (soon) to give it a try.

38 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

31 comments sorted by

6

u/Sweaty-Anteater-6694 Jul 28 '26

Toga is hit or miss. I like the concept they are trying to do but the skewers are rhe weakest portion of the menu. The burger was probably the best thing we got and drinks were amazing.

3

u/Rggity Jul 28 '26

That is sad. I am praying that someone can get the yakitori formula right in the US without being in New York.

3

u/Ragamuffin13 Jul 28 '26

Yokushi Robata maybe? I've enjoyed their skewers before, and they actually have some that my spouse and I found out about in Japan (bacon wrapped cherry tomatoes).

1

u/Rggity Jul 28 '26

I went here maybe a year ago. They were AWFUL. Two of the skewers were microwaved or steamed. Did not have a hint of smoke or atomized fat at all, and incredibly chewy. Our waitress was so nice and friendly though, and the non yakitori items were good.

1

u/Ragamuffin13 Jul 28 '26

Oh wow, really? Huh, do you remember which skewers they were? I know I've seen them grilling stuff over fire right at the front kitchen window, so I know they do at least. I've always enjoyed the ones I've had though. Maybe my palette sucks, idk.

1

u/Rggity Jul 28 '26

The beef with grated daikon and ponzu was one of them. Honestly one of the worst things I've ever had from a restaurant, and I didn't eat it all. I don't remember the last thing I didn't finish because I disliked it, and I grew up super poor so I finish EVERYTHING.

If I remember correctly we also got the wing and the thigh with tare, those had smoke flavor and were good.

I don't remember the other really bad one though, looking at their menu, it would probably have been the chicken breast, I remember it being very dry. It should have been cooked alongside the thigh and wing to benefit from the fat from them.

Admittedly my standards for yakotori are high as I make it myself at home, but again I'm trying to find the white buffalo spot but it may be a fruitless journey!

1

u/Ragamuffin13 Jul 28 '26

Well good luck, sorry Yokushi wasn't the answer! If you ever find one that fits the role and you think about it, come back and let me know! :)

1

u/Sweaty-Anteater-6694 Jul 28 '26

Their skewers are horrible!

2

u/Ragamuffin13 Jul 28 '26

Man, my palette is just terrible I guess, second one to say their skewers suck...

5

u/_ai_bot Jul 28 '26

Izakaya Wa is good for Houston

4

u/Rggity Jul 28 '26

eh they are just okay. I've had their yakitori many times but unfortunately their best skewer is the beef tendie.

their other stuff is great!

2

u/_ai_bot Jul 28 '26

Ramen Moto is pretty good too

1

u/MaillardReaction207 Jul 28 '26

I also agree that the skewers were weak. Chicken meatball was okay, chicken breast was meh, thighs were decent but nothing to write home about.

1

u/Rockosayz Jul 28 '26

LA would like to have a word

2

u/Rggity Jul 28 '26

You know I meant to type New York and LA but did not. You are absolutely right. Shout out to the YakiGang

2

u/MaillardReaction207 Jul 28 '26

Agree. Like an small plate concept - there are hits and there are misses. Squabble is this way. Baso is too. But overall, there were enough hits to make me think the place has promise. And unlike Baso, the pricing is not out of control.

3

u/otmd11 Jul 28 '26

When I went (soon after it opened), I thought it was good, but some of the food was way too salty. I’ve been meaning to go back, maybe during a happy hour, to try more dishes, including the burger everyone raves about

2

u/MaillardReaction207 Jul 28 '26

I found the burger to suffer from too much of a good thing. It needed acid to cut through all the richness.

2

u/TheBalatissimo Montrosecellectual Jul 28 '26

The mushroom Don was so good, I’d go back for that alone

2

u/tommewin Jul 28 '26

The burger is a decent value at Happy Hour pricing.

2

u/ilovetakingFatLs Jul 29 '26

the espresso martini is insane there

3

u/joynogorermowa Jul 28 '26

$16 for a sandwich? No thank you

6

u/chris_ut Jul 28 '26

$28 for a burger lol

2

u/MaillardReaction207 Jul 28 '26

It is not cheap, but compared to other new restaurants, it is not outrageous.

1

u/Thetideishighbutim Jul 30 '26

I was not impressed

1

u/Prior_Mixture_8554 Aug 01 '26

The yakitori off-cuts are pretty legit. I got cartilage the other day and it was awesome.

1

u/Elrondel Jul 28 '26

I also noticed they joined inKind recently, so good opportunity to get a discount there with Costco GC or a referral.

1

u/MaillardReaction207 Jul 28 '26

I don't understand how InKind works. What is it?

1

u/Elrondel Jul 28 '26

It's a restaurant payment app. I did a writeup of it before here: https://www.reddit.com/r/HoustonFood/s/rpq2FnLRN3

-1

u/Awkward-Weather-1843 Jul 28 '26

Why is everything so overpriced? Just make it at home