Unassuming. But surprisingly good. Tuna was great. Ingredients were great. I would definitely come back. read more

Papa Yu - Poke Near Me - Houston, Texas

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For the price you get really fresh spicey mayo and eel sauce drizzling, with crunchy tempura flakes topping your sushi rolls. I am all about that good topping and really nice displays but when it comes to getting all the yummy ness I felt the texture and taste was just right with all the balance of the rice vinegar, sesame oil, sweetness of the rice in the sushi roll was perfect ratio to the meat unlike many places they put mostly rice and vegetables but barely any meat while it stands out that you get points with a decent amount of flavor and texture all both shaggy and crunchy crab was my 2 favorite along with popcorn chicken it was very well seasoned that you can't say there's no chicken left bland with more on the sweet side. read more

Papa Yu - Shaggy and crunchy tempura rolls. - Poke Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Staff was friendly and got me my order on time. They had plenty of seating. I was the only one in there at the moment. It was around 1130am on a Tuesday so a little before lunch rush. I got a watermelon fruit drink. So good! And a make your own regular poke bowl - brown rice, cucumber, carrots, edamame, onion, seaweed salad plus extra, avocado and double salmon. With sauce and spicy mayo on the side. Tasted great. I got a regular bowl but it was pretty big! Tasted great. I'd go back again. I ordered online and it was super easy. read more

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Don't go here. The food is despicable. They barely have any safety or food handling experience. They don't give you any sauce they're very cheap. The fish is old and smelly. I would go to any other Polk place in Houston before this. read more

Papa Yu still serving up good sushi and tea! They now have ramen and rice bowls as well. AND they have a good ole happy hour (3-6pm weekdays and all day on Saturday and Sundays - dine in only). I tried their tonkotsu ramen for the first time and it did not disappoint at all. Savory, well balanced flavors. The broth was so good! I also ordered the spicy salmon sushi, always fresh and good. Service is always nice and helpful. It's a small, well maintained space. Depending on what time you go, it's either very quiet or busy with customer traffic. read more

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Nut Allergy friendly: I don't think they use nuts in anything! I didn't even ask. Order - to - Food: 14 minutes I came for lunch on a Friday afternoon and it was consistently busy while I was there, both with people dining in and with take-out orders. You order at the counter and then they'll either bring your bowl out or call your name for a to-go. I got a custom poke bowl with organic greens and it was perfect. The fish was of the expected quality, no fishy taste or scent. Portions were great at a very reasonable price. The service here is also top notch! They brought out a high chair for someone carrying a baby without being asked. Overall, lovely spot for poke that might be one of the best in Houston for this price range. read more

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We were hesitant to try this place after reading some reviews, but decided to give it a chance. The restaurant itself looks nice inside, and the staff were polite. Unfortunately, the food preparation left a lot to be desired. The employee making my bowl wasn't wearing gloves or a hairnet, and at one point, rice were stuck to her fingers which she flicked back into my bowl. Mind you, she was also working as the cashier, and while filling out the "build your own poke" chart with a marker, she erased mistakes by wiping the ink off with her finger. To make matters worse, I later found a hair in my poke bowl and of course it was towards the end so didn't bother bringing it up. Service was also slow, as the employees stopped preparing food to chat and scroll through their phones. Overall, not a good experience. I won't be returning. read more

Brought my sister who was craving sushi to try this place out. I've lived here so many years and gone to 99 without setting foot in this little establishment that can be hard to miss because of all the surrounding restaurants. Needless to say the happy hour prices were great (M-F 3-6pm) and my sister was thoroughly satisfied with the food. I especially enjoyed the Tiger Eye roll and the Super Crunchy roll was also a solid choice. It was very quiet at 4pm on a weekday but the staff working was very nice. I'd come again for a quick casual sushi fix! read more

Papa Yu - Super crunchy roll and tiger eye roll - Poke Near Me - Houston, Texas

My mom and I were pleasantly surprised! For the price, everything tasted fairly fresh and quality. I think this place gets crowded during the weekday lunches and commutes, so Sat-Sun there is an all day "happy hour" pricing and my spicy scallop roll was only $4.50. This is a great place to stop by for a quick and casual snack or lunch. read more

Papa Yu - Spicy Scallop Roll (8 Pieces) - Poke Near Me - Houston, Texas

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This was a decently priced sushi/poke spot (with other menu items like ramen, bento boxes, etc that I didn't try), but I was not super impressed with the food. The spicy scallop roll was not what I expected (I was expecting the scallops to be raw/chopped and marinated or combined with spicy mayo), but it was just a piece of small (probably frozen) bay scallop drizzled with spicy mayo on top. The monkey roll was pretty good, but only came with 5 pieces for $10.50. I think I would just still with getting poke bowls from here, because the poke bowl also starts at 10.50 and was decently packed with the various fish/toppings! I enjoyed my poke bowl, but wish I had a bit more sauce in it. Unlike other poke places where you can go down a line and pick ingredients/watch them make it, you order at the counter and they make it after, so it's hard to tell whether or not it has enough sauce for your liking. I would still come back and get poke/maybe try out other foods! read more

Papa Yu - Regular Poke Bowl - Poke Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Came by to this local establishment after a Friday night Bible Study at Chinese Baptist Church, and they took care of our group of 20 people very well! Staff was nice and friendly, the speed of service was great, the food was excellent and I would come back to try their other foods as well! There is plenty of seating along the right wall and the big table near the entrance of the restaurant. Good for groups big and small! Some food that I've had here before are the Make Your Own Poke Bowl (fresh and delicious), the California Roll (a classic done right), the Eel Roll (delicious inside and out), the Shrimp Tempura roll (nice crunch and taste), and the Hong Kong Milk Tea (not bad!) read more

If I could give 0 stars I would. Unless you want sticky shoes as soon as you walk in and an upset stomach before you even leave, save your time and money, and stay away. The Eel sauce was like eating gelatin. We asked for lemons for our sushi, and they told us they had no lemons; yet they make lemonades?! The overall environment was not welcoming and felt very unclean. read more

General Description: A fast sushi/ poke/ ramen restaurant. The good: - Rolls taste as good as a higher end restaurant. - Ramen was decent. - Smaller sitting area. - Fast service. The bad: - You can't expect first grade quality sushi, but I'd wish the Tuna was a bit fresh-er. Overall: Not bad for fast sushi spot. read more

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Oh my God such amazing food biscuits and gravy. Just blew my mind and I'm from the south and I can't get the flavor out of my brain. It's so delicious well worth the time and money spent. read more

Honestly one of the worse meals I've had in Houston. The sushi was a health code violation. We couldn't eat it. The speciality roll was a sloppy mess and the salmon had gone bad. Stick with a cucumber roll or stay away. read more

Papa Yu was a great, quick weeknight dinner. The food was good. The spam musubi was so good with the crab mix. The service was great! She was attentive and kind. Ambiance was very casual and cozy. We will be back! read more

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Yummy poke & milk tea! Definitely coming back to try other things. They have good service & good seating inside. read more

Papa Yu - Papa Milk Tea - Poke Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Horrible service today. They screwed up the order and then we had to wait 45 minutes for them to remake it. I detest places that ask for a tip before they serve you. Especially when the service later turns terrible. Don't go here.. you will be disappointed read more

Service was fast and friendly. The menu is great. A lot of mix and matching and food combos and free boba so I liked that. I got the mango slush and it could have been blended better. I was chewing a lot of chunks of ice, which made it harder to eat but it was tasty and fresh. Inside was clean, no issues there. read more

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The food is just OK. But I will never go back because the staff lacks all integrity. When I paid cash for my lunch today, they scammed me with some of my change, and I didn't know until I went to get a coffee afterwards. The guy slipped in less than half a dollar among the dollars that he returned to me. What a cheat! read more

Papa Yu - The torn dollar that was slipped in among my change by the unethical little cheat that works there. - Poke Near Me - Houston, Texas

Pork katsu has like an Chinese style boiled egg and some beans rather than the omelette type egg advertised. Also it had sauce on it unlike the picture on their website when you order online. It was still good. Just different than what o thought I was ordering. Homeless guy came in asking everyone for money. Including the staff. I didn't feel safe there with my kid. So we won't be back. This was on at lunch on a Sunday too. read more

Papa Yu - Pork Kutsu Bowl - Poke Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Make sure if you order to go that you make sure that they put the sauce in the bag. Third time they always forget the sauce for the Poké bowls. I'm done giving them a chance. read more

Great spot to grab boba and food at the same time. I like to get the poke bowl here, easy to customize or you can select from their poke selection. You can call to order ahead to save time but usually they're pretty quick with the order. There's also small appetizers on the menu such as calamari, sushi rolls, etc. Overall, they have a pretty wide variety of food in their menu which are quick and easy. Services are always friendly. read more

Papa Yu - Poke Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Do not risk it. I'm reviewing from my home WC as within 30 minutes of eating there- gastrointestinal pyrotechnics. I had two rolls. Alaska Roll and one other that escapes memory being wiped by my current discomfort. I ordered with 'just water' as I had a soda in the car I had been drinking. No water was provided- but I could buy ridiculously $ inflated bottled water. Uhm. How much of your profit margin does a glass of water impact? Oh, wait- it's probably a cleaning avoidance technique- because the restaurant is grubby. I should have turned around on my way in. The rolls arrived to the table- and the server provided maybe, MAYBE 2T of soy sauce. For two full rolls. No dispenser or packets on the table so I requested more. Server returned with 1T in a little condiment cup. No water. No soy sauce. These have to be the cheapest elements in the establishment. The rolls were DRY. West Texas dry. The salmon and tuna draped over the rolls was chewy. No sweetness, no glossy sheen, or moisture to be given. The rice was not prepared properly as it wasn't cohesive within the roll structure- the roll was not tight enough. There was a substantial chunk of cream cheese- which added to the glue-like feeling in my mouth. The cuts were off down the roll so I had 'overhanging' fish or uncovered rice. Did I mention they were dry? Dry fish. Dry rice. Dry cream cheese. The equivalent of Asian peanut butter fusing itself to my palate. And no water, no soy sauce to help with the texture or mastication required to swallow it. I barely finished one roll. Now, 30 minutes later- the roll's revenge. Just don't. Save your stomach. Sitting right next to Ranch 99 and they're skimping on everything- and the piled up packages from Amazon (delivered one marked 'heavy' for the top of the pile while we were there) they are ignoring cleanliness and service on all fronts. Bad food. Bad service. Bad atmosphere with a Bluetooth pool speaker blaring music so loud conversation and probably complaints are clobbered by poor music choices. Avoid it. Your lower end pucker will thank you. read more

Overrall rating: 7/10 honestly expected better after reading the reviews... dont get me wrong, it wasnt bad. The protein was good. The tuna was fresh and the unagi eel had a good flavor, i think i would just get unagi next time tho. For my sides i kept it simple. I got corn, cucumber, avocado, masago and a side of kimchi and spicy mayo. They did give me a hefty amount of fresh kimchi so loved that. My only issues were the cucumber should be cut into bite size slices rather than whole slices, and the spicy mayo tasted a little off. Oh and they forgot my masago lol. The bowl was a lil hard to mix because its more like a plate than a bowl LOL. Also ordered crab puffs, they were pretty good but were 98% cream cheese lol. The sauce it came with helped it be less cheesy. read more

I have been ordering out from Papa Yu since 2001 on a regular basis as the food quality has been consistently good. I generally stick to the poke bowls and tako yaki as those are my favorites, but would think that everything is good quality. read more

I frequent this location regularly. The servers are usually friendly, and fast. They have reasonable prices and the ingredients in the sushi are fresh. My husband enjoys their sushi burritos. I like their sushi rolls, takoyaki, chicken wings, popcorn chicken, and their poke bowls. You can never go wrong building your own bowl. They have a great selection of sauces. I guess on some days, depending on who's working, like today. There's a guy who is unfamiliar with the orders. I've always ordered the regular due to food allergies too capsaicin, but he gave my husband the spicy one and insisted that this is only one that they have. A few minutes after, I broke out in itching and hives. My husband went back to tell them it's one one, he insisted that it's only one and refused to fix the order. This is so odd that he would say that since I frequent here every week or two. If you have food allergies, just triple and quadruple check with the staff so you won't be running to the pharmacy for Benadryl. read more

Papa Yu is definitely one of my favorite lunch spots. They are conveniently located off Katy Fwy, in the strip by 99 Ranch Market. Super cute spot, two tables outside to enjoy your meal. The employees are always nice and the inside is clean. Lemme get to these Poke bowls cause WOW. First of all, I never had a poke bowl before this year and this was the first place I ever tried. They have a variety of Poke bowls with ingredients already picked out that you can order straight from the menu, but the best part is you can create your own. My bowl usually consists of half White Rice/half Spring Mix, Tuna, Snow Crab with no Mayo, Green Onions, Edamame, Cucumber, and double Avocado cause I'm extra with the Classic Shoyu Sauce. FIRE! I used to get the Spicy Tuna but it never really blended well with the flavors in my bowl. Plus, I like the larger chunk of Tuna compared to the grounded Tuna mixture. THEY ALSO GIVE FREE MISO SOUP WITH THE PURCHASE OF A POKE BOWL! It's not advertised on the menu so you have to special request it like you're in on the secret menu, which makes me feel cool. Boba smoothie is perfect. They give FREE brown sugar boba and FREE Rainbow Jelly if you're into that like I am. I order Passionfruit Peach and sometimes it has a lot of ground up seeds. I don't mind the added texture, but if you don't like a little crunch in your smoothie I'd recommend you try another flavor. Every time I've gone, it's always customers going in and out which is a good sign. I think it's fair to say it's one of Spring Branch's favorite locations lol. Which is good because I don't wanna see them go. Try it out, become a member to earn points with every order to be redeemed for free drinks. Did I mention the fish is always super fresh? read more

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I stopped by with the intention of grabbing a quick drink because I've never been a fan of bowls in general. But Javier I believe is his name. The pale scrumptious man in the front offered a great recommendation. He insisted that certain toppings complimented others. I decided to give it a try and behold, he was right. My taste buds were busting all over! I will be coming back for more. Thank you Javier! read more

Papa Yu - Javier's masterpiece ... tbh idk what's in it. But it was good good. - Poke Near Me - Houston, Texas

I was pleasantly surprised by you Papa Yu. I normally go to pokii eatery but may now be a regular here instead. Poké AND boba? Count me in! Their fruit tea is delicious and i loved that it had passion fruit seeds in it. Super refreshing with the right amount of sweetness. For the food, I did the build your own bowl and really enjoyed the spicy papa yu special sauce. I love how generous they are with the sauces. The portion is a good size as well. There are so many options you can add to your bowl, it was hard not to try to get everything! read more

Papa Yu - Poke Near Me - Houston, Texas

Great experience. Friendly service. Fun music. Fantastic food. We did the fried pork Dumplings. Awesome and filled full with juicy pork. Chicken Wings were krispy perfection. Cali Roll was good. The diamond roll was great. (Shrimp and crab) We will be back. read more

Papa Yu - Chicken Wings & Pork Dumplings - Poke Near Me - Houston, Texas

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First time coming here & it was great the poke bowl was made exactly how we like. The sushi was also so good!! Definitely stopping by again!! read more

Papa Yu - Tiger Eye!! - Poke Near Me - Houston, Texas

Great affordable to get ramen and ice cream. Will come back if I am in the area for a bowl of ramen or poke bowl. Pleasant service read more

Papa Yu - Poke Near Me - Houston, Texas

I came here for lunch one day because I was really craving poke. This was right down the street from my work place so I figured it would be a quick pick up and go since I only had 30 minutes to get food before I had to go back to the office. I ordered a make your own pokey bowl and had asked for unagi sauce on top of the salad and rice bowl I had. also wanted spicy soy sauce mix with my proteins. I do enjoy the options they had and toppings as well! Unfortunately the miso soup doesn't come with the bowl as complimentary like most poke places. But they make the bowl for you after you order at the counter and then bring it to your table if you want to sit and eat. When I got my bowl, I realized that the bottom was completely soaked with sauce and I only had time to take a few bites of my bowl before I had to rush back to the office for work. About an hour later I finally got a chance to get back to my food, and the rice and lettuce were completely soggy with the amount of sauce that was sitting at the bottom of the bowl. It was almost like soup. I was really only able to pick out the remaining pieces of fish and some of the toppings that weren't completely soggy and I tossed the rest because the rice and lettuce just didn't have the right texture anymore after sitting in the soupy sauce for an hour. I most likely won't come back to order from here with there being so much sauce. service was good though and the gentleman at the counter was nice to talk about some parts of the menu since this was my first time coming to try this place. read more

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Salmon surprisingly fresh and generously portioned. Tempura shrimp fried to perfection. Did half charcoal rice half spring mix, otherwise too much rice. Very good boba, free with all drinks. Quick and friendly service. Not the most comfortable and clean environment but good enough for a quick bite. Please provide paper towels in bathroom! read more

I got the pork katsu. It tastes really good! I also got the Papa Milk Tea (which is essentially normal milk tea). The milk tea comes with free boba so it is a nice plus. Overall, I enjoy my meal. read more

Papa Yu - I got the Pork Katsu. It tastes really good!!! - Poke Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Not sure why all the ratings are so high? Small self-service counter Restaurant, with meager interior. Wasn't impressed. We started with the Crab Puffs, which should be call cream cheese puffs and there was no taste of crab artificial or otherwise. Next came the Fried Dumplings, which were "OK", but nothing above mediocre. We then shared 3 rolls (they are small), Shrimp Tempura Roll was the best of the three, while the Shaggy Dog was lacking flavor and the Spicy Tuna was far from "spicy". Since it was the first visit we'll give them a second opportunity, but truthfully, I don't have high hopes for redemption. read more

First time coming here for lunch. Excellent sushi rolls. Shaggy dog had a nice crunch. Memorial roll was very good. Food came out fast. Very generous with their food. 2 rolls got me full. Honey green tea was excellent. read more

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Super delicious and fresh. Everything is decently priced too around $10-14 for poke and sushi. Service was fast. You just order at the counter and they bring it to you. Food was so flavorful and there were alot of ingredients in the poke bowls. But the sushi was just alright. Definitely will be coming back for poke again. read more

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Food, service, and the courteous people in the store make this an excellent place to get your sushi.