"Sister to Neo, one of Houston’s most elusive omakase experiences, this 15-seat counter bar offers a fun and more accessible approach to Japanese cuisine. Fashioned after a Japanese listening bar with a curated playlist of vinyl records, Kira promises rare sakes, imaginative cocktails, and an a la carte menu boasting buttery lobster hand rolls with seaweed hollandaise, a lox bagel temaki with smoked trout laced with a freeze-dried sour cream and onion powder, and its sleeper hit, a hen-of-the-wood mushroom roll slathered in a brown butter emulsion. Finish strong with its raspberry or pandan Kakigōri, which is shaved through a hand-cranked machine in the middle of the bar." - Brittany Britto Garley