"Verdict: This Japanese restaurant looks like a black box theater, with a 15-seat, wooden sushi counter for guests to watch their handrolls loaded with salmon roe and delicate tuna get assembled. Kira's servers keep the pace between courses of caviar-laced temaki and bowls of donburi flowing by materializing out of thin air to replace your cocktail and ask about your favorite dish. This River Oaks spot is best for a smooth date night with someone you want to impress while hearing a Sade album on vinyl through their sound system." - gianni greene, chelsea thomas