"Kira in River Oaks could be mistaken for a play about sushi in a black box theater. The Japanese restaurant from the team behind Neo has a wooden counter at center stage, 15 seats for its audience, and a sound system playing ‘70s jazz albums for the duration of the show. Kira focuses on handrolls, with chefs routinely placing the temaki in your hand as if they were crisp $100 bills. When people aren’t eating nori stuffed with bouncy salmon roe and silky tuna, they’re having spoonfuls of donburi with clouds of fresh wasabi. Each staff member has lightning-fast service reflexes, appearing with on-tap highballs like a sixth sense. After spending 90 minutes watching chefs slice amberjack and receiving compliments on your sashimi selection, eating at Kira makes you feel like you’re a part of the team. Seats at Kira fill up quickly, and there’s typically only a day-of reservation at 5pm or 9pm on most days of the week. If you’re interested in a primetime spot, online reservations open up three weeks in advance. But if you recently won the lottery and want to test your luck further, you can show up right when they open and check if there’s a free seat." - gianni greene, chelsea thomas
