- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Movies |
- All
Silhouette
Categories: Restaurants Japanese Restaurants Sushi Bars Food Coffee & Tea Japanese, Sushi Bars, Coffee & Tea [Edit]
718 Congress AveAustin, TX 78701
Neighborhood: Downtown
(512) 478-8899
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
82 reviews for Silhouette
Review Highlights
"Used to go here every Monday night- Happy Hour all day."
(in 5 reviews)
"Extensive sake list."
(in 3 reviews)
"...six different types) and a choice of salad or miso soup."
(in 9 reviews)
Loading...
82 reviews in English
-
Review from Mary F.
Austin, TX
Lunch date with my girlfriends at work! This is always the place to get some decent sushi for lunch. They have good combos for $8-16 everyday from 11am-2:30pm.
Nice service and very good sushi rolls as well as shumai and crab sticks! The house salad with sesame dressing is always good!!!!
I love the place! -
Review from Lionel F.
9/30/2011
5 visits, 5 poor experiences. The fish is often fishy and seems not to be fresh enough. If I can smell my salmon from my plate, it's not fresh salmon. Why did I go here 5 times if I didnt like it? Co-workers... And I didnt want to be snobby and thought I could possibly have caught them in a down cycle. Nope. The food just isn't fresh.
What did it for me was the last visit where my roll came with what i realized was black avocado. It was so old, it was black. And I had very fishy shrimp and sent most of my food back spending the rest of the day on food-poisoning alert. I didn't get sick but it was close.
The sad part is, I'm not a brutal customer, i was very polite when sending my food back and not only was my server rude, no one came to talk to me. No manager, no chef, no one. And while I dont want free food, not even all of the food I sent back was taken off the menu.
In my life I've left no tip 3 times. This was one of those times.
I know other people have a different experience and I'm glad they did. I've been there 5 times and have not had a good experience once, as with so many thing it's a crap shoot and to be frank, when it comes to sushi, I'm no gambler. -
Review from Amber W.
Pflugerville, TX
8/19/2011
Great place for lunch take-out. I work downtown and their lunch special cannot be beat. For $8.02 (with tax), you get soup or salad and a choice of 2 of the following rolls: california, philadelphis, spicy shrimp, spicy tuna, or tai pai.
I have received exceptional service from the girl that works there- I should have caught her name. When my two coworkers and myself ordered 3 separtate orders, we received VIP treatment. All of our orders were bagged separately and our tickets were ready when we arrived. She's very friendly on the phone and in person.
The guy that worked behind the counter- didn't catch his name either, but he either provided poor service or our expecations were too high. He put all of our orders in one bag for us to sort through, We requested srirarchi (spelling?) and spicy mayo. He gave us 2 spicy mayo and 1 srirarchi that was a quarter full. When I asked for more sauce, he looked at me like I was crazy, but oglibed any way.
So, the service can be hit or miss, but it's very convenient when you work downtown and I've been pleasantly pleased with the sushi.
I've only been for lunch takeout, but the place looks nice and they have a late night happy hour which is always a good thing. -
Review from An N.
Austin, TX
2/6/2012
I had 4 rolls there and they weren't that good. The rice was extra wet and didn't even taste like rice but mush. The spicy tuna was not even spicy at all. The dragon roll was okay but I have had a lot better. They were kinda small for their price. The baked roll was the best one of the 4. The dessert kinda made up for the meal. Their cream puffs were pretty good. They were crunchy with a nice light filling. Their green tea ice cream was okay, it didn't taste like authentic green tea ice cream.
Their service was good. The guy was very nice and was very helpful. -
Review from Jessica M.
Austin, TX
7/28/2011
Hello best lunch sushi ever.
I've never been here for dinner. I go here strictly for lunch because I work downtown and it's right smack dab in the middle.
Insiders tip: If you go eat in the restaurant, their lunch special is a roll of sushi (there's about six different types) and a choice of salad or miso soup... for $7. HOLLER.
I really like sushi, and I don't like spending a lot of $$$ for lunch, so this is right up my alley. The sushi isn't the BEST I've ever had, but it is definitely delicious. The service is good, and the restaurant itself is very pretty and quaint. Silhouette, you are my new lunch bff.Listed in: Baller on a Budget, raw fish!
-
Review from Ha N.
Austin, TX
5/3/2011
How can a college student resist the allure of emo-chic restaurant ambiance or 3 dollar sushi rolls during happy hour? Oh, believe me. Silhouette has scaled the walls of creativity to scare away the average consumer.
They start by sporadically projecting violent anime movies on the walls-- thank you, Silhouette, I particularly enjoyed watching that lynching-of-the-children scene while I ate my dinner. Then they call up their in-house DJ, who spins a mix of 90's techno and bad 90's techno.
And, if you weren't already impressed (or positively jarred by the experience), they proceed to engage you in a game of hide and seek. Where's the fish in my sushi? Where? There? That crumb under my cucumber? Ohhhh....how cute. The disappointment!
Maybe I'm not giving Silhouette enough credit. Maybe during peak hours, the restaurant is NOT totally empty, they DON'T show violent anime on the walls, there is no back-to-the-future DJ, and the sushi is quite delightful. I don't know. But as far as happy hour goes, you'll get a lot more happy in your hour elsewhere. -
Review from Shannon O.
Austin, TX
11/14/2011
Used to go here every Monday night- Happy Hour all day! Quiet, cozy, good prices, good sushi, good atmosphere. Nothing super special but that's how I like it....especially for being downtown on Congress. AND they recenlty added a Karaoke Bar above it- I see that as an added bonus just in case you have one too many bottles of sake and you feel like continuing your evening!
-
Review from RICHARD K.
Austin, TX
Updated - 7/25/2011 6 Check-ins Here
Pro: I had their Octopus and Cucumber Salad (tako no sunomono). It was a soup cup size of cucumber in a vinegar dressing with some cooked octopus on top. I also got their Fuji rolls, which is eel and spicy tuna.
It was all very good.
Con: It is all street parking, no star down. Can be a bit empty. Sometimes a strange film is playing on their projection TV and it is very darkly lit, one star down.1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
6/22/2011
Pro: I get the squid salad and spider / dragon rolls. You can always get a table.
Con: Can be a bit… Read more »
-
-
Review from Mikey M.
Austin, TX
7/14/2011
Over priced rolls, low quality.
Very small portions. Seems like a very desperate restaurant... -
Review from Pete A.
Vienna, VA
11/1/2011
The Sakura roll is wonderful. The sushi in general is very, very good, as is the service. The only reason I don't give it 5 stars is that the drinks seem a bit watery. I had two different seasonal drinks (both included Sake) and while they were nice, they weren't very substantive. Still, for the food and service, it's a great place.
-
Review from Deirdre C.
Austin, TX
4/13/2011
Loved Silhouette!!
Tastey big fat sushi rolls! Just what the doctor ordered!~
And they even have delish boba as well!
This place has a cool night scene vibe but its a lil pricey...
I didnt mind tho because I could tell I paid for good quality tasty sushi and the waitress was super sweet! -
Review from Brian L.
Austin, TX
9/9/2011
I have eaten this lil hole in the wall Austin sushi joint several times. The food has always been good and for sushi very reasonably priced. It's typically not super busy and the atmosphere is casual and laid back. I have always gotten exceptional service. On one occasion when they were very busy, it did take a while to get our food. The server was very apologetic and in the end if there is something wrong, as a customer I really just want the service provider to acknowledge it and attempt to make it right. Definitely spend the money for the Silhouette roll. DELICIOUS!
-
Review from Rachelle M.
Austin, TX
2/22/2011 1 Check-in Here
Silhouette has the best veggie Sushi in town in my opinion. That is to say, they have OPTIONS. Its not all about the cucumber and avocado folks...Not to mention any names of places that say, rhyme with GUCCI- but seriously? A little more imaginative on the pesca-free fare, puhleeze?
Bonus? Its quaint and dark with a stellar house drink list and a karaoke turned house music club upstairs...WHA? -
Review from Dillar S.
Austin, TX
9/4/2010 1 Check-in Here
This is that place you know will never be packed and you will never need a reservation. I went here on a Friday night at 8pm, dark an empty, I think the location may have something to do with this. The food was actually pretty good, we tried about 5 different rolls, nothing special but it wasn't bad.
The server was boring and didn't pay any attention to us. Would I go back? If I was craving sushi and everyother establishment was packed! -
Review from Camron R.
5/29/2010
"Holy-expensive dinner. This better drop some panties," is what I tweeted after eating at Silhouette.
I've had better, cheaper rolls at other places. And for a first date, it's a little out of my price range.
Oh, BTW, thanks for not disappointing. -
Review from Ryan V.
Austin, TX
6/24/2011
Do not eat here if you have any concern for your health. The place smells kinda funky and when I walked into the bathroom that had two inches of water on the floor I found out why. When I confronted the owner he acted like he had no idea but the waitress and bartender knew exactly what I was talking about. I canceled my order and walked out.
-
Review from Diana d.
Austin, TX
6/4/2010
Undoubtedly my favorite-non-Uchi-sushi in Austin.
1. Sushi hits the the right notes. The Eel avocado roll is enough to get me there by itself.
2. Happy Hours oh my happy hours. Happy hour all day monday, student happy hour, service industry happy hour, Saturday midnight happy hour and regular 5-7 happy hour.
3. Location, close enough to down town - but far enough away from the bars that parking is usually not an issue.
4. Extensive sake list
5. Eel avocado roll? -
Review from Elizabethe A.
Seattle, WA
4/16/2010
This is what I used to get:
The Silhouette Boat: This included roughly 10 pieces of sushi, 8 pieces of sashimi, and one specialty roll. It is a great deal (around $40), and the round and fat pieces of sushi are a great value and pretty good quality. However, after awhile I started to realize that if you don't get the boat and you just want to pick out your own mix and match meal, this place is way overpriced. You could get the same price with better quality fish at many other places in austin like sushi zushi or piranha, or tomo if you are willing to drive. All in all, I have decided that it's not worth it anymore.
Shrimp shumai: HOWEVER, I still believe that their shrimp shumai is amazing. The wrapping is extremely tender and the inside is nice and juicy. The sauce is tangy and each one is topped with a dab of sriracha or as I like to call it red rooster sauce. -
Review from Christopher S.
Austin, TX
7/5/2010 1 Check-in Here
Silhouette, is just alright. It's the kind of place that if a friend suggested it I would counter with Kyoto or Meiko but not outright reject it if they were married to the idea. I have been here for both lunch and dinner and both times i was underwhelmed by the quality of the fish and the creativity of the rolls. Their lunch special (your standard two rolls and miso soup) was a bit overpriced for how mediocre the rolls were. When i went here for dinner i was struck by how expensive it was for quality on par with Kyoto (which was much cheaper). I have also heard that they have karaoke in private rooms, however i've never been.
With so many other, better choices for sushi within 10 blocks i don't know why anyone would go here. -
Review from Micaela G.
Austin, TX
Updated - 4/19/2011
Still in love with Silhouette, but the last few times I've been the wait staff kind of sucked. The bartender kept loudly (loud enough for the whole restaurant to hear) saying how gross the sake on special looked, and the waitress spent more of her time leaning and gossipping than being helpful. I won't take a star away, because their sushi and specials are still great.. I'd give it a 3.5 if I could.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
12/12/2010
I'm a big fan of this place! The price is great, and I love that the Monday happy hour lasts all… Read more »
-
-
Review from Kevin N.
Updated - 3/7/2009
I've never claimed to be a member of the Sushi Mafia, and frankly I've always liked this place for what I found them to be, namely, a chill spot to pop in and grab some sushi downtown..it's always been soundtracked well and we've had good service. Couple that with the fact that I enjoyed the product and we were doing well already.
Then upstairs happened.
They've put in a really cool series of karaoke rooms upstairs, and last night we popped into one and belted out a few numbers. Looks like most of these rooms fit in the 10-20 range, but we had a blast. You can order drinks up there (we had a server who checked on us periodically) and I found myself angling for one more number. Next time, definitely.Listed in: Austin Downtown, Austin Sushi
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
7/14/2008
Cool beats, decent (but not amazing) sushi, reliable service. Silhouette isn't close to the best… Read more »
-
-
Review from Minnie T.
7/25/2008
Disclaimer: My bf and I came here at 11:00 pm. I hadn't eaten since noon and was freakin' hungry. I could of eaten a rabid monkey and thought that was the best meal ever created.
We went to Kona Grill for happy hour and that was bust because it was so ridiculously busy and I was being cranky. Bust. We then went to Sushi Niichi and that was a bust too because it was closed. Bust. I wasn't in the mood for burgers at a restaurants in West Campus. Bust again. The bf googled for late night sushi restaurants and this was one of the few places still opened.
Enough of my food drama... let's begin.
We walked in and there were a good amount of people eating and drinking at the bar. It was dimly lit and the hostess seated us at our table. After looking around the place, I was pleased with the decor. This is something I would do to my house whenever that happens. Okay, maybe not to the house but to a guest bedroom. The music was pretty good. There was rap, techno, and smooth rock. Odd mix tape but somehow, it worked.
We ordered the Philadelphia, Spicy Salmon, Taipei, and Salmon Skin roll. Our waitress asked us if we were students and because we were students, the happy hour menu applies to us. Therefore, the Philadelphia and Taipei were $4.25 and $2.95 . Our sushi arrived and it was delish. Then again, I was seriously hungry. We ate it all in 7 minutes. The bf decided to try a nigiri and after asking our helpful waiter which one he liked, we decided to go with sea urchin. Our waiter said it would taste slippery then it'll go dry. What? I was hesitant already. He suggested that we put some lemon on it to loosen up the texture. The bf tried it and he said it was okay. After being hesitant for 5 minutes and after the waiter was reassuring me it was okay, I tried it and OMG... it was good. I would try it again.
Our total came out to be $28. Thankfully, the bf paid for me even after my tantrum. =]
My experience was very good. Remind the waiter/ess that you're a student so happy hour applies to you. The happy hour is all day Monday, and Tues.- Fri.- 5-7. Our waiter was very knowledgeable and reminded me of Jon from Jon and Kate + 8. It was his eyes.
I'll come here again when my belly isn't empty so I can truly find out what it tastes like. Seems like I should since the other Yelpers had mix reviews. -
Review from Jennie C.
Austin, TX
7/1/2008
The smell of fish was the first thing I noticed, and it's not pleasant to say the least. My plate was dirty, and I noticed that the sushi was room temperature. Sushi shouldn't be room temp., especially the raw pieces. I ordered the sea Urchin and it was literally at room temp. and looked as if it had been sitting out for a while.
I would only go here when I can't afford anything else or if my sister made me go again. I think I would actually prefer HEB sushi to this. Second thought, Kyoto's is cheaper. I prefer Kyoto's for cheap eats.Listed in: Stay away from me!
-
Review from Cavason S.
Austin, TX
9/25/2009
Let's get down to the heart of the matter. My waitress was the rudest most unprofessional person I have ever had the misfortune of coming in contact with. Yes, it was towards the end of the night, 9pm or so, but they close at like midnight for dinner. WTF? In a nutshell, she was inattentive, passive aggressive, and in general not a good server.
I have however had great experiences at the bar. The bartenders are all really cool and don't make you feel like you are doing them a favor when they refill a drink for you. -
Review from seela m.
Austin, TX
4/29/2008
I didn't eat the sushi. My husband and I were waiting to see a concert at the Paramount. We went in for "wine and snack" as in "you wanna get wine and snack before the show?"
We sat at the bar because that's our thing. The bar was sticky. There was a half full glass and pack of smokes at the bar indicating someone's saved seat, so we sat one seat down. The bartender told us he'd be with us in a minute. He then picked up a menu, looked inside it, put it back down on a stack of menus and turned away to help someone else. Then he got someone a drink, cleaned a glass, rung up someone's tab, took someone's order....I could have had a baby by this time. I ask for a menu, to which he says "of course." What would we like to drink? Uh, what red do you have?
...you know how when you turn away from someone and talk, they can't hear you? This bartender never heard of that. I told him I couldn't hear him, so he turned to me and said, "we have..." and then turned back around to talk to his wine rack. It was like being in a David Lynch movie. The other customers at the bar were a little older than us, and we look a little younger than we are. ...he helped them a lot and us very, very little. He asked us to "scoot down one" when the guy who's seat he was saving returned. (You know, so this BETTER customer wouldn't have to SIT NEXT TO US.)
We had to flag him down for our check, and then flag him down again to actually take the payment. (Another list of things more important to do.) He also touched his hair a lot and cupped his hands AROUND HIS MOUTH to call out instructions to his co-workers. Eww. Did we tip him? yes. Well? no.
The wine was lovely and the edamame was hot and perfectly salty...but we won't be back. We left and had more wine/snack elsewhere. -
Review from Michelle C.
Austin, TX
4/17/2007
This place is all right. The sushi is decent and the prices aren't too bad. I've only been for lunch, so unfortunately, I can't comment on their cocktails. I knocked off one star because they won't do substitutions, even if you're willing to pay extra for them, which is just stupid and bad customer service, IMO. Otherwise, it's not a bad place to snag a sushi lunch downtown. But if I weren't restricted to being downtown, I would much rather go to Maru or Mikado and get a REALLY good sushi lunch and substitute to my heart's delight.
One good thing about eating lunch here: you never have to wait for a table. It's almost always pretty dead during lunch, so you can have a good conversation without having to shout to be heard.
Glad they did away with the toilet cam. Not a fan of being filmed while I'm doing my bidness.
-------
EDIT 7/17/07: I was here for happy hour tonight and tried their lychee martinis....holy gods, those are freaking GOOD. And they're only $5 during happy hour, which lasts until 7 pm on weekdays. Still a 3-star place as far as the food goes, but if you end up here for happy hour, try a lychee martini. Super yummy. -
Review from Carrie S.
Updated - 1/22/2009 2 photos
I'm not sure why this place has so many horrible reviews. We were just there earlier this month on a Friday night and my earlier review still stands. Fast seating, good sushi, nice atmosphere.
I would agree that they shouldn't clean the tables with such smelly cleaner right beside diners. And their new wine list stinks. The cheapest bottle of chardonnay is $48. That's just nuts.1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
7/13/2008
Pros-
- Quick seating even on a Saturday
- Nice atmosphere - dim with bright red walls
- Great happy… Read more »
-
-
Review from Raul M.
Los Angeles, CA
1/20/2007
As a poor college student, this joint's happy hour was my sushi salvation. Great tasty deals, awesome alcoholic concoctions.
Then they found the owner's hidden video camera in the women's bathroom. Yoinks!
I was so disappointed and upset.
Disappointed and upset because they closed down and I had nowhere else to go.
A couple months later, with new ownership and a new name (formerly Pango) they re-opened, and thankfully, the happy hour was still there, as well as the tasty sushi and drinks.
So the lesson here is...
sushi: good
hidden video camera: bad -
Review from yvonne o.
Austin, TX
6/1/2009
I've been to Silhouette several times over the years and the smell has gotten worse. There is a very strange smell when you walk in. It is a cross between fish and cleaner. I went tonight and it was colder than it usually is, which helps with the smell.
As for the food, we started with the miso soup and seaweed salad. The miso came in larger bowls than I'm used to seeing- it was yummy. The seaweed salad was dripping with water and didn't have much flavor. We had to drain the bowl into another bowl because it was swimming in green seaweed water at the bottom, which was not very appealing. The salad tasted better without the green water, go figure.
We ordered hamachi nigiri (mediocre quality), the shanghai roll (blah), the masago nigiri (very fresh), and the escolar nigiri. I LOVE escolar and am always excited to eat it because when it's good, it's oh, so good! Unfortunately, it was really not good :-( My escolar had sinewy stringy pieces throughout which I did not eat. When I explained this to the waitress, her response was, "Ewww. Sorry. Luck of the draw I guess." She did offer to get me something else and I passed on the offer, and I was not compensated when the check came. Our waitress was chatting most of the time behind the bar, so I had to steal my boyfriend's water since I was completely out and she was busy behind the bar. She also forgot the sashimi we ordered, but by the end of the meal, I was ready to leave so I didn't mention it.
So, I give this restaurant 2 stars because the service and the sushi stink as much as the actual restaurant does. Bah dum bum! -
Review from Misha S.
Austin, TX
9/30/2010
The location is convenient (with space usually available) and it's open until midnight on weekdays and 2a on weekends (a bonus).
The sushi is ok. Neither good nor bad; nothing blew me away. You pay a bit of premium for the location, not the quality. The cuts of fish were average, the rolls were on the larger/falling apart side, there was too much sauce on the ones that had some of that. I went fairly late so maybe a less savvy chef was behind the counter.
Miso soup was good. Edemame would have been fine if it didn't have a ton of sea salt on it, but that's easy to take off.
You can sometimes score a deal with a restaurant dot com gift certificate which makes the prices more palatable, as does Happy Hour.
Maiko is near by and better, but it's slightly more expensive with never a deal to be found. -
Review from Andrew G.
Austin, TX
7/18/2008
Once upon a time about 10.5 hours ago, the word silhouette conjured up images of shadowy refinement, tasteful darkness and perhaps a tinge of mystery.
Now I'm starting to think that perhaps in some ancient language it actually translates into the word 'crapfest' or 'dungpile' or 'foulfactory'...because you could use all of those words to describe the restaurant Silhouette and you still wouldn't come anywhere close to how utterly nasty this place is. Where do I even begin?
Let's start with walking into the place. One's olfactory senses are assaulted....like, full on castle siege in the medieval times, complete with battering rams and catapaults and dudes in heavy plate mail armor that haven't showered in months...by the smell of aged dead sea-faring animal, 4 day old damp cloth that is just starting to go moldy, dripping old air conditioning and wet stone.
Aw hell...let's just throw in the smell of unwashed-and-ready-to-go athlete-style foot and your favorite animal's breath after it has eaten and then burped.
And a little bit of oven-roasted bile for good measure. Poured over going-sour curded milk. In a bowl full of liquid squeezed from one of those heavy-duty plastic floor mats in a bar at the end of an 18 hour day.
And even then I feel like I'm being nice.
I ordered Lunch Box F. F stands for failure. F stands for flop. F stands for foul, freakish, floundering, funk-flavored f**king raw fish in a plastic box. If Lunch Box F actually meant all of those things, Lunch Box F is aptly named. It came with three hand rolls, one of which I know was some kind of shrimp. One had what looked like a bunch of avocado in it. And one had tuna...I think. There was a vegetable roll (rice & cucumber, more or less). And there was some miso soup.
The hand wraps looked like mini fish-flavored ice-cream cones. Unfortunately, where ice cream is cold and is generally guaranteed to taste good, this stuff was lukewarm and tasted like polyurethane.
Luke can stay at home locked in his room when it comes to sushi, because you know when he's there with his friend 'warm', something is definitely amiss. I want my sushi cool and fresh...not luke nor warm.
I tried taking a bite of one...specifically the one with the shrimp...but the seaweed was chewy and plasticky. That made me take a bigger bite of the sushi ice-cream cone, and that, in turn, made my stomach turn a little bit. My stomach turned because the shrimp tasted like it had been sitting for a little while and then rolled around some kind of spicy stuff mixed in with a creamy textured sauce. And let me again remind you that this was lukewarm.
Let's do a little exercise of putting words together that should not be together when you're thinking about food.
Luke-warm. Creamy. Chewy. Plasticky. Shrimp.
Friends, if that does not induce a gag reflex, then I don't know what will.
I tried the second one with what I thought was tuna and got the same experience.
Big "How 'bout nooooooooo" on attempting to eat anymore of the handrolls.
I moved on to the vegetable roll. How can you screw up something with rice and cucumber and seaweed? Apparently it's possible. It was falling apart. And again, the seaweed felt like it'd been sitting for awhile. Despite this, I still managed to choke it down.
Miso soup = liquid salt. I like salty flavored soup, but this stuff was quite literally pure salt.
I paid $8.00 for this. I feel like if I would've just eaten the eight bucks, I would have gotten a better meal.
The only reason why this place gets even one star is because it's a cool restaurant space and because they were playing Kurosawa's "The Seven Samurai" up on a huge screen.
This place was, hands down, the worst food I have had in my 1 year and 9 months I have lived here. Do yourself a favor and walk about 4.5 more blocks south down Congress and go to Kyoto. You could not pay me to eat at this place ever again. -
Review from Carmen J.
Austin, TX
7/22/2007
Lunch prices: good
Atmosphere: Very good, skylights yes! occasional fish smell, bad.
Presentation: Sushi served on aging wooden platters- gross
Watermelon Bubble tea: delish!
Sushi: average
Overall: nice to have as a lunch option when I'm feeling brave -
Review from Alexandra R.
Austin, TX
12/31/2009
I've never had dinner here, only lunch and happy hour, and both were very satisfying experiences.
Lunch is so great because it is cheap, and a deal or great value really swells my black heart. For $9, one can get three hefty sushi rolls, soup and salad. Think spicy tuna or salmon rolls - yum. There are also bento box deals, like a whole slab of unagi atop rice, also for under $10 with soup and salad. A great and huge and cheap lunch.
The soup is miso, the salad sometimes overpowered by an oily ginger dressing that tends to separate.
The bartender here is way creative and likes to use herbs and fruits and ginger for cocktails. Black pepper and cucumber mojitos were a highlight of the summer. So refreshingly spicy!
Fans of boba tea will love it here. Many flavors from taro to watermelon (which is a bright pink and Blow-pop sweet) are available, and can be gluten and dairy-free.
Happy hour rules and there are specials - just ask. -
Review from Erica R.
Austin, TX
10/3/2008
First and foremost, I work 2 doors down from this joint and *every single time* I walk past the open door, it smells like fishy bleach. Not too appetizing. They've GOT to do something about that revolting odor.
Secondly - on one occasion I agreed to meet a friend there for a quick lunch, and though it's much more affordable at lunch than at dinner, the quality of the meal suffers. In fact, the tuna in my spicy tuna roll was so mushy and unrecognizable I didn't even bother finishing them. It was mostly just disgusting.
The prices for dinner are a little bit stunning, given the quality. If it was less expensive, I might not penalize them so badly - but their prices scream quality while what they actually serve is seriously lacking in that department.
The art on the walls is usually pretty excellent. I'm always impressed, and I'm pretty particular about my likes. Sometimes I just pop in to see what's hanging.
The bartender is super sweet and made some excellent recommendations to me. They've got some tasty drinks. If you eat here at all, do drinks and maybe order some sushi at happy hour, but I definitely wouldn't recommend any sit down meals at this joint. It's kinda ewwy.Listed in: The Official ShitList
-
Review from Kathryne B.
Fort Worth, TX
1/30/2010
Let me preface this by saying I am not a sushi snob. I love sushi but will not go out of my way to pay an arm and a leg when I'm craving it.
I was first brought here late on a Monday night by some friends and was delighted to hear it was happy hour all day... except for the drinks. I love 1/2 price happy hours because it allows you to try new things and not feel bad if you don't like it because you didn't pay full price! Anyway, the sushi was enjoyable, it was nice and quiet, definitely a perfect date place where you can hear the person across the table from you.
The second time I went here I brought some girl friends and we went before heading out to a Monday night show. Of all the things that could have happened, the waitress spilled a tray with 4 VERY full, VERY cold waters IN MY LAP. Now I know accidents happen. I wasn't at all upset. The waitress was VERY VERY VERY apologetic. She quickly brought napkins and a blow dryer and said I could go to the bathroom to dry off, which was kind of nice. I had some extra clothes in my car so I changed into a skirt and the waitress even took my jeans and finished blow-drying them while I ate. Let me tell you, this didn't stop me from going back! Every time I go she is there (I seriously need to remember what her name is) and she always says hi to me and is so sweet.
I've been back again and again for lunches or happy hours, and it was all good until this red-headed waitress started showing up and she has TERRIBLE service! This may seriously prevent me from going back. They need to get rid of that girl... -
Review from Ryan L.
6/9/2010
So I went here for a Bachelorette party and had the time of my life.
The food was amazing. The hamachi was uber-fresh, as was the tai (red snapper). The sashimi cuts were modest, with a nice presentation.
They also have a decent sake list. Most of the sake you can find at Spec's. When I get sushi I look for an eclectic sake list and this was not it. Momokawa Pearl, and Gekkeikan Black and Gold.
Service was very attentive and friendly. I think they were a little annoyed at all the noise we were making.
All in all, great experience, Karaoke upstairs is a plus. -
Review from Allison P.
Fort Worth, TX
4/29/2007
If you go to Silhouette, go during Happy Hour. I think that is the biggest draw. I may not always want to pay full price for their sushi, but when I am craving sushi and I can't afford Uchi, then I will come here. It's decent for the price.
I think I like the design of the space more than anything. It's a long narrow space with lots of reds and dark browns, making it a fun place to stop in with your hunny, especially for their late night happy hour specials on the weekend. -
Review from Amber D.
6/27/2008
Definitely good for the dollar.
The location is really nice, I once lived about 300 yards from their door and it was heaven. The happy hours are at... weird hours, I think there's even one late at night, but it's worth checking it out for the specials!
Good sushi, good price, nice atmosphere (nothing schmancy - but at least it's dim and clean)Listed in: Give It To Us Raw and…
-
Review from Rebecca S.
Austin, TX
8/16/2011
Good sushi. However, it doesn't feel much like a sushi restaurant. Rather, the ambience suggests that it is a bar that serves sushi.
-
Review from Missy B.
5/31/2009
I came here with several friends and the sushi tasted good. I was shocked that it was so empty considering the great location, but it was during the week. The service was lacking for two reasons: 1. I couldn't find a server 2. There was only one server. The bartender mixes a good lychee nut martini, albeit too sweet for my palette.
The cleaner is very strong-smelling when they clean the tables and they should consider using something else.
