great bar ok sushi. i guess i'm gonna have to be "that guy". the one who people are going to hate because i am going to totally disagree with the people who gave this place 5 stars. open up your think tanks 'cause here comes some knowledge. and if you feel like i'm a sushi snob, well, i am.
let's discuss location first because that's probably the only strong positive about ths place. located in the ultra-trendy shops at legacy off dallas parkway, it's a perfect spot for hot, single people to congregate. unfortunately, if you've been here before, you know that parking is a bitch. luckily, there's a big parking garage right behind ra and unless you feel the need to show off your benz or porsche, skip the totally unnecessary valet.
next, let's talk about atmosphere. let me be completely honest of my first impression when walking through the entrance. this is a hot bar.. that happens to offer sushi. it's really loud - like, obscenely loud. i seriously had to ask my friends to keep repeating themselves because apparently if you sit more than a foot away from anyone, you are not able to hear them. the bar is great, but there isn't enough room for the drinkers so they get tables. this means the restaurant section is immediately made smaller, with half of the tables occupied with people who just need a place to sit and drink and mingle. it took us more than an hour and a half to get a table. and it was hot. like, really humid. they didnt really bother using a/c because the bar area expands outside and they have all their doors wide open to the outdoor seating. so yeah, if you can imagine a giant room jam-packed with people, loud thumping music, and everyone is sticky and sweaty - that's ra sushi. sure, there are fine-ass women and the hostesses - my friend francesca would go on to refer to them as "hostesses" because they wore some of the most revealing dresses and see-thru clothing (which i was more than happy with). if you're a single guy prowling for booty and trying to hook up - then you will surely appreciate the atmosphere a little bit more with all the women.
service - i've already mentioned how much i like the hostesses. our waiter was a really nice guy and was very honest about the menu and told us what other patrons were ordering and liking. food arrived promptly and i was very surprised at the speed of the kitchen with the amount of people that were ordering.
food - now here is where the review goes suddenly very south. who here thinks that warm raw fish is good? the sushi was very sub-par. it's definitely not comparable to the likes of nobu or blue fish and here's why: the fish was not cold. meaning it was not fresh. it may have started out fresh, but because it was not stored in a cool place, it got warm and i'm sure the fact that the restaurant was 90 degrees had a big role in that too. also, the sushi rice was not prepared properly. a lot of times with sushi restaurants, the big complaint about the rice is that it's too hard. that means it's old. ra sushi's rice was not hard, but in fact way too soft and gummy. it was like eating gunk. this means that the rice was cooked, but not chilled for a sufficient amount of time before the rice vinegar was added. somebody probably left the rice sitting in the rice cooker for a few minutes until it bubbled down to a porridge. so gross. it wasn't all bad, though. we absolutely loved the viva las vegas roll ($12.25) and the chili ponzu yellowtail ($12.50). unfortunately, we ordered 10 more things and none of them were very good. scallop sushi was very different here. instead of using the little bay scallops and wraping them with rice and seaweed, they took a raw, giant scallop - cut it in half - and put it on top of that gummy rice they had. totally a turn-off for me. like eating a giant tongue made out of scallop. ew. the desserts were ok, but nothing to really rave about. we ordered the cinnamon tempura ice cream ($6.50) and the coconut creme brulee ($5.50). both were pretty typical fare.
people aren't lying when they say this place is surprisingly reasonable in price. it is! nigiri sushi (sold in pairs) averages about $4.50 each and specialty rolls range from $10 to $15 each. the most expensive fish we ordered was the toro (tuna belly) nigiri which was $9 for two pieces. it would've been great had it not been so damn warm. sigh.
it's a real shame. you have here a great bar. they tried to make it a sushi restaurant too, but it's just not executed correctly. ra should take notes from blue fish, who does an excellent job of seperating the bar from the restaurant. ra sushi just crams everything in the same room. the sushi isn't great, but the service is excellent. this place only caters to hot, young, single people who are silly enough to wait an hour and half for table, stand elbow to elbow with other sweaty drunk people and eat crappy sushi all in the name of status. it's a shame.