Convey Sushi

I’m gonna try to keep this review short and sweet:
— Not as fancy looking as I thought it would be. Kind of disappointed in that. The place kind of looked like an old warehouse with tables laced around the sides of the restaurant and a conveyor belt in the middle.
— Service was good. Waitress refilled our waters whenever needed, gave us good suggestions on what to order, and got our orders correct. My standards were kind of lowered after walking into this place so I didn’t really expect much more.
— There were many varieties of sushi rolls on the menu, but most of them had at least one ingredient that would make me lose my appeal. I guess I could’ve easily omitted it, but I figured it wouldn’t make the roll as great as it should’ve been. So I settled for the red moon roll and dan’s roll, which I’m pretty happy about because both were very good.
— Spicy scallop sushi had more siracha and less mayo than I’m used to. Kind of liked it since I’m really not a fan of mayo anyway lol.
— Boyfriend ordered the oyaku don (chicken w/​veggies and rice). He didn’t like it too much, given that it tasted very bland. He had to drench it in soy sauce to make it taste good. :/​
— I’ve still yet to try the sushi on the conveyor belt. We came in here with a groupon and the server said it’s not valid with the conveyor belt items. But I’m willing to come back here and give this place another try and possibly bump up this rating by a star or two.

If you’re looking for a sushi review from someone who can tell the difference between salmon from the north and salmon from the south or things like that, then this is not the review for you.
This is how I rate sushi: really bad sushi, buffet sushi, high-​end/​really-​awesome sushi, and everything else. Honestly, most restaurants serve the «everything else» sushi. And that’s not a bad thing. Everything-​else sushi is usually fresh but it doesn’t jump out at you, you know what I mean?
Convey sushi has a neat concept: sit at the conveyor belt and choose which sushi you want as it rolls past you. You can also special order some sushi, and it will roll out to you with a number on top of it’s plastic dome cover corresponding to where you’re sitting.
The waitstaff is friendly and quick. My water glass was filled to the brim my whole time there. Convey sushi serves everything-​else sushi, and it was alright.
Come for lunch, and every sushi roll is only $ 5.

Tucked in the corner of downtown at Congress and Milam is Houston’s only conveyer belt sushi stop, Convey Sushi. In addition to the belt seating (around 28), standard tables are available. The space is minimalist and contemporary, with large windows and high ceilings.
From the kitchen, small plates roll out on the belt on different colored plates to denote pricing. As diners pull their choices, waiters keep track of the number of plates and colors per seat. Other menu options are available for direct ordering as well. The full menu can be ordered when seated at a regular table.
The service is friendly and helpful, though can be slow at times.
Our group had a large variety of dishes, some standouts being the White Moon roll, Soft Shell Crab appetizer, Beef Tataki.
All the fish was very fresh except the ikura (which was sent back and very quickly deducted from the bill).

I’ve been here twice, both times using ‘Groupon Now’ deals. The first time we sat at the conveyor thing and I was pretty confused about how to order, but figured it out quickly. The place wasn’t busy, but we waited a bit for the food. The orders placed at the bar are smaller/​cheaper than off the regular menu, so we had to order a bunch of rolls to fill up. As of a week or so ago, they didn’t have their liquor license yet so it was still BYOB, which is ALWAYS a plus in my book… they should stay that way, in my opinion. I’d rather go to a BYOB sushi joint than one that charges $ 10/​martini. The food was good. We really liked a couple of the rolls (Lotus and Tiger Eye stood out). The short ribs on the apps section of menu are really good… really tender, fall off the bone type of ribs. They’re more like spare ribs though, not short ribs.
The only complaint I have about this place so far is the service. The first time, service was slow/​unattentive, but it seemed like one guy was handling the entire place, so he was bogged down… and I also don’t think he’s a waiter. He seemed more like manager or something. The second time, we had a space cadet girl as our waitress. We had to ask her 4+ times for soy sauce and dishes. When we asked her how certain rolls were, she told us she’s vegan so she doesn’t know. lol! ok… I understand vegans are people too, but that was just plain funny.
Anyway a few more details: BYOB is for the table seating only, not at the conveyor bar. Parking is hard to come by in the area, so be prepared to walk a few blocks if you’re not lucky enough to come across someone leaving their spot.
The biggest draw here is the price. You can walk away spending $ 40 and be very full/​content. And always check groupon now’s deals because they are featured on there a lot.

Convey is part of the Market Square recent boom of restaurants. Ended up going there after the recent Korean Festival with my girlfriend and a friend. We got there a bit past 9 on a Saturday night and the place was about ¼ full. Of course we grabbed seats by the conveyor belt.
I will agree with a previous reviewer… there’s no point in running the conveyor belt when the place is so empty. It just forces your food to do an unnecessary parade. The way it works, you write down the rolls you want on a piece of paper with your table # and send them down the conveyor. Eventually your food will show up in a little covered container with your table # on top.
Our waitress was nice and made great small talk but she neglected some key things.
1) We ordered hot tea which she didn’t bring to us until we chased her down. She said she wasn’t sure if we wanted it with our food. I wasn’t sure why she didn’t ask.
2) The menu has some specialty rolls running from $ 10 – 12. We ordered a couple of these rolls and to our surprise we got these teeny tiny rolls. Like, 5 little pieces of sushi. At this point we were just shocked that such a small portion was $ 12. As it turns out they do a smaller portion of their specialty rolls which are listed on the conveyor belt menu. Fortunately they were only $ 4.5 and we weren’t very hungry but I wish she would have clarified this point.
3) My friend ordered a bento box which took about 45 minutes to arrive. The waitress never gave us an update on the food. She did apologize for the long wait after she brought the bento box over. she also comped us with some nice mochi ice cream which was nice of her but I think at that point it was too late to salvage the meal
The sad part is that the sushi was actually pretty solid. I can get a similar quality meal closer to my house so I don’t see myself going back to Convey anytime soon.

We finally tried this place out around dinner on a Thursday night. It was awesome. The sushi is pretty up to par with higher end sushi restaurants, but for about half off. The manager was very accommodating.
At one point my clumsy butt splattered soy sauce all over a white shirt I was wearing (my fault 100%). Our party was laughing it off and the manager came up and offered to have it dry cleaned on their dime. I told him that isn’t necessary, it wasn’t their fault.
I also was talking to the manager about Paw’s on Patio, an organization that finally had an ordinance passed to allow restaurants to have dogs on their patios. He was very intrigued and said he would look into that and in the mean time if I wanted to bring my dog I could either get sushi to go and eat it at the park or he would set up a table outside if I wanted.
I have to give them props for being so accommodating.

I came here the first time with a few Unilocalers, a discerning bunch. First off you notice the really cool conveyor. I had seen this at YoSushi! in London, but hadn’t yet seen this in Houston. It is a cool concept and I like the idea of the moving menu.
The next thing I noticed was the friendly owner. He came to greet us as at that point, they hadn’t been open that long and wanted to meet us.
I got the beef teriyaki bento and I was impressed. I started out with a delicious miso soup, and then had a super delicious ginger salad. The beef teriyaki, oh boy it was good. The sauce was delicious and the beef was tender and juicy. The gyoza, tempura and california roll were delicious, but the beef really stood out. At the end of the meal we were treated to green tea mochi, and it was the perfect ending to a great meal.
I have been back since and they also knocked it out of the park.

I came here on a Wednesday for dinner, and the place was nearly empty with only 3 other parties seated around the conveyor belt. Although I like the conveyor belt concept, I’d say their execution needs a lot of work. First of all, I don’t feel like the belt needs to run during non-​peak hours. There aren’t enough patrons to keep a continuous flow of fresh food on the belt, so instead there are plates with pictures of rolls and lengthy directions on how to order. Secondly, the font on the menu is excruciatingly small.
Taking the décor into account, I was hoping for some good, cheap sushi. However, I was disappointed to discover that the food wasn’t exactly cheap but the quality was.
Agedashi Tofu — tofu was overcooked and tough, also poorly seasoned
Nigiri pieces (tuna, salmon, escolar, yellowtail) — edible but obvious cheaper cuts of fish
Red Moon roll — overcooked/​dry rice, only 5 pieces of $ 12? definitely not worth it
White Moon roll — california roll topped with scallops and baked with eel sauce on top; tasted OK but not worth $ 12

Wow. Just… wow. I guess I got spoiled from Sushi Choo Choo because this place wasn’t worth it.
We walk in and the place is empty. We really weren’t sure if they were open at first because no one was around. But alas, there was a group of three hidden. The restaurant has an industrial setting, but yet almost felt like fine dining with the water goblets and cloth napkins. Virtually no décor and had wiring hanging all over the place. Weird.
Well, we were anxiously awaiting sushi to come around the belt, but sadly there wasn’t any, just pictures. Confused, the waitress finally came over and asked us if we had been there before. We told her «no» and she explained that we needed to fill out an order sheet. Wait… what? A sushi conveyor belt with no sushi? Weird.
You get a free pork or veggie goyza with a Unilocal check-​in :) We scrutinized the menu for descriptions of the sushi, put our orders in, and waited. And waited. And… waited. Finally we see it come out and we wait again in agony as we watch it slowly make its way around the belt. My friend watched me eat as he waited for his to come out and after I was finished with my two plates, he asked the waitress where his was. She said he was working on it and instead of putting it on the belt, she brought it to us – thankfully. The food itself was pretty decent and my friend even said the sashimi was some of the best he has had.
When all was said and done, she told us that during lunch they have over 300 plates of sushi going around. That would be great if I could actually come here for lunch, but that’s out of the question with an 8 – 5 M-​F job. If I wanted to sit down and order sushi from a menu, I would have gone elsewhere.

Brought a groupon deal for this place so decided to check it out for dinner since I’ve already tried it once during lunch. We ordered a few different appetizers which I must say were kinda pricey for the portions given. I would probably just stick to the entrees or sushi.
An order of 5 shumai cost $ 7.50 and a small plate of beef tataki cost $ 11.50. The chicken katsu though was only $ 5.00 so that was probably the one that you get most for your buck.
We tried 2 different rolls, the atlantic and the yachiru roll, I found them to be pretty unique and would definitely recommend those 2 rolls for the sushi lovers out there.
This review would have been a 4 star but the service was über slow even though the restaurant was pretty empty and also that told us that they don’t serve alcohol since they lost their liquor license (BUT as we were leaving the table next to us were served SAKE… WTF??? we could have used some sake too!)

Cheap sushi! That’s always good, right? FYI: Convey does NOT have their liquor license yet, so do not come in here expecting to purchase a glass of wine or a can of beer. It’s not allowed. They did, however, give us free sake. HUGE plus. Eating sushi without sake, beer or some sort of alcoholic beverage is just unfulfilling!
I thought service was average… although not particularly THAT friendly. Still, they weren’t rude. Just not quite as hospitable as I’d hoped. The sushi is pretty decent as well. The only qualm I have is the lack of décor. The ambience still needs a lot of work; it seems as if it’s still under construction.
Red Moon roll was good. It had peppered tuna and avocado with ryu, spicy mayo & wasabi tobiko eggs. Yum! Also ordered the Hot roll, which is white fish, cream cheese, jalapeño and tempura fried, topped with avocado. The Renji roll wasn’t quite as tasty. I see how they tried to be innovative and put cilantro pesto sauce, but it just didn’t work for the overall taste and ended up being kind of weird.
Also, students get $ 3 sushi plates! Just show your ID. That ended up working in my favor big time. Pork gyoza (free with Unilocal check-​in! You may opt for veggie gyoza), 2 rounds of hot sake, 4 – 7 rolls = $ 21. How can you beat that?!
Convey hasn’t completely grown on me yet, but it might. I still want to try Sushi Choo Choo!

Quick and Dirty (we came for dinner)
Hours: 11 – 10 M-​Thurs, 11 – 12 Fri & Sat
Cost per person: approx $ 15
Best dish: Hot roll… FREE SAKE (they don’t have their liquor license yet so they gave it to us for free)
Least favorite dish: the dingy water glass
Service: Some of the best I’ve experienced downtown. Our waitress was friendly, attentive (yet not overly so), and comfortable to be around.
Location: Behind Market Square Park near Les Ghivrals and ERA
Fun Fact: Seems to be run by the same people that do Les Ghivrals (not the midtown one)
I had a Groupon burning a hole in my pocket, and nothing says «date night» like a Groupon. Is it just me, or is it classier to show them your smartphone to get the discount instead of handing over a crumpled piece of paper?
We walked in the front door and were immediately seated at the conveyor belt/​sushi bar. There were probably 3 or 4 other couples seated nearby as well. When we sat down, one of our water glasses was a bit soap scummy/​dirty, but the waitress quickly replaced it, without being awkward.
So during dinner service, the conveyor belt runs, but there isn’t a steady stream of sushi coming out – the demand just isn’t there. However, you can quickly mark down your orders on the standard-​issue sushi menu, and your order will come out on the conveyor belt. The best thing about convey is being able to order half-​orders of rolls. It allowed my wife and I to try 4 different rolls. My favorite roll was the Hot Roll. I like sushi that has the white sushi roll, and the texture and flavor were excellent. The other rolls were tasty but not memorable (see, I can’t even remember what they were called). We also had some edamame that was very salty, but enjoyable.
Highlight of the meal for me? Free sake. I asked our waitress for a beer, but she mentioned that they didn’t have their license yet, but offered to give us some free sake. Hard to turn that down. My wife doesn’t like sake, so after her one little cup, I finished it all off. Good stuff.
Ok, so after our $ 30 Groupon, our grand total was…$ 1.24. That’s the price of tax, as our Groupon covered ALL OF THE FOOD. Goodness that’s inexpensive sushi. As a result, I left a hefty tip for our super friendly waitress.
Result of the story: I have a new go-​to cheap sushi place in Houston. Inexpensive. Fun (conveyor belt!). Good service. Good atmosphere. Convenient location. Sorry Oishii, you have been overthrown.

Still loving this place! I think I’ve gone there enough to where one of the sushi chefs recognizes me (his name is Kevin, btw). So. quick update on their rolls.
MUST TRY: Congress Roll– this one is for those of you who like to eat on the «safer side». It’s basically a veggie roll topped with sliced beef. I know, I think my description did not convey (ha ha) how amazing this roll is, but I promise you will not regret it! Try it! But also ask for their spicy ponzu sauce… its the perfect pairing!
Another MUST TRY: Atlantic Roll– its spicy salmon with jalapeño topped with avocado and spicy mayo. It’s a roll that I always get. The spicy mayo is absolutely delicious.
Another MUST TRY: Red Moon– its peppered tuna and avocado and topped with salmon and spicy mayo (seriously, that spicy mayo is great!).
I always get their spicy ponzu sauce because they make it right! I always site at the conveyer belt as well because I can get «small» bites of my favorite rolls without overdoing it (and I typically do).
This last time when I was here for lunch, they had chicken yakitori noodles (I know I misspelled it)… and it was very tasty. The noodles were great even though its been on the belt and it’s not your typical «lo mein» noodles at an asian place. Seriously folks… come out and try it!

Cute place!

For some reason, when I first heard about this restaurant I imagined a large room with a conveyor belt that snaked through the entire restaurant… with a piece of sushi starting in the kitchen and making it’s way around the entire building, winding through tables, before finally ending up back in the kitchen disappointed that no picked it for their dinner.
I was a bit disappointed that the conveyor belt was tiny and only wrapped around the bar area. I ended up not even taking anything off the belt, since I visited the establishment on a Sunday and it was a ghost town.
However, going on a Sunday was great… as I got a chance to meet the owner and chat him up one on one. The sushi I ordered off the menu was great… especially since they had market fresh yellowtail. Damn near pee’d my pants when I tasted it… every bit as good as I remember from my days in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles.
Convey is worth the visit… if even just for the novelty conveyor belt. However, it seems like the owner is really geeked about getting the freshest and best fish possible… and that is what will keep me going back for more!!!

So my new favorite area of town is Market Square. Every other city’s downtown is flourishing, but our downtown is so dead at night and on the weekends. However, this one square is trying it’s best to revive downtown. But until, it starts being the hip spot, I’ll enjoy the ample street parking.
Convey sushi, must be named since they have a conveyor belt in the middle of the restaurant. I was told by the owner, Kevin, that during lunch, they make a bunch of dishes and it’s 3 dollars a plate. That sounds like a fun experience. We came for dinner and we were one of two tables so they just served us like normal.
On this night there was a Unilocal check in special, the pork gyoza appetizer for free! It was good. We also decided to start out with an order of shrimp shiumai, odd to have dim sum at a sushi place, but it was also tasty.
As far as their rolls, we had the Francis, yachiru, catepillar, and crunchy rolls. My favorite was the Yachiru roll because of the the mango sauce on top!
Love the new additions to market square!

They don’t really use the conveyor belt now (except as food delivery). There just aren’t enough people to warrant it. You order from a card now, and the waiter comes to pick it up, and you wait on the belt for your order to be delivered to you.
Hint: If you’re in a rush, sit at the beginning of the belt. If you sit at the end like we did, you watch your food travel slowly on the belt all the way around the restaurant before it gets back to you. Dumb mistake.
Weekday lunch is $ 3 plates for sushi rolls (4 – 6 pieces a plate) and specialty rolls (4 – 5 pieces). A few of the sashimi (2 pieces) is also included– ask the waiter.
I got the red moon (hot), caterpillar, and rainbow. Everything was fine. But it took them forever to get it out. I’d come by again for a quick and cheap sushi fix during the work week, but not for much more.

Lunch was fabulous and full of variety! I am not sure if it usually works this way, but as you walk in, there is a sign for you to seat yourself. This is great, considering that it is lunch and we don’t waste our time having to wait for a hostess.
My hub and I arrived after the lunch crowd so it wasn’t as packed. We decided to sit on the Conveyor Bar just to see what this conveyor belt thingymabob was all about.
I have seen on television where other places do not cover their sushi because they want people to be able to see the dishes that come out. At Convey Sushi, the dishes are covered with a clear plastic cover where you can still make out what the dish is and not sneeze, cough, or talk into the dish. Can you imagine how many germs will go through your sushi if you were to be the one at the end of the conveyor belt!??
Thank goodness for the covers!
On with the food… the dishes that come out are ALL only $ 3. Some dishes are on different color plates, and I assumed it was for the different pricing, but as our bill came out, everything on the belt was $ 3. You’ve got your cali roll, spider roll, philly roll, salmon, tuna, crunchy roll, eel roll and a few others that I didn’t try. There were also dishes of fried rice, udon with chicken, gyoza dumpling, spring rolls and veggie dumplings that were on the belt. My hun and I grabbed most of the sushi rolls and none of the rice or noodle dishes because I ordered a bento box.
I was really impressed with their bento box because it came with so much. I ordered the beef teriyaki and it came with steamed rice, big green salad, miso soup with shitake mushrooms, tempura broccoli, mushrooms, sweet potato and a shrimp tempura. Oh, it also came with 2 pork gyoza dumplings… all for 12 dollars. I couldn’t get over it. Some places have bento boxes that don’t even offer half as much as this place.
I enjoyed my experience at Convey and I will definitely return. I am really giving this place 4.5 stars. They are not a full 5 star place yet because the tables and some of the bar area was not clean. It looked a tad neglected.
The owner came by a few times and chatted it up with us. Homie was super cool, young and hip. I look forward to supporting his restaurant.

Lots of potential but not quite there yet. The incredibly stark, industrial space feels modern but a little too bare. We went here on a week night and it was basically empty. We figured we’d have good service since our waitress only had our group of 7 to wait on, but she was pretty awful. It took an hour to get hot tea. It wasn’t that she forgot, she just kept telling us that it takes that long to make it. seriously? Overall service was pretty awful. The owner came out and greeted our table and was very nice but still seemed oblivious to the horrible service. They were also out of several items.
I had the Bento box with teriyaki chicken. The teriyaki chicken was dark meat and quite fatty. The crunchy roll was very good and I’d definitely get that again. The sweet potato tempura was also very good. The white rice was mushy and was left wholly uneaten.
My husband’s chicken yakitori appetizer was burned. He ate it anyway because he was hungry. His oyako don’s chicken wasn’t very good. It was swimming in broth and became a soup-​like mess when it shouldn’t have been. We’ve had it many many places in Houston and other cities and it shouldn’t be soup-​like at the bottom.
We were brougt complimentary salads and miso soup before our meals. The salads were absolutely delicious! The ginger and sesame dressings were amazing and worth coming back for if that’s all I get. The Miso soup was served cold and was once again left uneaten. We were also served complimentary mochi ice cream for dessert. It was just ok. The owner told us that he ships it in from Japan. I think the owner was just glad to see a large group in when the place was mostly empty.
It was definitely a mixed bag evening. There were some great items and some awful items. I think with some time this place could be pretty good, but right now I won’t spend my time and money there unless I am craving an amazing ginger sesame salad.
It is nice to have a Japanese owned Japanese restaurant. That’s always a plus. It’s also nice to have more options downtown.

We came on a Sunday afternoon for lunch after reading rave reviews about Convey. Just like the rest of Downtown Houston on a Sunday afternoon, the restaurant was empty and quiet. A few more people started trickling in after we were seated. The waitress was very helpful and attentive, but food service was a little slow. Unfortunately, the conveyor belt wasn’t on when we got there, so we sat at a table and ordered from the menu (which contains very interesting and inventive rolls):
Pork Gyoza — We got these for free thanks to the Unilocal Check-​In offer. One order comes with five small pork dumplings, each cooked well and crispy. I wasn’t a big fan of the ponzu sauce that came with it.
White Moon Roll — This pretty much is a California roll with a cooked scallop on top, served with yummy eel sauce. Although I’m not used to «warm» sushi, this was quite delicious.
Red Moon Roll — This roll was far more interesting than the White Moon Roll. It was a peppered tuna and avocado roll topped with salmon, spicy mayo, and wasabi-​tasting fish eggs. Highly recommended.
Nabeyaki Udon — This udon tasted like a typical udon at any great Japanese restaurant. The broth was tasty, and it definitely can fill up one diner. The shrimp and vegetable tempura that came with it was cooked nicely.
I would give this place 3.5 stars. The food was good, but it’s not much different from any other decent Japanese restaurant in Houston. The price is a little high, but we ended up paying about $ 30 for our meal (after the Unilocal Check-​In offer and a 15% off student discount). We might come back and check out the Happy Hour specials on Fridays.