The owners of Bosscat Kitchen & Libations are ready to introduce Houston to their next project. Ten Sushi + Cocktail Bar opens for lunch and dinner this Thursday, November 17.
Located directly across Mid Lane from Bosscat in the 200 Park Place building (4200 Westheimer Rd.), Ten Sushi serves as pan-Asian menu of sushi alongside Japanese, Chinese, and Thai-inspired dishes. Co-owner John Reed tells CultureMap that opening Ten will create a symbiotic relationship with Bosscat, the whiskey-obsessed comfort food restaurant that’s been a neighborhood staple since it opened in 2017.
“The more I got into the River Oaks/Highland Village area, I realized there’s a built-in clientele who really appreciates what we do at Bosscat,” Reed says. “If we could bring them a different style of cuisine, we could capture a ton of success in a smaller footprint right here in Afton Oaks/River Oaks.”
That offering starts with Ten’s intimate, 80-seat space. Designed by co-owner Leslie Nguyen and Construction Concepts co-owner Josh Weisman, it blends some Houston-inspired images into a design that’s similar to Ten’s original location in Southern California.
“Leslie has really pushed us outside the box. It stretches us into this really interesting place, very moody, a little bit dark, very sexy, a little graffiti with a little femininity,” Reed says. “You’ll see it’s about entertainment and the feeling you get when you walk in the door and the vibe.”
Turning to the food, the menu is built around dishes that diners can share, whether that’s sushi rolls, sashimi-style raw dishes, or wok-fired items. A meal at Ten could start with chili-garlic edamame, chicken gyoza, crispy rice sushi with spicy tuna, or Japanese nachos — spicy tuna and guacamole on a wonton crisp. Entrees include General Ten’s chicken, Mongolian beef, Kung Pao shrimp, and a Prime NY strip with a Thai-inspired tiger cry dipping sauce.
Sushi offerings include nigiri and sashimi, but the focus is squarely on the creative rolls. In particular, Ten highlights black rice rolls such as the Forbidden (seared ahi, albacore, crab, spicy tuna, avocado, soy sauce, and jalapeño sauce) and the black and yellow (yellowtail, spicy tuna, cucumber, avocado, rice pearls, sauteed sweet pepper, and vegan chipotle sauce). Overall, Reed says diners can expect consistently well-executed dishes with eye catching presentations.
“It’s all about really good food,” he says. “It’s not about being too elevated. It’s just about being good.”
Ten is only the first new opening from Daily Dose Hospitality Group. Later this year, Reed and Nguyen will open Bosscat’s second Houston-area location at the Market Street development in The Woodlands.
Photo by Dylan McEwan
Ten Sushi co-owners John Reed and Leslie Nguyen.
