Nabi has actively been trying to get people in the door since they opened. They’ve been doing a great job of working the social media channels, and I say, good for them. They certainly have made a repeat customer out of me.

Nabi is the type of establishment that is primed to become a Montrose gem. I can easily see me stumbling, er, I mean walking down the street over there after a Friday happy hour at a familiar cocktail bar. On the other hand, I’ve comfortably dined there twice with my family of five, so it’s not just another trendy place for the young and restless.

I’ve been to Nabi three times now with multiple people and have tried at least a dozen dishes. I have not had a single dish that I disliked. Some are standouts. A few are good but not perfect. All are very likeable.

Nabi markets itself as fusion cuisine and the menu is primarily Japanese- and Korean-influenced. One of the dishes from the Korean side is fried chicken, with a very crunchy, thick crust. With a few other dishes on the side, a dinner order is plentiful enough to share.

I have to admit, I don’t love this version as much as what can be had at the Toreore stand at Super H-Mart on Blalock north of I-10. Nabi’s version is far too polite, and I masochistically enjoy the nearly painful level of heat in the spicy Toreore version. It’s a crowd-pleaser, though, and a good introduction to the dish.

I recently visited San Diego and went nuts over an open-air ramen bar that also serves craft beers. This is exactly the type of place we need in Houston. But in the meantime, add Nabi to your list of places that make a good bowl of ramen. It’s rather variable, but that’s part of the fun.

The first time I tried it, the meat was super-flavorful with touches of star anise and other spices, but the broth was a little fatty. In all fairness, it is described as being made with “bacon broth” as well as pork belly, so some excessive richness is to be expected.

The second time around, the broth was perfect, but the meat didn’t have as many interesting flavors. It was very good both times, just different with room for minor improvement.

Nabi unfortunately set off one of my pet peeves. For my personal tastes, there are very few dishes where raw cucumber is welcome. (I realize most people enjoy it. But we all have our strange little quirks.) Nabi used it in both of the sushi rolls we ordered, and it was nowhere to be seen on the ingredient list on the menu. While it’s not practical for restaurants to list every single ingredient (menus would become scrolls), please announce the primary components so we diners can responsibly avoid the things we don’t enjoy.

The T3 roll was my favorite. I gamely poked the cucumber slivers out of it and enjoyed it thoroughly. The “T3” stands for three types of tuna: torched, white and spicy. I’m finding “vertical” dishes like this one, where one type of ingredient is prepared with a variety of techniques, can be fascinating and brings a studious focus on that particular item.

I respect chefs who do an honorable job of preparing vegetables with techniques designed to maximize texture and flavor. The Brussels sprouts, enhanced with cooling mint and crunchy fried shallots, are one of the best preparations I’ve had of this crucifer. The sautéed chili edamame are also excellent, with a perfect balance of salt, char and heat.

Do not leave without having dessert. I cannot recommend the mochi sundae enough. Many people think mochi is ice cream, but it actually refers to the pounded glutinous rice that has so many applications in desserts. In Nabi’s sundae, glistening little rice cakes abound in this confection that also includes green tea ice cream. Chopped strawberries provide a counterbalancing tartness, and sesame candy and Pocky sticks add to the texture and fun.

In this time of outstanding growth in Houston’s food culture, I find that there are more places I want to visit repeatedly than I have time for. There are lots of restaurants with talented chefs that I could happily visit weekly. Even with that stiff competition for my time though, Nabi has already made it into the rotation

NABI, 1517 Westheimer bet. Montrose & Dunlavy, 713-526-8866, nabihouston.com