Kuu, the modern and ambitious Japanese restaurant located in the Gateway Memorial City development, opened its doors in February 2014. A year (and then some) has since passed. Last week we returned as guests of the restaurant for another look and to sample a multi-course tasting menu.

The restaurant’s chef/owner is Adison Lee, who once worked at Nobu under famed celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa. You may also remember him as chef at the much-admired but short-lived Sushi Raku in Midtown.

“Kuu” translates to “the art of eating,” and those words hold meaning here. All of the dishes, from the cold and hot plates to the greens and soups, are beautifully composed and elegantly plated.

Putting ourselves in the chef’s hands, we were treated to an omakese-style (chef’s choice) meal with wine pairings by sommelier/operations director Ricky Cheung. Seven savory courses and two desserts made their way to our table that evening, highlighting fresh ingredients like amberjack, ocean trout and A-5 grade wagyu beef. Kuu’s fish is shipped from local Gulf fisherman as well as the world-famous Tsukiji Fish Market in central Tokyo twice a week.

Kuu’s management has service down to a precise science. As an empty plate is cleared from the table, we had just the right amount of time to enjoy the last sip from the wine glass. As the new dish is placed down and described, Cheung was there to introduce the next wine pairing. Tasting menus can sometimes drag on for hours. This one did not.

A cold plate featuring amberjack, pickled grape, shallot and Texas orange segments (photo above) is dressed with yuzu, garlic soy and Thai chili. It was paired with Chatelain Sancerre, which had nice minerality and no nuances of citrus (so as to not compete with the orange). This was one of the stand-out pairings.

Madai (red sea bream) tiradito (photo above) included yuzu and lemon, lemongrass oil, kimchi miso and pops of sweetness and crunch from candied quinoa. The evening’s most unusual dish was parmesan umimasu (photo below). The ocean trout (it somewhat resembles salmon) sits in a puddle of jalapeño-cilantro purée that surprises the palate upfront with heat, but then cooled quickly with bites of parmesan cheese and Texas orange. That old culinary taboo — fish and cheese together — gets no traction here.

A long board of sushi nigiri was presented next, featuring eggplant, cold-smoked duck breast, two preparations of yellowtail and shima aji (“striped jack,” said to be the most expensive type of jackfish) topped with a yuzu relish (photo below). 

The A-5 grade wagyu carpaccio was drizzled with yuzu truffle vinaigrette and paired with a fruity Pinot Noir. Also on the evening’s savory menu was bacon-wrapped Chilean sea bass (photo below) and slow-cooked short ribs.

Sweets are loftily conceived but still playful and familiar. One dessert included two kinds of donuts — one chocolate donut and one brioche donut with a beet glaze — with coconut sorbet and coconut chocolate glaze, and another dessert consisted of bites of apple bourbon cake, ice cream, aerated dark chocolate “caviar” (think Buncha Crunch) and drizzles of caramel (photo below).

Kuu, 947 Gessner Rd #A180, 713-461-1688, kuurestaurant.com

Kuu