Where to Go for a Live Tuna Breakdown — and the Freshest Sushi Possible — in Houston
Put these displays of tuna butchery and extremely fresh sushi meals on your calendar
Tuna breakdowns have become one of the most prestigious and sought-after live events in Houston’s dining scene. Diners typically drop hundreds of dollars to witness chefs carving a whole bluefin tuna from nose to tail and using its flesh to create intriguing dishes, as well as some of the freshest sushi, sashimi, nigiri, and hand rolls. While restaurants throughout the city have already started rolling out the dates for their annual tuna breakdown events — complete with intricate set-ups — there is at least one Houston hot spot where you don’t have to pay for a front row seat to the action. Here are some of the best spots to catch a tuna breakdown in 2025.
Hidden Omakase
5353 West Alabama Street, #102, Galleria area
Seatings at 6:15 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., Monday, May 19
$325 per person
Michelin-recommended restaurant Hidden Omakase is already known for its engaging and interactive omakase, and this year, it’s bringing back one of its special events. During a live event this May, executive chef Marcos Juarez will turn the dining room into a culinary stage while breaking down a 200-pound whole tuna. Diners will reap the benefits, with a featured 15-course omakase-style tasting menu that uses the tuna “nose to tail.” Dinner will include a Domus caviar cart of Kaluga Gold, Osetra Royal, and Beluga Hybrid, live-oyster shucking, and vodka tastings. Sake, cocktails, champagne, and wine, also included in the price, will be on offer.
Abante Photography
Kaiten Sushi Ginza Onodera
12270 Westheimer Road, West Houston
3 p.m., Saturday, May 24
2 p.m., Sunday, May 25
Free, with sushi available for purchase
Kaiten Sushi Ginza Onodera in West Houston, the sushi restaurant owned by Michelin-recognized restaurant group Sushi Ginza Onodera, celebrates its half-year anniversary in May, featuring discounted sushi and bites, plus a live tuna breakdown with a special guest. Executive chef Sakagami will fly in to host a traditional tuna breakdown in front of diners over Memorial Day weekend, and as custom, sushi, available for purchase, will be delivered from chef to diner through Kaiten’s conveyor belt.
Ginza Onodera
Neo
1711 Indiana Street, Montrose
Date and price TBD; Fall 2025
This Montrose restaurant will host its fifth annual tuna breakdown this fall. As a part of the yearly tradition, chefs will break down a whole tuna and offer guests an up-close look at their skills. Meanwhile, diners will enjoy fresh sashimi and nigiri, handed to them straight from the chef, in addition to hand rolls, cocktails, and wine. The exact date is still to be determined, but you can check Neo’s Instagram and the Resy website for updates.
Neo
Aya Sushi
5407 Bellaire Boulevard, Suite A, Bellaire
5 p.m. to 9 p.m., Thursday, June 12
$400 per person (gratuity included)
Head to this Bellaire sushi mainstay for a full breakdown of hon maguro, or Japanese bluefin tuna, flown in from Ehime, Japan. Chefs doing the slicing will offer unlimited servings of tuna and cocktails featuring Joto Sake and Suntory Whisky. Seating will be assigned, and the restaurant has noted that it cannot accommodate allergies or dietary restrictions at this event.
Handies Douzo
4005 Montrose Boulevard, Montrose
Dates and times vary
Free to watch; food for purchase
Although it’s not an official or totally planned out fanciful event, this hand roll and sushi restaurant typically gets its tuna shipments weekly on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, which means diners can likely catch a tuna breakdown for free. Since the Montrose location of Handies Douzo doesn’t have a kitchen in the back, chefs break down and slice fish right behind the sushi bar. Times can be hit or miss: A staff member told Eater Houston that tuna breakdowns typically go down around 3 p.m. or 4 p.m. on Fridays, and around noon or 1 p.m. on Saturdays (on Tuesdays, it’s all predicated on the shipment time). The type of breakdown also “depends,” since some incoming shipments are whole tunas while others feature just the tail. Either way, even if you have to wait, you’ll be in for a show that will only cost the price of what you drink and eat. Order some sake, wine, beer, or a sake-based cocktail, like the Ichigo Bloom, a combination of strawberry sake, wine, and lemon. Choose between the sake crudo, a combination of salmon, ikura (salmon roe), and chile garlic, or the maguro, made with pickled cucumber and ponzu. If you’re looking for something other than tuna, the hotate dishes — crudo and handrolls made with scallop — are a favorite.
Handies Douzo
