4 New Dallas Restaurants and Bars We’re Loving Now — And What To Order at Each Hot Spot

This Los Angeles-based omakase pop-up concept from Chef Phillip Frankland Lee is now open in a transformed guest room on the eighth floor of The Adolphus hotel. The sushi restaurant likes to operate out of speakeasy-style locations in Healdsburg, Montecito, Austin, Chicago, and beyond. And with the extreme popularity of the new location (reservations go very fast as there are only eight seats per a seating), the concept is going permanent.

Best Sips: Each 17-course omakase experience starts at a set price of $165 per person, but guests can add on different sake, wine, and mini craft cocktail pairings. Or, just add on a couple of cocktails a la carte like we did. The Bees Japanese is a stunner with lavender and the restaurant’s twist on the Old Fashioned is also delightful. Before each seating, guests are welcomed into a waiting room where everyone also receives a complimentary ginger-forward cocktail and a couple of canapés.

Best Bites: The two-hour dinner consists of 17 nigiri bites chosen by the chef. Fish is flown in from Tokyo’s famous Toyosu Fish Market and includes bites of salmon, bluefin tuna, hamachi, scallop, hirame, madai, and so much more. At the end, guests also get bites of Japanese wagyu (a favorite), bone marrow, and uni. Depending on the amount of time that is left, guests can also opt to purchase a few more nigiri bites that the chef also decides on. Lastly, a bite-sized dessert with a sip of a matcha/sake concoction ends the meal.

Local Favorite Restaurants Group and one of our city’s most notable chefs, Matt McCallister, have just opened a casual modern Mexican restaurant in West Village. The design was inspired by travels to Oaxaca and features colorful fabrics, woods, and an outdoor patio.

Best Sips: The UnaVida Margarita is a favorite. Order it with grilled serrano pepper for a kick of spice. The Frozen Vidarita with dragonfruit also sounds perfect on a hot, summer day.

Best Bites: Start with the Crudo de Atun made with ahi tuna, macha verde, and jugo verde aguachile. The Costra Quesadilla is also a great (and large) appetizer if you’re sharing with others. It’s griddled with manchego (costra-style) on the outside and filled with peppers, onions, and mushrooms.

For mains, the Stacked Enchilada Verde is a popular pick and comes with a choice of steak and/or chicken. The Smothered Burrito is also a must-try. The massive tortilla is filled with quinoa, lentils, black beans, peppers, onions, mushrooms, zucchini, and covered with cashew queso.

Located in the East Quarter’s Oldsmobile building (where National Anthem and other new concepts from Chef Nick Badovinus are located), the Austin-based omakase concept just debuted its first Dallas outpost. When you enter the check-in space, you’ll see a dimly lit room featuring a 100-year-old car lift platform, weathered cement plaster, and high ceilings with air vents and piping — a nod to the building’s automobile roots. After a welcome cocktail, guests are led downstairs (underground) to the 12-seat sushi bar. Designed by JonesBaker, the intimate space includes black and white marble checkered floors, wood accents, and comfy seating. All seats look up to the sushi bar, where several chefs spend an hour and a half to two hours presenting a 17-course, nigiri-style sushi experience.

Best Sips: The meal is $165 per person, but guests can add on sake, wine, and Japanese whiskey pairings, as well as drinks by the glass. During our visit, we opted for the wine pairing which included five tasting glasses — each lasting about four nigiri bites and then one with dessert. I have to recommend saving some room to visit Ginger’s afterward. A first for the hospitality group, this speakeasy-style cocktail lounge (which guests are led to at the end) is a must-visit.

Best Bites: The experience began with a tartare wrapped in crunchy seaweed. The 15 others came nigiri-style and included some standouts like the madai, scallop, shina aji, Ora King salmon, A5 wagyu with a brown butter miso, and so much more. Offerings will change based on the season. Our dessert was sourced from Dallas-based Parlor’s Ice Cream.

From the owners of Sushi Bar, this speakeasy-style cocktail lounge is a great spot to grab a drink before or after a meal at the omakase restaurant (it’s right next door) or just on its own. Located in the historic Magnolia Oil service station, the bar can be accessed from the street. Designed by JonesBaker, the space includes U-shaped leather booths in green, gold, and red, as well as a marble-topped walnut bar that is backlit. It feels moody and intimate, although it does offer 1,200 square feet of space

Best Sips: The bar offers house cocktails, classic cocktails, low/zero percent cocktails, wine, beer, and spirits. The Desert Moon Cocktail is delicious if you enjoy sotol. It’s mixed with pomegranate agave, blood orange, lime, and rimmed with Tajin. An off-menu drink I also really enjoyed (after I saw several others ordering it) was an espresso martini made with Del Maguey Vida mezcal. Other intriguing options include the Passion Project with vodka, raspberry hibiscus syrup, ginger liqueur, and soda, as well as the Garden Party — a gin, green juice, basil syrup, lemon, and soda creation.