After the Round – Sushi | Bar Dallas
Tucked in a back alley near Commerce Street, between the Dallas Historic District and Deep Ellum, sits one of the finest restaurants in the city. Sushi | Bar is a concept renowned for its fresh, vibrant take on omakase-style sushi. Seating begins at three different times every evening (5:00, 7:15 and 9:30), and with just two rooms and 10 seats per room, to say this is an exclusive reservation would be an understatement.
If you are fortunate enough to get in, be prepared to show up at least 15 minutes early to be greeted with a welcome drink and some instructions about the next two hours. The industrial welcoming area is unique but intimate, with just a few seats to enjoy your cocktail. For us, the welcome drink for the evening was a peach Bellini, with fresh pureed peaches topped with a little bubbly. It was a wonderful precursor to the upcoming festivities.
As you make your way down the stairs, you enter one of the two serving rooms. Once inside, you are met with a placard with each individual guest’s name on the bar in front of you. Take your seat and belt in for one of the most divine sushi tastings you will ever embark on.
This is not your standard sushi. You aren’t sitting down to soy sauce with that little red pouring spout and chopsticks encased in paper. Instead, guests are met with a single stone sitting on the bar in front of you where each portion is presented, and you are encouraged to eat each bite with your hands. There is no extra soy, wasabi paste or bright pink pickled ginger. Why? Because you won’t need any of them.
The 17-course menu is displayed on the wall in front of you, allowing guests to follow along each course, with the sushi chefs explaining each dish along the way. Some Asian-inspired pickles and ginger are presented as a palate cleanser that can be snacked on before the first course and along the way to prepare for each new bite. Enhancements to a selected couple of bites are offered to the menu, such as caviar or shaved foie gras for an extra charge.
There are also any number of beverages to accompany your experience. There is a wine pairing, a champagne pairing, a Japanese whiskey flight, a signature sake pairing and an exclusive sake pairing. They vary in price but are magnificent additions to make your evening that much more immersive. An extensive wine and champagne list is available if you are more a by-the-glass-type patron. In the mood for something non-alcoholic? Sushi | Bar also has a great mocktail menu with features like their Zenicillin, which is nightcap elixir, ginger syrup and lemon. Servers can also get cocktails from Ginger’s, which is the speakeasy next door (more on that in a moment). If you prefer a simple beer, there are several Japanese varieties that you can choose.
Unless you have been to Japan or some of the top sushi spots in the United States, the nigiri you are presented with is unlike anything you have likely ever sampled. Fish is flown in fresh daily, and every presentation is light and crisp. Selections vary by time of year, based on what fish is in season and easily obtained.
Our first course was a playful take on tuna tartare. After being skillfully diced and combined with other flavorful ingredients, this tartare is served inside nori paper as an Asian fusion take on a little street taco. This is the only portion you are served all evening that will require two bites to finish.
After bites of “Hotate,” which is scallop, and a striped jack “Shima Aji,” comes the Chutoro, which was one of the favorites of our group of seven. Chutoro is a medium fatty tuna that simply melts in your mouth. All of the tuna offerings, the Chutoro, the Otoro, which is from the fatty part of the belly, and the Akami, which is the leaner part of the fish, were all presented differently, and all were stunning in their own way.
Another popular bite among the group was the Ora King, which is salmon from New Zealand. This bite, even for those who feel salmon can be a little oily, was perfect. A true 10/10 delicacy you won’t forget. The chefs could’ve served me 17 consecutive pieces of Ora King and I would’ve walked away a happy camper.
One of the final acts of your evening is the Miyazaki A5 wagyu beef. One of our two chefs referred to this as their one fish with four legs. If you are familiar with A5 wagyu, its marbling is next level, making this beef appear almost completely white as it is being prepared. A quick torch applied quickly renders some of this fat, and then it’s topped with an aerated miso brown butter foam. The wagyu is buttery, and the miso butter foam adds a touch more richness. This is one bite of steak you won’t forget as it melts away in your mouth.
After dinner, you are presented with the option to order additional bites of anything served that evening, but our group was ready to proceed on to the last item of the evening … dessert.
The sweet coconut ice cream was a fabulous way to end the meal, and with all the rich, fatty fish and wagyu, this ice cream ate more like a sorbet and wasn’t too rich or creamy.
As you leave your dining room, you walk out the door and into Sushi | Bar’s sister speakeasy, Ginger’s. Now, you can hit Ginger’s on your way out after dinner, but there is certainly nothing stopping you from popping in for a pre-dinner drink, as the main entrance is back up at street level next to the inconspicuous door for Sushi | Bar. Ginger’s has classic cocktails like a Paloma or a Martini, but also has some luxurious, unique cocktails like the Diamond in the Rough, which is bourbon, sherry, cabernet, coconut milk and lemon. There is also the Fall in New England, which is a combination of vodka, green apple, cinnamon syrup and lime.
Ginger’s is a neat place. The whole vibe is cooler than the other side of the pillow. I highly recommend it before, but especially after you finish up your evening of sushi.
When you see the 17-course menu, you think you would begin to fill up. The portions, however, are constructed to leave you feeling satisfied, but not overly bogged down. I was impressed by the additions to each piece of fish. They are whimsical, yet simplistic and flavorful. Every bite is well conceived and offers great secondary flavor profiles to the individual pieces you taste. It is undoubtedly one of the most interesting and delicious dining experiences I have ever been lucky enough to sit down to. From the time we got in the car to head back to Arlington until we pulled in the driveway, my wife and I couldn’t stop talking about it. And in that entire time, we still couldn’t truly settle on a favorite. They were all that amazing.
Your evening at Sushi | Bar will be more than just a meal. This isn’t food, it’s edible artwork. Each sampling offers imagination, otherworldly flavor profiles, and a true connection to each individual bite. It’s fresh, fun and engaging. Your chefs will guide you through your evening with conversation and expert knowledge of the dishes they present to you. They are your liaison from sea and land to plate and palate. If I can recommend one special dinner outing for you in 2025, there is no doubt it is Sushi | Bar.