You might miss it. That is, if you didn't know where to look on the 8th floor of The Adolphus, the oldest hotel in Dallas. Down the hallway, next to a small brass name plate is a door bell. We press it, and the door opens, leading us inside.
The curtains are drawn. This looks like a renovated suite, I think. We are offered a welcome drink as well as an oyster and a tuna roll appetizer. It's hard to believe, but soon we will sit down for some of the best omakase sushi in Dallas.
Our fellow diners are assembled and led to a sliding door. It opens. Jazz wafts through the air. There is a wooden bar and name plates in front of each seat. On the opposite wall is a list of the 16 sushi courses. Culinary delights to come.
In December 2023, Sushi by Scratch began its Dallas life as a pop-up but now calls the 8th floor its permanent home. Founded by Michelin starred chefs Phillip Frankland Lee and Margarita Kallas-Lee, Sushi by Scratch has locations in New York, California, Miami, Chicago, Seattle and Austin.
The experience is intimate and attentive. We were served a 16-course omakase experience, topped off with a dessert. The sushi we experienced were hamachi, toro, hirame, hotate, sawara, madai, snow crab, salmon, albacore, kanpachi, akami, escolar, wagyu, bone marrow, unagi and foie gras. Each piece is a standout standalone, but in particular, the sawara, the snow crab, the escolar and the bone marrow were outstanding — especially, the last two.
The drinks were also amazing, and made in an alcove near the sushi bar. House-made syrups and excellent base liquors are expertly balanced and mixed. The Japanese old fashioned, made with Nikka Coffey Grain, Demerara and Angostura bitters, is one of the best old fashioneds you can get in Dallas. Fitting, because this is some of the best sushi you can get in the city, too.
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