Pita Party

Taziki's Cafe arrives in Southlake bearing Greek and Mediterranean gifts

Greek food fans should be pleased with the imminent arrival of Taziki's Cafe, a new restaurant chain coming to the Dallas area. The first location opens in Southlake in June.

Taziki's was founded in Alabama by Amy and Keith Richards, who were inspired to open a restaurant after a visit to Greece. The couple has since opened more than two dozen branches across the Southeast. Taziki's follows the fast-casual format, wherein you place your order at a counter and get it delivered by a server, popularized by Pei Wei.

Taziki's menu features half a dozen varieties of gyro sandwiches; entrées with grilled meats and rice; and salads, grape leaves and hummus. The latter is available in regular and gluten-free varieties, with raw vegetables standing in for pita chips.

Overseeing the Dallas-area expansion is JW Mulkin, a young entrepreneur from Birmingham, Alabama who's worked at fast-casual restaurants such as Zoe's Kitchen.

Although Taziki's does do Greek food, Mulkin cautions against typecasting it as a Greek place.

"The good thing about Taziki's is that we don't paint ourselves into a corner as Greek or Middle Eastern," he says. "We are Mediterranean, but we also have a beef tenderloin sandwich and a pasta dish with diced tomatoes, feta cheese, basil and balsamic vinaigrette. We take Mediterranean and go from there."

The best-seller is the signature "Friday's pasta," which is a pasta special that runs Friday through Sunday, says Mulkin.

Mulkin and his father, who is a partner, looked around the Dallas area and came close to launching in Plano but found a better location and more receptive city in Southlake. They're taking over what used to be the Asian restaurant Gingerine and giving it a facelift, including opening the kitchen.

"The last restaurant didn't do well in the space, but it has a lot going for it," he says. "It's right on the corner, so it has great visibility, a great patio and great parking."

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New sushi spot

Kichi Bar rolls out sushi and late-night happy hour in Carrollton

Photo courtesy of Kichi Bar

A spread at Kichi Bar.

A hidden-gem Japanese restaurant and bar is serving late-night happy hour in Carrollton’s Koreatown neighborhood: Called Kichi Bar, the restaurant showcases elevated sushi, sashimi, hand rolls, and seasonal cocktails.

Located at 2630 Old Denton Rd. #130, in Carrollton’s lively Asian dining, retail and entertainment hub, Kichi offers a modern atmosphere for social and shareable dining. Chef-owner Chris Han says it starts with strong technique in the kitchen and focusing on quality guest experience.

“From the beginning, our goal was to create a place people could come to often, not just for special occasions,” Han, a first-time restaurateur, says in a release. “We focus on consistency, quality, and making sure guests feel comfortable every time they walk in.”

Since Kichi Bar opened in August 2025, the restaurant has garnered praise online from patrons and local food social media influencers for its artistic plates and happy hour deals.

The chef at work.Photo courtesy of Kichi Bar

Sushi and sashimi menu items start at $4 and $10, or diners can opt for shareable set menus, such as the $69 Kichi sashimi set, which comes with miso soup, salad, maitake or chicken, and sashimi for two.

In addition to a range of sushi and sashimi, Kichi's menu features savory dishes such as $12 creamy uni pasta and $28 chopped lamb with truffle soy tomatoes. Han recommends their nigiris and the black cod dish.

“We go through an aging process for all our fish anywhere from 24 hours to 72 days,” Han says. Aging fish is a technique that enhances the umami flavor fundamental to Japanese cuisine.

For something sweet, Kichi serves ice cream flavors including coffee, cinnamon, and ube. And the drink lineup includes a sake martini, seasonal cocktails, and a variety of alcohol-free options such as a pineapple mint cooler.

Han began his culinary journey in college working as a server in a Japanese restaurant. At the encouragement of the owner, Han began training in the kitchen, working his way from dishwasher to learning how to make tempura and perfecting sushi rice. Since then, he’s worked at other Japanese restaurants in Dallas-Fort Worth including Bluefish, Edoko, and Uchi.

Han says he appreciates Japanese cuisine for its simple flavors that allow quality ingredients to shine. His culinary philosophy, which is “guests eat with their eyes first,” informs the techniques and aesthetics at Kichi.

“My focus is to make sure to do the basics. Clean plates, clean presentation,” Han says.

Late-night happy hour starts at 9 pm, Sunday-Thursday.Photo courtesy of Kichi Bar

Kichi serves dinner seven days a week. Late-night happy hour, when select drinks start at $4 and kitchen menu items start at $5, is on tap Sunday through Thursday from 9 pm to close. Reservations are encouraged on weekends and holidays.

“We try to make our restaurant more guest focused, being near the Asian community where everything is fast paced can be a bit complicated concept for some,” Han says. “But I hope that when people dine [at Kichi Bar], they take their time to enjoy their meal. We don't push out all our food at once … we want them to enjoy their time here.”

Kichi is open for dinner service 5-11 pm Sunday through Thursday, and 5 pm-midnight Friday and Saturday.

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