Uptown News

Asian chain from London Wagamama will noodle into Uptown Dallas

Bowls and noodles and bowls.

Courtesy photo

An international restaurant name specializing in Asian-inspired dishes is coming to Dallas: Wagamama is opening a location at 2601 Olive St., occupying one of two restaurant spaces on the street level of The Link at Uptown, a new 25-story office tower situated between Uptown Dallas and Victory Park.

According to a representative from the company, the goal is to open by the end of 2022.

Wagamama was founded in 1992 in London, where it built a reputation for Asian food in a vibrant, egalitarian environment. They currently have more than 200 locations in 27 countries, including six locations in the U.S.

The concept pulls flavors from Japan, China, and Korea to create a fresh take on Asian-fusion food, including noodle and rice dishes, salads, juice, tea, wine, sake, and Asian beers.

Highlights include:

Shiok chicken, a collaborative dish with Shu Han Lee featuring chicken marinated in turmeric, garlic, and ginger, with coconut-lemongrass rice
Pad thai
Chicken katsu curry, panko-crusted fried chicken in a signature curry sauce
Short rib ramen
Asian bao buns with pork pork belly and panko apple
Avant Gard'n, vegan barbecue-glazed seitan with coconut and Sriracha vegan egg, shiitake mushrooms, and asparagus, showcasing Wagamama's vegan flair
Steak bulgogi, marinated sirloin steak and miso-fried baby eggplant on soba noodles, with sesame-bulgogi sauce
Banana katsu, banana in panko breadcrumbs with salted caramel ice cream

In England, the chain has a serious commitment to plant-based eating, with about 50 percent of its menu vegan, as part of an effort to mitigate the effects of climate change, which is worsened by consumption of meat and dairy.

This is not the first time Wagamama has come to Dallas. The chain once had an outlet located at NorthPark Center, now closed.

But in 2020, Wagamama entered a partnership with Conversion Venture Capital as financial partners and Robert Cornog Jr. and Richard Flaherty as operating partners.

Cornog and Flaherty, who run the Punch Bowl Social chain, are plotting a major Wagamama expansion across the U.S., especially in the South and Southeast, the most recent opening being Atlanta, and more locations penciled in for Tampa, Florida and Arlington, Virginia.

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Pub News

New pub The Irish Goodbye to open on Greenville Avenue in Dallas

dallas.culturemap.com

It's a good thing Dallas likes pubs, as a new one is coming to Lower Greenville. Called The Irish Goodbye, it'll open at 1928 Greenville Ave. in the space previously occupied by Hide, which closed in March.

Named for the custom of departing from an event quietly, The Irish Goodbye is from One Esca Group, the hospitality company by restaurateur Michael Kim, who also owns Blackfriar Pub.

He and his operating partner Kevin Bartley plan to begin hosting soft opening events within the week.

Their vision is an elevated Irish pub with a sports bar element, Kim says.

"Our inspiration comes from some of the higher-end pubs we've visited in New York," he says. "These are places that are classy, not a hole-in-the-wall, a place that might appeal to professionals, sports and pub fans."

Kim, who also owns the restaurant Sugarbacon Proper Kitchen, got into the hospitality industry almost by accident.

"My background was in private equity, working for a company that specialized in restaurant acquisitions," he says. "It gave me a unique perspective on the restaurant world from behind the scenes."

His company was involved in the dissolution of Spaghetti Warehouse, and at one point Kim served as president of the chain. (It now has three remaining locations, two of which he owns.) Having caught the restaurant operations bug, he acquired Blackfriar Pub in Uptown, originally founded by Feargal McKinney, in 2019, then opened a second location in Lakewood in 2022.

"When I started, I was foolish enough to think operating a bar would be comparable to restaurants but learned quickly that the experience is dramatically different," he says. "I was lucky that a couple key employees taught me how bars worked."

The Irish Goodbye will be the first concept that he and Bartley create from scratch. The venue will have three zones including a 3700-square-foot interior; a 2,000- to 2,500-square-foot rooftop patio; and a new front patio. It'll be outfitted with 40 TVs, plus a complex AV system that'll allow them to dial in different programming for each space.

The food menu is still being finalized, but will cull from their other concepts such as Sugarbacon, including weekend brunch.

"Our goal, it's probably ambitious, is to be one of the names that pops into everybody's head when you ask about pubs in Dallas," Kim says.

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