Fish & Chips News

One of Dallas' most authentic fish & chips spots closes due to lease issues

Authentic fish & chips as only a Brit can do it.

Photo courtesy of Fish & Fizz

After a mere five years of bringing some of the most authentic fish & chips to Dallas-Fort Worth, Richardson restaurant Fish & Fizz has closed.

Located at 400 N. Coit Rd., the restaurant from chef Nick Barclay, an actual native of England, and his Dallas native wife, Kelli, has closed due to their inability to negotiate a satisfactory lease with the landlord.

"With that in mind, our journey in this building has come to an end," Nick Barclay says.

"For us to stay for another five or 10 years, the space would have needed some work," he says. "For us, it got down to, why not go to a place where the landlord says, 'We would love to have you guys.'"

"As sad as I am to leave the space, I’m excited for 2023," he says. "We've got some exciting plans we’re working on, and that's the way I’d like to leave it — that we are working on exciting ideas for 2023."

Fish & Fizz won over fans for its excellent chef renditions of dishes like fish & chips plus English dishes like bangers & mash and Cornish pasties.

When they opened in 2018, Barclay described his rendition with traditional sides like curry sauce and pickled eggs and proper malt vinegar with Cornish sea salt.

He used a signature batter to create a crust that was light but with a golden brown crunch, with chips that were a little fatter than what is generally served in DFW.

The fizz part referred to beverages, all of which sparkled, including Champagne, sparkling wines, Prosecco, craft beer, and soft drinks.

For the couple, Fish & Fizz was a return to the Dallas dining world; they once had a restaurant here before going to England to run an inn by the sea.

Barclay also earned a nomination in 2019 for Best Chef of the Year in CultureMap's annual Tastemaker Awards.

In 2020, they joined forces with fellow authentic British business British Emporium, the UK-themed store based in Grapevine, providing space for a pop-up inside the restaurant that sold grocery staples, British teas, biscuits, and shortbreads.

The space they took previously housed restaurants such as Pelican House and Alligator Cove. They gave it a pleasing seaside feel with beach huts, plus an old-school nostalgic London black taxi in front, a marker to all of the British that lay within.

chefs closings

Teppanyaki News

Japanese restaurant chain with sizzling hot plates to debut in Frisco

Pepper Lunch

Pepper Lunch is coming to Frisco.

A distinctive Asian restaurant concept with sizzling hot plates is coming to the Dallas area: Called Pepper Lunch, it's an international chain from Japan that does a fast-casual version of teppanyaki, and it's opening in Frisco at 9180 Warren Pkwy. #150, in a busy shopping center anchored by 99 Ranch, in the former Gen Korean BBQ space.

Frisco will be the very first Pepper Lunch in Texas. According to co-owner Phil Guo, it'll open in mid-March.

Pepper Lunch was founded in Tokyo in 1994 by chef Kunio Ichinose and features teppanyaki, a Japanese cooking style where chefs cook on a hot griddle (teppan) in front of diners, creating an interactive and entertaining meal.

But Pepper Lunch takes it a step further with do-it-yourself teppanyaki, with meals served on 500-degree Fahrenheit hot plates, which are patented to stay hot for more than 20 minutes — allowing diners to cook their own food at the table.

All that sizzle has made Pepper Lunch an internet sensation. Cooking your own food at your table is a trend, and Pepper Lunch also has price and convenience on its side: Most of its menu items come in under $20 and can be complete in 20 minutes, making it a desirable option for workers and others with a limited lunch hour.

The signature dish is their Pepper Rice, which comes in about a dozen options, including the best-selling Beef Pepper Rice, featuring sliced beef, white rice, corn, and spring onion, with freshly-cracked black pepper, which is also a signature. ("We crack it fresh every morning," Guo says.)

Salmon terifyaki at Pepper Lunch Frisco.Pepper Lunch

Other varieties of Pepper Rice include Salmon Pepper Rice, Chicken Pepper Rice, Shrimp Pepper Rice, and Tofu & Veggie Pepper Rice.

You can get your meat, rice, and veggies in a teriyaki option or with curry sauce. They also have pastas with cream sauce and your choice of protein. Sides include American classics such as fries, onion rings, or sweet potato wedges, and they offer Kirin beer.

Dallas is part of Pepper Lunch's broader expansion across the U.S. They currently have more than 500 locations across 17 countries.

Guo is a veteran restaurateur who, along with partner Ken Cheng, operates three locations of Jinya Ramen Bar, a completely different kind of dining experience.

"Jinya is a full-service restaurant with a nice bar and intimate atmosphere, and the food is more complex," he says. "Pepper Lunch is fast-casual, more family-oriented, with a faster pace. If you need to, you can be in and out in 20 minutes. But there's heat nothing like it when they bring your plate to your table, and you get to cook rice or steak right in front of your face — it sizzles and pops."

He loves to recall the first time he encountered Pepper Lunch, decades ago, on a family trip to Hong Kong.

"We waited in line for two hours, and I will always remember sitting down and experiencing that sizzling smell," he says.

openings asian