New sips in town

Sophisticated new cocktail bar heads to familiar East Dallas space

Ritual will open in the former Alice restaurant space in January.

Courtesy Ritual

A vibey new cocktail bar that brings together decades of bar expertise will soon open its doors in East Dallas. Called Ritual, it will open at 1623 N. Hall St., taking over the space formerly occupied by the restaurant Alice.

The sophisticated new lounge is a collaboration between Justin Kalhoff, a self-described Dallas hospitality veteran who's spent nearly 20 years behind the bar at local watering holes like The Standard Pour and Black Swan Saloon, and Chris Evans, formerly of Green Light Social. Cole Howard, former manager of Hendy's on Henderson and partner in Komodo Dallas, is also involved in the project.

The trio tapped Dallas-based bar consultant Paul Ramon, who was named a Top 50 World Class U.S. Bartender in 2022, to develop the menu for Ritual, which will focus on "elevating classic profiles with modern textures," according to a release. To that end, drinkers can look forward to cocktails like the Two Tone, finished with matcha cold foam; and a Carajillo infused with the familiar warm spice flavor of a Biscoff cookie.

The menu will also boast a full list of non-alcoholic "Elixirs," in an effort to emphasize "intentionality and inclusivity."

Though Ritual will mostly focus on its cocktail program, it will also serve a menu of "complementary" small plates to go alongside, in keeping with its philosophy of "late night, small bites."

The lineup of dishes on offer ranges from smoked beets in hibiscus dressing to savory eclairs topped with a parmesan crisp. More indulgent dishes, like carbonara made with maple-infused guanciale, will also be on the menu.

“Our goal is for Ritual to be a staple in the greater Dallas community’s hospitality experiences, whether it's for happy hour, dinner, drinks after work, or late nights,” Kalhoff says in the release.

To transform the space formerly known as Alice into Ritual, the restaurant's dining room was opened up to bring in more natural light to accentuate its features, including an exposed brick wall. A rendering of the bar posted to its Instagram account shows moody, dimly lit interiors, with a tiled bar, plus warm lighting throughout to accentuate the earthy tones used throughout the space. A neon sign mounted to a large mirror and hung behind the bar reminds patrons to "stop and smell the roses."

It's also likely that Ritual's bathroom will soon become a top selfie destination in East Dallas. The partners tapped artist Leah Kirsch to design a graffiti-style mural of 10 motivational quotes — including "You're her, act like it" and "Be your own muse" — that are painted in a repeating pattern all over the bathroom. (Kirsch is also the mind behind that aforementioned neon sign, commissioned especially for Ritual.)

Ritual is expected to open sometime in January. When it does, it will operate from 4 pm-2 am daily.

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Sushi News

Mizu Sushi opens at Greenville Ave Dallas address with sushi history

Mizu Sushi

A new sushi restaurant has debuted on Dallas' Greenville Avenue at a location with a long sushi history: Called Mizu Sushi & Handroll Bar, it opened in late November at 2014 Greenville Ave. in the space most recently occupied by Kaiyo Sushi but previously, for many years, Teppo, until it closed in 2022.

Mizu is from chef Roy Ahn, a Dallas sushi veteran who has owned or managed sushi restaurants such as Little Katana, Kome Sushi, and Sushi Zen in Southlake; he also owns Otaru, which he opened in the former Lucia Dallas space in Bishop Arts in 2024.

Ahn specializes in good sushi done well and at a fair price, and that formula is in play at Mizu, where the goal was to provide an old-school traditional sushi restaurant that could serve as a relaxed alternative to the current omakase trend, says Ahn's son, Chris Ahn.

"A lot of places that have opened lately have been omakase, but we wanted to offer an option where you don't have to break the bank," Chris says. "Not everyone has $300 — when it's that expensive, it's not easy to be able to indulge all the time."

If you really want omakase, they do have an omakase-style offering — "but we are also there if you don't want a formal experience — if you just want to come in and order a few items a la carte, and in a more casual style," Chris says.

Their menu features traditional sushi and hand rolls, with all the classics from tuna to uni to hamachi. "That's my father's style — to offer a variety of good-quality fish from Japan and around the world," Chris says.

They also have a full bar with cocktails, wine, beer, and sake.

They took over the location from chef Jimmy Park, who opened Kaiyo there in November 2023, but who says he wanted to place all his focus on Shoyo, his award-winning restaurant.

Mizu means water, Chris says.

"Japan is surrounded by water, and if you look inside the restaurant, it has a lot of blue neon lights that are reminiscent of water," he says. "We just wanted to creat a place with music, vibes, good lighting — just a nice place to get traditional sushi," he says.

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