Sushi News

Top-notch chef team brings upscale Japanese restaurant to McKinney

Special at Yama sushi

Yama Sushi

An upscale Japanese restaurant with a high-powered chef team has opened in McKinney: Called Shun by Yama Sushi, it's at 6651 Alma Rd. #200, in the District 121 dining and entertainment venue, where it will do sushi in a fine-dining setting.

They've been open softly but will officially open on January 17.

Shun by Yama is a spinoff of Yama Izakaya and Sushi, the acclaimed sushi and izakaya concept with locations in Plano and Dallas from chef Shigekazu Tateno. An entrepreneurial and veteran chef who previously worked at sushi spots such as Yutaka Sushi Bistro and Blue Sushi, Tateno also owns owns a bento and yakitori restaurant Totto Yama in the Plano Mitsuwa Food Hall.

For Shun by Yama, he's assembled a top-notch team that includes executive chef and partner Kenny Chong, former sushi chef at Shoyo in Dallas; and Shinichi Okamoto, who previously worked at Tei-Tei, the venerable Japanese restaurant on Henderson Avenue, as well as Akira Back in Las Vegas and Dallas.

Chong says that Shun will take more of a fine dining approach, unlike the casual atmosphere of Yama restaurants.

“Yama is more laid-back, and is open until late hours,” Chong says. “For Shun, we’re trying to create a more upscale atmosphere with a greater focus on dining — open for lunch and dinner, and no late nights.”

At Shun, they'll use fish imported from Japan in a menu of classics such as yellowtail sashimi, tuna sashimi, salmon sashimi, and kanpachi carpaccio. They also offer grilled items cooked on a binchotan charcoal grill, such as chicken yakitori. There'll be a seasonal menu with frequent specials, and. full bar with beer, wine, sake, and cocktails.

Dinner will range from $65-$70 per person.

Shun will be among the first of the restaurant concepts in the area and definitely one of the first to bring this kind of Japanese cuisine in an upscale setting to McKinney.

“The inside is more upscale, but kind of relaxing fine-dining," Chong says. "This is a prime location, this is why we chose this area."

openings

Big Big Ideas

Savvy global-fusion restaurant to open at McKinney waterfront village

The Quay

The Quay McKinney

An upscale global-fusion restaurant is about to debut in McKinney: Called The Quay, it specializes in American and Asian dishes, and will open in the former Waterfront Restaurant at 6601 Mediterranean Dr., in Adriatica Village, on February 27.

The Quay comes from restaurateur and chef Saicharan Shankar, who's no stranger to the Adriatica Village: In 2024, he opened Tantra Modern Indian Bistro, an upscale Indian restaurant with craft cocktails.

He's a big fan of the center. "This location was chosen because of the exquisite Mediterranean Village setting and its panoramic waterfront view," he says.

While Tantra specializes in Indian food, The Quay is an ambitious multi-cuisine concept featuring Mediterranean and pan-Asian dishes, inspired by his love of dining at premium restaurants around the world.

Signature dishes include the "Hotstone Wagyu," featuring A5 Wagyu beef cooked on a hot stone; and the Ruby Beet Chèvre, a a stunning pink goat cheese tinted by red beets, with microgreens and candied walnuts.

The restaurant offers two tasting menus with seven courses for a set price in two options: vegetarian for $89, and non-vegetarian for $109.

"It's a 7-course tasting menu that uses the finest ingredients and premium meats, including Wagyu imported from Japan," Sai says.

Other intriguing dishes include chicken schnitzel with mushroom sauce, risotto with prawns and truffle aioli, halibut with spinach sauce, Thai spring rolls, and vegetable curry. Young and savvy, Shankar is well acquainted with vegetarian tricks and techniques such as using mushrooms in place of meat in a veggie version of schnitzel using king oyster mushrooms.

Decor is upscale and they have a full bar mixing up a slate of colorful cocktails, such as the Lychee Martini; the Quay Old Fashioned with Redemption bourbon, maraschino liquor, and Angostura bitters; and the Oaxaca Duet with Tres Generacions Reposado Tequila, Cointreau, and aquafaba (chickpea water) — another trendy vegetarian ingredient.

Presentation is whimsical and over-the-top, such as the old fashioned, which is delivered in a glass cube filled with smoke which oozes out when the cocktail is removed; and a tropical drink mixed and poured into a partially rotating globe. If you're going to dream, why not dream big.

Cocktail at The QuayThe Quay