Downtown News
Exclusive sushi speakeasy from L.A. pops up at Dallas' Adolphus Hotel
Sushi By Scratch
A buzzy Los Angeles-based sushi pop-up is coming to Dallas: Called Sushi By Scratch, it's an omakase experience that will occupy a temporary residence at The Adolphus Hotel, beginning December 8.
Part of Scratch Restaurants Group, Sushi By Scratch began as a pop-up in Los Angeles, and now boasts 10 outposts in cities across the U.S., with the most recent opening at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, in an arrangement similar to the one in Dallas.
"Following the recent success of our Beverly Wilshire Hotel pop-up and our longstanding aspiration to bring our sushi concept to more Texans, the partnership with Dallas’ iconic The Adolphus hotel comes at a kismet time," says Scratch Restaurants Group co-owner and chef Phillip Frankland Lee in a statement.
The Adolphus is the second location in Texas, following Austin which opened in 2022, where it's a favorite of the likes of Joe Rogan and Elon Musk.
The pop-up will be open to hotel guests as well as the public, and reservations can be made on Tock, although Lee says they're already sold out the month of December; reservations for January will open on December 1.
The menu will feature a collection of Chef Lee’s greatest hits along with signature sushi pieces and incorporate recipes from pastry chef Margarita Kallas-Lee, which have been crafted for the group’s newly opened Wolf and Wheat bakery concept.
Expected menu items include:
- Hamachi painted yellow with sweet corn pudding and topped with breadcrumbs made from Kallas-Lee’s sourdough
- aged Blue Fin Tuna with housemade soy sauce and fresh wasabi
- Albacore wrapped in sake-soaked nori and topped with ponzu, fresh wasabi, and crispy onions
- Roasted Bone Marrow nigiri with soy sauce, sea salt, and freshly grated wasabi root
- Unagi fried in the rendered bone marrow fat from the previous course then dressed with poblano yuzu kosho, soy sauce, ponzu, lemon, and sea salt
Dessert includes Matcha Bon Bon with makrut lime, white chocolate, and shortbread paired with green tea brewed with umeshu plum wine, smoked lavender honey, and fresh yuzu.
The beverage program, created by Sake Sommelier and director of operations Gavin Humes, showcases Japanese sake and whisky. Three beverage pairings can be added to the food price, ranging from $105-$125, such as three sakes, two micro cocktails, and a beer; or six pours of sake; or six pours of Japanese Whiskey.
Speakeasy. The Dallas location will be on the hotel's eighth floor with an "in-the-know" entrance that follows the prototypical speakeasy playbook: a nondescript entrance accessible via a dimly-lit hallway, which leads to a door marked by a doorbell and a small metal plaque that reads "please ring bell for service."
Inside is a club suite overlooking downtown Dallas from which diners are led to a hidden door into a softly lit dining room and seated face-to-face with three chefs at a sushi counter that accommodates 10 guests max for a 17-course nigiri tasting showcasing fish and shellfish, some flown in from Toyosu Fish Market in Tokyo, plus A5 Wagyu sourced from Iron Table Wagyu in Gatesville, Texas.
Price is $165, and they're open Wednesday-Sunday with seatings at 5 pm, 7:15 pm, and 9:30 pm, 5 nights a week. Guests will be invited 30 minutes prior to their reservation time to join the team for a welcome cocktail and canapes prior to the start of dinner at no additional cost.
Reservations are released on the first of the month at 12 pm for the following month's availability.
Husband-and-wife Phillip Frankland Lee and Margarita Kallas-Lee opened the first Scratch Bar & Kitchen with a 25-course tasting menu in 2013. They've since opened Sushi by Scratch Restaurants in Montecito, Los Angeles, Miami, Austin, Seattle, Chicago, Montreal, and Healdsburg; as well as two locations of another concept called Pasta|Bar in Los Angeles and Austin.
Other concepts include NADC Burgers, with locations in Austin and Chicago; and Wolf and Wheat, a dessert and bread bakery that just opened in Austin in late October. Each concept is known for tasting menus, intimate 10-seat tasting counters with no servers, and dedication to the artisanal “from scratch” approach.
They also champion good employment practices including higher salaries and better benefit packages for all employees, including support for continued education.
This is a big boost for The Adolphus, which has yet to fully re-open its flagship restaurant the French Room since the pandemic.
The Adolphus' Area Managing Director Danny Estevez says in a statement that they, like us here at CultureMap, have been watching this whole speakeasy trend over the last few years, and are "excited to partner with Scratch Restaurants concepts beginning with Sushi By Scratch."
Pretty plate from Cafe Dior. Cafe Dior 
A spread from Flamant. images.squarespace-cdn.com