Sushi Marquee Is a Suburban Playground

The Dallas Cowboys are on an incredibly embarrassing losing streak with no relief in sight. The iconic star is a sore sight for die-hard fans. Frisco’s Sushi Marquee is doing its job to restore the iconic shape’s glory.

For $125.99, sushi lovers can order The Large Star platter. This massive sushi platter is served star-shaped with six sushi rolls and four types of sashimi. It’s advertised as big enough to feed two to three people. We’d say four to five.

Sushi Marquee recently invited the Observer to stop by to check out whether this star is one Dallas Cowboys fans can be proud of.

Sushi Marquee opened in December 2017 with little to no competition in the development. It was the first Japanese-inspired restaurant in the then up-and-coming mixed-use complex. Since then, Sushi Marquee has acquired a bounty of neighbors.

It sits perched above Ascension Coffee and directly across from nightclub and bar hybrid Concrete Cowboy. The half-club, half-sports bar doesn’t clash with Sushi Marquee. Sushi Marquee is nightlife-ready.

The Japanese-influenced restaurant is a suburban playground ripped out of a Las Vegas playbook. On a Saturday afternoon, the restaurant was nearly empty but obviously priming for a big night.

The 100-person rooftop has an outdoor bar outlined in LED lights. There’s a greenery wall with faux florals perfect for Facebook feed updates. Inside, a life-size disco-ball-decorated Buddha is ready to party. There’s also a DJ booth.

The Star in Frisco is decked out in festive lights with holiday music booming from speakers. We opted for al fresco dining on the rooftop to soak up the premature but appreciated seasonal cheer.

We kicked off our meal with cocktails. Sushi Marquee is coined as an homage to ’80s and ’90s pop culture. Cheeky cocktail names like Betty Boop, Whiskely Wabbit and Fresh Prince fill the unpriced menu. We opted for the Lychee Marquee ($14) made with fresh lychee, not syrup, and Enter the Dragon ($18), a dragon fruit tequila cocktail made with Don Julio Blanco and Grand Mariner.

The four-page menu covers a lot of ground: appetizers, small plates, soups, salads, bowls, hibachi, sides, entrees, features and four categories of sushi rolls.

We started with spicy edamame ($9.99). The light-on-the-spice sriracha chili oil and togarashi spice sauce was slippery. Texture-adverse eaters take that into account.

The combo platter menu offers no explanation of what’s included in the platters, only how many it feeds. Ordering from the platter menu is a blind man’s leap into gluttony. The Large Star platter is the second-smallest platter on the menu. The Titanic ($999.99) is the biggest. It feeds 12 to 15.

The Large Star fills half a four-top table and includes a mix of specialty rolls, classic rolls and sashimi. There’s the Back 9 Dallas roll, Welcome to the Jungle roll, shrimp tempura roll, two California rolls and a spicy yellowtail roll. Sashimi offerings included hearty cuts of seared tuna, fresh salmon, escolar and yellowtail.

We also ordered the riceless Happy Wife, Happy Life ($18.99) roll under the impression that the Large Star would probably feed only two.

The Large Star platter gives a big bang for the buck. You’ll get more money out of this than the Dallas Cowboys are getting out of their roster. Advertised as being enough for two or three diners, it can easily feed up to four, with a variety of cooked and raw options to suit any taste. However, the platter’s Welcome to the Jungle roll and a la carte Happy Wife, Happy Life’s spicy tuna seemed uncharacteristically mushy.

Skip the soy sauce. It’s thick, salty and overpowers the sushi and sashimi. Our waiter let us in on a secret: the ginger dressing is the perfect dipping sauce for all your needs. It’s different but delicious. Ask for extra pickled ginger. It’s bright and briny.

Sushi Marquee is sleepy during the day, seemingly coming alive at night. Next time, we’ll stop by for dinner and give the $170.99 land and sea platter a go. It’s a meat lover’s bonanza, with over 40 ounces of protein.