Dallas' Most Interesting Restaurants No. 10: Uchi

Leading up to our annual Best of Dallas® issue, we're counting down the 50 most interesting restaurants in Dallas. These spots bring something unique or compelling to the city's dining scene, feeding both your appetite and soul. Uchi might be offering the most dynamic cooking available in Dallas right now...

By Scott Reitz

September 11, 2015

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "18855504",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17105533",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18349797",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17105532",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18349797",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17105535",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

Leading up to our annual Best of Dallas® issue, we're counting down the 50 most interesting restaurants in Dallas. These spots bring something unique or compelling to the city's dining scene, feeding both your appetite and soul.

Uchi might be offering the most dynamic cooking available in Dallas right now. Diners have access to sushi sourced from around the world and modern Japanese cooking that pushes the boundaries of culinary creativity. I don't know why you would come to order the edamame and a spicy tuna roll at Uchi, but if you do, you should know to expect the unexpected, even in dishes that are typically mundane.

The spicy tuna roll offers deconstructed spicy mayo, removing it from the rice and fish entirely and painting the serving platter in streaks of red and white. The roll itself has texture and crunch.

The edamame is more simply handled, but the results are no less striking. While some chefs give the soybeans a kiss from the wok, these beans get a full-on make out session. They arrive covered in leopard spots and scented with smoke. You'll hardly recognize them.

If you get the sense that Uchi is an expensive restaurant, you're correct, but that doesn't mean a bargain hunter can't eat well here. Happy hour offers many diminutive plates that cost less than $10, and as a bonus, drinks are on special, too. No wonder there's a line formed at the door when the restaurant opens promptly at 5 p.m. The deals end at 6:30.

Your opinion matters! Be sure to weigh in on our Best Of Dallas Readers' Choice poll. Voting ends September 6.

KEEP THE OBSERVER FREE... Since we started the Dallas Observer, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Dallas, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.