Update: Sushi by Scratch at the Adolphus Hotel Sells Out in Hours

Nov. 30 Update: According to chef Phillip Frankland Lee's Instagram, the first month of Sushi by Scratch at the Adolphus Hotel sold out in hours and the wait list is deep. "... to sell out the ENTIRE OPENING MONTH in mere hours, one week before opening day, with just over 1,000 people on the waitlist so far is making me emotional as I type this," Lee writes on Instagram.

January reservations will open on Dec. 1 at noon.


Recently we've been writing quite a bit about the flourishing omakase scene in Dallas. The term omakase translates to "I'll leave it to you," and this style of dining allows chefs to guide diners through a curated meal.

The latest on the scene is tucked away in The Adolphus Hotel downtown where a room has been transformed into a Sushi by Scratch pop-up, and reservations are now open on Tock although the restaurant doesn't open until Dec. 8.

Sushi by Scratch is a nigiri tasting menu from husband and wife team Phillip Frankland Lee and Margarita Kallas-Lee. The concept started as a pop-up in the chef's restaurant office in Los Angeles in 2017. Sushi by Scratch now has eight speakeasy-style concepts, some tucked away in obscure spaces; they opened one in a penthouse suite at the famed Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel. Others include Austin, where the couple now lives. Most significantly, however, might be the Montecito, California, location, which received a Michelin star in 2021 and retained it in 2022.

Here in Dallas, the spot is up the elevator to the eighth floor of The Adolphus, along a hallway with only a small brass sign telling guests to ring the bell for service. For now, it's a temporary pop-up, but Lee hopes it will become a permanent location.
Once inside, guests will first be served a palate-cleansing ginger-heavy cocktail and two canapes in a candlelit bedroom that now serves as a cozy lounge with deep comfortable chairs. Guests are then led into the main room with a large wooden rectangular sushi table/bar in the center of the room. Three chefs work on one side, preparing a 17-course nigiri tasting menu. A list of each course is on the wall behind the chefs, allowing guests to keep track of each bite.

Which, yes, each bite. Dinner is exactly 17 bites. Chef Lee strongly recommends each piece be eaten as a whole (as nigiri usually is, but it is still emphasized just in case anyone has any other ideas).

The 17 courses include hamachi, three pieces of bluefin tuna, albacore, salmon, unagi, rendered bone marrow, a scallop, wagyu, prawns, kampachi and uni as the last bite before dessert.

Lee’s signature piece is a roasted bone marrow nigiri seasoned simply with soy sauce, sea salt and freshly grated wasabi root. Immediately following, unagi (eel) is fried crispy in rendered bone marrow fat from the previous course and is dressed with poblano yuzu kosho, soy sauce, ponzu, lemon and sea salt.

Fish and shellfish are primarily from Tokyo's Toyosu Fish Market, which is flown in twice a week. A5 wagyu is sourced from Iron Table Wagyu out of Gatesville, which is one of the few places in the U.S. raising full-blooded Japanese black wagyu cattle.

There are three seatings a night — 5, 7:15 and 9:30 p.m. — five nights a week (Wednesday through Sunday). The omakase is $165 per person, plus an option for a cocktail and sake pairing. The last seating is ideal for those who want to continue to eat beyond the regular menu, for an additional cost. Rumor has it that things can get interesting after the last meal as the sushi and drinks flow. You might want to go ahead and book a room too.

Reservations require a $25 deposit and a 20% gratuity is added to the bill.