Chef Paul Ko’s Michelin-recommended Arts District counter has spent the last year quietly out-thinking Dallas’s omakase boom. With James Beard finalist RJ Yoakum just signing on as chef de cuisine, Sushi Kozy has officially leveled up.
Dallas has an omakase problem. Or, depending on how you look at it, an omakase opportunity. Tatsu has a Michelin star. Shoyo built a cult. Namo has the Uptown crowd. Sushi Bar and Sushi by Scratch arrived as the Austin “bromakase” imports, all bling, all networking, all bottle service energy. Then there’s Kawa in Preston Hollow with its hidden handroll counter. The city has more serious sushi counters than it has tables to fill them.
Into all of that, Sushi Kozy opened in June 2025 as the antidote. No flash. No Instagram-bait theater. No bromakase. Chef Paul Ko built a 17-course experience that quietly leans on kaiseki tradition, French technique, and the kind of warmth most omakase counters are too cool to even try for. Then in October, Sushi Kozy was named one of the few brand-new Dallas restaurants to earn a Michelin recommendation. Then in January, James Beard 2025 Emerging Chef finalist RJ Yoakum took over as chef de cuisine. The trajectory speaks for itself.
Who’s Behind the Counter
Paul Ko spent 17 years working as a sushi chef before opening his own room. The last 7 of those were at Uchi Dallas, where he climbed to head sushi chef. Anyone who knows Dallas sushi knows the Uchi pedigree means something. The room shaped a generation of Dallas chefs.
When Ko decided to open Sushi Kozy, several Uchi colleagues followed him. General Manager Bronson Kang spent 8 years in Uchi front-of-house. Head Sushi Chef Jon Griffiths came from the Uchi sushi line. Beverage Coordinator Hunter Montgomery came over from Uchibā. The team is essentially an Uchi alumni reunion, refined into a tighter, more focused format.
The newest addition is the biggest. RJ Yoakum joined as chef de cuisine in January 2026, replacing Ross Demers who departed earlier. Yoakum is a 2025 James Beard Award finalist for Emerging Chef. Before Sushi Kozy, he led Knox District’s Georgie to its first Michelin recommendation. Before that, he spent three and a half years at Thomas Keller’s three-Michelin-starred The French Laundry in Napa. He has worked in San Francisco, New York, Chicago, and London. He is, by any measure, one of the most credentialed chefs in Dallas right now.
Putting Yoakum behind the cooked-course portion of a 17-course omakase menu is the kind of move that turns a great room into a destination room.
The Menu
Sushi Kozy’s $185 omakase runs 17 courses, structured in two halves. The first half is composed kaiseki bites from the kitchen. The second half is nigiri from the counter. The handoff between the two is where Ko’s vision shows up most clearly.
The opening bites are where Yoakum’s French technique meets Ko’s Japanese discipline. A crisp phyllo pastry of duck confit with maple and pistachio. Kombu-cured sea bass crudo paired with tarragon, yuzu kosho, and apple. A scallop with yuzu-crème fraîche, topped with caviar, served alongside Asian pears in a flower-shaped pineapple tart. These are not sushi dishes. They’re seasonal compositions designed to wake up the palate before the fish arrives.
The nigiri sequence is where Ko’s Uchi years become obvious. Nine pieces of fish sourced from Japan and Mexico. The toppings stay subtle (a bit of sesame salt, a tarragon leaf, a press of apple infused with yuzu kosho instead of the more aggressive raw serrano slices some rivals lean on). The cooked main course often features aged wagyu beef. Dessert closes the experience.
The point of the structure is balance. Most American omakase counters build their identity entirely around the nigiri sequence. Sushi Kozy splits the focus, treating the cooked dishes as equal partners to the sushi. That’s the kaiseki influence, and it’s what separates this room from every other counter in the city.
The Anti-Bromakase Move
Ko has been direct about what Sushi Kozy is trying to be. The room is small and intentional. The lighting is warm. The blonde oak walls create a serene, almost library-like quality. The plates are matte white, imported from Tokyo. There are little stands for the printed menu and dedicated cell phone mats at every seat. Every detail is shaped to take you out of the high-protein, high-volume, networking-energy version of omakase that has taken over American dining and put you somewhere quieter.
After your first piece of nigiri, Ko himself will ask if the wasabi level is right for you. He’ll ask about your favorite fish. He might surprise you with something off-menu. The sake list is deep, but the staff will not flinch if you order a can of Peticolas Golden Opportunity (which actually pairs surprisingly well with Japanese food). This is hospitality as a stated value, not as marketing copy.
Getting There and Around
Sushi Kozy is at 2000 Ross Avenue, Suite 150, in the Arts District. The building is the new tower that the JW Marriott Dallas Arts District sits on top of, opened in 2023. The Arts District is quieter than Uptown or Knox-Henderson and skews more business-district during the day, which is exactly why Ko picked it. The sidewalks are clean. The pace is slower. The room feels removed from the noise.
The location is a short walk from the Dallas Museum of Art, the Nasher, the Crow Museum, and the Winspear Opera House. That makes Sushi Kozy a natural pairing with a museum afternoon or an evening at the AT&T Performing Arts Center. Parking is plentiful in the area, especially in the JW Marriott garage. Rideshare drops directly at the Ross Avenue entrance.
How to Show Up
Reservations are the only way in. Book directly at sushikozy.com or through OpenTable. The omakase is the only menu, so go in expecting a multi-hour, multi-course commitment.
If you have the option, request the counter, not a table. The counter is where Ko interacts with you, asks the questions about your preferences, and explains each piece. The tables are perfectly comfortable, but the counter is the experience the restaurant was built around.
For sake fans, the cellar is deep and the staff is happy to walk you through pairings. For something different, the dirty sake martini is one of the strongest opening cocktails in town. Plan to be there for two to three hours. This is not a quick-meal restaurant.
No Wasted Courses
Dallas is full of omakase options right now, and most of them are great. What separates Sushi Kozy is the philosophy: tradition over flash, balance over excess, hospitality over status. Add the Yoakum hire, the Michelin recommendation, and Ko’s 17 years of accumulated craft, and you have one of the most quietly serious dining rooms in the city.
If you’re working through Dallas’s omakase scene, this is the one that rewards a return visit. Book the counter, lean into the kaiseki side of the menu, and let Ko guide you. While you’re at it, don’t miss our complete look at the hidden surge in $15 lunches across DFW right now, the most useful guide to eating well across the Metroplex on any budget.
The IYKYK Details
| The Address | 2000 Ross Avenue, Suite 150, Dallas, TX 75201. Inside the building beneath the JW Marriott Dallas Arts District. |
| The Format | 17-course omakase only. $185 per person. No à la carte. No partial menu. |
| The Chef | Paul Ko, owner and head chef. 17 years as a sushi chef, 7 of them as head sushi chef at Uchi Dallas. |
| The Chef de Cuisine | RJ Yoakum. 2025 James Beard Award finalist for Emerging Chef. Previously of Georgie and three and a half years at Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry. |
| The Recognition | Michelin-recommended (October 2025). One of the few new Dallas restaurants from 2025 to earn the nod. |
| What to Order | The whole menu. The duck confit phyllo, the kombu-cured sea bass crudo, the scallop with caviar in the pineapple tart, the aged wagyu main course, the nine-piece nigiri sequence sourced from Japan and Mexico. |
| The Drink Move | Open with the dirty sake martini. Lean into the sake list for pairings. Don’t be afraid to order a Peticolas Golden Opportunity (the staff approves). |
| Best Seat | The counter. Always. That’s where Ko interacts with you and where the experience is designed to be experienced. |
| Best For | Anniversaries, milestone birthdays, dinner before a Winspear show, and anyone tired of bromakase culture. |
| How to Lock It In | Reserve at sushikozy.com or through OpenTable. Counter seats book out fastest. |
| The Move | Counter seats. Open with the sake martini. Plan for two to three hours. Tell Ko your favorite fish and let him surprise you. |
