RFK Rankings · Dallas
Best Restaurants for Chefs-Table in Dallas (2026)
Counter & in-kitchen seating · Dallas · 6 counters ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published February 14, 2024 · Updated June 15, 2026 · Reviewed by Fredrik Filipsson, Editor-in-Chief · How we rank · Corrections
Dallas earned its first Michelin star in 2024, and it went to a counter where one man stands an arm's length away from your plate. The city's best chef's tables are sushi bars: Tatsuya Sekiguchi works edomae in Deep Ellum, Jimmy Park runs seventeen courses on Lower Greenville, and a ten-seat Sushi by Scratch hides inside the Adolphus. We rank these on the seat first, the cooking second, and the price honestly. If you want the closest stool to a working chef in North Texas, read on.
1.Tatsu Dallas
The only Michelin-starred room in Dallas seats roughly fifteen at the counter; book the early seating months ahead.
Tatsu Dallas sits at 3309 Elm Street in Deep Ellum, where chef-owner Tatsuya Sekiguchi works an edomae counter of about fifteen stools over two seatings a night. The progression runs to roughly fifteen pieces of nigiri built on aged fish, and the omakase starts near $195 a head before tax and service.
Dallas's first and only Michelin star landed here in the inaugural 2024 Texas guide and held again in 2025. Book the 5:30 seating on Tock weeks ahead, sit dead center, and let Sekiguchi set the pace; this is the closest seat to a working chef in the state.
2.Sushi by Scratch Restaurants: Dallas
A ten-seat counter inside the Adolphus runs seventeen courses across the bar; book for the most private chef's table downtown.
Sushi by Scratch occupies a ten-seat counter inside the Adolphus Hotel at 1321 Commerce Street, the Dallas outpost of Phillip Frankland Lee and Margarita Kallas-Lee's group. The seventeen-course menu leans on a single A5 wagyu nigiri from Iron Table Wagyu in Gatesville and fish flown in twice a week, at $165 a head.
Ten seats means the resident chef hosts the whole room across the bar, with no second table to split the attention. Reservations open on the first of the month and go fast; take a corner stool and let the wagyu and the dessert bite close the night.
3.Shoyo
Ex-Nobu chef Jimmy Park runs a thirteen-seat counter through seventeen courses; book for a serious omakase under $200.
Shoyo sits at 1916 Greenville Avenue on Lower Greenville, where chef Jimmy Park, formerly of Nobu, hosts a counter of about thirteen seats with Shinichiro Kondo. The seventeen-course omakase runs about $175 over two hours, with a traditional edomae flight or a creative menu built on uni and caviar.
Park opened the room in 2021 and it has stayed near the top of every Dallas omakase list since. Take the later seating, ask for the creative menu, and let the kitchen build the night course by course in front of you.
4.Uchi Dallas
James Beard winner Tyson Cole's Uptown sushi bar seats you at the counter for a ten-course omakase; book for a livelier night.
Uchi Dallas opened in 2015 at 2817 Maple Avenue in Uptown, the Dallas chapter of James Beard Award winner Tyson Cole's Austin original. The sushi bar runs a ten-course seasonal omakase around $150 to $200, and the hama chili of yellowtail, Thai chile and ponzu remains the dish everyone orders.
The room is larger and louder than the tiny counters above it, so the access is good rather than intimate. Sit at the bar, not a table, run the omakase, and add the hama chili; this is the counter for a celebratory group that still wants the chef in view.
5.Quarter Acre
Toby Archibald's seven-course tasting is the city's best chef-driven table away from a sushi bar; book for a non-omakase night.
Quarter Acre sits on Lower Greenville under chef-owner Toby Archibald, a New Zealander who cooked at the Greenhouse in London and Cafe Boulud before opening here. The seven-course tasting menu runs $125 and rotates around rare seasonal ingredients and his New Zealand lamb.
It is a chef's tasting rather than a literal counter, but the cooking is hands-on and personal, and the Michelin guide and Dallas Observer both flagged Archibald in 2025. Choose it when you want a chef-driven night that is not raw fish, and order the full tasting.
6.Tei-An
Teiichi Sakurai's soba counter wraps a stone garden in the Arts District; book the omakase for a quieter chef's table.
Tei-An sits on the second floor of One Arts Plaza at 1722 Routh Street, where Teiichi Sakurai built his name on house-made soba. The counter wraps a stone garden, the buckwheat noodles are cut in-house daily, and the kitchen runs an omakase alongside the a la carte.
Sakurai is the chef who first brought Uchi-style sushi to Dallas decades ago, and the soba counter is the calmest chef's table in the city. Sit at the bar, order the omakase, and let the noodle courses and the seasonal small plates carry a slower evening.
Not for everyone
Famous, but wrong for a Dallas chef's-table night
Knife. John Tesar's flagship steakhouse at the Highland closed in August 2025 and the space reopened as the Reserve. Tesar still runs the brand and a relocated Uptown flagship is planned, but it is not a counter and was not open as of June 2026; book one of the rooms above instead.
Catbird. The ninth-floor room at the Thompson is a rooftop small-plates and cocktail lounge with a view, not a chef's counter. It is open and good for a drink, but there is no in-kitchen seat, so it does not belong on a chef's-table list.
Nuri Steakhouse. The new Uptown Korean-Texan steakhouse on Cedar Springs is a large dining room with no genuine chef's counter, and the old Nuri Grill on Royal Lane has closed. Do not confuse the two; neither fits a chef's-table booking.
How to book a chef's table in Dallas
The format decides the venue. For a true edomae counter where one chef builds every piece in front of you, Tatsu Dallas and Shoyo are the picks, with the ten-seat Sushi by Scratch the most private. For a chef-driven tasting that is not sushi, Toby Archibald's Quarter Acre is the room, and Tei-An is the quietest counter of all.
Reservations are the constraint, not availability of tables. Tatsu opens on Tock weeks out and the early seating goes first; Sushi by Scratch releases seats on the first of the month. Run the omakase rather than ordering off-menu, sit at the bar rather than a table, and confirm the current price when you book, because the counters move them.
Frequently asked
What is the best chef's table in Dallas?
Tatsu Dallas in Deep Ellum, the only Michelin-starred room in the city, runs a fifteen-seat edomae counter where chef Tatsuya Sekiguchi builds every piece in front of you. Shoyo on Lower Greenville and the ten-seat Sushi by Scratch inside the Adolphus are the next closest seats to a working chef.
How much does an omakase counter cost in Dallas?
Counters run from about $165 at Sushi by Scratch and $175 at Shoyo to roughly $195 before tax and service at Tatsu Dallas. Uchi's omakase falls between $150 and $200, and Quarter Acre's seven-course tasting is $125. Confirm the current figure when you book, because the rooms adjust pricing through the year.
Does Dallas have a Michelin-starred restaurant?
Yes. The MICHELIN Guide came to Texas in 2024 and Tatsu Dallas earned a star in the inaugural edition, retaining it in 2025; it is the city's first and only star. Monarch and Quarter Acre are Michelin-recommended but not starred, so do not book them expecting a Dallas star.
Which Dallas counter is best for a group celebration?
Uchi Dallas in Uptown is the liveliest pick, a larger sushi bar with a ten-course omakase and the famous hama chili, so a group can celebrate with the chef still in view. The tiny counters at Tatsu and Sushi by Scratch suit two to four guests who want the quiet, hosted version.
Is Knife still open for a chef's table in Dallas?
No. John Tesar's Knife at the Highland closed in August 2025, and a relocated Uptown flagship had not opened as of June 2026. Knife was a steakhouse rather than a counter in any case; for a true chef's table, book Tatsu, Shoyo or Sushi by Scratch instead.
Related rankings
More from RFK
Browse the full Dallas dining guide, read the Tatsu Dallas profile, the Uchi Dallas profile and the Quarter Acre profile, compare a tasting room in the Dallas private-dining ranking and a counter worldwide in the best omakase counters ranking, see the best fine-dining worldwide, or open the full RFK rankings index.
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