Austin, Texas-based MML Hospitality has grown rapidly in recent years, expanding its restaurant empire into Houston, Aspen, and California.
This year, it’s entering Dallas in a big way. Neighborhood Sushi opened on June 30 at the Shops at Highland Park, and will be followed by Clark’s Oyster Bar, three Swedish Hill bakeries, and the promise of additional concepts.
“Dallas felt like the natural next step for MML,” said managing partner Larry McGuire, noting that it’s a city they’ve wanted to be a part of for a long time. “We’ve built something special in Austin over the years, and the response has given us the confidence to thoughtfully grow within Texas. Dallas is one of the state’s most dynamic dining destinations, and Oak Lawn felt like the right place to introduce what we do, with Neighborhood Sushi leading the way.”
The interior is warm and minimalist, with a Japanese-inspired aesthetic.
The Dallas location follows the Austin original’s aesthetic, with warm, minimalist interiors and subtle Japanese-inspired design elements. It’s nice enough for a special dinner out, but casual enough to visit for weekday happy hour, when select dishes are half off and beer and sake combos are just $10.
The Dallas menu also mirrors Austin’s, with lots of nigiri and sashimi alongside tempura (shrimp, calamari, vegetables), maki rolls and hand rolls, and a grilled fish collar. One notable difference is a yakitori program that’s currently exclusive to the Dallas location, with wagyu beef, chicken thighs, grilled king trumpet mushrooms, and asparagus.
Lunch service adds bento boxes, chirashi bowls, and combo specials, like two hand rolls served with iced tea and a choice or soup or salad.
The menu features nigiri, hand rolls, grilled fish, and more.
“When we were working on the Dallas menu, we wanted to add something that felt playful, and yakitori came out of that,” McGuire said. “It’s simple cooking, really just about good ingredients and timing, and it fits naturally with what we’re already doing on the sushi side.
McGuire said that yakitori will also be rolled out in Austin soon, and that the team is excited to see how it plays out in both cities.
Neighborhood Sushi first opened in Austin in 2020. Later this year it will leave its South Congress Avenue home for a bigger space on South First Street. The group has more plans in the works.
In Dallas, “Neighborhood Sushi is just the beginning,” said McGuire. “We’re looking forward to bringing more of what we love here over the next year or so, from Clark’s on the Katy Trail to Swedish Hill and a few other ideas we’re excited about. We like building places that become part of people’s everyday lives, and that’s what we’re hoping to do here.”
Yakitori is a new offering for the restaurant, launching first in Dallas and rolling out soon in Austin.
Other projects include a major renovation of the Mountain Chalet in Aspen, Colorado, a property that MML took over a few years ago. And in New York, they’re continuing to build on Nine Orchard, a Lower East Side hotel they took over earlier this year.
Back in Austin, Sixth&Blanco is an ambitious mixed-use development that’s underway. When it opens, it will be home to a hotel, office space, shops, and restaurants.
“Things tend to evolve quickly for us,” McGuire said. “There’s always something in motion, and it changes as the right opportunities come along.”