Tei-An Is (Still) One Of America’s 38 Essential Restaurants

Over the last year, Eater restaurant editor (and former Dallas Morning News food critic) Bill Addison has been busy. After tirelessly traversing the country in search of its finest restaurants, Addison debuted his annual list of the country’s 38 essential restaurants. To pretty much no one’s surprise, Dallas’ Tei-An made the cut.

Tei-An, Chef Teiichi Sakurai’s ode to classic Japanese cuisine, is Dallas’ lone entry on the Eater 38, alongside Chicago’s Alinea and Franklin’s Barbecue in Austin. If you’re a little surprised that Dallas’ contribution to the national culinary conversation is a Japanese restaurant, that’s probably because you haven’t been to Tei-An. The restaurant also made the Eater 38 in 2015.

According to Addison's 2014 review of the restaurant, it’s not just just Tei-An’s pricey sushi offerings that make Sakurai shine, either:

Teiichi Sakurai, one of the country’s greatest and most under-sung Japanese chefs, devotes himself foremost to fresh soba. The taupe noodles are famously challenging to form and cut, but in his hands, they seem to have life force. In the sanctuary of the dining room, savor them served cold in a wicker basket with dipping sauces, or hot in a soup with soy-dashi broth. To best understand the full measure of Sakurai’s mastery, call ahead and request the seven-course omakase that often includes A5 wagyu beef and ultra-seasonal fish. Soba, in its simple splendor, is always the finale.

Well done, Chef Teach.