Most people drive past Fogo de Chão on Belt Line and don’t realize there’s a quiet Japanese counter two parking lots over that’s been doing serious omakase work for years. Nobu Dallas sits inside the Westin at 15201 Dallas Pkwy, and if you’ve only ever thought of it as a hotel restaurant, you’ve been underselling it to yourself.
I went on a Thursday night around 7 p.m., which turned out to be the right call. The room was about two-thirds full — enough energy to feel like something was happening, not so packed that you couldn’t hear your companion. The design leans dark and minimal, warm wood panels and low lighting, nothing fussy. The host seated us at a regular table but I asked about the bar, and they moved us without a fuss. Sitting at the counter gave us a direct line to the kitchen action, which made the whole meal feel different.
The menu is Nobu Matsuhisa’s playbook — Peruvian-Japanese, the same one that made the brand famous in New York and London. That means miso-marinated black cod, yellowtail sashimi with jalapeño, tiradito, rock shrimp tempura. These aren’t Addison originals. But the execution here is careful. The black cod ($38) came out lacquered and flaking cleanly, sweet from the miso marinade without being cloying. We ordered the yellowtail jalapeño ($24) as soon as we sat down, a reflex at this point, and it delivered the same clean heat and fatty richness it always does.
We added the wagyu gyoza ($22) because our server mentioned they were a better version than what they’d had on the menu the previous year, and that kind of unprompted honesty earns an order. She was right — thin-skinned, crisp-bottomed, the filling genuinely beefy rather than pork-padded like a lot of gyoza around town.
Cocktails are expensive but competent. The Lychee Martini ($18) is exactly what it sounds like and not embarrassing at all. Wine list skews toward California and France with prices that match the room. They also have a short sake list if you want to go that direction.
Dinner for two with a couple of cocktails and four shared plates ran us around $180 before tip. That’s not Addison casual-dining money, but it’s not out of range for what you’re getting — the fish quality is noticeably better than what you find at most suburban Japanese spots around the Tollway corridor. If you’re comparing it to the experience at, say, a sushi counter in Uptown, the quality holds up and the parking is vastly less aggravating.
Service was attentive without being intrusive. Our server knew the menu well and didn’t oversell. When I asked what the kitchen was proudest of that week, she mentioned a new hamachi preparation and we ordered it. Small thing, but it signals a staff that actually eats the food.
Nobu isn’t a place you stumble into on a Tuesday for a quick bite. It’s a deliberate choice, and it rewards that. If you’re in Addison and want Japanese at a level above the usual rotating sushi conveyor belt, this is the clearest answer I can give you.
