Mabo

A unique experience, pristine decor, perfectly attentive service, delicious bites, and surprise with every course.It's wildly expensive, delicious, and looks and feels utterly exclusive.

I recently dined at Mabo, and it was an incredible experience! The food was absolutely amazing -- every bite was bursting with flavor and cooked to perfection. the chefs put a lot of care and thought into our dishes. The staff were exceptionally nice and welcoming, making sure we were comfortable and had everything we needed throughout the meal. Their warmth and attentiveness really added to the experience. To top it off, the interior decoration is stunning. The ambiance strikes the perfect balance between cozy and elegant, making it a great spot for any occasion. I highly recommend this place to anyone looking for delicious food, excellent service, and a beautiful setting. I'll definitely be back!

Mabo is truly a fine dining experience that boasts the Japanese brand of gourmet cuisine perfectly. The restaurant itself is small, with ample parking. There are approximately eight seats at a bar, where you watch the chefs work. The server caters to your every need with an eagle eye, swooping in to refill water, guide lost patrons through the intricate courses, and clear the plates for the next course. It is a fine-tuned, well-run machine that results in a truly one of a kind experience. At the time of my experience, I was the only person there besides one other couple. This spot requires a reservation and it costs $200 per person.The food was amazing. I usually don't like fish, which is why I loved the idea of a yakitori predominant omakase. However, every thing was delightfully fresh and tasty. I dug in so quickly I forgot to take pictures of all the courses, all as beautiful and well-crafted as they were. There were some sushi options that I did not like much, more on my palate, rather than the chef. The yakitori was also great, boasting juicy chicken and succulent A5 Wagyu. I almost opted to pay for extra sticks but by the end of the courses, I was stuffed and happy without needing extra items. To note, I came to celebrate a graduation and true to any excellent fine dining establishment, they gifted me their house made hojicha tea and hojicha financier, which was so yummy that I felt lost when I realized I had eaten it all. At the end of the meal, I also had the chance to chat with the executive chef, who gave me tips for my trip to Japan. He truly embodied a traditional Japanese chef, a little stoic but friendly and earnest.Overall, this was truly an experience, worth the money. After returning from Japan, I can say that it really does capture the quality and thought that comes with Japanese cuisine and fine dining. Although this certainly is not an every day kind of thing, I highly recommend it for any big special occasions!

My spouse and I had reservations for the 830 pm seating on a recent Friday. At 830 pm a staffer opened the front door and let us in. Three other couples came in over the next 5-10 minutes. We he inside space is stylish in a minimalist way. Clean lines etc very attractive space. We were asked if we wanted to order anything other than the water. We opted for a nice Barbaresco for $150. They have a short but excellent wine list.There were many courses and pretty much they all hit the mark. Food and presentation were excellent. I only wish they served their red wine at cellar temperature instead of room temperature. The Barbaresci tasted great and the space is kept pretty cool so it worked. Recommended and we will return

An extremely nice and intimate omakase. Food is very good. Service is impeccable. With only 8 seats I'd expect nothing less.Alcohol is a bit pricey but so is the experience itself. Great for a date to impress. Make sure to book well in advance.

Every dish was cooked to perfection. It's on the pricier side, even more expensive than most sushi omakases in Dallas, but the experience was beyond our expectations. The Korean couple next to us told Chef Otaka they went to Japan recently and got a reservation at a highly sought after yakitori restaurant there, but they thought Mābo's yakitori was better. Every bite they took, they would say how delicious it was in Korean.What's unfortunate, though, is that the 8:30 PM seating was only half full, which was surprising given that the restaurant accommodates just eight guests. Maybe Dallas isn't ready for yakitori omakase yet, but we felt like we were in Japan. We loved it!

Overall my husband and I had a good time at Mabo - enjoyed the food and the service but saw there could be some improvements. We both enjoy yakitori and were hoping for a yakitori place to open so when I read about Mabo I was super excited and finally got to go. Food was good and the yakitori were all cooked to perfection - juicy and tender. Hojicha is my favorite type of tea and was so happy to see hojicha desserts. The service and decoration were all premium but I couldn't let go of the thought that it was overpriced. We've been to a yakitori omakase in NYC and it was cheaper than Mabo and I feel like I walked out happier there. When I go to Yakitori omakase place, I expect more varieties of yakitori to be included in the course itself. I was disappointed to see the omakase selection and how few yakitori was in the course. If we wanted more we had to pay $7-8/piece which is a lot, on top of the $200 price tag. Yakitori is supposed to be a casual food so I wouldn't mind enjoying yakitori at a cheaper price and in a less premium atmosphere for the price tag to come down. Also as a person who has been to several omakase I expected more engagement from the chef. I feel like the joy of omakase and sitting at the counter is being able to talk to the chef and having more interactive experience. However the chef didn't seem very happy and did not make any eye contact with us even when he was serving us. If I only thought about the chef my rating for the service would be 2. The servers made up though - being attentive, super polite and kind, and refilling the tea promptly. Having said all this, I am glad I gave a try to Mabo and tried it. However I don't think I will go back. Still waiting for a more casual, tasty Yakitori place to open up in Dallas.

My husband and I have been hearing great things about Mabo since it opened earlier this year, and we knew we wanted to save it for special occasion dining, so when his birthday rolled around at the end of June we pounced on the opportunity to dine in. The entrance is in an unassuming corner of the Plaza at Preston Center; we parked in a shaded structure across the street and walked over for our 5:30PM seating on Friday night. Keep in mind that the doors stay locked until seating time on the dot, so in this summer heat I'd advise you to stay in your vehicle until then.The interiors are super minimalist and dark-toned; when you first walk into the main dining area, there's a little indoor rock garden off to the side that you can admire. Bathrooms were very nice and of course had a bidet. We were able to pick where we wanted to sit at the 8-seat counter, as we were the first guests to arrive - in the end, there were only 4 guests at our seating, and the other two guests actually paid and left before the final course (more on that later). Hoping that more people hear about this place and come try it so that they're able to sustain enough momentum to remain open.Service was excellent - we were asked upon arrival for our water preference (filtered tap) and drink orders (my husband and I both opted for unlimited hojicha, which complimented the richness of some of the courses very well). At one point my husband accidentally knocked over his tea and this was quickly and professionally dealt with by our server. Before food service begins, the shades around the counter remain down, but the curtain rises soon enough to reveal a huge hood over the grill on which Chef Masa carefully prepares each of the yakitori dishes.Almost every course we had was transcendent. We thoroughly enjoyed the intricate dishes presented before us. Some standouts were the Japanese turnip cream soup, which was somehow rich and refreshing at the same time; the honmaguro sheet lovingly draped over miso foie gras mousse and topped with caviar; the squash blossom/snapper tempura, so delicate and crunchy; and of course the yakitori. The chicken heart skewer was absolutely phenomenal: not gamey at all, with a perfect chewy-tender texture that we thoroughly enjoyed. The application of yakitori sauce on certain cuts vs. the delicious shichimi (Japanese 7-spice) and white pepper condiments helped heighten the flavors of the meat. Nothing was dry, and everything was flavorful. Even the vegetables were amazing; we loved the juiciness of the shiitake mushroom and the char on the romain heart kushiyaki. And it's very difficult to argue with the decadent fattiness of pork jowl and A5 wagyu. The only yakitori course that didn't impress quite as much was the tsukune (meatball), and even that was still delicious.My husband and I decided to add on a couple of extra courses just because we were so curious to try some of the other cuts, but in retrospect it wasn't necessary from a fullness perspective - by the end of dessert we were extremely stuffed and probably could have gone without the Australian lamb we each added on (which was grilled a perfect medium rare and accompanied by a side of wasabi). We also added chicken neck, which had a very similar texture and taste as the thigh that was included in the omakase, and arteries, a unique cut that was reminiscent in texture of the heart and equally delicious.Around this time was when the other party at our seating declared that they were too happily full to continue, paid for their bill, and left the restaurant. My husband and I could tell that there was some confusion over this behind the counter, since it's customary to stay till the end of a set menu, but the servers all took this in stride. We at least enjoyed the final savory course, which was a buttery delight called Tsuyahime Super Tamago Gohan, a bowl that included a sous vide egg yolk with hot white rice and a generous spoonful of uni, mixed together so that the creaminess of the toppings paired perfectly with each chewy grain of rice.The night ended with probably the best dessert course I've eaten at a Japanese omakase restaurant in Dallas: the sticky toffee pudding wasn't too sweet or too dry but drenched in a delightful syrup, underneath a smooth and delicious scoop of hojicha gelato - its slight bitterness complimented the sweetness of the pudding perfectly. The staff put a candle in my husband's course for his birthday, which was a very nice touch. At the end of our meal we also received a gift bag with 2 freshly baked hojicha financiers and 2 tins of loose leaf hojicha.Mabo is a truly wonderful special occasion destination to dine at, and Chef Masa's talents with binchotan cannot be understated. It's certainly the best yakitori I have ever had. I worry that the high price point will scare people off, but I really hope that Mabo is able to carry on serving delicious food to Dallas, and I'm looking forward to coming back in the future.

A great omakase addition to North Dallas that offers something a little more than just sashimi. This place is tiny. There's 8 seats total. There's one hostess/waitress who quickly and effectively clears your table, refills water, and slips in some comments every now and then. The chicken pate is simple but beautiful. I wonder if they make It in house? Because it doesn't taste like any typical pate to me. The turnip cream soup is comforting and didn't seem out of place even during the heat of the summer. I could tasted the browning of the starchy turnip coalesce with the cream. The bluefin sheet draped over foie gras, topped with caviar and shiso flower was an unexpected joy and mental process. While there was several meats stacked on each other, the overall taste made me think of a savory grape. It sounds weird, but it was also a delightful realization. Its not often a piece of sashimi is served as a sheet rather than a rectangle.The sashimi box was the last time we would have sushi this evening, but it was a lovely spread of items. Served on ice within a box, the chef said there was no method on how to eat it. Personally, I would go right to left, leaving the otoro last, but eat it however you please. While its garnish, don't ignore the spiral cut cucumber!The oyster Rockefeller was what you would expect from a Rockefeller, but with a quality oyster that shines through the butter and cheese. They shuck it in a way that you don't have to use any utensils, but I would wait a solid 2 minutes before eating this. These were piping hot and I could not hold my lips to the boiling hot liquid butter for very long. The squash blossom with snapper tempura and matcha salt was not only tasty but a work of art. It looked delicate, but holds up fairly well (as long as you're not holding it from the stem). The snapper filling on the inside worked so well with the overall whole, and I could have eaten a handful of these. The matcha salt takes it to another level!The yakitori section of the meal was good, but I couldn't help to feel it wasn't mind blowing. Don't get me wrong, these skewers of meat are comparable to what you could have previously had at Teppo or Tei Tei Robata, but I feel with everything else on the menu, there was a missed opportunity to show off something more creative or special in regards to how the meat was sauced, spiced, glazed, or presented for that matter. This was definitely the part of the meal where I was disenchanted by how wonderful the rest of the meal was. The weakest one in my opinion was the romaine heart. Im not one to frown upon grilled vegetables, but the charred taste was barely there and the cheese didn't do much to compliment the crisp, watery taste of the lettuce. The A5 wagyu was of course the best one, with the miso black cod being in second. Keep in mind, there are additional skewered items you can order as a supplement which were higher quality than the chicken they serve. The uni, caviar, and egg rice bowl is simple, but all three meats shine in harmony. To anyone who dislikes gooey, creamy textures, this meal will NOT be for you. About the only thing that it could have used was a touch of soy sauce for my preference. They don't list it on the menu, but there was a chicken broth soup they serve after the rice that I thought would have gone great to drink alongside the rice. The broth itself was a savory, salty treat!The sticky toffee pudding with hojicha gelato is the right amount of sweetness, bold in its dark, low tones, and had me licking up the bowl with every last drop of gelato remains. For $200, surrounded by good company, and not having to fight to drive into downtown Dallas, Id say this is a great choice! The biggest factor in how I could see improvement is a more creative or decadent approach to the skewered meats. But by no means were the meats bad. If anything, they were still above average quality wise. While Mabo is a different omakase experience than Shoyo, I enjoyed Mabo much more than I did Shoyo.

We had such a wonderful experience at Mābo. Each dish was so intricately crafted and exceeded all of our expectations. With an assortment of both traditional/comforting dishes and newer inventive twists, our palates were completely satisfied. Though I know the menu items may change, my favorite dish of the night was the honmaguro sheet + miso foie gras mousse with shiso flowers and caviar. Each bite just melted with flavor. Words will not do it justice. I wanted to also note that the service was very professional, and our server was extremely attentive. While preparing the food, Executive Chef Masayuki Otaka quietly dedicated his focus on bringing the best dishes forward- A true Shokunin. After the meal, he happily talked to all of the guests about their experiences.Please do yourself a favor and try Mābo for yourself! It is so worth it.