sushi in the park
2 star chefs roll out sushi spot with fresh-from-Tokyo goods along with intimate new bar in buzzy Buffalo Bayou hub
Daniel Lee, Patrick Pham, and Andrew Lin.
Two of Houston’s most prolific sushi chefs have signed on to an eagerly anticipated mixed-use development. Chefs Patrick Pham and Daniel Lee, the owners of 2023 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards Best New Restaurant winner Aiko, will open Doko, a new sushi restaurant, and Bar Doko, an intimate cocktail bar, in the Autry Park mixed-use development.
Expected to open this fall on the ground floor of the Hanover Parkview mid-rise, Doko will serve a menu of sushi that utilizes fish flown in from Tokyo’s Toyosu Market. The 1,900-square-foot restaurant is expected to seat 50 in its main dining room and 12 at its bar.
Tiny Bar Doko will occupy just 600-square-feet in a space that’s adjacent to Doko. The group’s first bar, it will serve Japanese-inspired cocktails. Houston architecture firm JT ARC Studio and Los Angeles’ JAW Collective will create the designs for both establishments
Taken together, Doko and Bar Doko are the latest projects from Duckstache Hospitality, the company that chefs Pham and Lee established with business partners Andrew Lin and C.J. Short. In addition to the aforementioned Aiko, they also operate Kokoro in downtown’s Bravery Chef Hall, Himari at the Stomping Grounds in Garden Oaks, and two outposts of hand roll concept Handies Douzo.
“Autry Park is an amazing opportunity to continue to showcase our culinary creativity in a unique setting,” Lin said in a statement. “We look to evolve our offering in Japanese cuisine to provide our guests with memorable dining experiences.”
Doko and Bar Doko will join a number of new restaurants at Autry Park. They include two new concepts from Berg Hospitality, Annabelle Brasserie and Turner’s Cut; two restaurants from MF Sushi chef-owner Chris Kinjo, MF Lobster and Ceviche and Annam, a Vietnamese restaurant; Auden, a vegetable-forward, globally inspired restaurant; a second location of pilates studio and coffee shop Duo; and the first Houston location of Austin favorite Lick Honest Ice Creams.
Developed by local real estate firms Lionstone Investments and Hanover Company, Autry Park occupies 14 acres on the western edge of Buffalo Bayou Park. The project's three-phase masterplan includes five towers encompassing 1,450 residential units, 350,000 square feet of Class A office space, and 100,000 square feet of retail, according to press materials.
A to-go window will expedite orders for people in the Stomping Grounds' green space.Courtesy of Stomping Grounds