Tei-An

As soon as you walk into this place, you feel like you've been transported to a super-authentic Japanese dinner experience, fit with nice decorations and a cozy, intimate atmosphere. They have a daily special menu which changes everyday, as well as a separate menu which doesn't change. We ordered the omakase ($140 pp), which turned out to be such an amazing experience. The courses range from sashimi platters, to fried oysters, scallops, and my favorite items I tried: the A5 Japanese Wagyu beef, Duck Soba, and Soba Buckwheat ice cream. The beef quality and texture was very high, and practically melts in your mouth. The soba was very flavorful and the buckwheat ice cream was surprisingly one of my favorite ice cream flavors I've ever tried, it reminded me a bit of tiramisu.

The service here was also great, they constantly refilled our drinks, and gave us new sets of plates and utensils for each course of the omakase. This place is definitely on the pricier end, but IMO worth if you want to treat yourself or for a special occasion! 10/10 amazing dinner experience.

Quite a disappointing finish for dinner on my first time at Tei-An.

I had prepaid for their Omakase for the evening and the service and dishes overall were good. The quality of food was okay and service was really good until the discrepancy on the main dish.
Unfortunately their signature dish, the soba, had tiny short noodles often about 2-4cm in length throughout the bowl. I asked about it and was told very professionally that the soba is made with high buckwheat content so is fragile and breaks up in cooking.

I mean... okay I guess...
I'm just surprised that for $185 a person with a known failure in noodle preparation they'd tell me something other than it's just how it is.

Plenty of other places in Dallas for exceptional Japanese food.

Probably should have just gone to Uchi.

This is definitely a special occasion place. I wanted to try it since it ended up being close to the ballet. This place was dimly lit and where we were seated was mostly couples. Got a reservation right when they opened and it was nice. The place definitely gets loud as it starts to fill up. They gave me a basket to place my purse in so it wasn't hanging from my seat.

TLDR: It's good but seriously for special occasions. I wouldn't say it's entirely unique or mind blowing. Most dishes are shareable and we left full without spending more than $300 after tip.

Our server explained how the traditional course order went and was readily available with questions. They're fancy with the water here and it's like $8 a bottle. Started off with sushi which was very fresh and delicious. We ended up ordering it twice. The white seaweed salad was light and refreshing, for sure unique if you're not Asian I should've known lol but it was still nice to see how a restaurant prepared it versus my family. We also got the washu beef hot rock which ended up being one of my favorites.

The main star and thing they're known for is the house made soba noodles, which I admit we're really good. I could eat double the portion the gave. The dipping broth that came with it was the perfect level of salty and they give you the soba liquid after to turn it into a sipping broth. The duck was overcooked to me :( miyazaki beef soba noodles with broth was also delicious and warming but nothing special. The beef was super tender. The soba ice cream was not what I expected. It was good and most of the sweetness came from the black honey but I think my favorite part was the toasted powder they had on top. It added a whole different profile to the dessert.

All in all, it's a good restaurant but now that I've had it, I can cross it off the list and keep it that way.

Tei-An is exactly the contemporary zen Japanese it claims to be. An aroma of woody incense is pleasingly present as soon as you walk in. The decor and stone arrangements also make the earthy vibe a comfortable dining environment.

Our server, Janie was very kind and went out of her way to provide exceptional service. She introduced the menu and explained how the sequence on how the food is served.

The house made pickles were a refreshingly excellent start to open our taste pallet. They were a perfect balance of sweet, tangy, and tart. Highly recommended. The soba sampler is a great way to taste different flavor pairing for the soba. The bolognese is an interesting take on westernizing soba. It has the light texture of soba noodles combined with the richness of mushrooms and cheese.

The chicken karaage was disappointing to me as it tasted pre-packaged and out of the freezer. I know it's not the what they specialize in, but they could improve the karaage recipe to taste more traditionally Japanese.

Other than that, I enjoyed my experience at Tei-An because everyone was super hospitable. Other servers stopped by our table to exchange our dirty plates and wipe the water off our table. I can tell there's a lot of effort put into the details of service. I hope others can have the same positive experience as I did.

A Rolls parked outside.... Who the hell is in here!?

Got the omekase. Perfection. Sake pairings. Superb.

Service was impeccable.

Definitely a must try in Dallas.

Service is always great! This shrimp tho..... amazing. I hope this is not too weird but the bathroom "system" is a whole vibe lol. I love it here

We had an excellent lunch at Tei-An yesterday. Soba noodles were definitely a unique experience. These are cold noodles serviced without broth and accompanied by a variety of tasty dipping sauces. Each mouthful of noodles are dipped into a different sauce and then slurped up to be enjoyed.

We also had a variety of sushi and sashimi dishes but I don't remember the names of the fish as I went with a variety of recommendations from our server. They were pretty good choices for the most part.

The restaurant decor is upscale and modern, and there is a classy quiet vibe. Tei-an is a small but cozy restaurant without a ton of seating.

Service was very good and our server did a great job of explaining the menu.

Tei-an is a very nice dining experience and we enjoyed our meal and visit to this well known Japanese restaurant!

Intrigued by the allure of handmade soba noodles at Tei-An, I was drawn in by the promise of an authentic Japanese experience. The website's description of a brilliant omakase lured us to reserve a table for a special occasion.

The restaurant's attention to detail became evident as we stepped in. The ambiance, with dimly lit bulbs illuminating the omakase bar, and the meticulously ironed linen napkins paired with dark wood chopsticks, showcased a rejection of opulence in favor of an acute attention to detail.

Upon arrival, we were given a QR code to browse the diverse yet concise menu online. The dishes offered a range of experiences, each crafted with dedication.

Our culinary journey began with a delightful mistake - we were accidentally served a veal bone marrow, which they made complimentary and ended up being one of our favorites.

Now for the omakase, which I now presume to be stagnant (and largely composed of standard menu items): The seaweed salad was a delightful palate cleanser. Unfortunately, the sashimi considerably lacked freshness. The A5 Wagyu was decadent and we enjoyed it despite a bit of snarkiness from the waiter preparing it for us and the corn tempura was lovely but the party next to us had the same omakase and they received ebi tempura in addition to corn. The perfectly cooked bass was marred by excessive soy sauce-based glaze. Anticipation for the much-awaited handmade soba was met with an unexpected bolognese, a flavor and texture mismatch that left me disappointed. Our meal ended on a sweet note, and the soba ice cream was an adventurous experience, though a challenge for those with a mild sweet tooth. While struggling to finish, I could imagine it being a delightful shared treat.

Yet, as we progressed through the courses, it became clear that many were standard offerings. The artistic vision and bold flavors promised by previous reviews didn't consistently shine through. While not regretful of the visit, I found myself wishing we had just chosen items from the menu rather than receiving a vastly unoriginal omakase.

In summary, Tei-An's commitment to detail and some standout dishes made our visit worthwhile. However, the overall experience left me pondering the gap between the promised brilliance and the reality we encountered. I encourage others to go for dinner and choose menu items at face value - your $144+ will go much farther. I also hope that the chef will find his courage to produce an omakase that Dallas can become proud of again.

Menu: https://storage.googleapis.com/c.emenu.me/index.html#/3f1ae0d145a74898a7d7b45a06751cc9

Came here for the first time to celebrate a friends engagement on a Friday evening. Made a reservation for four people at 6 PM. Restaurant wasn't too crowded about slightly over half capacity. We were seated immediately. Ambience is very chill. The interior of the restaurant appear smaller in person than what is shown on the website.

All the food was pretty good. Service was excellent. I think my biggest drawback is the price for the level of food was extraordinarily high. For the price, I wouldn't have expected everything to be phenomenal, but things are just good or better than average rather than phenomenal. Our whole table of four did the Omakase & we had 5 drinks for the table & our bill came to nearly $800. Thankfully, the non-refundable deposit applied to the bill, but for the price, the food was just ok in comparison.

Overall, none of us will be going back & I believe none of us would recommend.

Food: 5/5
Ambiance: 5/5
Service: 5/5

The ambiance of this restaurant is very intimate. All of the servers were attentive at all times and provided a smooth and delightful experience.

We got to try the following items:

* (5/5) Shishito Peppers - they were perfectly salted and had a charred flavor to them.

* (5/5) Sashimi Chef's Choice - so fresh and clean. Each fish had a distinctly different taste.

* (2/5) Matcha Cocktail - I love matcha and earthy flavors, but this was not as enjoyable for me. The alcohol was very strong and accentuated the earthy flavor of the matcha further.

* (5/5) Beef Tongue with Truffle Mashed Potatoes - delicious. I've only ever had thinly sliced beef tongue before, and the texture of the cubed beef tongue surprised me. It was slightly spongy and tender at the same time. It paired so well with the mashed potatoes which were soft and fluffy.

* (3.5/5) Agedashi Tofu - it was good but didn't hugely stand out as an individual dish in comparison to other Agedashi tofu I've had.

* (4.5/5) Eggplant Soba Noodle Soup - the lightly fried eggplant tasted so good with the soba noodle soup. It added a slightly fatty component to the dish which was warming.

* (4/5) Duck with Dipping Soba Noodles - the warm duck dipping sauce had actual duck in it! Shocking - I know. It was strongly flavored, which I enjoyed. However, there was a need for a refreshing taste on the side while eating this dish.

* (4.5/5) Buckwheat Ice Cream with Black Honey - what a combination. It is astonishing how tasty this was. The ice cream alone is barely sweet, so the honey adds flavor and the sugary notes to it well. Sipping on hot green tea after a bite made the experience even better.

This restaurant is on the pricier end but a wonderful journey to experience. The total bill was just under $200 for two people, and we left absolutely stuffed. I recommend this place for celebrations or intimate meals.