North Texas' Only Kaiseki Restaurant, Ichika, Opens in Plano

Chef Leo Kekoa chose Plano for a reason that had nothing to do with real estate or demographics. His collaborator, Chef Chikao Kikuchi, is over 70 years old and lives in Aubrey, and the drive to Dallas was too much to ask of him. So Kekoa opened Ichika at 8240 Preston Road, Suite 175, inside Headquarters Village, a strip mall on Preston Road, and brought what the Dallas Morning News describes as North Texas' only kaiseki restaurant to Collin County.

"He mattered more to me than Michelin," Kekoa said. "I just hope Michelin turns its head to see us, even though we're not in the city of Dallas."

Ichika offers a kappo-kaiseki experience, a format that combines the seasonal, multi-course structure of kaiseki with the intimacy of kappo, where the chef cooks directly in front of guests. The restaurant seats exactly eight diners per night. Reservations are required and, according to the Dallas Morning News, already very hard to come by.

The eight-course menu moves from starter to dessert, with sushi, soups, rice dishes and a housemade mochi rounding out the progression. Some dishes require up to two days of preparation. Nothing on the menu is processed. The rice and a 20-year-aged vinegar are imported from Japan, the fish comes from Tokyo's Toyosu Market and has never been frozen, and a specific type of water is brought in from Hawaii. Local ingredients, including oranges and Wagyu beef, fill out the sourcing. Because the menu is built around hyper-seasonal ingredients, it changes entirely with each season.

Kikuchi, pictured at the restaurant on March 9 searing sashimi with a lump of charcoal, is one of three master chefs leading Ichika's culinary program alongside Kekoa.

Ichika is open Tuesday through Saturday. The restaurant's Instagram handle is listed on its website for reservation inquiries.