Paul Ko was the head sushi chef at Uchi when he decided to leave. He’d been there since 2017, seven years in all, and he gave up that job to open a place with his name on it.
It took a while. Sushi Kozy ran into construction delays at 2000 Ross Ave. in the Arts District, and when it finally opened in the summer of 2025, there wasn’t much of an announcement. Four months later the Michelin Guide put it on the Texas list as a Recommended restaurant, which is a fast way to let people know you’re open.
Ko built the name from his own. The restaurant says “Ko” means “high,” and he paired it with cozy because he wanted the room to feel warm and close. He’s been making sushi for more than 18 years, and Kozy is the first restaurant that’s entirely his.
Dinner is omakase only, so there’s nothing to order. Ko frames it around kaiseki, the old Japanese way of building a long meal around the seasons, with soups, cooked dishes and small plates moving in and out between the raw fish. Right now that’s 17 courses. A lot of the fish is dry-aged, which deepens the flavor and changes the texture.
RJ Yoakum came into the picture on New Year’s Eve.
Dallas diners know Yoakum from Georgie, where he was executive chef and where the restaurant picked up its first Michelin recognition on his watch. Before that he cooked at The French Laundry in Napa Valley. He left Georgie in mid-2025 and spent the next six months without a kitchen of his own, doing pop-ups and guest dinners around town.
The New Year’s Eve dinner at Sushi Kozy was one of those, with Yoakum and Ko cooking side by side. When it was over, Ko asked him to stay on full-time. Three days later Yoakum was back in the kitchen, this time as chef de cuisine.
Ko still owns the sushi. Everything else on the menu is Yoakum’s, and his French training shows up most in the composed plates at the start and end of the night. The Dallas Morning News described a recent dinner that opened with a bright green tartlet made from tomato vines and an unusual beef tartare from Yoakum before Ko took over with nigiri, otoro included. Otoro, the fattiest cut of bluefin tuna, is one of his specialties.
Texas Monthly put Sushi Kozy on its list of the 10 best new restaurants in Texas this year. Only three Dallas restaurants made it. Then, earlier this month, Michelin kept it on the Recommended list for 2026, and a lot of people in town who’d been betting on a star had to wait another year.
Give yourself about two and a half hours if you’re dining as a pair. If you’re still hungry after the last course, you can order more nigiri à la carte. Dietary restrictions need 48 hours’ notice, and the restaurant is upfront that it can’t promise every request. Business casual is the dress code. There’s a private dining room for smaller groups, and the whole place can be booked out.
Sushi Kozy is open for dinner Tuesday through Sunday starting at 5 p.m., with last seatings at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 8 p.m. Sunday. It’s closed Mondays. Book through the reservation page, and email the restaurant directly for groups larger than four. Park in the 2000 Ross Ave. garage off North Harwood Street and take your ticket inside. They’ll validate up to three and a half hours.
CraveDFW’s first look at Sushi Kozy
