Sushi Marquee Combines Delightful Ambience, Food and Entertainment

My fun-loving husband and I recently enjoyed a very entertaining evening at the newest hot spot in Frisco, Sushi Marquee. Located on the second floor of The Star complex, this new offering from Crafted Bar Concepts (CBC) artfully combines great ambience, food and entertainment for a unique and festive experience.

The spacious (3,000 square feet) restaurant also has a rooftop patio with an additional 3,000 square feet, featuring a delightful view of the surrounding area. With over 5,000 square feet of combined space, the restaurant can comfortably seat up to 300 people.

There’s never a dull moment at Sushi Marquee, with more than 30 HD monitors located throughout the venue, boasting state of the art AV and sound systems. They stream live action TV shows and movies from the 1980s and 1990s, featuring some of the best known characters of that era, plus music videos.

Dallas Hale and Matt Saba, who also own the popular Shell Shack and Back 9 restaurants, along with Brad Hawkins and Anthony Morel of Shakertins, are behind the new venture. Executive Chef Johnnie Walker commands the kitchen, along with Executive Sushi Chef Gabriel Reyes.  Local celebrity chef Patrick Stark also collaborated on the creative menu that offers a unique spin on Japanese classics. The delightful and extensive menu features sushi, sashimi, and specialty rolls as well as hot dishes.

The equally impressive beverage bar features such original concoctions as Watermelon Ginger Margarita with ice cubes made from watermelon. Since one cocktail is my self-imposed limit, I transferred my watermelon ice cubes to a glass of Mer Soleil chardonnay. This not only helped keep the wine chilled but gave it a lovely flavor and rosy shade. A few of the other unique cocktails crafted by Beverage Director Morel included a spicy Wasabi Mariachi and a colorful Fuji Sangria (Fuji Apple Sake, Bayou silver rum, Lychee syrup, sparkling pink sake, orange, strawberry, lychee and lemon) plus a large selection of wine, sake and champagne.

Our tasting menu at Sushi Marquee’s opening event included a visit to the Sushi bar to choose from a variety of platters of sushi and sashimi. I enjoyed watching the live performances by the chefs in the open sushi bar as they deftly designed platters that looked like works of art, finding them even more entertaining than the streaming video offerings.

Our appetizer course of chicken and onion soup followed, along with a seared tuna salad. The second course featured one of the house specialties, lamb lollipops with cilantro, along with Wagyu spring rolls, dynamite rock shrimp and a pairing with Ichinokura Mukansa Sake. The third course featured a decidedly different Punky Brewster Roll (cucumber wrapped salmon, snapper, salmon, cilantro, avocado, tuna and asparagus). Glazed Miso Sea Bass with Soba noodles and asparagus were also served, paired with Sho Chiku Bai Nigori Sake.

Dessert was a delicious ice cream sundae complete with a banana and served with a glass of sake. We ended the evening watching a dazzling fireworks display from the rooftop patio, which is apparently a nightly occurrence at The Star in Frisco.

Sushi Marquee is located at 3625 The Star Blvd. in Frisco, phone 972-833-1608; and stays open until 2 a.m. SushiMarquee.com.