Fort Worth’s Japanese dining conversation gained a specific new chapter in August 2026, when Hiroto Ochiai and Nami opened Hiro’s Kitchen – Sushi & Sake in Near Southside. Their fifteen-seat counter offers a close-focus evening around sushi and sake. Downtown, Nikuya Rooftop takes a different route at The Sinclair, combining nigiri and sashimi with contemporary dishes and views across the city. Choosing between them is a question of format and culinary emphasis as much as location.
Hiro’s Kitchen opened on August 20, after the couple’s years connected with Tokyo and New York. Ochiai, originally from Niigata, worked at Jean-Georges Tokyo before moving to New York in 2017, where his experience included Sushi Amane and Shion 69 Leonard. His work as a sous chef and beverage director helps explain why the Fort Worth counter treats sake as part of the meal’s identity. The food and the drink are two subjects of the same evening, rather than separate decisions made at the start.
The restaurant offers both omakase and à la carte. The former puts the sequence in the chef’s hands; the latter leaves more direction with the guest. That distinction matters for someone making a first visit: a small sushi counter does not automatically mean that every diner must commit to one fixed format. Ochiai’s International Kikisake-shi certification and the team’s interest in sake styles, regions and producers give a curious guest another way to explore the restaurant, with Nami contributing her knowledge alongside him.
Nikuya moves the setting to The Sinclair’s seventeenth level, where its restaurant-managed reservation page describes a sixteen-seat layout. The skyline is part of the occasion, but the menu gives the roof a separate culinary argument. Nigiri and sashimi sit alongside hand rolls, makimono and crudo, while A5 wagyu links the food with the butcher program associated with Wicked Butcher. A table can therefore keep the meal centered on seafood or make beef part of the progression.
Its combinations also move beyond a narrowly traditional sushi repertoire. Salmon crudo with yuzu leche de tigre, citrus-dressed scallops and edamame hummus with tahini reveal the kitchen’s contemporary direction. Rolls involving jalapeño, tomato or fried leeks offer other ways into that interpretation. A diner looking for a chef-led sushi sequence should understand the difference: the published Nikuya menu is organized for individual orders, and its bookings are allocated as two-hour dining experiences.
Hiro’s Kitchen is the more direct choice for an evening shaped around a small sushi counter and a sake conversation, with the option of handing the sequence to the chef. Nikuya suits a dinner in which a rooftop occasion and a broader Japanese-inspired menu carry equal weight. The value in this comparison is knowing what kind of meal each place proposes before making the reservation, rather than expecting every restaurant serving sushi to offer the same experience.
Explore the profiles: Hiro’s Kitchen – Sushi & Sake · Nikuya Rooftop
Recommended restaurants
The profiles below explain each restaurant’s cooking and give practical details for planning a visit.
Hiroto Ochiai and Nami’s fifteen-seat Near Southside sushi counter, opened in August 2026, with omakase, à la carte service and a sake-focused approach.
Sushi, omakase, à la carte Japanese dining and sake.
A Japanese-inspired rooftop dining room at The Sinclair, with skyline views, nigiri, crudo and rolls that connect seafood with A5 wagyu.
Nigiri, sashimi, hand rolls, Japanese-inspired crudo and A5 wagyu.
Sources & references
Sources for the information and reporting discussed in this guide.
- Hiro’s Kitchen: opening, chef, dining formats and hours ↗ Primary source www.hiroskitchentx.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Hiro’s Kitchen – Sushi & Sake: Google Maps listing ↗ Primary source www.google.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Nikuya: culinary concept and rooftop ↗ Primary source www.nikuyarooftop.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Nikuya: current menu ↗ Primary source www.nikuyarooftop.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Nikuya: contact and published hours ↗ Primary source www.nikuyarooftop.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Nikuya: access and reservation conditions ↗ Primary source resy.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Nikuya Rooftop: Google Maps listing ↗ Primary source www.google.com · Accessed September 28, 2026