The Frisco restaurant opened Christmas Eve 2022 and is owned by Chef Leo Kekoa and Kyle Choi.
On the menu
Head chef Jinwoo Hong said the top three menu items at Kinzo are their mini omakase, cold tastings and nigiri. The most popular cold tasting is hamachi chili featuring yellowtail and thai chili. Kinmedai nigiri, featuring golden eye snapper, is also a crowd pleaser.
Kinzo uses fresh fish flown in daily from Toykyo’s Toyosu Market.
“We have a fish station in the back with a cutting board and running water so we can clean the fish and take off the scales,” Hong said. “Once that is done, we bring it out and filet or cure the fish in the sushi bar.”
Hong said Kekoa created all the recipes for the menu, which is updated twice a year. Chef collections vary daily. Kekoa often finds culinary inspiration while traveling internationally. Following trips, he’ll present the inspired ingredients to the Kinzo sushi chefs to create new recipes.
“The last time he went to Spain, he was able to get very good quality truffles,” Hong said. “We were able to make three or four new recipes using it.”
What’s special about it?
Hong likens omakase to performances.
“Every omakase—I perform. It’s not only the food that I'm serving, I'm also serving the vibe and service,” Hong said. “I talk to customers and have a lot of chances to educate them about fish—why I chose this fish, or why I don't have that fish in this season. They get to see how I slice fish, how I make nigiri. They get to see everything.”
The background
Hong met Kekoa when they both worked at Nobu Dallas.
“Chef [Kekoa] asked me on the second day of working together [at Nobu] if I wanted to join him if he opened a restaurant. I wanted to be polite so I said ‘yes’,” Hong said. “Five years later, he opened the restaurant and he brought that promise up. My answer was still yes.”
- 14111 King Road, Ste. 2200, Frisco
- www.kinzosushi.com
