Introduction to Jo’Seon Wagyu Omakase
The Dallas Design District’s newest steak restaurant, Jo’Seon Wagyu Omakase, takes decadence to new heights. Guests will choose 12 or 18 courses — even at lunchtime. Many include bites of Wagyu. There’s Wagyu with foie gras, bone marrow butter and scallop. Wagyu with fried garlic flakes. Wagyu with shaved truffle. Wagyu brisket. Wagyu short rib. A Wagyu burger. And more.
The restaurant offers nine cuts of Wagyu. Those who choose the 18-course tasting — available only in the private rooms — can expect to eat about 20 ounces of beef. Lunch starts at $140 per person. For the most decadent dinner option, the price is $280, making it one of the most expensive tasting menus in Dallas-Fort Worth.
The Dining Experience
A meal here is rich, to be sure. To help diners stomach so many courses of buttery beef, executive chef-partner Danny Shin offers a zippy palate cleanser of marinated cherry tomatoes mid-meal. Shin said he often feels hungry after going to an omakase restaurant — and he visited several on a research trip to Seoul.
You won’t go hungry in Dallas. “When somebody comes to my restaurant,” Shin said, “they get full.” Shin shows his Korean heritage in a comforting dish of galbi zzim, made with braised beef and soy sauce sweetened by kiwi and pear. The restaurant’s earliest diners said it was a favorite, the chef said.
Hungry? You’d better be before a meal at Jo’Seon Wagyu Omakase in Dallas. The 12- and 18-course menus include many portions of beef. Vegetarians and vegans, take note: Jo’Seon does not have meat-free options.
Christine Vo / Staff Photographer
Dinner as a Show
Beyond the big, beefy menu, dinner at Jo’Seon is “a show,” said owner Mike Baird. He’s operated more than 60 restaurant franchises in his career, including Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Ruby Tuesday and Soulman’s Bar-B-Que. Jo’Seon is the most upscale restaurant he’s owned.
A 35-foot-wide screen in the main room shows AI videos, from cows grazing to serene cherry blossom trees to cartoon children singing “Happy Birthday.” Guests can customize the screens in the private rooms.
JP Park, general manager and beverage director at Jo’Seon Wagyu Omakase, makes a drink named Saturn.
Christine Vo / Staff Photographer
Cocktails and Drinks
Jo’Seon, pronounced jo-sun, is named for Korea’s longest-lasting dynasty. General manager and beverage director JP Park created a theatrical list of drinks to match the tasting menu. One drink called Saturn is made in a shaker shaped like a rocket ship. The base billows with smoke as if it’s time for takeoff, and the drink of gin, velvet falernum, lemon, orgeat and passionfruit is poured into a cup shaped like an astronaut.
