How this sushi restaurant won Star-Telegram Readers’ Choice for best in Fort Worth
Tommy Zheng and Donny Wu knew what they were doing when they opened Hush Sushi, Kitchen & Bar in Keller. After all, the married couple has been in the restaurant business since they were 5 years old.
As kids, they each helped their Chinese immigrant parents run takeout and buffet restaurants in New York City.
“That’s kind of where we have our history. We both grew up very similarly,” Wu said. “We were those little kids that were behind the counter when you go into Asian carryout stores. That was me.”
So many years later, their restaurant Hush — which opened last October at 211 S. Main St. — has won the Star-Telegram Readers’ Choice poll for best sushi restaurant with 7,391 total votes over three rounds. But getting here was a long journey, starting with their parents who were lifelong cooks (and later introduced Zheng and Wu).
As young adults, Zheng and Wu worked odd jobs at American restaurants and department stores to save up money for their own restaurant. And when their parents retired and moved to Ohio, the couple followed.
With a lot of saving and a bit of help from their parents, the couple opened several Ohio businesses over 10 years of marriage, including a Japanese steakhouse, a hot dog restaurant and an ice cream parlor. Wu also had a charcuterie catering business and an online clothing boutique while the couple managed real estate properties.
But after working seven days a week for years, the couple found themselves overworked and unsatisfied. The COVID-19 shutdown was the first break they had had in years, Wu said.
“Tommy and I looked at each other and said, ‘We have all this great success, all these properties, all these restaurants. What the hell are we doing?’” Wu said. “We weren’t happy in Ohio. We wanted to move somewhere warmer, and we just needed a change.”
The couple knew Texas was a growing state. When they visited Keller for the first time, it was “love at first sight,” Wu said.
“Keller was very similar to what we were familiar with in Ohio,” Wu said. “A small town with lots of great opportunities that are available with a long history, and where we can have our kids go to school right down the street. We wanted to do a family restaurant.”
The couple had previously thought of creating Hush six years before as a sushi and lounge nightclub in downtown Columbus, Ohio. They developed a menu and started looking into a space, but with two young kids, they realized it wouldn’t be realistic to work a nightclub until 3 a.m.
Instead, they brought their Hush concept to Keller.
The 7,000-square-foot restaurant seats around 240 people. Friday and Saturday nights are reservations only, given the restaurant’s popularity.
The couple designed the restaurant hoping to achieve an organic, modern and contemporary look. A mix of black leather booths and curved back chairs fill the main dining area, and dark wood tables are set with wine glasses, candles and blue plates to match blue tiled walls for a pop of color.
“Good thing (the Ohio nightclub) didn’t work out, because we’re much happier here,” said Wu, now 32 years old.
In the evening, the music gets a little louder and the lights get a little dimmer, Wu said. It’s still meant to be a place for families to feel comfortable, but Wu said guests can also dress up and come to the restaurant for a nice date or special occasion.
Wu describes the restaurant’s Asian-American fusion menu as “extremely eclectic.” The menu features authentic Japanese sushi and non-traditional sushi with an American spin that features sauces, cream cheese and fried ingredients. It also includes burgers, steak, Japanese udon noodles and various family recipes.
Hush rainbow rolls are the most popular menu item, Wu said.
“They’re basic and clean, but really good with a citrusy sauce, five types of assorted fish, real snow crab and cucumber avocado,” Wu said.
But if you’re not into raw fish, Wu says another favorite are the “hot chicks,” which are chicken fingers and cream cheese in a soy wrap topped with avocado. Meals range from $20 to $30.
And the restaurant has an extensive bar menu with several handcrafted cocktails, a whiskey wall, a wine wall and a Japanese sake wall. The most popular cocktails include a pineapple mojito and a purple mango drink. The most expensive whiskey available goes for $130 per half ounce.
The couple curated the entire menu themselves — and they never went to culinary school or received any formal training, other than growing up beside their entrepreneur parents and watching many cooking videos on YouTube.
“If we would have started in Texas with our very first restaurant, it would not have been like this,” Wu said. “It would have been very, very different. We did everything ourselves. We designed the entire restaurant.”
Wu said she thinks their restaurants have been successful because she and her husband work well together, not just as a family, but also as business partners. While husband Zheng is the executive chef and runs the back of the house, Wu manages the front.
Once a month, the restaurant hosts traditional Japanese omakase dinners, which feature 12 to 16 courses selected and prepared by Zheng. Omakase is a Japanese phrase that means “I leave it up to you.”
The private dining experience is available for a room of 35 guests. Zheng brings in fresh fish from around the world, including Japan, Korea and Spain. The experience costs $200 to $300 per person, depending on what items are featured.
Zheng and Wu sold most of their Ohio businesses when they moved to North Texas, except one Japanese steakhouse they still operate.
When asked why Wu thinks the restaurant won the Star-Telegram Readers’ Choice vote, she said it must be because of the experience.
“It’s a full-service restaurant with an inviting feel,” Wu said. “We’re always present. We’re always at every table.”
The Readers’ Choice poll was close. With nearly 5,200 votes, Sushi River in Keller placed second. The restaurant at 841 North Tarrant Parkway has sushi and poke with a menu that features caterpillar rolls, eel rolls and crazy shrimp rolls.
Fort Worth’s Hatsuyuki Handroll Bar, Sushi Tao and Musume were among the other Top 5 finalists in the poll.
Here are the other 20 Fort Worth-area restaurants that were nominated by readers as having the best sushi in town:
- Ahoyama (Hurst)
- Akarii Revolving Sushi (Mansfield)
- Blue Sushi Saki Grill (Fort Worth)
- Cowtown Sushi (Southlake)
- Edohana Hibachi & Sushi (Fort Worth)
- Everest Sushi Bar and Grill (Fort Worth)
- Hooked On Sushi (Fort Worth)
- Japan House (North Richland Hills)
- Japanese Palace (Fort Worth)
- Little Lilly Sushi (Fort Worth, Keller)
- MK’s Sushi (Fort Worth, Bedford)
- Pacific Table (Fort Worth)
- Pho V Noodle House & Sushi (Bedford)
- Sakura Sushi and Asian Cuisine (Fort Worth)
- Shinjuku Station (Fort Worth)
- Sushi Dojo (Southlake)
- Sushi Sam (Southlake)
- Tokyo Cafe (Fort Worth)
- Wasabi Sushi (Fort Worth)
- Wild Sushi & Ramen (Fort Worth)
This story was originally published July 7, 2023 at 3:18 PM.
