Made pho each other

Popular Riverside pho spot launches new restaurant on former Ruby's BBQ site

Many of Pho Please's dishes will reappear on Sip Pho's menu.

A popular stretch of Guadalupe Street is getting a new look. Sip Pho, from the husband-and-wife team behind Riverside Drive’s popular Pho Please, will debut February 21 at 512 W. 29th St. — the site long-held by Ruby’s BBQ before it shuttered in February 2018.

A release notes that fans of Pho Please will find plenty of old favorites at Sip. Instead of drafting a menu from scratch, co-owners Anh Nguyen and Tien Do brought over many of the same offerings as the original shop, including the 15-hour bone broths. The new brand, however, allowed Nguyen to stretch his kitchen creativity. A “chef’s choice” selection will boast decadent dishes like pho made with grass-fed Texas Wagyu.

“My intent is to honor our heritage, but present authentic food in a modern way,” said Nguyen via the release.

That modernization extends to the restaurant’s interior. Since Ruby’s ramshackle bungalow was in too poor a condition to salvage, the pair drafted Austin-based Magic Architecture to help construct a contemporary environment. The exposed Douglas fir wood and heaps of natural light are a contrast to Pho Please’s stark industrial environment. White walls, steel community tables, and concrete floors complete the look.

"Guided by the owner’s interest in simple and clean spaces, the architecture was an exploration of how to make ordinary building parts look extraordinary,” explained Magic's firm principal Scott Magic.

Although the architecture is fresh, Nguyen and Do will not have to get acquainted with the neighborhood. The couple met while Do was studying at the nearby University of Texas campus, and Nguyen was still living in Vietnam. Once Do moved to the United States, he worked at local Vietnamese restaurants before the two opened Pho Please in 2016. According to the release, the couple views their journey as coming back full circle.

“We didn’t want to overly rely on the success of Pho Please — as amazing and humbling as it is," said Do. "What we really want people to understand is that we’re hard-working people out to push ourselves, take new risks – and hopefully elevate the experience our customers feel just a bit as well.”

openings

Fresher Now

Elite omakase counter returns to Austin after rebrand and upgrade

Sushi by Scratch Margarita Kallas-Lee and Phillip Frankland Lee

Photo by Carly Snook

Margarita Kallas-Lee and Phillip Frankland Lee are bringing their elite sushi counter back to Austin.

Sushi by Scratch Restaurants, the omakase spot formerly known as Sushi|Bar, has gone through lots of change in and around Austin since it debuted as a sort of speakeasy in 2020. After a slight rebrand and a physical absence, Sushi by Scratch is returning to Austin in a downtown space starting Friday, December 6.

Sushi|Bar was a big deal right away. The concept, occupying a bar tucked into the space that was already carefully split between Bento Picnic and Saba San's Wine & Sake, was originally a pop-up, but it later decided to stay. It was sexier the more elusive it was — and with the constant bookings reaching a waitlist of 25,000 by the restaurant's count, it became very elusive.

Part of its draw was name recognition for chef-owner Phillip Frankland Lee, who competed on Top Chef; he shared ownership with his wife, Margarita Kallas-Lee, who has since become one of Austin's favorite pastry chefs.

Sushi|Bar was the couple's introduction to Austin since moving from Los Angeles, but they quickly started building a new empire here, including Pasta|Bar, NADC Burger, and Wolf and Wheat (which has since closed to continue meeting baking demands for the other two restaurants).

As reported by Eater, the couple sold Sushi|Bar in 2021, and it eventually took over the whole space. The former owners rebranded existing locations to Sushi By Scratch, opening a new location in Cedar Creek — specifically, that location's at Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa. A December 3 press release explains that this absence from Austin was to fulfill a noncompete agreement, which has now been completed.

Sushi by Scratch will make its comeback at 603 Brazos St., right behind 6th Street businesses like Eureka! and Voodoo Doughnut. Sushi|Bar at the Hyatt Regency will remain open, too.

The downtown menu features 21 courses in total; four canapés will be served in the lounge, and 17 more courses will be served at the the sushi counter. About a dozen of those sushi items are new.

According to the release, Frankland Lee and Margarita Kallas-Lee gathered inspiration for the new menu items while traveling around the world. In addition, Frankland Lee has spent time working with sushi chefs in Japan over the past three years.

Some new items, both in the lounge and at the sushi bar include an edible cocktail experience; Japanese jellyfish with soy sauce, lemon, and sea salt; a medium-rare Wagyu with a sauce made of local egg yolk, soy, scallion, and black truffle; Japanese bigfin reef squid that is cut as small as sushi rice, with ponzu made with imported cherry blossoms and local cherries; and a yuzu creamsicle and tonka bean custard.

Products from other Austin businesses will make an appearance. CM Smokehouse contributes brisket, and Vacancy Brewing presents a co-branded Japanese-style rice lager.

The performance aspect of fine dining is alive and well in the new restaurant, where chefs will carve an aged piece of tuna that hangs on display in the lounge, or cut and season rice so that guests can see it before trying it.

Beverages will be available for an optional pairing, including sakes and Japanese whiskies, among "other libations."

Sushi by Scratch Restaurants will offer downtown seatings at 5 pm, 7:15 pm, and 9 pm. Reservations are available via Tock. Reservations require a $25 deposit that will be applied to the check after dinner, along with a 20 percent service fee.

sushi omakase fine dining