Temakeria restaurant in Dallas allows visitors to feel like comic book characters. The unusual interior looks as if it was drawn with a black felt-tip pen on white paper, which became the main feature of the place. Here, you can not only enjoy delicious Japanese cuisine but also take some interesting photos for your Instagram. Learn more about it on dallas1.one.
About the owner
Temakeria restaurant opened in May 2023 and is part of the Trinity Groves complex in West Dallas. The owner of the restaurant is Julian Rodarte. He started cooking at a young age. His father worked as a cook and his mother was a waitress. Therefore, during his childhood, Julian spent a lot of time with his parents at work. After returning home, he joined his father in preparing dinner.
From the age of fourteen Julian started working as a dishwasher. A year later, he got a job as a bartender and cook in another restaurant. Since then, he began to thoroughly study the restaurant business.
At the age of 20, Julian entered the Culinary Institute of America (CIA). After graduation, he worked in a steak house in an elite hotel. Then he started working in a new popular restaurant chain that was looking for a young chef with a fresh vision. Julian was involved in the development of dishes and sauces and studied the work of the restaurant business from the inside. In the future, this helped him to start his own business.
Restaurant’s concept
The name is a combination of the words temaki and taqueria. The first are the simple hand-rolled rolls made in the shape of a cone. Taquerias are Mexican cafes that serve tacos. The menu fully corresponds to the concept of the establishment because here they offer to try rolls shaped like tacos.
The area of Temakeria is 1,694 square feet. There are comfortable tables for lunch or dinner, a sushi bar for eight persons and a cozy patio with scenic views of Dallas and the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. Julian’s wife Alexa Rodarte was engaged in interior design. She said that she was inspired by the Greem Cafe in Seoul, which is famous on social networks. It took a little more than a year to bring the idea to life.
All walls, furniture and small details, in particular straws, napkins, sockets are painted in white and their contours are highlighted with black stripes. Thanks to this, the restaurant resembles a comic book or cartoon. Artist Jonathan Crown was invited to create the drawings. His work lasted more than two months. The artist spent about 50 markers. Having painted the cafe from floor to ceiling, he even depicted windows, bookshelves, a fireplace and an aquarium.
Lighting also plays a big role in creating a two-dimensional picture. Every square inch of the room needs to be uniformly brightly lit for the illusion to work properly.
Temakeria’s cuisine
The only colorful things in Temakeria are delicious dishes and drinks. The menu is Japanese cuisine and consists of sushi, sashimi, ramen, as well as temaki, which is the main dish of the establishment. There are also vegetarian dishes.
Temaki is prepared in a sheet of nori, which is twisted like a taco. They are decorated with fish, crab sticks, caviar or vegetables. Temaki are quite large so you should be prepared that the filling may fall out while eating. The dish is served in a special holder that also looks like it is painted. Designer Taylor Dobson worked on its development and used organic plant-based PLA material to create the temaki holder, which is completely safe and can be used for serving food.
Thus, Temakeria attracts visitors with an interesting interior and makes them come back thanks to the delicious cuisine.