A Taste of Katei ― One of Fort Worth’s Best Kept Secrets

Welcome home to Katei Omakase, which opened mid-February, inside The Tower in downtown Fort Worth. The new restaurant blends Latin flavors with a remarkable 20-course Japanese feast. Omakase-style dining is trendy right now, and Katei is right on point ― one of Fort Worth’s most authentic new additions.

The new omakase restaurant is hidden. A bit of an Easter egg in the downtown landscape. It’s found just above Polanco Mexican inside The Tower, located at 570 Throckmorton Street.

In fact, Katei is owned by the same family-run Azteca Concepts. When you arrive for your omakase meal, you’ll enter through Polanco (which opened in September of 2025) and wait in their first-floor social club until it’s time to be escorted up to Katei’s hidden world.

Cocktails and Canapés at Katei

A sake-based welcome cocktail awaits you in the burgundy-hued lounge decorated with floating shelves, Japanese accents, and moody table lamps. Scattered two-top tables allow visitors to mingle and slowly prepare for the communal feast yet to come.

The format of the meal is explained, and hot hand towels bloom before your eyes. Here, you are treated to three canapés before being shown into the dining space. At this point, the drama of the evening begins to embrace you.

The night we dined, a show-stopping oyster was topped with puffed rice and a Tamarindo espuma with a dusting of togarashi spice. Next, a lean toro tartar was presented in a puffed rice pillow topped with Siberian caviar. Finally, a grilled Shiro miso-marinated nopales (cactus base) was topped with a sweet Hokkaido scallop formed into a rose with a bit of achiote oil.

Guests can peruse the drink menu to select either a bottle or a glass of whiskey, sake, or wine to accompany their main meal. Or choose a pairing of sake, Japanese whisky, wine, or premium sake. The reserve sakes are high-dollar and hard-to-find. Several selections are exclusive to Katei, ranging from $340 to $2250 per bottle.

Japanese Hospitality and Service at Katei

Colombian-born Cris Marino is the executive chef at Katei. He envisioned the experience along with his business partner, Omri Geva. Geva is an award-winning bartender as well as a Sake Sommelier (which is still a rarity in America). He manages the front-of-house and beverage program, featuring some truly over-the-top selections. If you’re not sure whether you even like sake ― you do ― you’ve just never tasted the good stuff.

Marino says that over the past five years, he has focused on mastering the art of omakase. First, learning the craft as sous chef at Philip Franklin Lee’s famed Sushi by Scratch inside The Adolphus Hotel in Dallas.

He was also mentored by Ilwon Suhr, who is one of the co-owners of Fort Worth’s other new omakase sensation, Yoichi on Magnolia. Suhr helped develop the sushi program and Reunion Tower’s Crown Block. He says Suhr was “trained at the Tsuji Culinary Institute in Osaka and worked in Japan for over 20 years,” and credits this culinary mentorship for sparking his passion for the omakase experience.

“Katei bridges the tradition and precision of Japanese cuisine with the vibrant flair of Latin American cuisine,” Marino tells Fort Worth Digital Diary. “Katei, which is pronounced “kah-tay” for short, translates to home, household, or family. It represents our desire to offer the refined, warm Latin/Southern hospitality you would experience when dining in our own homes.”

It’s Dinner and a Show at Katei

Once shown to your seat and take in the view of downtown, you are presented with your beverage of choice. As you enjoy a palate-cleansing broth ― the real show begins.

Sharp knives, boxes filled with colorful chilled fish, special sauces and seasoning, flaming torches, and constantly cleaned surfaces. Sushi chefs work in unison to prepare a nigiri feast you won’t soon forget. Each presentation is explained. The conversation is casual, and a few dad jokes entertain throughout your perfectly paced meal.

One diner seated near us was left-handed. He was impressed that the chef immediately picked up on which hand was being used and made a quick adjustment ― presenting each nigiri selection positioned perfectly for that diner. Other personal preferences and dietary must-haves are noted and accommodated.

Creatively Styled Nigiri With Latin Flair

I won’t list every fish or its preparation. The mystery of an omakase journey is half the fun, after all. But these were a few of my personal favorites.

First, the Hachibiki (ruby fish) is a prized catch in Japan. With its brilliant hue, it was simply salted with a hint of spice. Vancouver prawns were torched and caramelized to perfection. While the Oro King Salmon from Old Glory Bay simply melted in your mouth.

The Chu Toro sourced from Nagasaki was succulent tuna belly slathered in a sweet soy reduction with a completely unexpected touch of  Mexican Piloncillo brown sugar. Likewise, the cultural mash-up included a Kagoshima-sourced Hamachi, which was topped with grated Mexican chocolate, torched and dressed with fresh lemon zest, making for one amazing bite.

For dessert a tres leches inspired moment. “The combination of torched Texas toast soaking up cream, paired with vanilla ice cream and our farewell tea, is meant to bring guests back home to Texas after their Latin-Japanese culinary journey,” Marino says.

An Unforgettable Dining Experience

Your meal can be elevated even further with special additions like premium caviar and grated black truffle. Plus, a few extra offerings of seasonal delicacies might be offered toward the end of your meal, for an added fee. When Chef Marino gets his hands on something unique, he can’t wait to share it.

A standard seating runs $185 plus tax, plus drinks, and any upgrades. But the expertly trained staff assures it will be a memorable meal with top-notch service. You’ll leave feeling spoiled.

The rest of the team includes Chef Enrico “Rico” Garcia, one of Katei’s other talented sushi chefs. The sous chef is Abraham Gomez. While John and Jennifer serve as your hosts and bartenders for your evening. Marino tells Fort Worth Digital Diary, “They are an integral part of our small, close-knit team, and I am incredibly proud of them.”

Katei is open Tuesday through Saturday (closed Sunday and Monday). Your choice of seating time is either Tuesday through Thursday, with one seating at 7 pm, or Friday and Saturday, with two seatings at 6 pm and 8:30 pm. Katei operates strictly by reservation via Resy. And with just 10 seats at this fantasy dining venue, those book up fast.