As sushi bars and omakase counters have proliferated across Texas in recent years, diners have more options than ever for devouring fresh fish with thoughtful preparations. Tuna often plays a starring role, available in multiple types — ahi, bigeye, bluefin — and cuts like akami, toro, otoro and chutoro, designations related to their fat content. But while tuna itself is common across sushi bars, some restaurants are going the extra mile and bringing in whole, massive tunas and performing elaborate breakdowns in front of guests. Consider it dinner and a show.
Whole tunas are coveted prizes at fish markets, including at Toyosu in Tokyo, the most famous fish market in the world. Fishmongers and restaurateurs gather before dawn to bid on whole fish, which can weigh hundreds of pounds. The most expensive tuna ever sold at Toyosu was a 612-pound bluefin that netted a remarkable $3.1 million in 2019, but plenty of more reasonably-priced fish are sold every day in Japan and at other markets in countries like Mexico and Spain.
Yoshi Okai, chef and proprietor of Otoko, a sushi and kaiseki restaurant at the South Congress Hotel in Austin, is one of the state’s tuna breakdown pioneers. He hosted his first public tuna breakdown at Otoko in 2016, but he learned the practice about a decade earlier while working at Uchi.
Namo in Dallas hosts a few tuna breakdowns each year; next up is a February event that benefits a children’s cancer charity, followed by a private buyout in April. On game day, chef Kazuhito “Kaz” Mabuchi and the Namo team set the whole bluefin tuna down on a counter behind the bar so guests can see what’s happening and take pictures and videos of the proceedings. Music plays, drinks flow and the chefs get to work breaking down the fish using a massive tuna knife with a two-foot-long blade. The breakdown itself takes roughly 45 minutes, depending on the size of the fish. Namo typically sources a fish that’s about 150 pounds — any bigger would be difficult to fit inside the small space.
During these events, the restaurant will serve a few hot items, like skewers cooked on a binchotan grill. Once the tuna is ready, guests can snack on different pieces of the fish while the Namo team explains the various cuts and how they impact flavor and texture. The tuna is mostly served raw as nigiri, sashimi and hand rolls, while the collar is grilled. Part of the fun is snacking on cuts you don’t usually see on menus.
“You can try different parts of the fish, including some parts you don’t get at restaurants, like tuna brain, tuna cheek or rib meat,” Mabuchi says. One time, a guest asked to try bone marrow, so the chef opened a bone and made a bite for the curious diner.

Yujo is another Dallas restaurant holding these tuna breakdown events, with a schedule of roughly one per month. Events are posted on social media and the restaurant’s website, and reservations can be booked online. But they sell out fast, so keep your head on a swivel. If you score access, the typical breakdown operates like a high-energy, well-coordinated show, with demos, photos and a special menu.
At Hidden Omakase in Houston, chef Marcos Juarez hosts several whole tuna breakdowns throughout the year. Next up is a public event on February 26, but many are for private customers who buy out the space and hold events for their companies or friends. Recently, a tech company booked both seatings, and Juarez sourced a large tuna that weighed 230 pounds and measured about six feet long. “It was a giant,” he says.
Juarez and his team will compose a menu to maximize utilization of the fish, serving lean, medium and fatty cuts across the loin, belly and cheeks. Over 15 courses, they’ll serve sashimi and nigiri, vegetables and cooked items like grilled collar, and scrape the bones to make hand rolls. When there’s extra fish at the end of the night, guests can request to take home portioned blocks of the tuna.
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Kiln to Table features tasting menus from top chefs, custom ceramics and so much mezcalNorigami is a restaurant and bar from the same team as Hidden, and they too host whole tuna breakdowns, with the next event slated for March 18 (watch for reservation drops on their Instagram). These events follow a similar format, beginning with an in-depth, live demonstration of the breakdown process, followed by a tuna-heavy omakase menu prepared for the occasion.
Hidden Omakase and Norigami source a lot of fish from Toyosu Market, but they’ll typically get whole tunas from Mexico. “The price of bluefin tuna has gotten really high, so we’re now using a buyer that sources from Mexico,” Juarez says. “Some tuna also comes from Spain, but the waters are really warm, so the belly isn’t fatty enough.”
It’s easy to assume that wild-caught fish is superior to farm-raised, but the chefs say it’s not so simple. Wild-caught bluefin is incredibly expensive, and you don’t know what they’re eating. Procuring an ethically-raised farm fish is more sustainable, and suppliers can focus on the fish’s diet and environment. Some suppliers, including one in Japan’s Nagasaki prefecture that’s preferred by Mabuchi, will catch wild bluefin when they’re young then bring the fish to the farm to control their diet and ensure a clean environment until they’re larger and ready to sell.
That means fresh, high-quality fish for you, whether it’s served on the menu or as part of a tuna show. But you can’t beat the visuals of an in-person breakdown.
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