A restaurant on Dallas' Ross Avenue is doing a refresh with a new menu and new-ish chef: Alice, the intimate Asian restaurant that opened in 2018, is pushing into the post-pandemic world with a new menu from new executive chef Ashkan Moeinearaghi. So much new.

The menu is centered around sushi, sashimi, and nigiri — which follows given that Moeinearaghi was previously sushi chef for Alice, which he joined in 2021.

"We're flipping the Pan-Asian script by experimenting with ingredients, presentations, and combinations rarely seen on the local level," he says.

Alice opened in the former Joyce & Gigi's space at 1623 N. Ross Ave. initially under the aegis of This & That Hospitality (High Fives, The Whipper Snapper, Tiny Victories), although founder Brian Rutt has more decisively seized the reins.

In a statement, Rutt says that Moeinearaghi was a pistol in the kitchen.

"We hired this relatively young chef new to the U.S. post shutdown, and I watched him grow into an incredible leader in the kitchen," Rutt says. "He would always come up with interesting new ideas and we gave him the opportunity to add his own style to the menu."

Born in Iran, Moeinearaghi moved to the U.S. in 2015, first starting out as a line cook at a Japanese curry house in California, before moving on to a country club where he created new menu items every 10 days.

Standout dishes on Alice's new menu include:

Alice has a new beverage menu from bar manager Ricky Cleva, with a mule featuring Espolon Reposado, mango, Thai chili, ginger beer, lime, and a Lychee Martini with Tito’s, lychee, grapefruit, and lime. In addition, the bar boasts sake and wines from California, Italy, and France.

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