Head chef of one of Austin's most popular sushi restaurants leaves to start her own

After helping make Sushi | Bar a sensation among a segment of Austin sushi lovers and chasers of The Next Cool Thing, chef Ambrely Ouimette has left the East Austin restaurant to pursue new opportunities.

The Hudson Valley, New York native originally came to Austin to help open the exclusive 10-seat omakase that was originally hosted in the back of Bento Box at 2600 E. Cesar Chavez St. The owners had initially planned to open the Austin version of the restaurant with chef-partner Phiilp Frankland Lee as a pop-up. But the Austin iteration that opened the last week of 2020 caught Instagram fire, propelled in part by a post by Joe Rogan, and reservations soon became nearly impossible to score. Sushi | Bar owners decided to stay for the long haul.

Lee’s partnership ended about a year after the restaurant opened, with the chef and his wife, Margarita Kallas-Lee, striking out on their own to open the similar Sushi by Scratch at the Hyatt Lost Pines and tasting-menu restaurant Pasta | Bar. Ouimette, who had been working with the restaurant since opening, took the reigns at Sushi | Bar, creating a new series of sushi dishes and eventually developing the menu at Sushi | Bar’s Miami Beach outlet.

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The 33 year-old Ouimette, who has been making sushi since she was 16, got her professional start in Gloucester, Mass. working for the Serenity Restaurant Group and later operated a pop-up omakase in Portland, Maine along with a temaki food truck before moving to Austin. Her precision plating, knife skills and thoughtful but affable service style helped sustain Sushi | Bar’s early popularity.

During her three years in Austin, Ouimette, who left Sushi | Bar in June, fell in love with the city that had warmly welcomed her talent and passion. She is currently looking for a space to create her own omakase-based restaurant.

“I have fallen in love with Austin and the guests I have been able to build relationships with over the three years as executive chef at sushi bar,” Ouimette told the American-Statesman. “The community and culture in Austin drive me to continue my career and path in this ever-growing city. I’ve known for a long time I wanted to open my own spot and I’ve finally found my home. I can’t wait to show everyone what is next. I look forward to releasing more information as it come closer to the project’s opening.”

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Sushi | Bar is owned by Adept Hospitality, an offshoot of Adept Private Equity, an L.A. and Las Vegas-based company with investments in several hospitality brands. The Austin location of Sushi | Bar expanded its footprint in April, taking over the entire space that was once home to Bento Picnic. The larger space, which includes a new full bar and waiting area, allowed the restaurant to open a second 10-seat sushi bar, which has allowed the restaurant to more than double its number of available reservations each week, thus making them a little easier to snag than once before.

A representative from Sushi | Bar said that the company, which plans to open locations in Dallas and Chicago later this year, has not named a new head sushi chef for the Austin location, though Ouimette’s staff remains. The new locations, along with the Austin location, are being overseen by Francis Arguilla, who has been running Miami operations since opening, according to a rep.

“Comfort is an inhibitor of evolution; and as we look at the months ahead filled with exciting new growth, we will embrace this added change for the opportunity that is provides us at Sushi | Bar,” ownership said in a statement emailed to the American-Statesman. “We wish chef Ouimette nothing but success in her next endeavor.”

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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin chef Ambrely Ouimette leaves Sushi | Bar, plans new restaurant