The first clue that Houston’s hottest sushi empire might be operating a little differently comes in the form of rubber ducks. Not diminutive, stylish ducks either. Superhero ducks. Collectible ducks. Ducks inside Dubai’s claw machines. Ducks that customers trade like baseball cards. There is even an Emirati-made duck with its own Instagram account that apparently flies first class around the world.

In the hands of any other restaurant group, all of this could seem gimmicky. But for Duckstache Hospitality co-founders and head chefs Daniel Lee and Patrick Pham, the ducks make perfect sense. They are the mascots of the hospitality group, which got its name from the combination of Lee’s nickname, “Ducky,” and Pham’s distinct handlebar mustache. The friends have spent the last eight years breaking down the idea that great sushi has to come with stiff service, reverent dining rooms, and a persistent fear that you might somehow be holding your chopsticks wrong.

The duo behind Kokoro, Aiko, Doko, Bar Doko, Himari, and Handies Douzo has created some of the city’s most respected sushi while making diners feel like they accidentally wandered into a really good dinner party. “We wanted people to be loud and enjoy themselves,” says Pham. “If you think about your favorite dinners with friends, that’s part of the experience. You shouldn’t have to sit quietly the whole time.”

That playfulness has become one of their hallmarks. At a time when many high-end sushi restaurants still lean heavily into minimalism and formality, Lee and Pham built a hospitality group where chefs joke with guests across the counter, music fills the room, and the atmosphere feels relaxed. The food, however, remains obsessively serious. “We always say it’s serious food without the serious ambiance,” Pham says. 

What started as late-night conversations between two overworked sushi chefs has quietly evolved into one of the city’s fastest-growing restaurant groups, with international expansion already underway. Encouraged by overseas partners who spotted a gap in the Middle Eastern sushi market, Lee and Pham now operate three locations in Dubai. An Abu Dhabi outpost is next, with at least three more Middle Eastern openings planned by year’s end. The duo is also opening their first European restaurant in Cannes, France, in July. 

Back home, the group is expanding in Houston just as quickly. EaDo and Post Oak will each get their own Handies Douzo outposts, and the Galleria area will be home to the second Himari within the next eight to 10 months, joining existing Duckstache locations in Independence Heights, Montrose, White Oak, and Spring Branch.

What makes Duckstache Hospitality’s growth even more impressive is that none of it feels corporate. Lee still talks like a chef who accidentally became an international restaurateur, and Pham says he learns something new in the restaurants every day. The friends first worked together at Uchi, where Lee jokes that Pham was technically his boss. “He used to be my head sushi chef,” Lee says. “I started when I was like 15 or 16 as a dishwasher. I’ve been doing sushi for almost 25 years now.”

After a few years together, the conversations about opening their own restaurant became more frequent. “It was late-night drunk talk, and I think every chef wants to open their own concept eventually,” Lee adds. Those conversations eventually led to Secret Taste, an omakase pop-up they launched in 2018, before private chef dinners became trendy during the pandemic. They invited friends and family, cooked meals with quality ingredients, and suddenly found themselves with a waitlist of 5,000 people.

The momentum led to Kokoro, inside Downtown’s Bravery Chef Hall. “We were just two young kids joking around,” Pham says. “And then, the first month we broke the record for food hall sales in Houston.”

Part of their success comes from an innate understanding of something many restaurants overlook: people want exceptional food, but they also want to feel comfortable. Their philosophy is most on display at Handies Douzo, one of the first hand roll bars in the Bayou City. The cozy restaurants are energetic, interactive, and affordable enough that customers can become regulars rather than save visits for special occasions. “We want to see you three times a week,” Pham says. “Not once every quarter.”

Keeping prices affordable has become a point of pride. Despite inflation and rising seafood costs, the core menu at Handies Douzo has remained the same price since opening day. “A lot of people ask how we do that,” Pham says. “We’re trying to do everything we can on our end before the customer has to pay for it.”

Service at their restaurants appears deceptively simple, but the chefs obsess over quality in ways that are almost comical—testing everything from humidity levels and air conditioning to the exact timing between courses. They even researched seaweed vendors extensively before selecting a higher-priced brand that they still use today. “We’re chefs before business people, and taste matters most,” Pham says.

Both Lee and Pham say one of the hardest lessons is letting go. When the group expanded internationally, they were forced to rely on the teams they had built in Houston. Dubai changed their mindset. During their first overseas trips, Pham admits he was convinced everything back home would fall apart while they were gone. “It didn’t, and that was a huge moment for us,” he says.

Even with packed restaurants and accolades, the pressure never really disappears. Opening new restaurants is exciting, but maintaining quality is what keeps Lee awake at night.

Though international growth is ramping up, both chefs still love Houston and speak of it with the excitement of people who truly believe the city’s food scene is just getting started. “I always wanted to be a pioneer,” Pham says. “Houston is such a great city for restaurants because there’s so much diversity and culture here.”

That ambition has expanded beyond their restaurants. Earlier this year, they launched the Duckstache Foundation to support food and hospitality organizations. Their inaugural Duckstache Golf Jam charity event at Bluejack National in April raised $320,000, benefiting Southern Smoke Foundation, Rock-In-Hood, and Houston’s First Baptist Food Bank. The foundation hopes to reach $500,000 in total fundraising by the end of the year.

What started as late-night conversations over beer and cigarettes after finishing their shifts has turned into a flock of restaurants stretching from Houston to Dubai. Somehow, Pham and Lee, who handle the daily grind with the expertise of seasoned veterans, still make it all feel a bit whimsical. Together, they prove that world-class sushi, rubber ducks, and a deliciously good time can absolutely coexist.

Hand Rolls 101

Houston diners now inhale hand rolls like seasoned pros, but when Handies Douzo first opened in 2019, chefs Patrick Pham and Daniel Lee had to teach some Houstonians the dos and don’ts of hand roll etiquette.

• Eat with your hands—chopsticks aren’t necessary.
• Eat your hand roll right away. The seaweed and rice should be warm, and the fish should be cold.
• Bite into the hand roll like it owes you money. Aim to finish in three hearty mouthfuls.
• Never cut a hand roll in half.
• Never take a hand roll to go.