5 Best Restaurants in Austin, Texas

This North Austin sushi joint is the best place to find superior sashimi, sushi rolls, and Japanese cuisine without daunting prices. The izakaya-style menu (an homage to Japan’s casual pub-style eateries) offers a wide range of cold, fried, grilled, and rice dishes. Sit at the sushi bar to watch the experts at work, creating specialties like the crunchy dynamite roll (tuna, avocado, and crunchy tempura flakes), or grab a table to enjoy Japanese comfort food like yakitori skewers (beef tenderloin, chicken thigh, and chicken and taro croquettes), gyoza (pork dumplings), and ikayaki (grilled squid).

Austin’s ramen craze went into full swing a few years ago, and this happening spot was one of the city’s first (and favorite) establishments. Try the “Ol’ Skool,” a chicken-based shoyu ramen with a traditional array of toppings, like aijitama (marinated soft-boiled egg), and optional “flavor bombs” from creamed corn and butter to Thai chili and habanero pepper paste. All ramen varieties are massive, but a small-plate menu offers modest portions of Japanese comfort food, like the Katsu slider (a juicy deep-fried burger on a fluffy Hawaiian roll) and sweet-and-sour “yodas” (fried brussels sprouts with apricot vinegar and curry spice).  

Respectful of traditional sushi and sashimi methods—but not limited by them—this standout sushi bar (and consistently ranked top restaurant in Austin) starts with super-fresh ingredients. After that, anything goes, including touches of the South or south-of-the-border: yellowtail with ponzu sauce and sliced chilies, tempura-style fried green tomatoes, or seared monkfish cheeks with Vietnamese caramel, Belgian endive, roasted red grapes, and cilantro. You can make a tapas-style meal from the cold and hot "tastings" menu. Sit at the sushi bar during the daily sake social hour (4–6:30 pm) and watch the enthusiastic cooks at work. An intimate but welcoming interior and attentive, knowledgeable service seals the deal.

Another rave-worthy hit from the team behind Ramen Tatsu-Ya, this modern take on traditional Japanese hot pot is Austin's long-awaited answer to a new-school shabu-shabu–style destination. The required meal here is in the name: thinly sliced meats and veggies designed for dipping shabu-style in various house-made broths and dips. A decadent omakase menu and sake pairings are also great for date nights.

This spot might have started out as the "little brother” of chef Tyson Cole’s now famed Uchi restaurant, but the contemporary Japanese fusion eatery has become a standard in its own right. Led by the James Beard Award–winning Cole, Uchiko impresses with dishes like Jar Jar Duck, served in a mason jar and opened tableside to release a rosemary-smoke fog that reveals confit and smoked duck amid cracklings, kumquats, and pickled endives. The shareable small plates make for a delightfully playful experience, especially when left up to the experts with the daily omakase (“I trust the chef") menu.