Uchiko Austin

In order to understand just how good dinner at Uchiko was, I need to start at the end – that part of the evening where JP and I made a long list of all of the amazing meals we’ve had on all of the continents we’ve dined on, and couldn’t think of one that topped Uchiko. Ok, now back to the beginning…

Our five year anniversary was last month and we knew right away that we wanted to celebrate it at Uchiko. I had heard great things both before and after we moved to Austin, and the month-long wait to get a reservation told us the food couldn’t be half bad. Plus, to be quite honest, the Seattle-ite in me really, really, really was craving some sushi.

Sunday was finally the night – we got dressed up, dropped our car with Uchiko’s complimentary valet (remember cash for at tip when you go!), and checked in at the hostess station…right next to Lyle Lovett (yes, he’s still around…and apparently also likes sushi). The environment is “Japanese farmhouse,” which accurately described everything from the art to the wood-beam farmhouse benches. And the dining style is tastings – small plates designed to be ~~shared~~ tasted.

JP, after studying all weekend, couldn’t decide which of the many options to choose from, selected the Omakase or Signature Tasting – a fancy term for 4 signature courses and 1 desert selected by the chef. I added to his list with five more courses (yeah, so I might have been slightly hungry). And that’s when the fun began…

Each course came out one at a time, and was delivered by a server as if he or she had walked by our table, noticed we had finished a course, and just happened to have our next course in hand. It was effort less and smooth, and made us feel like we weren’t simply having a meal, but instead were being treated to a dining experience. For an anniversary dinner, neither of us could have asked for more.

Uchiko, however, wasn’t satisfied to let us go with their average dinner. They knew it was our anniversary and treated each of us to a complimentary Madai sushi roll – Japanese bream, shiso, meyer lemon zest, and olive oil. Melt in your mouth good.

medai

That was how we felt about almost every course – unexpected flavors, nothing fishy at all, amazing combinations, and cooked to perfection. My favorite was still the first course we had – The Loup Crudo (mediterranean sea bass, texas grapefruit, avocado, and fennel vinegar).