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A piece of sushi with a pink fish on rice and a dollop of green wasabi.
A bite from Toshokan.
Nadia Chaudhury/Eater Austin

12 Fancy Tasting Menus to Try Around Austin

From omakase to pasta courses

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A bite from Toshokan.
| Nadia Chaudhury/Eater Austin

Though Austin is a town known for its casual dining scene, the abundance of culinary talent and Texas ingredients lends well to tasting menus.

Multi-course tasting menus offer chefs a chance to guide diners through a culinary story or showcase the freshest ingredients of the season. Tasting menus often bring to mind restaurants like Clarksville’s Wink, an Austin staple for 21 years, or chef Bryce Gilmore’s Barley Swine, but they can also encompass more playful takes, like Foreign & Domestic’s nose-to-tail option.

Of course, Japanese restaurants usually offer a version of a tasting menu with multi-course omakase, featuring the freshest fish of the day. From South Lamar standby Uchi to South Congress Hotel’s sleek Otoko, there are several options to try the chef’s choice sushi around town.

For other special-occasion meals, take a look at date-night recommendations, splurges that are worth it, or restaurants to visit with parents.

Health experts consider dining out to be a high-risk activity for the unvaccinated; it may pose a risk for the vaccinated, especially in areas with substantial COVID transmission. The latest CDC guidance is here; find a COVID-19 vaccination site here.

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Barley Swine

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James Beard Award-nominated chef Bryce Gilmore’s high-end Brentwood restaurant has a multi-course, $115 tasting menu showcasing seasonal flavors, with an optional $60 beverage pairing. Current dishes include mushroom chips with smoked trout bellies, yellowtail ceviche with field peas, and Akaushi ribeye. There are indoor dine-in services. Book reservations online.

Foreign & Domestic

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This North Loop favorite offers a $49 “nose-to-tail” tasting menu using oft-ignored cuts of meat from chefs Sarah Heard and Nathan Lemley. The four courses include dishes like pasta with goat heart bolognese and foie gras mousse. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in services. Book reservations online.

Tsuke Edomae

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Arguably the most difficult reservation to get in Austin, chef Michael Che offers an intimate 11-course omakase experience at this Mueller restaurant with relatively ungarnished edomae-style sushi (which uses curing methods developed during the Edo period of Japan). The fully immersive experience, which includes a soundtrack reflective of Che’s emotions, is $99 per person, and unfortunately, the chef is going on a break starting January 2023 into the summer. There are indoor dine-in services. Book reservations online.

A piece of uni sushi.
An uni piece from Tsuke Edomae.
Nadia Chaudhury/Eater Austin

Offering fine dining for 21 years, the Clarksville New American restaurant has five-course ($80) and seven-course ($112) tasting menus centered on seasonal ingredients that can be customized based on diet, including items like duck breast with rosemary-butternut cobbler or crab cakes with a roasted eggplant salad and grilled bok choy. Wine pairings are $50 and $70, respectively. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in services. Book reservations online.

Tonari at Uroko

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The MLK-183 neighborhood Japanese restaurant within Springdale General brought back its in-person 45-minute omakase service courtesy of its new slightly larger space Tonari. This means a quick yet exquisite 12 courses of nigiri from chefs Masazumi Saio and Takehiro Asazu. There are indoor dine-in services. Book reservations online.

Toshokan

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One of Austin’s newer omakase spots is this new hidden East Austin restaurant within the Native, from chef Saine Wong. The 14-course $135 meal span new-school bites such as spot prawns served two ways, raw fish topped with fresh wasabi, and the decadent bone marrow and potato pave bite. There are indoor dine-in services. Book reservations online.

APT 115

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Under chef Charles Zhuo, the East Austin wine bar expanded its food menu to include more upscale and creative New American bites available a la carte, but also through the new multi-course tasting menu. It’s $125 per person, $175 with wine pairings, and $225 for higher-end wine pairings. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in services. Book reservations online.

Austin’s classic sushi restaurant from James Beard Award-winner Tyson Cole offers an omakase menu at market price (its sibling restaurant, Uchiko, does the same). Both offer indoor and outdoor dine-in services. There are takeout omakases for two as well. Book reservations online.

Juniper

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East Austin Italian restaurant Juniper has a nine-course tasting menu for $125 (with an optional $75 wine pairing) — reserving in advance is required. Recent dishes include choices like bucatini alla gricia, poached halibut, and a fig tartlet. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in services. Book reservations online.

Sushi|Bar ATX

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One of the more difficult reservations to get in Austin, intimate Holly omakase within the Bento Picnic space is a great way to go all-out on dinner. Chef Ambrely Ouimette turns out creative bites precisely adorned with ingredients like marigold flowers or fermented peppers. The multi-course omakase is $145 per person. There are indoor dine-in services. Book reservations online.

Walk through the dark and sophisticated South Congress Hotel to find the burst of hidden light at chef Yoshi Okai’s twelve-seat tasting table restaurant. Otoko only offers two options, the $295 sushi omakase on Wednesdays or the $250 general omakase available on other days. Book tickets online.

The gorgeous South First restaurant that focuses on local ingredients offers a five-course family-style chef’s New Texan menu for $70 per person, with $58 wine pairings. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in services. Book reservations online.

Barley Swine

James Beard Award-nominated chef Bryce Gilmore’s high-end Brentwood restaurant has a multi-course, $115 tasting menu showcasing seasonal flavors, with an optional $60 beverage pairing. Current dishes include mushroom chips with smoked trout bellies, yellowtail ceviche with field peas, and Akaushi ribeye. There are indoor dine-in services. Book reservations online.

Foreign & Domestic

This North Loop favorite offers a $49 “nose-to-tail” tasting menu using oft-ignored cuts of meat from chefs Sarah Heard and Nathan Lemley. The four courses include dishes like pasta with goat heart bolognese and foie gras mousse. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in services. Book reservations online.

Tsuke Edomae

Arguably the most difficult reservation to get in Austin, chef Michael Che offers an intimate 11-course omakase experience at this Mueller restaurant with relatively ungarnished edomae-style sushi (which uses curing methods developed during the Edo period of Japan). The fully immersive experience, which includes a soundtrack reflective of Che’s emotions, is $99 per person, and unfortunately, the chef is going on a break starting January 2023 into the summer. There are indoor dine-in services. Book reservations online.

A piece of uni sushi.
An uni piece from Tsuke Edomae.
Nadia Chaudhury/Eater Austin

Wink

Offering fine dining for 21 years, the Clarksville New American restaurant has five-course ($80) and seven-course ($112) tasting menus centered on seasonal ingredients that can be customized based on diet, including items like duck breast with rosemary-butternut cobbler or crab cakes with a roasted eggplant salad and grilled bok choy. Wine pairings are $50 and $70, respectively. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in services. Book reservations online.

Tonari at Uroko

The MLK-183 neighborhood Japanese restaurant within Springdale General brought back its in-person 45-minute omakase service courtesy of its new slightly larger space Tonari. This means a quick yet exquisite 12 courses of nigiri from chefs Masazumi Saio and Takehiro Asazu. There are indoor dine-in services. Book reservations online.

Toshokan

One of Austin’s newer omakase spots is this new hidden East Austin restaurant within the Native, from chef Saine Wong. The 14-course $135 meal span new-school bites such as spot prawns served two ways, raw fish topped with fresh wasabi, and the decadent bone marrow and potato pave bite. There are indoor dine-in services. Book reservations online.

APT 115

Under chef Charles Zhuo, the East Austin wine bar expanded its food menu to include more upscale and creative New American bites available a la carte, but also through the new multi-course tasting menu. It’s $125 per person, $175 with wine pairings, and $225 for higher-end wine pairings. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in services. Book reservations online.

Uchi

Austin’s classic sushi restaurant from James Beard Award-winner Tyson Cole offers an omakase menu at market price (its sibling restaurant, Uchiko, does the same). Both offer indoor and outdoor dine-in services. There are takeout omakases for two as well. Book reservations online.

Juniper

East Austin Italian restaurant Juniper has a nine-course tasting menu for $125 (with an optional $75 wine pairing) — reserving in advance is required. Recent dishes include choices like bucatini alla gricia, poached halibut, and a fig tartlet. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in services. Book reservations online.

Sushi|Bar ATX

One of the more difficult reservations to get in Austin, intimate Holly omakase within the Bento Picnic space is a great way to go all-out on dinner. Chef Ambrely Ouimette turns out creative bites precisely adorned with ingredients like marigold flowers or fermented peppers. The multi-course omakase is $145 per person. There are indoor dine-in services. Book reservations online.

Otoko

Walk through the dark and sophisticated South Congress Hotel to find the burst of hidden light at chef Yoshi Okai’s twelve-seat tasting table restaurant. Otoko only offers two options, the $295 sushi omakase on Wednesdays or the $250 general omakase available on other days. Book tickets online.

Lenoir

The gorgeous South First restaurant that focuses on local ingredients offers a five-course family-style chef’s New Texan menu for $70 per person, with $58 wine pairings. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in services. Book reservations online.

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