Yet, I was invited to a soft-launch opening by the ladies at Cultivate PR to come and experience Uchiko before it opened. Since I do love me some Uchi I jumped at the chance to get to go. Right off North Lamar between 42nd and 43rd, the exterior of the restaurant is reminiscent of a Japanese style farm-house with modern touches. We walked in and the place was PACKED. It has a great bar, smallish, private rooms in the back of the restaurant and a great room where the sushi bar is located. We parked ourselves at the sushi bar and got started on our grazing plan.
The menu was very interesting and a little more limited than Uchi’s but they did have one thing on the menu that was a must: Pork Belly. J’adore pork belly like it’s my job and I have to say Tyson Cole’s is one of the best I have ever had at Uchi. So, obviously the Bacon Sen which is berkshire pork belly, fried green apple puree and brussel sprout kimchee, was a given. David also wanted the “sear it yourself” wagyu beef that you cook on a hot rock with kaffir lime and sel gris.
Now, what to do next? We had the fortunate opportunity to sit by a chef from the restaurant on his day off and asked what was the one thing we could not leave without trying. He said definitely the pork belly – well yes – and the fried chicken. We looked at him with confusion and then he pointed it out on the menu…Yakitori which is brined half cornish game hen with chayote and peanut. We also chose the Cobia Crudo which is Carribean kingfish with jalapeno and cucumber and the Akime Te with big eye tuna, watermelon, mitsuba and coriander to at least get some sushi since we were at Uchiko.
Akime Ten
Cobia Crudo
Yakitori
Everything, and I repeat everything, was absolutely fresh, delicious, inventive and enjoyable. The tuna and wagyu were fantastic but compared to the cobia, pork belly and yakitori they kind of faded into the background of our food experience. I agree with the chef we met, go for the great sushi experience and the pork belly and fried chicken and I would add the fried milk (and then put yourself on a diet for two weeks). Get to Uchiko stat Austinites, you will not be disappointed.
Totally agree with your assessments above Emily – Uchiko was SUCH a great dining experience. And while the menu was somewhat limited, it covered a wide variety of delicious
OK, I need to go here just for the Fried Milk alone – that sounds awesome!!!!!