Fukumoto — Restaurant in Austin

Update: As great as my first couple experiences were, my experience last night was enough for me to not go back. I come here whenever in town for my business and was excited to finally come with my wife who really loves sushi. I had been hyping it up for her. We called ahead of time to make a reservation, but were told no need and to just come in and can sit at the bar. I thought they meant sushi bar which is where I always sit, but it was full so they sat us at the regular bar. We order a bunch of yakitori and Nigiri. It took SO LONG to get our food that I thought they forgot about us completely. I saw tables that sat down after we ordered our food get their food first, so I had to follow up. When it finally started coming out, they got several orders wrong and were completely missing certain dishes. We told them and started waiting again…. Then the hostess tells an old couple to post up at the bar while they wait for their table. I get when people hover over people shoulders at bars but not when people are having a dining experience. The only good part of this dinner was the quality of the $45 tuna extravaganza which we honestly rushed through just to get out of there. I wanted to order the uni pasta and a couple more dishes, but was feeling uncomfortable with the hovering couple and annoyed with the long waits. If I do go back it sure as hell won’t be on a weekend. Bummed that the one dinner I was able to take my wife to was not a great experience. Wait staff was kind so nothing against them.

ORIGINAL REVIEW: Great experience. Came on a slow Tuesday evening and sat at the sushi bar. The chef was really attentive and patient in walking me through the menu. The rest of the staff was also great. Glass was never empty and didn’t have to wait for anything.

For the for nigiri I got their XL seared scallop, hotate scallop, salmon, spicy yellowtail, and fatty tuna maki. All very fresh and high quality fish and the scallop was a great price. Also got the grilled chicken thighs. Not bad but wouldn’t order again. Lastly I got the uni pasta. I love uni pasta but the cream sauce was missing that fishy uni taste. Still very good and would order again. Overall...

Heads up, this is not your typical Americanized sushi joint. So if you’re wanting to be basic and order a California roll or a crunchy roll, you’ll be deeply disappointed. It’s more traditional and their quality of food was superb. Definitely a top spot for sushi in Austin. Made a weekend trip to Austin umm holy cow! This place was extremely busy! We got there around 10:00pm on a Saturday night and it was packed! Full house and barely any seating at the bar. Luckily, we were able to grab the last remaining seats. Probably should make reservations ahead of time. haha

We were greeted by Tina and Jon. They were super friendly and extremely knowledgeable with their sakes. Mind you, I’m a picky person. But they spent quite awhile recommending the perfect sakes to pair with our food. I came specifically for the UNI PASTA! It was recommended by a friend and it was a featured special for Fukumoto. It was heavenly. Every bite was so rich and decadent, just the perfect amount of carbs! And I love me some carbs. They’re known for their robata grilled skewers. We got a few different kinds and other appetizers as well. The chicken karage (pretty much like fried chicken nuggets) were really tasty. At first I was hesitant, like who comes to a sushi bar and orders nuggets?! but your mind will be blown by how savory it is. I also got the variety of tempura mushrooms. The fried enoki was my favorite! My other half ordered some little crabbies but that wasn’t for me but I tried it anyway. The skewers had a charred Smokey flavor. Very appetizing. Oh so easy to eat too. If you’re a little more adventurous, try the chicken gizzards or hearts. And the house favorite I think were the king salmon skewers. Overall everything was really tasty. would of taken more pics but yeah the tummy was growling. Indulged and devoured for sure! Literally might of waddled myself out the door after dinner. Haha

I love that our bartenders were so friendly and inviting. Even introduced us to their regulars sitting at the bar. My other half is sucha social butterfly so that was perfect for him. He can talk to anyone and everyone! Haha overall great food and great company! It’s a must when...

Fukumoto easily offers some of the best sushi I've had in Austin. Juxtaposed across the street from Shangri-La, this modern restaurant continues the steady march of development eastward. Despite arriving at 7:30pm, we were seated immediately (they do not take reservations). The waitstaff was exceedingly helpful and well-versed in the menu's offerings. Their awareness extended to the pacing of new dishes, which were always delivered one after another and promptly removed upon completion.

They offer a wide range of filtered and unfiltered sake in personal glass, 300mL, and 700mL portions. The "glass" is a small cup filled to the brim with sake and was spilled en route to the table every single time. Judging by price, the glass should hold around 75mL but I suspect a larger volume was being poured.

We ordered extensively from the specials menu including the delicious Daily Miso Soup (potato + butter), beautifully-presented Kaki Furai (fried oysters with Japanese curry mayo), and Spicy Blue Fin Tuna Sushi Rolls (phenomenal spicy aioli).

All of the sushi is priced for a single piece but absolutely worth splurging on. The Fatty Salmon and Mackerel Sushi are some of the best I've ever had. They were only upstaged by the Green Tea Fed Red Snapper Sushi which absolutely melted in your mouth.

The yakitori is priced for a single skewer with three to four small pieces of impaled meat. The Pork Belly Yakitori definitely gives some classic Austin pork belly offerings a run for their money (so moist and fatty!). The Gizzard Yakitori was flavorful but definitely suffered from being served after the pork belly.

For dessert we got the deconstructed Lemongrass Cheesecake infused with thyme crumbles and blueberry compote. This is one of the prettiest (and tastiest) dishes I've ever had the pleasure of consuming. The garnishing flower petals and sprigs of greens made for quite the...