"A very fun and important Austin omakase has moved back to its original East Austin address this spring, which changed from a multi-business space into an indoor mini-golf course space and restaurant. Toshokan is back at 807 East Fourth Street inside of Holey Moley as of mid-May. The East Fourth address had been the Native, a fancy hostel-turned-business space when Toshokan opened in 2022. Abruptly, the Native closed in June 2023 as it was announced that it would be turning into a location of international chain Holey Moley. The change forced several of the on-site tenants, including Japanese comfort food restaurant Tiny Diner, Jamaican food spot Mama A’s, and Mexican truck La Santa Barbacha to either close (as Tiny and Mama’s did) or relocate (as La Santa did). Toshokan was allowed to operate in the space for a bit until it moved further east into private club the Pershing the following month. Everything about the Japanese restaurant under chef Saine Wong and owner C.K. Chin remains the same. Chin tells Eater that while the golf course was being constructed, the team didn’t touch the Toshokan space at all. He likes the way that juxtaposition of a high-end omakase and very casual kitschy miniature golf course “makes no sense,” as he tells Eater. At Toshokan, Wong serves his 14-course meal with new-school nigiri and dishes in the intimate space for only six diners at a time. There are typically seatings at 6 and 8:30 p.m. for $150 per person. July reservations will be available on Saturday, June 1 via Tock. Toshokan also added a new beverage director Nadia Hernandez, who joined the team in March. She had previously been the bar manager of South Congress Hotel cocktail bar Watertrade. This also means that Toshokan is no longer operating out of Pershing as of late April." - Nadia Chaudhury
