The 17 Best Austin Restaurants For Birthdays - Austin - The Infatuation

"Despite being just a short walk from Zilker Park, Uchi isn’t a place you should show up for after an afternoon of disc golf and sand volleyball. There’s a casual elegance to the restaurant—it’s the type of place you can dress up a little, order some excellent sushi and Japanese fusion plates, and feel all of your worries instantly slip away. The service is hard to match, and every plate feels more special than the last. If that’s not the recipe for a perfect, intimate birthday dinner, then apparently we have a lot more dining out to do. Reservations at Uchi open up one month in advance, and they tend to go fast. If you want to secure a prime time seat, you’ll want to be there right when reservations get released, but even the off-hour tables get snapped up about three weeks out. You can also show up right when Uchi opens and usually snag a seat at the bar (or sometimes even a table). The plus side to an early dinner is you’ll also have access to the excellent Happy Hour. Uchi also has two sister concepts—Uchiko in Rosedale, and Uchiba Downtown—both with very similar menus, and tables that go about half as fast." - nicolai mccrary, raphael brion