Top Roe
Restaurant · Austin
120 W 5th St, Austin, TX 78701
Highlights
Japanese restaurant with hand rolls and izakaya fare
Japanese restaurant with hand rolls and izakaya fare
"Hidden behind a dark door at the bottom of a bunch of tall Downtown buildings, Top Roe is a swanky new hand roll bar open for lunch and dinner. Choose from one of a few set menus, or just order à la carte to your heart’s content. There are also a handful of small plates and appetizers to help round out your meal." - nicolai mccrary, matthew jacobs
"Top Roe is the sort of sleek spot worth saving for date night. But during happy hour from 5-6pm, you can slip in casually and order a dry-aged tuna steak—normally $120—for just $25. It feels less like a discount and more like hacking the mainframe of Downtown dining. When it’s 93 degrees outside, this dark, cool izakaya is where you should be." - nicolai mccrary, matthew jacobs
"Top Roe feels like two different restaurants sharing the same roof. One is a dark, swanky izakaya where you can order grilled skewers, fried snacks, large-format steaks, and a few maki rolls. The other side is a sleek, minimalist handroll bar where chefs whip up nori-wrapped parcels of fish and rice. In either section, you’ll have access to great dry-aged fish, well-seasoned rice, and inventive toppings that make this intimate restaurant feel a lot closer to the coast than it is. Come during happy hour (5-6pm Tuesday through Saturday) for a delicious $25 tuna steak." - nicolai mccrary
"Top Roe feels like two different restaurants sharing the same Downtown roof. One of them is a dark, swanky izakaya where you can order grilled skewers, fried snacks, large-format steaks, and a few maki rolls. The other side is a sleek, minimalist handroll bar where chefs whip up nori-wrapped parcels of fish and rice. In either section, you’ll have access to great dry-aged fish, well-seasoned rice, and inventive toppings that make this intimate restaurant feel a lot closer to the coast than it is." - nicolai mccrary, raphael brion
"Try to remember what you were doing two months ago. That’s approximately when the giant slabs of tuna belly started dry-aging at Top Roe, a swanky new handroll bar Downtown. They’re on display when you walk in, but most of the fish is caught in the Gulf each morning before getting prepped to go into little temaki rolls right in front of you. This is classic sushi with a taste of Texas—even the red wine vinegar that seasons the rice is made in the Hill Country. Choose from a few set menus, or put together your own five-course taster of tuna with crispy fried shallots, scallops with smoked trout roe and xo sauce, and over a dozen traditional, creative, and vegan options that you’ll still be thinking about two months from now." - nicolai mccrary, matthew jacobs, matthew jacobs, nicolai mccrary, nicolai mccrary, nicolai mccrary, nicolai mccrary, nicolai mccrary, nicolai mccrary, nicolai mccrary, nicolai mccrary, nicolai mccrary, nicolai mccrary, nicolai mccrary, nicolai mccrary, ni
