AUSTIN, Texas — A popular sushi pop-up in East Austin plans to stick around permanently, according to a report from Austin Eater.
Los Angeles chef Phillip Frankland Lee and pastry chef Margarita Kallas-Lee are turning Sushi Bar ATX into a permanent restaurant, still located within the private dining room of Bento Picnic on East Cesar Chavez Street.
The pop-up operates as a sushi counter, offering 17-course meals including things like yellowtail paired with corn pudding. Austin Eater reported that the fish is flown in from markets around the world, the wasabi is from Japan and Texas products include wagyu, olive oil and bone marrow. All of the produce is also Texas-based.
Lee and Kallas-Lee opened the Austin version of their Los Angeles restaurant in December 2020 when Los Angeles banned onsite, dine-in service due to a COVID-19 surge. The couple opened the Austin pop-up as a way to keep their staff employed, Austin Eater reported.
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The pop-up was only supposed to run through January 2021, but reservations were so booked up with a long waitlist – over 20,000 by the end of January – that they decided to extend the stay.
"We decided we would keep the pop-up going until everyone on the waitlist got a chance to try it," Lee told Austin Eater. "Here we are, eight months later, still with a full waitlist. We are grateful to say that we’re here to stay."
The couple has also moved their home base to Austin to run Sushi Bar ATX, purchasing a house in the city, according to Austin Eater.
Reservations for Sushi Bar ATX's $125 meal open at 10 a.m. on the first of each month. There are two-timed seatings per evening nightly. However, reservations go quickly and are already sold out for the month of August.
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