Top Chef’s Opening a New Austin Tiki Bar That’s Anything But Ordinary

If there’s anything I’ve learned from dining in Austin, (other than the hard truth that everything is better in a taco), it is that the rise of the chef as owner of a restaurant is a near surefire way to find a worthy new spot. Which is why I, and so many other Austinites, are pumped about the news that the guys behind Ramen Tatsu-Ya and Kemuri Tatsu-Ya (named one of Bon Appetit magazine’s Best New Restaurants of the year) are opening up a tiki bar aptly named Tiki Tatsu-Ya.

The new tiki bar’s details are being tightly guarded for now, but it will be attached to the South Lamar location of Ramen Tatsu-Ya. The project traces back to a conversation chef/owner Tatsu Aikawa had with his brother Shion in 2013, asking “What the hell is a tiki bar?”

Plans were set into motion the next year, but with Ramen Tatsu-Ya’s business expanding so quickly the brothers decided to wait until it felt right.

“I’ve always wanted to do a bar next to a Ramen Tatsu-Ya”, Aikawa says. “My travels and explorations into Tiki culture revealed the deep mixing of Asian and Japanese influences brought to Hawaii through immigration, which contributed to the overall flavors of the islands.

“We want to maintain the authenticity of Tiki culture but with a Tatsu-Ya take on it”.

Tiki Tatsu-Ya will open later this year, with the promise of serving classic tiki drinks and new creations, with a Japanese sensibility and a tiki-inspired menu.