This year was my second in a row of visiting Austin in mid-December. I have really fallen in love with this incredible city. I live in Denver, Colorado, but I always head to Albany, New York, for the holidays, so a quick weekend visit to Austin in between these two homes of mine is becoming a truly wonderful transitional tradition. My partner and I go for the music, stay for the food, and have a grand old time exploring everything else that Austin has to offer.
The Austin food scene is exceptional, and this time around, he and I returned to a few of our favorite places from our 2024 visit, like Sam’s BBQ and Gourdough’s Donuts. But we also wanted to make sure we tried something new to us during this visit, too.
Initial Reactions for Kemuri Tatsy-ya
So, for our special holiday dinner out, we chose Kemuri Tatsu-ya in East Austin. My companion found it on the city’s list of Michelin-suggested restaurants, and it certainly sounded interesting. I wasn’t quite sure how a restaurant could successfully merge Japanese cuisine with Texas BBQ, but I was sure interested to find out.
It turns out that the chefs at this charming little spot manage to combine these two cuisines from opposite sides of the world with great mastery, and this end-of-the-year meal ended up being one of my most memorable dinners of 2026.
Kemuri Tatsu-ya’s owners describe the restaurant as an izakaya first and foremost. In Japan, izakayas first existed as rest stops for travelers. Eventually, they began to serve food and drinks…