A powerful husband-and-wife team in the Austin food scene is adding another concept to their restaurant portfolio. Shokunin, a California-inspired sushi bar, will open Thursday, October 30, in the same East Sixth Street building as its sister restaurants NADC Burger and Pasta|Bar.
Although it is closer geographically to those restaurants, it is culinarily more related to Sushi by Scratch Restaurants, its final and very luxurious omakase sibling concept. Sushi by Scratch Restaurants was formerly called Sushi|Bar; then the East Cesar Chavez location was sold to private equity in 2021, and the two concepts continue on separately.
Shokunin, which is more casual, is directly based on the “classic sushi bars along Ventura Boulevard in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley,” according to a press release. These were the restaurants where chef Phillip Frankland Lee and executive pastry chef Margarita Kallas-Lee came to love sushi and got to know each other. The name “Shokunin” refers to a master of one’s craft.
“I miss the style of sushi and the dining atmosphere that first drew me to the craft,” said Lee in the release. “Since we opened the first Sushi by Scratch Restaurants in the Valley nearly a decade ago, we’ve seen that sushi culture shift away from that old-school L.A. vibe. Austin has been our home for over five years, and we wanted to bring a piece of our history here.”
Lee says this opening is the answer to a question fans of Sushi By Scratch have been asking: “‘When will you open a sushi spot we can visit more than twice a year?'” In contrast to the hard-to-get reservations at Sushi By Scratch, Shokunin will not accept reservations at all, only walk-ins.
The ingredients will even come from the same supplier, the Toyosu Fish Market in Tokyo. This time, instead of an omakase menu, guests at the 20-seat bar will get to fill out an order sheet with a pencil, checking boxes for the type of fish they want, and whether they’d like it in the form of nigiri, sashmi, or a hand roll. There will only be cold dishes — nothing cooked. Beer, sake, and wine will round out the menu.“
One of the joys of leading Scratch Restaurants Group is the constant evolution of the brand and sharing the ideas Phillip and I have with our guests,” said Kallas-Lee. “Shokunin gives me a new canvas for desserts that complement the menu to be bright, textured creations and crafted to enhance the experience.”
Shokunin will be located at 1009 E. 6th St. Operating hours are Thursdays through Mondays from 5 pm to 9 pm.