The Vitals:
the spot: Top Roe 120 W 5th St, Austin, TX 78701
the eats: Hand Rolls, Izakaya at the bar
the bucks: $$-$$$
the full nelson: If you crave a really good hand roll . . .
I can’t help but thinking about the movie Top Gun while beginning to write about Top Roe. Maybe the brash Pro Military Reagan era movie will forever allude to anything close to resembling its name in my mind. But I feel that, much like the main characters in the movie, there is some confidence brewing here. And that helps when you consider the landscape of opening a restaurant in downtown Austin in 2025.
I can bemoan menu prices all day. And so can restaurateurs who might have a thing or two to say about rent prices. Add to that the flurry of omakase places that have opened in Austin for the money is no object Tesla cybertruck crowd, one might thing Top Roe is exclusive for Tech Bro Top Dogs. Except it’s not.
Top Roe bar seating. Photo by Robert Lerma
Plated Sashimi. Photo by Robert Lerma
The interior of Top Roe is swanky as one might suspect. But the sashimi is equally swank. And that’s not just the plating. Once you walk in, you will see a slabs of tuna being dry aged in a refrigerator in a glass door. Top Roe isn’t the only place in town that walks this extra mile but I can honestly say I did taste the fruits of their labor. While cut from a different cloth, the overall quality of aged tuna here took me back to my visit to Miami’s Itamae, currently a semifinalist for the 2025 James Beard Awards.
When you go to Top Roe, there are two dining options. One is an Izakaya experience available in the dining room where one can enjoy a Japanese tapas experience(think small shareable plates). Then there is the handroll experience which is served only at the bar. As guests of the restaurant, we were treated to some extras beyond the handroll experience.
The bluefin sashimi was what one should expect. Pristine seafood, dressed perfectly in an aged soy sauce. The blue crab dip with smoked crab roe and house made chips, which is normally served at the Izakaya was the blingy version of chips and dip one might imagine to find at Super Bowl party hosted by a VC founder. In either case, connections bring one a certain degree of joy.
The price of a swank restaurant is lighting that sets the mood but not so much ideal photography on an iPhone 12. While I might be debating an upgrade on a phone, I can’t imagine upgrading the quality of the nori(seaweed) of these handrolls. Biting into a hand roll has the audible sensation of watching an ASMR biting into an apple video. SO DAMN CRISP.
Pictured above are the tuna, blue crab and lobster hand rolls, in that order. You might notice that the rolls aren’t twisted into a cone. This is apparently how they are traditionally done. The blue crab at Top Roe is top notch and I could see myself getting seconds on that.
I’d also add that if you are a lobster roll fan, you might want to try the Sweet Maine lobster hand roll at Top Roe. Rice doesn’t scratch the same itch as bread but sweet butter lobster is still sweet buttery lobster, despite the vessel.
I love Pot De Creme. Typically it’s done with chocolate but matcha makes a compelling case too. Like the whole meal itself, the caviar is a flex but it isn’t what the castle is built on. An across the board baseline of great ingredients and technique are the driving forces at Top Roe.
More important though is the opportunity to experience this with a reasonable starting price point. A set of five hand rolls(minus add ons like Caviar or Uni) is $45 which ain’t too bad especially when considering the quality an execution.
If you have a thing for hand rolls or are all curious about what a top dessert of 2025 could be, I suggest you take a trip to Top Roe. And unlike Top Gun, the only thing standing in your way is booking a reservation.
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