The team behind Austin's Michelin-starred Craft Omakase has opened a far more casual sushi bar on South First Street, one where diners can walk in off the street instead of booking months out for a $185 tasting menu. Craft Nori is now serving dinner at 3715 S. 1st St., Ste. A, with an à la carte menu built for quick weeknight visits rather than special-occasion splurges.
Unlike its sibling restaurant, Craft Nori skips the reservation system entirely. As CultureMap Austin reports, the restaurant is designed for a more casual crowd, and its website promises high standards, good prices, and no reservations. Parties of two to four are encouraged for the fastest seating, while larger groups can still be accommodated but should expect to wait.
The restaurant occupies a long, shallow dining room with a sushi counter and a handful of small tables inside the Tree Apartments building, per the same report. Craft Nori is open for dinner only, Tuesday through Saturday, with hours running 4:30 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 4:30 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. It's closed Sundays and Mondays.
A Menu Built Around Smaller Bites
The menu is organized into sushi and sashimi, temaki, cold dishes, hot dishes, vegetables, skewers, and sweets, and CultureMap notes the lineup will change regularly. The opening menu included white anchovy nigiri or sashimi, a sake handroll with salmon, shiso, and pepitas, and a brisket skewer finished with garlic and mustard. For dessert, diners can choose between matcha, red bean, or hojicha ice cream, or yuzu or lychee sherbet.
Pricing sits well below the omakase model next door. Four slices of o-toro, the prized fatty cut of bluefin tuna, run $27, while cold and hot dishes range from $7 to $18, according to CultureMap's reporting. A beverage menu rounds things out with sake, red, white, and sparkling wines, imported and local beer, and zero- and low-proof cocktails.
Fighting 'Sushi Inflation'
Craft Nori co-founder Charlie Wang told the Austin American-Statesman that he built the concept to offer quality sushi at approachable prices, describing his effort as fighting “sushi inflation.” In an earlier interview with the Statesman, Wang said he wanted Craft Nori to fill the gap between expensive omakase experiences that might only happen once a year and all-you-can-eat sushi spots that prioritize quantity over quality.
That gap is easy to see in the numbers. Craft Omakase's tasting menu costs $185 plus a 20 percent service charge and tax, per CultureMap's report, though an earlier account from Eater Austin had priced the experience at $175 per person with drinks sold separately. Craft Omakase, located at 4400 N. Lamar Blvd., Suite 102, lists chefs Charlie Wang and Nguyen Nguyen according to the Michelin Guide, and the Statesman reports it has held a Michelin star every year the guide has had a presence in Texas since earning its first in fall 2024.
Parking and Getting There
Finding a spot shouldn't be a problem. The Statesman reports that Craft Nori offers on-site parking along with additional parking across the street at LifeWorks. The building's own garage, located on the Tree Apartments' bottom floor, provides another option for diners heading in for dinner.
