The Austin Japanese Restaurant Where Diners Can Eat In A Simulated Cave

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We're a sucker for an eatery with a gimmick, like the Colorado Springs restaurant located inside an old airplane. A tiki bar is inherently gimmicky, but, in Austin, Texas, Tiki Tatsu-Ya is taking the arguably problematic elements of tiki and turning them upside down ... and it's doing that inside a manmade cave. While another Colorado watering hole we've covered, the Adrift Tiki Bar, slings mai tais within a relatively straightforward tiki sanctum of colorful paper lanterns and bamboo-lined walls, Tiki Tatsu-Ya leans more into tiki's South Pacific roots. It embraces authentic Japanese and Polynesian influences that take the scheme from appropriative back to playful while retaining plenty of whimsy.

The restaurant has extensive lore behind it, with each individual table named after a part of the overarching story. There are references to Japanese pearl divers and explorers' ships, as well as a gigantic dragon statue that anchors the main bar. Specific cocktail orders trigger sound and light effects, to the point where the tables even sometimes rumble. We guess it doesn't matter when to shake or stir cocktails if it gets the whole room quaking!

Naturally, Tiki Tatsu-Ya serves nostalgic tropical drinkslike the Painkiller and Zombie, but its food selection is a delicious homage to chef and co-owner Tatsu Aikawa's Japanese heritage, including his takes on musubi, poke, and tempura. It's an experience that a dazzled Redditor deemed "[s]imply transportive. I've been fortunate to visit a lot of tiki bars this past year and, from drinks to service and ambience, this place was one of the best."

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The Tiki Concept Has Some Issues That Tiki Tatsu-Ya Solves

interior of tiki tatsu-ya - Tiki Tatsu-Ya/Facebook

Kitschy and colorful, tiki bars have almost 100 years of history in the United States. The concept was born out of a need for escapism during the sad days of the Great Depression and ballooned in popularity when American servicemen returning from World War II were intrigued by the South Seas visuals that recalled some of what they'd just experienced in the Pacific Theater. This fascination is seen in the 1949 Broadway musical "South Pacific" and Elvis's three midcentury movies about Hawaii. In the 21st century, however, there have been thoughtful critiques of tiki bars based on the idea that they fetishize and exoticize pan-Asian culture and appropriate iconography and imagery in a way that's exploitative instead of respectful.

Tiki Tatsu-Ya wisely sets itself apart from the problematic aspects of tiki culture while retaining its quirky, fun sensibilities, opting for an aesthetic that is more Disney Does Asia and Hawaii and less homogenized. Instead of chubby-cheeked idols on the drinkware, the resto opts for Japanese imagery, for instance. Meanwhile, the fantastical backstory about a lost Pacific island brings a fresh spin that is wholly its own, while arguably co-opting only the nostalgic, harmless aspects of tiki that make it familiar. It's an effort of love by Tatsu Aikawa and his team, and you'll feel that love in the great food and drinks, should you find yourself in Austin.

Read the original article on Foodie.