Pacific Rim’s Escolar Yakitori (Credit: Victor Parra)
Editor’s Note: Pacific Rim has closed.
If you live or work near North Central Austin and are looking for a place to hang out and watch the game on Sunday, or just hang out and have drinks after work, Pacific Rim is the place to be. In fact, it’s one of the best places I’ve found in town for a large group outing.
Pacific Rim also have the largest variety of food I’ve seen on a menu in a while, so everyone will find something to like. The portions are substantial, so go hungry.
Owner Benny Leung also co-owns Maiko in downtown Austin. Originally from Hong Kong, he has been in the restaurant business for over 30 years.
Sushi, Yakitori and American Favorites
Sake mac and cheese (Credit: Victor Parra)
While Pacific Rim may not have the best sushi I’ve had in town, it’s still tasty and the portions are compensatory. One serving of sashimi (pictured below) was enough to leave me feeling satisfied, and the shiitake mushrooms on top of their albacore sashimi adds a nice touch of flavor.
One of the signature menu items is yakitori. Leung says that, in Japan, people eat yakitori after work with friends while having drinks. This atmosphere is what he’s going for at Pacific Rim. Although yakitori is typically chicken, this restaurant has a variety of skewers, including bacon-wrapped scallops, shrimp, pork belly, escolar, shitake mushroom and lamb. The pork belly was my favorite.
Albacore sashimi, topped with shiitake mushrooms (Credit: Victor Parra)
Pacific Rim serves several other small plates or tapas that aren’t Japanese, but incorporate some traditional Japanese ingredients. If you love mac and cheese, you’ll want to try the sake mac and cheese. It’s super-rich and made with a sake reduction, white cheddar and black sesame seeds. Other small plates on the happy hour menu include baked mussels, teriyaki wings, gyoza and stuffed jalapenos.
Happy Hour All Night, Every Night
Sushi bar (Credit: Victor Parra)
Happy hour begins at 3 p.m. and runs until close every day of the week. The sushi 1-2-3 happy hour special is a great deal. For $14, you can pick one sushi roll, two pieces of sashimi and three traditional pieces of sushi.
As you might expect from a place called Pacific Rim, you’ll find a variety of tropical cocktails, including Blue Hawaiians, Hurricanes, Mai Tais and Daiquiris. They also serve sake (filtered and unfiltered), house-infused sake, and house-made ginger beer they also use in their cocktails. As with the food menu, there’s something for everyone: wine, champagne, cocktails and sake. The happy hour drink special is $2 off wine and cocktails and $1 off beer and sake.
Sports and Entertainment
Pacific Rim prides itself in being the only Japanese sports bar in Austin. They have a large TV in the main dining area, as well as TVs in the bar area. Right now there’s a lot of football on, but they’ll put all kinds of sports on for patrons. Leung says they get a good soccer crowd; he just wishes he could find a channel for Sumo wrestling and show the tournaments!
If you’re looking for a place to lounge after work, with your significant other or a group, that caters to a variety of tastes, I’d recommend giving Pacific Rim Sushi & Yakitori Lounge a try.
9070 Research Blvd. #305 – Website
@natalien_n wants to know:
Where’s your favorite place to go for happy hour after work?
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