website    menu         

In recent times, Asian restaurants have been "what's happenin' now" on the Austin restaurant scene.  We visited Dragon Gate by Phoenix on 360 about 1 mile south of the 360 bridge.  The first thing you notice as you walk into the place is an elegant, upscale atmosphere that immediately lets you know this is, without a doubt one of the "hip" Asian hot-spots in town.

That being said... Dragon Gate is a family restaurant, but feels like a nice place for couples or business associates. It's a calm and relaxing feel with high-class food presentations, and a well dressed staff that treats you accordingly.

You'll find a complete Chinese menu, a Japanese menu, a Hibachi menu and of course the "ever so popular" Sushi menu.  Sushi has certainly been all the rage in Austin lately and we would like to tell you how much we loved this particular roll which incorporated tuna, crab, salmon, avocado and Tobiko or flying fish roe (sushi's version of caviar).  This roll was very good with a wrapper we've never had before, but was better than the average Nori roll.  (It was gone quickly.)

On the Chinese side of things we had the Fruity Shrimp and Petite Sea Dragon, which is jumbo shrimp wonderfully flavored in a light ginger sauce, scallions and cilantro all served in a tin foil swan.  The "light" part of the sauce is the key word.  Sometimes we find heavy ginger to be a little over-whelming.  But they make this sauce so that doesn't happen, and you're left with just the right amount of flavor needed to make this dish a hit.

As you would expect, many Asian dishes come with a sauce and Dragon Gate makes theirs in house.  If you're sharing as we do, you may find yourself racing to get the last little bit of it left on the plate.

We would recommend Dragon Gate By Phoenix to Asian food lovers and even new-comers to the Asian scene.  They deliver and cater events.  Order up, you're gonna love it too!