Sandoitchi arrives January 10 with its highly photogenic wagyu, egg salad, and chicken katsu milk bread sandwiches

The mega-popular Dallas-based Japanese sando pop-up Sandoitchi is coming to Austin for at least two weeks this month. The pop-up will operate out of downtown restaurant Devil May Care on 500 West Sixth Street, Suite 100 from Sunday, January 10 through Sunday, January 24 as of now, with pickup orders only.

“Sandoitchi” is the Japanese for “sandwich”, and the pop-up is all about the Japanese sando, where the sandwich is made with thick milk bread. The star of the menu is its mega-luxurious and indulgent A5 wagyu katsu, adorned with black truffles, that rings up for $75 (alas, it had been made with gold leaf flecks, but that’s no longer the case). Other fillings — egg salad, fruit and cream, pork katsu, and the hot chicken katsu — range from $9 to $12.

Austin preorders will be available on the pop-up’s website on Sundays at 6 p.m. starting January 10, with pickups scheduled throughout each respective week. Updated ordering information will be available on its Instagram page, but it should be noted that the pop-up often sells out quickly. (The pop-up might potentially extend its time in Austin.)

Sandoitchi comprises chef Stevie Nguyen (who worked at all Texas locations of Uchi, Dallas restaurant Niwa Japanese Barbecue, as well as New York’s now-closed Morimoto and Momofuku Ko), operations manager Keith Tran, creative director Angel Acosta, and branding and marketing director Andy Sirois.

Originally, the group wanted to open a physical restaurant in Dallas early in 2020, but that plan was put on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic. They shifted into the pop-up model in June and quickly gained a devoted following to the point where they sold out within minutes. The pop-up traveled to other Texas cities (Plano, Fort Worth, Houston) as well as in California for Chrissy Teigen in September. They still eventually do want to open a restaurant, first somewhere in Dallas, followed by Houston and Austin.

The Japanese sando isn’t a new dish to Austin; it’s currently available at Japanese cafe Sa-Ten and Japanese market Asashi Imports.