Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted

So looking for a place to take the wife on Saturday for our anniversary.  Staying downtown, so close to that area is a plus but not an absolute requirement.  Open to any types of cuisine.  What say you?

  • Hook 'Em 1
Posted (edited)

Good luck?  Any top end restaurant is surely booked at this point.  I randomly checked Red Ash and the closest available time is Monday at 9:30 PM.

Monday, April 7.

Edited by jimmyjazz
  • Hook 'Em 1
Posted

Check around on Thursday afternoon before the 24-hour cancellation window closes, and set some notifications/alerts on Open Table and Resy for the places you might like that are already booked. Jeffrey's and J. Carver's are pretty reliable. Check the Austin specific page for some other recs. Good luck, and happy anniversary.

  • Hook 'Em 2
Posted
  On 3/25/2025 at 1:15 AM, Bevo in VA said:

So looking for a place to take the wife on Saturday for our anniversary.  Staying downtown, so close to that area is a plus but not an absolute requirement.  Open to any types of cuisine.  What say you?

Expand  

Pasta Bar

Jeffreys

Comedor

Barley Swine

Luties (if your wife is white)

Uchiko

cocktails before or after at Prelude.

  • Hook 'Em 1
Posted
  On 3/25/2025 at 1:30 AM, jimmyjazz said:

Good luck?  Any top end restaurant is surely booked at this point.  I randomly checked Red Ash and the closest available time is Monday at 9:30 PM.

Monday, April 7.

Expand  

That's what I was afraid of.  Kind of a last minute trip so didn't have time to make a lot of plans in advance.

 

  On 3/25/2025 at 1:54 AM, Cap33 said:

Check around on Thursday afternoon before the 24-hour cancellation window closes, and set some notifications/alerts on Open Table and Resy for the places you might like that are already booked. Jeffrey's and J. Carver's are pretty reliable. Check the Austin specific page for some other recs. Good luck, and happy anniversary.

Expand  

Will definitely give this a shot.  Thanks!

Posted

Suerte, Comedor, J Carver, Bobs and a bunch of others will have space. 

Its not that hard to go to the non hip spots and there's tons in the domain that isn't downtown. I'll chat with you more at the event, but it shouldn't be hard to eat well in an upscale setting while you are in town! 

  • Hook 'Em 1
Posted (edited)
  On 3/25/2025 at 4:48 AM, immamac said:

Suerte, Comedor, J Carver, Bobs and a bunch of others will have space. 

Expand  

I'd vote for Comedor.  My personal preference:  While I like a good steak joint, I think they're pretty "meh" for an anniversary dinner, unless your wife is enthusiastic about one of those places.  

Edit:  Responding to Firemans4Horn, I echo the Este rec if you want to hit the east side.  Really great food and a cool vibe.

Edited by South Austin
Posted

I would go to Justine’s or Birdie’s.  Neither take reservations (for two, anyway) so you may have a wait but at least you’re guaranteed to get in.  
 

Also, the wait is usually part of the appeal.  At Justine’s you can drink Sazeracs and play Pétanque, for example.  

  • Hook 'Em 1
Posted
  On 3/25/2025 at 4:59 AM, landman said:

Eddy V's and ask for Luigi's section.  Let them know it's your anniversary and he should take great care of you for the evening.

Expand  

I just looked, and Eddie V's has reservation spots open for Saturday night.  No, it doesn't get all the buzz, it's not as trendy....but man, it never disappoints.  Great seafood, and do not sleep on the steaks -- they're some of the best in town.

If I were you, I'd grab a spot at Eddie V's so you have a really good option locked in.  Then, you can look around to see if some other spots open up (Este is great, plenty of other good recs).  

But for real, you can just have a solid, standout meal with great service (don't forget that....plenty of the trendier places are still a bit iffy on that front) at Eddie V's.

  • Hook 'Em 3
Posted

Waiting for @HenryJames to point out that Hopfields has reservations for two available Saturday….

June‘s All Day looks like they have a 8 pm.  It might be a little more casual than what you’re looking for but it’s fun and typically a little bit of a light party atmosphere.  
 

On Resy, Lenoir has 7 and 7:30 at the bar.  

 

Posted

Two suggestions: 

Get over to Clark's Oyster Bar (6th & Blanco).  The weather is still nice and their outdoor bar seating is first-come-first-served.  If you get there before 7:00, I've never had more than a few minutes' wait.  After dinner you can go over to Howard's Bar across the street.

Alternatively, I really like Pesce on 4th between Colorado and Lavaca.  Good French place.  It's small; not particularly trendy.  But just a solid French bistro.

Posted
  On 3/25/2025 at 7:15 PM, Ghost of LL said:

Two suggestions: 

Get over to Clark's Oyster Bar (6th & Blanco).  The weather is still nice and their outdoor bar seating is first-come-first-served.  If you get there before 7:00, I've never had more than a few minutes' wait.  After dinner you can go over to Howard's Bar across the street.

Alternatively, I really like Pesce on 4th between Colorado and Lavaca.  Good French place.  It's small; not particularly trendy.  But just a solid French bistro.

Expand  

I thought the 6th & Blanco area was all torn up for the MML redevelopment?

Posted
  On 3/25/2025 at 7:15 PM, Ghost of LL said:

Alternatively, I really like Pesce on 4th between Colorado and Lavaca.  Good French place.  It's small; not particularly trendy.  But just a solid French bistro.

Expand  

Peche, with the great happy hour?  I bet you can squeeze 100+ in there. 

Posted
  On 3/25/2025 at 8:50 PM, LCHorn said:

Peche, with the great happy hour?  I bet you can squeeze 100+ in there. 

Expand  

I mean, you're right.  At the same time, I think it has a real intimate feel.  It's a shotgun-type space--narrow and deep.  So it doesn't go more than two tables wide.  So it feels a lot smaller than it actually is (at least in my estimation).

Posted (edited)

Which anniversary?  As long as it isn't divisible by 5, don't sleep on Hopfields.  I know it usually gets mentioned for its burgers, but the dinner ambience is very good as is the dinner menu.  The Beef Cheeks Bourguignon I had a few years ago still haunts my dreams.  Not overly fancy, but they serve some good, honest food.

 

kansas-topeka.gif

Edited by dcbc
Posted

So thanks to all that offered suggestions.  We were really limited with the last minute timeline - just not a lot of options to get a reservation within a couple of days.  Came down to Pesce and Eddie V's - both had availability so I threw it to the wife and she went with Pesce.

 

Dinner was really good.  We ordered a cauliflower curry soup and tuna carpaccio for appetizers - both were excellent.  My wife had a lamb entrée that she really enjoyed.  I order the sweetbreads which were good, but the mashed potatoes served with the dish were incredible.  Service was top notch - had some great wine with dinner.  Little more casual vs. three star fine dining, but we had a great time - highly recommend.

 

Looking forward to trying out some of the other options mentioned in this thread next time we're in town.  Thanks again to everyone!

  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Like 1
Posted
  2 hours ago, Bevo in VA said:

So thanks to all that offered suggestions.  We were really limited with the last minute timeline - just not a lot of options to get a reservation within a couple of days.  Came down to Pesce and Eddie V's - both had availability so I threw it to the wife and she went with Pesce.

 

Dinner was really good.  We ordered a cauliflower curry soup and tuna carpaccio for appetizers - both were excellent.  My wife had a lamb entrée that she really enjoyed.  I order the sweetbreads which were good, but the mashed potatoes served with the dish were incredible.  Service was top notch - had some great wine with dinner.  Little more casual vs. three star fine dining, but we had a great time - highly recommend.

 

Looking forward to trying out some of the other options mentioned in this thread next time we're in town.  Thanks again to everyone!

Expand  

Good choice by your wife -- you obviously married up!  Love Pesce.

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...