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Featured Replies

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?

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

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.

2 hours ago, 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?

Pasta Bar

Jeffreys

Comedor

Barley Swine

Luties (if your wife is white)

Uchiko

cocktails before or after at Prelude.

  • Author
3 hours ago, 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.

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.

 

2 hours ago, 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.

Will definitely give this a shot.  Thanks!

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! 

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.

22 minutes ago, 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.

good luck!

241211-obara-jun-mangione-mb-0852-8fe66c

The Chik Fil A on 6th is open until midnight, if you want a romantic late-night with your wife. 

8 hours ago, immamac said:

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

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

9 minutes ago, immamac said:

Suerte and este sister restaurants can't go wrong with either. 

Comedor looks booked from/sat but Thurs/sun are open


I’ve been to both. Much prefer Este from an anniversary dinner perspective. 

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.  

We're going to Aris for our anniversary in a couple of weeks.  Never been so I can't give a review yet but looks very good.  We did Este last year and loved it as well.

10 hours ago, 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.

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.

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.  

 

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.

28 minutes ago, 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.

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

16 minutes ago, royiv said:

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

I think it's a block east of Clark's where it's torn up.  I just drove by a week or two ago and thought "I haven't been to Clark's in a while."

9 minutes ago, Ghost of LL said:

I think it's a block east of Clark's where it's torn up.  I just drove by a week or two ago and thought "I haven't been to Clark's in a while."

Pecan Square is an MML place right behind Clark's and is pretty easy to get into. 

1 hour ago, 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.

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

57 minutes ago, LCHorn said:

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

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).

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

  • Author

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!

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!

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

1 hour ago, Wilcox Cummingtonite said:

Hula Hut

The Oasis

Trudy’s

 

Divorce thread is that way -->

Late to the thread, but our anniversary (32!) was Thursday and we really enjoyed Nido at the Loren Hotel on Riverside. 
 

it’s on the 8th floor (rooftop) and has a great patio with excellent views of Town Lake and downtown. 
 

Creative cocktails and a deep wine list. Most importantly a very well put together menu that is high quality and not all over the place if that makes sense. 
 

Highly recommend 

10 hours ago, Biff Tannen said:

lol what does this mean?

it's incredibly overrated, overpriced, and designed to be a purely instagrammable experience.

so...perfect for white women.

  • 2 weeks later...
On 4/5/2025 at 8:58 AM, MirrOlure said:

Late to the thread, but our anniversary (32!) was Thursday and we really enjoyed Nido at the Loren Hotel on Riverside. 
 

it’s on the 8th floor (rooftop) and has a great patio with excellent views of Town Lake and downtown. 
 

Creative cocktails and a deep wine list. Most importantly a very well put together menu that is high quality and not all over the place if that makes sense. 
 

Highly recommend 

On your recommendation, I've booked dinner there this weekend.  Twenty-ninth anniversary.

Might take a change of clothes and hit Peter Pan afterwards (our first date, nearly 36 years ago was putt putt golf).

13 minutes ago, Jerry Callo said:

On your recommendation, I've booked dinner there this weekend.  Twenty-ninth anniversary.

Might take a change of clothes and hit Peter Pan afterwards (our first date, nearly 36 years ago was putt putt golf).

Didja

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?

6 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Didja

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?

Well, we got married seven years later - so, eventually.

1 hour ago, Jerry Callo said:

Well, we got married seven years later - so, eventually.

Presume there were a lotta triple bogeys in between.

7 hours ago, Jerry Callo said:

On your recommendation, I've booked dinner there this weekend.  Twenty-ninth anniversary.

Might take a change of clothes and hit Peter Pan afterwards (our first date, nearly 36 years ago was putt putt golf).

Great call. Butler Pitch and Putt is another option if y’all have evolved beyond Peter Pan! 

  • 2 weeks later...
On 4/16/2025 at 9:15 PM, MirrOlure said:

Great call. Butler Pitch and Putt is another option if y’all have evolved beyond Peter Pan! 

Have they installed lights?

Went to Intero for our anniversary a couple weeks ago. It was really good, but great. Both of our mains seemed too rich. We like its sister restaurant Poeta better.

5 hours ago, South Austin said:

Went to Intero for our anniversary a couple weeks ago. It was really good, but great. Both of our mains seemed too rich. We like its sister restaurant Poeta better.

Looks like Poeta closed already. Bummer.

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