Hello all,
I know there is a thread for this, but there isn’t an Austin thread and there is more traffic here…
Are there any good BYOB options in Austin TX? I will be there next weekend and would love some suggestions if anyone is familiar with the area.
Thanks!
Hopefully someone local will start an Austin BYO thread. Unfortunately, state laws are not friendly to those of us who want to BYOB and choices are limited …
One restaurant I can recommend is http://www.cheznousaustin.com/. Excellent French bistro style fare, very casual atmosphere, good central Austin location right off 6th St, and a $20 corkage fee.
Somebody beat me to it, but I will second Chez Nous. The food is much better than you think it will be when you see the place. It’s a lovely, unpretentious classic French bistro type restaurant. But your best advised to bring your own glassware. The glasses are bistro style, too. But the food is really lovely, but traditional.
Others can add in:
Chez Nous - yep! downtown, $20 corkage
Mirabelle - North side of town, no corkage
Aquarelle - high-end French food; downtown; $20, max 2 bottles
Uchi - high-end Japanese fusion; $20 corkage
Tomo Sushi - far North end of town; no corkage
Wink - downtown, high-end American food; not sure if they have a corkage fee but the wine can’t be on their list (usually not a problem)
Fabi & Rossi - next to downtown, continental food, a maybe on corkage??
The State of Texas says no BYOB in any restaurant that has a full bar service. If a restaurant serves only wine and beer then they can decide whether to offer BYOB. This is why there are so few restaurants with BYOB because most have full bar service.
One of the characteristics of Austin is its locally owned restaurants. With that in mind, another good choice is Eddie Bernal’s 34th Street Cafe: http://www.34thstreetcafe.com/" onclick=“window.open(this.href);return false; It states it charges a $10 or $15 corkage (I can’t recall which amount is correct, because we have never actually been charged, perhaps the benefit of a “regular”). The chef is responsible for a menu that is creative and freqently changes, using fresh and often local ingredients. As with many local chefs, one can frequently find him shopping Boggy Creek Farm, which is worth a visit on its own: http://www.boggycreekfarm.com/” onclick=“window.open(this.href);return false; The prior list is good and without repeating entries a relatively new one to add to it is Olivia: http://olivia-austin.com/” onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; We have only been there once, but will return. Call to confirm it permits one to bring one’s own bottle, but it would be shocking if it does not. After all, this is Austin, where the words “pretention” and “protocol” are in few vocaularies and the city mantra “Keep Austin Weird” is relentlessly pursued. One more thing: don’t bother packing your best clothes. Ultra casual is the norm here.
Roy, I just added an Austin thread and totally forgot about 34th Street Cafe. We’ve had many an offline there. I’ll update the list.
Re: Olivia. I don’t think they allow corkage but I’m foggy on that one.