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Help! Need Trendy Restaurant Inspiration

kiarox2002kiarox2002
in Austin Babies

DH's birthday is coming up and I'm trying to find an awesome new restaurant for us to try.  He surprised me with reservations to Uchiko for my birthday and it was a.m.a.z.i.n.g.  I have never had food that good in my life.  We are typically on more of a Torchy's budget for eating out, but it's his birthday so I want to splurge.  We're big fans of East Austin Showroom and the original Vivo's, but I want to find something new and different to try. 

We both love sushi.  DH is not a wine drinker, so a cool wine bar is out.  I'm a vegetarian (but I eat fish, maybe a pescatarian?) so I would prefer not a steakhouse.  We are not huge fans of chain restaurants.  Really, I would like something "Austiny" and "trendy" if that makes sense.  Something where we dress up.  Not kid friendly.  Romantic.

We would totally drive downtown, but would prefer not south of the river.  I'm also open to one place for dinner and something else for dessert.  I have a reservation to Uchiko if I can't come up with something original, but I hate to just copy him.  Oh, and I can spend about $125 for the evening.  

Thanks! 

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Re: Help! Need Trendy Restaurant Inspiration

  • jakbtxjakbtx
    Justine's. My DH is vegan but he will go off the rails there, so good. E 5th St, almost to 183. La Condesa downtown is really really good, maybe a tad more pricey than Justine's. That's about as trendy as I get :) Eta: justine's is romantic and great ambience!
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  • Jess.OJess.O

    We celebrated my aunt's birthday at La Traviata this year and it was really cool.  It doesn't really fit with your sushi/seafood vibe but I would consider it Austiny and romantic (if you don't mind a tight squeeze...it's small). 

    I've never been to Uchi but I've heard that it's great.  

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  • libbyannlibbyann member
    Okay, so this doesn't necessarily fit all of your qualifications, but I love Cover 3. The food is ah-may-zing - seriously SO good! It's basically a fancy sports bar - great drinks/wines, great food. You can dress up, but don't have to. I don't know your DH, but mine would be thrilled if I surprised him with dinner there for his bday :)
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  • kiarox2002kiarox2002

    imagelibbyann:
    Okay, so this doesn't necessarily fit all of your qualifications, but I love Cover 3. The food is ah-may-zing - seriously SO good! It's basically a fancy sports bar - great drinks/wines, great food. You can dress up, but don't have to. I don't know your DH, but mine would be thrilled if I surprised him with dinner there for his bday :)

    I think my DH is the only man in the world who hates sports.  :) 

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  • atlanticatlantic
    Check out Olivia. Have fun!
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  • NoVA-grlNoVA-grl
    We love Uchiko too, but Uchi is our hands-down absolute favorite restaurant in the world :-)  Also, we love Wink (I should mention they have a cool wine bar next door even though your DH doesn't drink wine) and Olivia was a great suggestion.  We also like Fino (romantic, tapas) - they have a really cool outdoor patio space.
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  • MrsAJLMrsAJL member

    Here are my recs plus my favorite non-meat dishes served there. 

    Bess -- Bacon Shrimp & Grits (everything a Jewish girl loves! Make a reservation here.)

    La Traviata -- Delicious cioppino!

    Taverna -- Pear Gorgonzola ravioli

    Zandunga -- Aguacate Relleno (avocado relleno) or the huachinago a la Veracruz (Red Snapper Veracruz)

    El Arbol -- Argentinian cuisine; Triadito (hamachi crudo) and/or Pescado con Noqui (daily catch with a delicious gnocchi)

     

     

     

     

     

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  • BoxerMommaBoxerMomma
    i think eastside cafe is super romantic and austin-y, plus they have awesome veggies and fish entrees. but i wouldnt consider it trendy. paggi house is more trendy and super yummy too. 
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  • brideonjuly8brideonjuly8 member

    Roaring Fork is YUM and not as kid friendly as most restaurants are.  Very romantic, and their Huckleberry ritas are to.die.for.  And strong. 

    I also love the Vivo's up here- I don't even think they allow kids.  it's not very $$ and very cool, imo.  Their ritas are SUPER stong, especially the mex martinis.  Whenever I'm there I feel like I'm in a way cool restaurant in NYC.  Though I've never been to NYC...but it looks really trendy!

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  • angelaggieangelaggie member

    I second Olivia's!  I know the chef though, so I'm a little partial.  Really though, it's awesome, and the menu is a bit different which is fun. 

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  • kiarox2002kiarox2002

    I think Fino might be in the lead.  :)  I love the idea of us getting several different tapas and sharing rather than getting one big plate each.  That's part of what we find so appealing about sushi.

    I tried to get a reservation at Uchi a few weeks ago, but the earliest we could eat would be 10pm.  We're too old for that.  :)

    We definitely want to try out Eastside Cafe, but I want something a bit more, well, more.

    I am a huge Vivo's fan, but that's kind of our go to nice dinner place. 

    Thanks for all of the awesome suggestions!  I am saving this list for the next special occasion.  :) 

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  • mcurbanmcurban member
    imagekiarox2002:

    I think Fino might be in the lead.  :)  I love the idea of us getting several different tapas and sharing rather than getting one big plate each.  That's part of what we find so appealing about sushi.

    I was going to recommend Malaga's for tapas, but didn't know if you would be into shared plates. Jon and I have been there twice. It's not hip, more intimate/ romantic (dark, dimmed lights, etc).

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  • CollieJadeCollieJade
    Do you like Indian? We LOVE Clay Pit. It has kind of a basement-esque dining area that's very romantic IMO.
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  • ChicklitChicklit
    Fino is awesome! The food is delish and really affordable. I love getting small plates there. I never feel like it's too little. My DH doesn't drink, but he likes to go there because they make interesting non-alcoholic cocktails.
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  • A&JmomA&Jmom

    imageChicklit:
    Fino is awesome! The food is delish and really affordable. I love getting small plates there. I never feel like it's too little. My DH doesn't drink, but he likes to go there because they make interesting non-alcoholic cocktails.

    This!

    It is very trendy but not loud and somewhat romantic.  Definitely not kid friendly.  There tapas/small plate selection is  not huge, but we found it to be more than enough.  We typically spend quite a bit when we go out for nice dinners just the two of us, but found Finos very reasonable.  With LOTS of small plates/tapas that we shared(probably 8 or so total), plus a huge bowl of soup for DH and 2 glasses of wine for me we got out of there for under $100.  We were shocked at how low the bills was we felt more than full and the food was awesome!

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  • libbyannlibbyann member
    imagekiarox2002:

    imagelibbyann:
    Okay, so this doesn't necessarily fit all of your qualifications, but I love Cover 3. The food is ah-may-zing - seriously SO good! It's basically a fancy sports bar - great drinks/wines, great food. You can dress up, but don't have to. I don't know your DH, but mine would be thrilled if I surprised him with dinner there for his bday :)

    I think my DH is the only man in the world who hates sports.  :) 

    Lucky ;) Well, you guys need to go there sometime just to taste the food, but def. go somewhere else for his birthday!

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  • AustinMimiAustinMimi member

    Fino is great and very romantic.

    FWIW, I cannot recommend Justine's. I have had two bad experiences there in the last four months (the last time, I was served a cold raw hamburger) and my BFF recently got food poisoning there. And it's really loud inside.

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  • shanwalk2shanwalk2 member

    there's a really good sushi place next to the Belmont downtown... it starts with an M...

    Maiko! That's it.

    it's yummy. 

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  • FireChiefsBrideFireChiefsBride member
    Blue Dahlia Restaurant is incredible. The food is great, they have a wide variety (you can check out their menu online) and it's very up-and-coming Austiny.
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  • mrs.wildmanmrs.wildman member

    imageatlantic:
    Check out Olivia. Have fun!

    i love love love love LOVE Olivia. LOVE it.

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  • molliedbmolliedb
    love olivia.  love justine's.  love bess.
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