Lonesome Dove Austin, which is Fort Worth celebrity chef Tim Love’s first forray in the city, opens its doors in downtown today, Thursday, June 25. The space exudes a similar aesthetic to the flagship restaurant, with plenty of pinewood, black steel, leather, and brick details, plus lots of animal relics. Eater photographer Robert J. Lerma goes inside the very Texan space.
The restaurant’s 150 seats include wooden tables, cowhide-lined banquettes, and leather booths. The walls feature taxidermied animals from Love’s collection. A custom-designed long chandelier of deer antlers floats above the 20-person bar, which is made from cottonwood trees. There’s a private dining room for up to 30 guests and lucky diners in the temperature-controlled wine room get to keep warm with shawls and suede vests. It was designed by Joel Mozersky Design, the group behind Uchi, Alamo Drafthouse, and Midnight Cowboy, and Dick Clark Architecture, which worked on previous tenant Kenichi.
The meat-heavy menu features steaks and wood-fired wild game meats like the rabbit and rattlesnake sausage. The Austin menu will boast elk and foie gras sliders, a take on congee with farro, and lamb brisket pozole stew. Cocktails include the signature jalapeno cucumber margarita made with Love’s tequila, the sarsaparilla old fashion, and a frozen shot Tuaca. Over 3,000 bottles of wine will be available, along with local beers like Austin Beer Works.
Lonesome Dove Austin is Love’s first restaurant in Austin, which was announced last summer. While he lives in Fort Worth, he also has a second here. He owns four other restaurants in Texas. Lonesome Dove Austin will be open Mondays through Saturdays from 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m until midnight.
