How to Eat Cheap(er) at Austin’s Finest Restaurants

Austinites have plenty of fine dining restaurants worthy of those hard-earned dollars, but for those who don’t feel like dropping entire paychecks on dinners, Eater put together this handy guide to five higher-end Austin restaurants that offer affordable ways to experience more upscale dining.

For more like-places, scope out Austin’s best finer-dining restaurants. On the other end of the spectrum, check out the city’s best happy hour spots and essential cheap eats restaurants and food trucks.

Uchi

Uchi/Facebook

At one of the best sushi spots in the country, the ten-course chef’s tasting menu fluctuates daily according to market price, but can easily cost upwards of $100 per person. But one of Austin’s worst-kept dining secrets is the restaurant’s happy hour sake social, where wine, beer, sake, and bites like hand rolls are offered at a steep discount from 5 to 6:30 p.m. daily. Arrive early to snag a spot, especially on weekends.

Address: 801 South Lamar Boulevard, Zilker

Jeffrey’s

Jeffrey’s [Official]

You’d be hard-pressed to find a restaurant in Austin where the staff is dressed so fashionably, they often outshine the guests — but Jeffrey’s is no ordinary Austin restaurant. The Clarksville institution is known for its prime beef selection (a 26-ounce bone-in ribeye dry-aged for 32 days, will set you back $130), but experience the luxe atmosphere for much less by eating at the bar. Half-price dishes, like pan-seared bar steak, hamachi carpaccio, dry-aged wagyu burger, and $2 off drinks are offered during happy hour, held from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. every day, as well as all-night on Mondays.

Address: 1204 West Lynn Street, Clarksville

Wink

One of the first restaurants to bring unpretentious fine-dining to the casual city of Austin, Wink offers an intimate setting for devouring its fresh ingredients. There are five- and seven-course tasting menus, costing $78 and $106 respectively not including wine pairings. But the culinary experience extends to the bar, where slow-grazing customers are never rushed to make room for spendier patrons. During happy hour, enjoy half-off bar items like black truffle-laced mac and cheese, Prince Edward Island mussels, and a wide array of burgers from classic to foie to duck. That’s available from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Address: 1014 North Lamar Boulevard, Clarksville

Barley Swine

Robert J. Lerma/Eater Austin

Chef Bryce Gilmore’s acclaimed small-plate restaurant moved north to a luxe new space nearly double the size of its original iteration, but it still held onto its local, inventive ethos. The nine-course chef’s tasting menu is currently set at $95, but it’s during happy hour where selected dishes are available for half-off from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Sunday through Friday. Expect shared plates like pig-face Parker house rolls, blue crab gartin, and crawfish salad. Wash it all down with select discounted drinks: $7 draft cocktails, $4 beers, 25 percent off wine bottles, and half-off large-format beer bottles.

Address: 6555 Burnet Road, Brentwood

Cafe Josie

Cafe Josie/Facebook

Fine dining with a casual bent, Cafe Josie, under chef Todd Havers, offers what essentially amounts to an all-you-can-eat menu for $45. The seasonal Texas menu spans fried Gulf oysters, Korean fried chicken, grilled hanger steak and more. It drops to $35 during happy hour from 5 to 6 p.m. on the weekdays, and there’s a Sunday brunch version for $30.

Address: 1200 West 6th Street, Clarksville

— Jane Kellogg Murray, with updates by Nadia Chaudhury