New Pacific Asian Cocktail Bar Brings Tropical Drinks and Food to Downtown Austin

A new Pacific Asian cocktail bar and restaurant, She’s Not Here, is taking over the shuttered Malagas Tapas Bar space in downtown Austin. The 440 West 2nd Street spot is set to open soon in the late summer.

On deck will be tropical drinks, making use of ingredients like hibiscus rye, applewood-smoked mezcal, aged rum, toasted coconuts and almonds, falooda syrup, and more.

Accompanying the beverages will be a menu focused on small bites with varying Asian influences. Expect sushi, Hawaiian saimin noodles with Shanghai beef tips and Tokyo clam broth, Filipino porchetta with sugarcane-grilled shrimp, Korean fried chicken, soft shell crab, and more.

Catering to the downtown crowd, She’s Not Here will offer daytime bento boxes to go. Options will include chicken katsu sandwiches, toasted sesame onigiri, and Bossam pork belly rolls. The restaurant’s chefs haven’t been announced yet.

The space will mash up French Art Deco and tropical aesthetics, spearheaded by the floral indoor mural by street artist Mez Data.

The team behind the restaurant includes Austin restaurant vets Ben Cachila and Christian Romero. Both are most recently behind the 40 North pizzeria brick-and-mortar.

When it opens, She’s Not Here’s hours will be from 11 a.m. to midnight, Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

This article has been updated to reflect the backgrounds of the She’s Not Here partners.

• She’s Not Here [Official]
• She’s Not Here [Facebook]
• She’s Not Here [Instagram]