Downtown Cafe Is Reopening After Yearlong Closure

Downtown all-day restaurant Forthright is finally reopening after a fire caused it to temporarily close last year. The cafe, located at 35 Brazos Street in the ground floor of the San Jacinto Center, will resume breakfast and lunch starting on Monday, October 14, with brunch to be added sometime later this month.

Now helming the kitchen is new executive chef Matthew Davis (formerly of Juliet Italian Kitchen), who took over from founding chef Ashley Neave. Forthright will serve its same menu of breakfast staples, like waffles, hashes, parfaits, pastries, and avocado toast. Lunch includes more savory items like salads, burgers, soups, and grain bowls. New dishes include bananas foster waffles. The cafe also serves espresso drinks (including ones with house-made cashew milk), and has a full bar.

Forthright’s new hours for now will be from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Eventually, it’ll expand with evening and weekend hours.

Forthright opened in July 2016 with a solid daytime menu. It started serving dinner in 2017, but then a fire in October 2018 forced it to close. During its closure, it was still serving brunch out of nearby Trinity Hall and to-go items from a food cart.

October 9: This article has been updated to include Forthright’s reopening date and the new executive chef.

• Downtown Austin Restaurant Is Closed Due to Fire [EATX]
• All Coverage of Forthright [EATX]