Austin Chinese Restaurant Lin Asian Bar Opens New Downtown Spot

Chef Ling Qi Wu of Clarksville Chinese restaurant Lin Asian Bar is opening a new modern Chinese restaurant in downtown Austin this month. Qi is debuting at 835 West Sixth Street with only walk-in dine-in service for now, starting on Friday, October 23. Takeout and curbside pickup services will be available at a later date.

Qi will serve a slightly more higher-end menu, when compared to Lin Asian Bar’s offerings. This means scallop shumai with caviar, lobster dumplings, Sichuan peppercorn alligator, fried rice with truffles and eggs, among other dishes. But, yes, her popular soup dumplings will be available too. The restaurant will serve lunch, dinner, and weekend dim sum.

Wu, who is from Fuzhou City in China, wanted to open this second restaurant after traveling through Asia and the West Coast, which led to her partnership Lanfang Farm in Manor, Texas. The farm will provide vegetables, fruits, honey, eggs, and herbs to the kitchen.

Qi was designed by Bercy Chen Studio, LP, which also worked on the East Austin Hotel. As part of the restaurant’s novel coronavirus mitigation measures, the bar features plexiglass shields separating staffers from customers.

Wu announced plans for Qi back in September 2019, and had originally intended to open by January 2020. Before opening Lin Asian Bar in 2018 on her own, she was the opening dim sum chef of modern Chinese downtown Austin restaurant Wu Chow.

Qi’s lunch hours are from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays; dinner hours are from 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and then from 5 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday; and Saturday and Sunday dim sum is from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Qi/Facebook

• Qi [Official]
• Qi [Instagram]
• Qi [Facebook]
• Lin Asian Bar [Instagram]
• Lin Asian Bar Bringing New Restaurant With Truffles and Uni to Downtown Austin [EATX]
• All Coverage of Qi [EATX]
• All Coverage of Lin Asian Bar [EATX]