Houston Chef Plans to Bring Chicken-Fried Venison and Confit Tomato Pie to Wimberley

Former Houston chef Ryan Hildebrand is opening a new casual Hill Country restaurant this year. Hildee’s Dine-Inn will open on 14111 Winters Mill Parkway in Wimberley sometime in early 2022 with dine-in and takeout services.

The menu will focus on Hill Country and Southern fare, with heavy use of its smokehouse (pits and a live-fire table). This means chicken-fried venison served with sawmill gravy (a dish Hildebrand often ate during family hunting excursions in West Texas when he was younger); smoked salmon with a black pepper-potato muffin and caviar; confit tomato pie; and grilled halloumi served with beets, berries, and charred avocado. The full bar will serve up cocktails as well as offer a global wine list with an additional emphasis on Texas bottles.

Hildee’s physical space will include indoor and outdoor seating, as well as a covered patio and lounge seating along the creek and lawn. Takeout, curbside, and limited delivery orders can be placed online or over the phone when it opens.

Hildebrand had been wanting to open this specific restaurant since late 2019. He and his wife Mollye relocated to Wimberley, a town that they have visited often in the past ten years since her family owns property in the area. “It is about creating a space within this landscape that is healthy for me, my career, my family, the community, and those who come to visit and appreciate Wimberley,” he says.

During Hildebrand’s Houston years, he operated Gulf Coast-focused restaurant Triniti, which he opened in 2011 and closed in 2017. The space was nominated for a James Beard design award in 2013. In the meantime, he opened FM Bar + Kitchen, but he is no longer part of the restaurant as of November 2019.

Rendering: Hildee’s Dine-Inn

Update, December 15, 3:51 p.m.: This article, originally published on January 20, has been updated to reflect the restaurant’s new projected opening timeline.

• Hildee’s Dine-Inn [Facebook]
• Hildee’s Dine-Inn [Instagram]