Critically Lauded Restaurant Pitchfork Pretty Will Finally Reopen This Summer

Critically adored restaurant Pitchfork Pretty has confirmed that it will reopen this summer, as relayed by owner Seth Baas. The restaurant is located at 2708 East Cesar Chavez Street in the Holly neighborhood.

Like many other Austin restaurants, Pitchfork Pretty closed in March 2020 due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, then shifted to takeout that May. The restaurant then temporarily but indefinitely closed in June 2020 with plans to reopen in August, as reported by Austin 360 at the time. Baas owns the land and is in the enviable position of not having to pay rent.

Pitchfork Pretty opened in 2017 and is known for its self-described “Hill Country cuisine,” which included dishes like gluten-free fried chicken, cornbread with flower-studded miso butter, and a family-style Korean barbecue night. Statesman critic Matthew Odam named it the second-best restaurant in Austin two years running. Texas Monthly critic Patricia Sharpe called a pickled quail egg dish the best bite she’d had all year, and included it on her list of best new restaurants for 2018.

However, things might look a little different around the restaurant when Pitchfork Pretty does reopen. Last August, executive chef Max Snyder left the restaurant to open his own food truck, Rogue Radish (which is currently parked at the Pitchfork Pretty grounds), and several former employees, including the now-former general manager Alexander Dubey, are launching a line of canned cocktails.

• One of City’s Top Restaurants, Pitchfork Pretty, Closes Indefinitely [Austin 360]
• All Coverage of Pitchfork Pretty [EATX]