Fast-Casual Austin Mexican Chicken Restaurant Fresa’s Is Expanding Into Westlake

Popular Austin casual Mexican restaurant Fresa’s Chicken al Carbon is opening its third new location this year. It’ll be found in the Westlake neighborhood at 3600 North Capital of Texas Highway, Building A, Suite 110 sometime later in 2023.

It’s fair to expect a similar, if not same, menu to the other two Fresa’s locations in downtown and Bouldin Creek. There should be its wood-grilled meals, two with chickens either in achiote and citrus or Yucatan spiced; and then probably the chimichurri skirt steak and shrimp glazed with an aji pepper sauce. Then there are its tacos, bowls, and salads, which are filled with variations of those meats or other vegetables. For sweets, there should be ice creams and churros.

The Fresa’s Westlake will have cocktails, which means drinks like margaritas (regular, frozen, frozen prickly pear, and frozen avocado), beers, and wines. There are also nonalcoholic drinks like aguas frescas, iced teas, cold brews, and Arnold Palmers made with lemon aguas frescas.

The original Fresa’s opened in 2012 as a drive-thru on North Lamar actually by restaurant company McGuire Moorman (now McGuire Moorman Lambert) by restaurateur Larry McGuire, It was opened and run with then-co-partner Margaret Vera. In 2013, McGuire left and chefs Rene Ortiz and Laura Sawicki joined as co-partners. Together, they opened New American East Austin restaurant Launderette in 2015 and a second location of Fresa’s with a first-time-ever on-site indoor/outdoor dining spaces on South First in 2016. Later on, Sawicki left in late 2021.

Fresa’s restaurant neighbors in the 3600 North Capital of Texas Highway plaza include Jack Allen’s Kitchen.