Mexican Restaurant El Alma Opens in Hyde Park Bar & Grill’s Former Westgate Space

Bouldin Creek Mexican restaurant El Alma is expanding with a second location this year. The expansion will be found at the recently-former Hyde Park Bar & Grill space at 4521 West Gate Boulevard, Suite B in the Westgate neighborhood starting on Thursday, November 9.

As part of this new location, El Alma will add a new morning-time menu with coffee and breakfast dishes and pastries. Otherwise, the rest of the offerings will remain the same: lots of Mexican dishes including tacos, enchiladas, and rellenos. There will be its chuleta de puerco a la parilla (a bone-in pork chop with rice and cheese relleno, and sauces) and the codorniz con mole with grilled quail and a pasilla mole.

The bar will serve up cocktails, beer and wine. The physical space will be renovated to a similar design and aesthetic to the original El Alma, plus with indoor and outdoor spaces.

Under co-founder and executive chef Alma Alcocer-Thomas, El Alma opened in 2011, taking over the Barton Springs address that had been a location of parent company El Chile Group’s casual restaurant El Chile (the sole remaining location is on Manor Road). The restaurant group also oversees much-more-casual restaurant El Chilito, with two locations.

Classic Austin restaurant Hyde Park Bar & Grill shut down its Westgate location, which opened in 2006, earlier in September. No specific reason was given for the shutter. The original restaurant up in Hyde Park remains open.

Update, October 30, 1:39 p.m.: This article, originally published on September 14, has been updated to include El Alma’s Westgate restaurant opening date.