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A plate of cooked prawns.
Prawns from Lutie’s.
Lutie’s

14 Restaurants to Splurge on an Upscale Dinner in Austin

Where to go big for a special occasion, or for no reason at all

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Prawns from Lutie’s.
| Lutie’s

While Austin is more often recognized for its taco joints and barbecue spots than its high-end restaurants, there are still quite a few pricey places that fit the bill for super special occasions. These restaurants range from a once-in-a-lifetime omakase sushi experience at ultra-cool Otoko to the always-creative tasting menu from Barley Swine. With this guide, you’ll find a fine-dining establishment for every occasion, from group dinners in luxe and modern spaces to charming and cozy choices for two. (Find a wider variety of date night solutions here, as well as tasting menus.)

And not all break the bank if you keep it simple. Check out the dinner options from James Beard Award-winning chef Iliana de la Vega’s El Naranjo, or visit during happy hour, when some of these picks — like Jeffrey’s and Uchi — have the same great food for much less.

With updates by Nadia Chaudhury.

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DipDipDip Tatsu-Ya

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Opting for special occasion hot pot may sound a little odd, but DipDipDip Tatsu-ya is definitely an experience. At beautiful, intimate tables, diners can choose high-quality cuts of meat like A5 wagyu rib-eye from Japan and browse the daily cart offerings for noodles and more. Or, pick an omakase to sit back and enjoy. Don’t miss the Keep Austin Dipping sauce — a take on queso. There are omakase options ranging from $95 to $125, allowing you to sample a little bit of everything. There are indoor dine-in services.

Barley Swine

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Of chef Bryce Gilmore’s three restaurants, it is the Brentwood restaurant that offers up more experimental seasonal dishes through its multi-course chef’s tasting menu for $115. Expect items like the duck paired with potatoes and pears or peach doughnuts with fig leaf ice cream. There are indoor and outdoor dining areas.

Lutie’s

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Planning ahead is essential at this tiny restaurant at the Commodore Perry Estate. Verdant Lutie’s, from lauded Austin chef couple Bradley Nicholson and Susana Querejazu, has dishes like chickpea and green corn salad, swordfish, and kouign amann ice cream. There are indoor and outdoor dining areas.

The grand aioli features fresh vegetables including some cut into rosettes with poach shrimp and boiled eggs on a tower made from marble. A white plate with a single English muffin sits off to the side along with a crystal dish of dip and a clear stemless glass of white wine.
Grand aioli at Lutie’s
Commodore Perry Estate, Auberge Resorts Collection

Inherently, seafood makes for a pricier meal, but the menu at the Blackland Mexican seafood restaurant is well worth the extravagance. Chef Fermín Núñez pulls off fantastic, flavorful, and fresh dishes like the creamy trout a la pulla or the messy fun camarones “el ricas,” and a decadent seafood tower with clams preparados and morita-drawn butter lobsters. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in services.

Jeffrey's

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This Clarksville fine-dining institution was reimagined by the entrepreneurs at McGuire Moorman Hospitality in 2013 (now McGuire Moorman Lambert), turning it into a near-perfect spot for special occasions. The menu changes daily and is centered on dry-aged steaks — go all in with a bone-in ribeye. “Oohs” and “aahs” are guaranteed thanks to both the martini and cheese carts, caviar service, and top-notch hospitality. There are indoor dine-in services.

A restaurant dining room.
Jeffrey’s.
Jeffrey’s

Olamaie

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The modern Southern restaurant in downtown Austin is back, under executive chef Michael Fojtasek and chef de cuisine Amanda Turner. The menu focuses on expertly executed Southern faves like smoked eggplant with an Alabama barbecue sauce, red rice with Gulf shrimp and Tabasco sauce, and grilled pork chops. There are indoor and outdoor dining areas.

Qi Austin: Modern Asian Kitchen

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Of chef Ling Qi Wu’s many Austin restaurants, it’s this downtown restaurant that is a bit more upscale. The modern Chinese menu includes knock-out fancy dishes such as lobster dumplings, salt-and-pepper lobster tails, loads of spicy fish, and corn soup with crab meat. Takeout orders can be placed online. There are indoor dine-in services.

Named after the Greek goddess of the hearth, the downtown restaurant centers on live-fire cooking. That means dishes like a scallop with beef tallow and mushroom gelee, wagyu steaks, and king trumpet mushrooms with radishes. There’s also a 13-course tasting menu available for $195. Hestia comes from the much-lauded team of Kevin Fink and Tavel Bristol-Joseph, the latter of whose creative desserts are absolutely not to be missed. There are indoor and outdoor dining areas.

Garrison

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Though the windowless ambiance at Garrison may not be to everyone’s taste, the kitchen is doing everything right. The menu rotates frequently and ranges from super fancy tater tots with black truffle and aerated gruyere to caviar with brioche to large steaks. Expect five-star fine dining service as well. There are indoor dine-in services.

A whole grilled fish on a board.
Garrison’s whole grilled branzino.
Courtney Pierce/Eater Austin

APT 115

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The East Austin wine bar underwent a major menu revamp with head chef Charles Zhuo (formerly of Barley Swine). The result is what they describe as a New Texan-Chinese tasting menu full of items like crab buns, almond tofu, and rabbit soup dumplings. The 10-course tasting menu is $130; there’s an a la carte menu too. There are indoor dine-in services.

Uchi’s modern take on Japanese cuisine has rightly earned its national acclaim. While you can’t go wrong with the exquisite a la carte menu, choose the adventurous market-priced omakase menu to truly experience the chefs' expertise with fresh cuts of fish with flavorful adornments to one-of-a-kind desserts. Takeout orders are available. There are indoor and outdoor dining areas.

Shrouded in exclusivity, the 12-seat Japanese restaurant located at the South Congress Hotel offers a multi-course omakase-style ticketed dinner, which incorporates influences from Kyoto's kaiseki and Tokyo’s sushi traditions. At $295 per person for sushi omakase or $250 for the classic omakase, the multi-course journeys from chef Yoshi Okai are one of Austin's most expensive dinners — but it’s unforgettable. There are indoor dine-in services.

El Naranjo

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James Beard Award-winning chef Iliana de la Vega serves dishes from Oaxaca, with dishes like duck breast served in mole negro, tlayuda oaxaquena, and ensalada a la jamaica. Most of the dishes in the restaurant are gluten-free. Takeout orders are available. There are indoor and outdoor dining areas.

Sushi by Scratch Restaurants

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The original chefs at Sushi|Bar split and opened their own sushi restaurant, Sushi by Scratch Restaurants at the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort & Spa in Cedar Creek. The $165 omakase serves the greatest hits from their time at Sushi|Bar, like pieces topped with fresno chiles and an excellent sake and cocktail pairing. Another option for fine dining is the sibling restaurant Pasta|Bar on East Sixth, which features a set menu of Italian dishes.

DipDipDip Tatsu-Ya

Opting for special occasion hot pot may sound a little odd, but DipDipDip Tatsu-ya is definitely an experience. At beautiful, intimate tables, diners can choose high-quality cuts of meat like A5 wagyu rib-eye from Japan and browse the daily cart offerings for noodles and more. Or, pick an omakase to sit back and enjoy. Don’t miss the Keep Austin Dipping sauce — a take on queso. There are omakase options ranging from $95 to $125, allowing you to sample a little bit of everything. There are indoor dine-in services.

Barley Swine

Of chef Bryce Gilmore’s three restaurants, it is the Brentwood restaurant that offers up more experimental seasonal dishes through its multi-course chef’s tasting menu for $115. Expect items like the duck paired with potatoes and pears or peach doughnuts with fig leaf ice cream. There are indoor and outdoor dining areas.

Lutie’s

Planning ahead is essential at this tiny restaurant at the Commodore Perry Estate. Verdant Lutie’s, from lauded Austin chef couple Bradley Nicholson and Susana Querejazu, has dishes like chickpea and green corn salad, swordfish, and kouign amann ice cream. There are indoor and outdoor dining areas.

The grand aioli features fresh vegetables including some cut into rosettes with poach shrimp and boiled eggs on a tower made from marble. A white plate with a single English muffin sits off to the side along with a crystal dish of dip and a clear stemless glass of white wine.
Grand aioli at Lutie’s
Commodore Perry Estate, Auberge Resorts Collection

Este

Inherently, seafood makes for a pricier meal, but the menu at the Blackland Mexican seafood restaurant is well worth the extravagance. Chef Fermín Núñez pulls off fantastic, flavorful, and fresh dishes like the creamy trout a la pulla or the messy fun camarones “el ricas,” and a decadent seafood tower with clams preparados and morita-drawn butter lobsters. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in services.

Jeffrey's

This Clarksville fine-dining institution was reimagined by the entrepreneurs at McGuire Moorman Hospitality in 2013 (now McGuire Moorman Lambert), turning it into a near-perfect spot for special occasions. The menu changes daily and is centered on dry-aged steaks — go all in with a bone-in ribeye. “Oohs” and “aahs” are guaranteed thanks to both the martini and cheese carts, caviar service, and top-notch hospitality. There are indoor dine-in services.

A restaurant dining room.
Jeffrey’s.
Jeffrey’s

Olamaie

The modern Southern restaurant in downtown Austin is back, under executive chef Michael Fojtasek and chef de cuisine Amanda Turner. The menu focuses on expertly executed Southern faves like smoked eggplant with an Alabama barbecue sauce, red rice with Gulf shrimp and Tabasco sauce, and grilled pork chops. There are indoor and outdoor dining areas.

Qi Austin: Modern Asian Kitchen

Of chef Ling Qi Wu’s many Austin restaurants, it’s this downtown restaurant that is a bit more upscale. The modern Chinese menu includes knock-out fancy dishes such as lobster dumplings, salt-and-pepper lobster tails, loads of spicy fish, and corn soup with crab meat. Takeout orders can be placed online. There are indoor dine-in services.

Hestia

Named after the Greek goddess of the hearth, the downtown restaurant centers on live-fire cooking. That means dishes like a scallop with beef tallow and mushroom gelee, wagyu steaks, and king trumpet mushrooms with radishes. There’s also a 13-course tasting menu available for $195. Hestia comes from the much-lauded team of Kevin Fink and Tavel Bristol-Joseph, the latter of whose creative desserts are absolutely not to be missed. There are indoor and outdoor dining areas.

Garrison

Though the windowless ambiance at Garrison may not be to everyone’s taste, the kitchen is doing everything right. The menu rotates frequently and ranges from super fancy tater tots with black truffle and aerated gruyere to caviar with brioche to large steaks. Expect five-star fine dining service as well. There are indoor dine-in services.

A whole grilled fish on a board.
Garrison’s whole grilled branzino.
Courtney Pierce/Eater Austin

APT 115

The East Austin wine bar underwent a major menu revamp with head chef Charles Zhuo (formerly of Barley Swine). The result is what they describe as a New Texan-Chinese tasting menu full of items like crab buns, almond tofu, and rabbit soup dumplings. The 10-course tasting menu is $130; there’s an a la carte menu too. There are indoor dine-in services.

Uchi

Uchi’s modern take on Japanese cuisine has rightly earned its national acclaim. While you can’t go wrong with the exquisite a la carte menu, choose the adventurous market-priced omakase menu to truly experience the chefs' expertise with fresh cuts of fish with flavorful adornments to one-of-a-kind desserts. Takeout orders are available. There are indoor and outdoor dining areas.

Otoko

Shrouded in exclusivity, the 12-seat Japanese restaurant located at the South Congress Hotel offers a multi-course omakase-style ticketed dinner, which incorporates influences from Kyoto's kaiseki and Tokyo’s sushi traditions. At $295 per person for sushi omakase or $250 for the classic omakase, the multi-course journeys from chef Yoshi Okai are one of Austin's most expensive dinners — but it’s unforgettable. There are indoor dine-in services.

El Naranjo

James Beard Award-winning chef Iliana de la Vega serves dishes from Oaxaca, with dishes like duck breast served in mole negro, tlayuda oaxaquena, and ensalada a la jamaica. Most of the dishes in the restaurant are gluten-free. Takeout orders are available. There are indoor and outdoor dining areas.

Sushi by Scratch Restaurants

The original chefs at Sushi|Bar split and opened their own sushi restaurant, Sushi by Scratch Restaurants at the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort & Spa in Cedar Creek. The $165 omakase serves the greatest hits from their time at Sushi|Bar, like pieces topped with fresno chiles and an excellent sake and cocktail pairing. Another option for fine dining is the sibling restaurant Pasta|Bar on East Sixth, which features a set menu of Italian dishes.

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