Austin's young, but highly regarded Italian restaurant Poeta is returning to its hotel days after some time away. Poeta will start taking reservations for a soft opening the first week of January, 2026, at its new location at the East Austin Hotel (1108 E. 6th St.).
Since June, Poeta — a sister restaurant to the older and even more lauded Intero — has been operating as a "residency" at Swoop House, a lush event venue in East Austin. Its soft opening at the East Austin Hotel next week will start with a New Year's Day brunch service, and Poeta will return to full service from January 5-7 for a few more limited-space days. It will start operating at full capacity Thursday, January 8.
The restaurant originally opened in November of 2023 at the Frances Modern Inn, and was named the Best New Restaurant of 2024 at the CultureMap Tastemaker awards — a reader-voted category. It left the hotel in March of 2025 and was quickly replaced by Siti, a new Southeast Asian concept by Chef Laila Bazahm of El Raval, which is still operating there.
While Poeta was in its Swoop House residency, it was offering a tasting menu, but now it'll have both a chef's menu and the original "guest-favorite" à la carte menu, according to a press release. As always, the menu reflects the talents of chefs Ian Thurwachter and Krystal Craig, plus chef de cuisine Kevin Donovan.
Guests can expect to see Italian treatments of Texas ingredients, with many components made in-house including daily hand-rolled pastas, sauces, and desserts. The chef's menu will change seasonally and feature "extra creative touches." Diners can top off the meal with an optional wine pairing.
In addition to the main dining room, Poeta will take over the upstairs lounge and bar, where guests can sip specialty cocktails and order from a full bar drink menu that includes some à la carte dining options to be enjoyed at the bartop. Interior designer Ayse Iyriboz, who worked on the Swoop House incarnation of Poeta, is putting some final touches on the space.
“Moving into Poeta’s new space feels like a meaningful step forward,” said Craig in a press release. “Our time focused on tasting menus was incredibly rewarding, but hearing how much our guests also missed the comfort and familiarity of choosing dishes they grew to love compelled us to find a space we would be able to offer both."
She says the new space will feel more relaxed and is easier for guests to access. Parking will also be easy, with 90 dedicated spaces that guests can access for free.
Reservations for the soft opening are coming soon. This story will be updated with a reservation link when one is available.
