While we’re on the topic of revamped hotel restaurant concepts, the Bunkhouse Group's Carpenter Hotel has just revealed a new night lounge concept, Carpenter Coffee Bar, plus revamped menus at onsite restaurant, Carpenters Hall.
Following a soft launch during SXSW with a secret performance from Neil Francis, the new Carpenter Coffee Bar lobby lounge officially opened earlier this week. It boasts all-new menus, featuring caffeine and tacos by day and craft cocktails and snacks by night.
All menus have been refreshed by chef Jeffrey Hundelt, who also helms Summer House on Music Lane at Bunkhouse’s Hotel Magdalena (and hails from Austin’s highly acclaimed Launderette).
The almost all-day cafe celebrates Texas’ botanical bounty on the new evening menu, including the Piedra de Sol Tequila, a habanero-hibiscus reduction with lime and smoked salt, and the almost sour Cool Hand Luke, which is balanced with cucumber cordial for a mellow finish. Highlights on the snack list include bites like foie Linzer cookies, a cheese and charcuterie board, and crispy oyster mushrooms served with a sweet and tangy smoked leek salpicon.
For Carpenters Hall, Hundelt draws from the rich roots of Texan cuisine, reflected in the whole Gulf snapper and a slow-roasted Texas lamb served with tomatillo, pickled red cabbage, and whole wheat flatbread. New dishes like crispy oyster mushrooms, cashew “queso” dip, and a labneh and feta dip with olive-studded focaccia make their debut on the menu, while longtime favorites like the Texas gibson, migas scramble, and chicken schnitzel remain.
Located in the original 1948 building that once housed the Carpenters Union, Carpenters Hall remains relatively unchanged since Bunkhouse added the hotel to its portfolio in 2021. The main addition is a retractable awning for all-weather dining, plus signature Bunkhouse touches like upgraded loungers in the pool area and vintage pieces sourced from Austin’s Renner Project and Nashville’s Eneby for more seating areas in the lobby lounge. And in true Bunkhouse fashion, vintage stadium speakers were retrofitted to play music from a new select-your-own vinyl library.
Carpenter Coffee Bar is open daily from 7 am-3 pm, switching hats to hotel bar from 4-10 pm on weeknights, and until midnight on Friday and Saturday. Carpenters Hall opens at 11 am on weekdays and 10 am on weekends, with brunch service from 10 am-3 pm on Saturday and Sunday.
The Piedra de Sol Tequila, a habanero-hibiscus reduction with lime and smoked salt, now on the cocktail menu at Carpenter Coffee Bar.
