Elevated Flavors

La Condesa team announces the opening of Sway, modern Thai food on South First

Hiramasa kingfish salad with chiles, lime and mint
Ma hor: Pineapple topped with sweet pork, chicken and prawn

The creative team that brought you La Condesa is almost ready to unveil their latest culinary creation on the taste buds of Austin. And this time they're presenting the flavors of the Far East via the Land Down Under.

Sway (which means "elevated" or "delicious") is a modern Thai restaurant set inside the beautiful Michael Hsu-designed lanna house being built along South First Street at Elizabeth.

Set to open in "late summer," Sway is a joint venture by La Condesa owners Jesse Herman and Delfo Trombetta and award-winning executive chef Rene Ortiz. After both spending time in Australia and learning the unique approaches to Thai cooking that permeate the country, Herman and Ortiz were inspired to showcase those bold flavors in their next restaurant concept.

“[Trombetta] and I developed a passion for Thai food after living there and we came up with the concept during our partnership at La Condesa," explains Herman in Tuesday's press release. "Chef Rene and I had also both spent time separately in Australia—he was cooking and I was going to school—and we were both inspired by the modern Australian style of Thai cooking that we were exposed to while living there."

The nearly completed restaurant design is intended to be community-oriented, encouraging family-style dining of the traditional and updated Thai dishes which are mostly under twenty dollars. Chef Ortiz is currently developing two nightly Chef's Tasting Menu options as well as a Moo Sway menu that features a family feast for 2 - 10 people and must be ordered ahead of time.

If your taste buds aren't already singing, joining Chef Ortiz again in the new theater-style kitchen is Food & Wine's "Best New Pastry Chef" Laura Sawicki, who will be creating Sway's colorful and exotic dessert menu, which includes plenty of lychee, coconut and basil.

Rounding out the superstar roster of La Condesa's heavy hitters is mixologist Nate Wells, who is concocting a global drink menu to easily connect Austin with Southeast Asia. You'll be able to find Thai and Vietnamese iced coffees, kombuchas and sakes just as easily as local beers and wines.

The exact date of open has not yet been announced. But hungry Austin foodies are watching the Sway Facebook page like hawks, fingers poised on speed-dial to make those first set of reservations. There's no doubt this new venture from the tried and true team at La Condesa is going to be sensational.

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News You Can Eat

Glam club's closure and beer passport map out Austin food and drinking news

Photo courtesy of Estelle's

Looking beautiful can only get you so far.

Buckle up, Austin. Hope you're ready for a lot of food news, since it seems like restaurants were holding out until Labor Day to make big announcements. This week we have more than five openings, a surprising closure, and some fun ways to change up your happy hour drinking routine.

Openings and closings

The life of Estelle's in the Warehouse District was short and beautiful; the social club has now closed after less than a year and a half in business. "We are heartbroken to share that Estelle’s has closed its doors and will not be reopening," says a message on the website. "Thank you to our employees, partners, and guests who brought Estelle’s to life." When it opened, it caught the eye of many Austinites thanks to its old-fashioned, stately-yet-airy decor. But despite the apparent readiness for a lounging upscale crowd, the actual venue was known for being very loud and tightly packed.

Another short-lived venture was Bacalar, a Mexican restaurant that was embattled from the start in September 2023, thanks to the relatively recent controversial past of Chef Gabe Erales. As of July 2024, the chef had departed and the restaurant closed, although the group he partnered with for the launch, Urbanspace, remains involved in Tómalo Grill. Formerly the sister takeout window, it will be taking over the full space officially on September 10. It is in a soft opening period throughout the weekend leading up to the grand opening date. Operating hours are Tuesdays through Sundays from 5-10 pm, with brunch on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 am to 2 pm starting September 14. The service window remains open Tuesdays through Sundays from 8 am to 2 pm.

ICYMI: We had lots of openings to share this week. Starting with familiar faces, Sixth Street bar Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is opening a classy-sporty spinoff that's something between a sports bar and an athletic club. Little Ola's Biscuits, a casual sister to Olamaie, is also expanding for the first time into the Mueller neighborhood. Austinites can also look forward to a brand new brunch, breakfast, and lunch spot by the Jack Allen’s Kitchen team. It was big news last year when Las Bis and Luminaire suddenly shuttered at Austin’s Hyatt Centric Congress Avenue, but now two new concepts are replacing them. Finally, two more deli-ish spots are making a comeback: Katz's is rebuilding a longtime legacy with a lot of goodwill, and Foxtrot is feeling out a possible return to a possibly hostile market.

Other news and notes

New Italian restaurant Casa Bianca is making a name for itself through interesting fusion dishes, which might make a dinner spread harder to choose compared to your neighborhood pizza spot. To help flesh out this unique POV, Chef Joseph Zoccoli has curated a tasting menu of six savory courses that will rotate seasonally. It'll be available every night of service for a market price of "around $140," plus optional wine pairings for $35. Reserve via Resy.

Central Market is creating the world's largest charcuterie board on September 11, in an attempt to break a world record. Just setting the board up isn't enough; the record depends on how much is eaten. With more than 1,000 pounds of meat and cheeses, that's a tall order. The free tickets are already sold out, but it'll be fun to see if and how the grocery store pulls this off. This is part of a larger 30th anniversary celebration that's happening all over the state, including more broadly accessible perks like in-store specials, live music, and more.

Friend groups who like to keep busy while enjoying a drink together can try something new at Electric Shuffle, a modern shuffleboard bar. It already had a similar package available for brunch, but now it's expanding out into a nighttime affair. Instead of doing things à la carte, this social sets guests up with a 90-minute open bar, family style appetizers, and a shuffleboard reservation for up to 20 friends for $65. A DJ keeps the energy up no matter how skilled at shuffleboard your party is.

Austin really does have too many places to enjoy a beer to count, but the Austin Ale Trail is attempting it, anyway. The "passport" lines up "over 50 craft breweries, pubs, bottle shops, and cideries in the Austin area," according to the website. Visitors can use it for discounts and freebies at participating businesses, or just a fun challenge to expand their horizons. The program kicks off with two parties: one September 7 at Vacancy Brewing and one September 8 at Blue Owl Brewing. Passports are also available at Black Star Co-Op, The Brewtique,Lazarus Brewing, and WhichCraft.