wine & dine

New restaurant and bar bring Alice in Wonderland whimsy to downtown Austin

"The Looking Glass" cocktail is among the many Alice in Wonderland-themed cocktails on the menu.

Photo by TJ Perez

A new wine garden and restaurant called The Guest House is setting up shop inside a downtown Austin high rise, capitalizing on the escapist, whimsical cocktail trend that has brought several Disneyified pop-ups and even more speakeasies. This one, based on a world without time in any normal sense, focuses on "timeless classics with a modern twist," according to a press release.

Spearheaded by Austin-based restaurant development and tech group inKind (Ember Kitchen, Subterra Agave Bar) and acclaimed chef Todd Mark Miller (Philadelphia's Barclay Prime), the concept will open its doors on the ground floor of The Northshore Austin in February 2024.

The 7,000-square-foot concept is the latest in a new trend of "social dining" that aims to attract the likes of tourists while also catering to the local urban Austin lifestyle. The adjoining enclosed patio spans 2,400 square feet, and the entire space draws inspiration from vibrant florals and Alice in Wonderland. The space also introduces a laid-back atmosphere with its lounge seating, large windows for sightseeing or people-watching, and an open bar area.

InKind CEO and Guest House partner Johann Moonesinghe explained in the release that his vision for the restaurant is to embody a classic hospitality that is a makes it a go-to "home away from home" destination.

"The Guest House will offer a lively bar, a dining room perfect for large parties, late-night dining, a fun brunch patio, a fantastic bread program, a memorable cocktail list and grab-and-go options, all within Austin’s bustling downtown," Moonesinghe shared.

The sumptuous offerings on The Guest House's dining menu span from seasonal raw oysters, to a 40-day dry-aged ribeye steak, or an inventive take on a "French Onion"-style burger made with Wagyu beef. Other must-try options include seared scallops; dosa caviar cakes with crème fraiche, chives, and saffron cured egg yolk; and the forest mushroom pizza topped with slow-cooked bacon, fontina cheese, and truffle.

The Guest House Austin The 40-day dry-aged ribeye is topped with peppers.Photo by TJ Perez

The Guest House's whimsical beverage program is led by Carla Lorenzo and Omar Douglas, with themed cocktails that take guests on a journey through the surrealist Lewis Carroll story that inspired the concept.

"One's journey may begin with the Tea Party, which is a seasonal sangria presented in theatrical teapots," the release says. "A further saunter down the rabbit hole may lead an adventurer into the Tulgey Woods, where they will find themselves on a forest floor, under a cotton candy tree, sipping on a playful margarita, surrounded with an aromatic fog."

Both old- and new-world wines will be included on the menu on a constantly-rotating basis, as well as local beer, ciders, and non-alcoholic beverages.

The Guest House The Tugley Woods cocktail brings on the whimsy.Photo by TJ Perez

Award-winning pastry chef Brigette Contreras will take charge of the dessert menu, using her 12-plus years of experience to develop bright new takes on classic dishes like the lemon meringue pie, a flambéed bananas foster sundae with house-made ice cream, and New York cheesecake.

Los Angeles-based Gemini Bakehouse founder Conor Smith will provide freshly-baked bread at The Guest House, which can be ordered on the menu or taken to-go. The two-tone laminated brioche feuilletée is the most visually dynamic bread, which we're hoping is one of the takeaway options.

The Guest House Austin We'll take several to go, please.Photo by TJ Perez

Once open, The Guest House will serve dinner nightly beginning at 5 pm, with plans to expand operating hours to include weekend brunch and weekday lunch in the future. Dinner reservations can now be made for dates starting on Monday, February 12, via SevenRooms.

openings restaurants wine garden austin

Peak Plates

7 Austin restaurants make OpenTable's top 100 for 2024

Jeffrey's Restaurant/Instagram

Jeffrey's Restaurant is a great example of the type of fancy, well-established restaurant that made the list.

Restaurant reservation website OpenTable has issued its new list of the top 100 restaurants in America for 2024, and seven Austin restaurants have made the list. That's already impressive at a glance — 7 percent of the entire national list in just one city — but compared to other Texas cities, it's huge. Austin is the only Texas city to have more than one restaurant on the list.

The "2024's Top 100 Restaurants" list is a compilation of the most sought-after and top-ranked restaurants in the U.S. based on 14 million verified reviews on OpenTable from October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024. Restaurants are not ranked, but arranged in alphabetical order by state.

Austin's seven restaurants (including several repeats from OpenTable's 2023 list) are:

Aba: Known for its laid-back, yet fancy patio and being a popular spot for visiting celebrities
J Carver's: Known for a commitment to the classic steakhouse experience and legitimately fancy dining
Jeffrey's Restaurant: Known for fine dining, a connection to Austin before its boom, and a fantastic wine program
Red Ash Italia: Known for approachable, yet high-quality Italian food with rustic touches
Sammie's Italian: Known for its romantic take on the archetype of an East Coast Italian joint
Uchi: Known for bringing Austin into the national sushi conversation and defining the scene
Uchiko: Known for a cool atmosphere and getting creative with sushi and other small plates

Austinites will probably not be surprised by this list, which names some very well-established restaurants that are all upscale. These qualities tend to appeal to similar lists, regardless of who's curating them.

It is interesting, given that the list was democratically based on user ratings, that there were not more beloved food trailers or casual spots. However, other factors that led to high rankings included alerts set and reservations made ahead — things that don't really apply to even the most awesome taco truck.

Mediterranean food was a trend among the Austin picks. Red Ash Italia and Sammie's Italian are, as the names would imply, completely dedicated to Italian food, while Aba covers a wider swath of the Mediterranean. There were also two steakhouses: J Carver's and Jeffrey's Restaurant.

As list-perusers may have guessed, Uchi and Uchiko are in the same family of restaurants, with Uchi being the more formal and Uchiko being a bit more accessible for drop-in meals and cocktails. But are two more incognito duos of sibling restaurants on the list: J Carver's and Red Ash, and Jeffrey's Restaurant and Sammie's Italian.

That could be a coincidence. It could also be a reflection of the utility of money and experience in opening a good restaurant, or a lesson about the effects of good (and expensive) marketing. Whatever it is, it doesn't sound like hospitality groups had any direct sway on how OpenTable made its choices.

This list was different from the inaugural list of OpenTable Icons, which launched in 2024. The "Icons" list chose restaurants that are getting a lot of buzz, which ended up being more subjective. It also seemed to let in — as a side effect of the process, rather than a hard eligibility rule — more new and Mexican restaurants. Two restaurants are on both lists: Red Ash and Jeffrey's.

Restaurants outside of Austin that made the Top 100 list, organized alphabetically, are:

Hudson House — Dallas
Steak 48 — Houston
Signature — San Antonio

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