Under the Seareinita

Latin-owned Austin culinary empire announces second seafood concept

The ocean theme is all over this restaurant.

Photo by Ishmael Cabral

One of the fastest-growing hospitality groups in the city has unveiled yet another restaurant. Already counting hotspots like Taquero Mucho, Mala Fama, Mala Vida, Mala Santa, Revival Coffee, and Churro Co. under its umbrella, Gabriela’s Group announced the soft opening of its 13th Texas-based concept this week.

Marking the group’s 11th restaurant in Austin, La Seareinita is a smaller format response to the success of Seareinas, its Sinaloa-style seafood spot opened in Northeast Austin in 2022. Featuring many of the original restaurant’s most popular seafood dishes, the new sibling is located at 2305 Burleson Road in a former Whataburger.

Cofounder Gabriela Bucio led design efforts to transform the expansive fast food joint into an open-concept dining space. Patrons will enjoy the signature bright colors and vibrant patterns of other Gabriela’s Group concepts, with ocean-themed elements such as a swirling turquoise sea pattern for the cement floor and a floor-to-ceiling floral Monstera wallpaper.

Original design elements from Seareinas nodding to their origin include white marble table tops and several statues of Jesus Malverde—a spiritual icon and folk saint of Sinaloa, Mexico who became known as the “generous bandit” and “angel of the poor.” Of course, it wouldn’t be a Gabriela’s project without stunning bathrooms, which will feature black tile with gold grout and other gold finishes, as well as custom butterfly wallpaper.

Since the new spot also wouldn’t be a Gabriela’s without two of the group’s other trademarks (an impressive cocktail list and live music), guests can expect both in the new location. The menu will include an expansive selection of tequilas and mezcals, with frozen margaritas on tap, which patrons can sip while local DJs spin a mix of Latin, R&B, hip-hop, and more toe-tapping tunes. Sports fans won’t feel left out, either, with more than 10 HD big-screen TVs dotted through the space, broadcasting football and soccer games, plus boxing and UFC matches.

For this week’s soft opening, La Seareinita’s dining hours are from 5-10 pm Mondays through Thursdays, and noon

to 10 pm Fridays through Sundays. A new drive-through menu of micheladas and cocktails is expected in the coming weeks, as well as expanded hours of operation. Stay up to date via Instagram for future news and events.

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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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