rained out

Health-conscious Austin restaurant closes only out-of-town location

Picnik has closed.

Courtesy of Picnik

Austin and Houston have successfully shared many business ventures, and always have more planned. But they can't all last. Austin-based eateryPicnik, in Houston's Montrose, closed after service on Sunday, January 21.

In response to CultureMap's request for comment about the closure, a representative provided the following statement on behalf of the restaurant.

The energy around the opening, our passion during service, and support from the community somehow did not equate to more longevity in the Houston market. We want to thank our incredible team at Montrose and our wonderful guests for spending time with us.

Looking ahead, we will focus on continued growth at our Burnet and South 1st locations as Picnik lives its mission to provide Real Food + Good Vibes! We hope to be back in Houston in the future and see some familiar Houston faces at our other locations if your road ever takes you to Austin.

Part of the Montrose Collective project near the intersection of Westheimer and Montrose, the Austin-based restaurant opened to considerable acclaim in April 2022 — just weeks after debuting the second Austin location. Picnik distinguishes itself with a menu where every item is gluten-free, refined sugar-free, peanut-free, and seed oil-free.

In an appearance on CultureMap’s “What’s Eric Eating” podcast, Picnik CEO Dan Mesches explained the restaurant’s appeal extended beyond the allergy-friendly menu.

"Sometimes people talk about Picnik as 'well, I have a special diet.' Really, what we are is great food that happens to be good for you. You'll want to come there no matter how you eat," he said. "Yes, it's healthy comfort food. We will tell you we're refined sugar free ... We'll tell you we're seed oil free ... We happen to be gluten-free ... All those to me are below the line. It's really about being thoughtful, sourced really well, and just enjoying the food."

The Houston Chronicle was first to report the restaurant had closed.

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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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