Downtown Austin Hotel Will Open Three New Restaurants as Part of Renovations

Downtown Austin hotel the W has been undergoing renovations for quite some time, and these changes include three new restaurants and bars for the 200 Lavaca Street hotel. There’s the all-day American-French-Texan restaurant Serenade, presumably taking over what was previously the Trace restaurant. It’ll have a patio bar (aka courtyard) and two private dining rooms (one dubbed the Serenade Wine Room); expect beer, wine and cocktails from the Serenade Bar. Then there’s the new Blue Room, a reservations-only cocktail bar, taking over what was previously the hotel’s secret bar. Finally, there will be a cafe with French-ish vibes, 2nd & Roast, with coffee made with beans from Austin roasteries, bites, and pastries, along with espresso-based cocktails in the evenings. Remaining will be the Living Room Lounge, a bar that exists in all W hotels. The revamped Austin one will include an actually gold-colored bar, fireplace, and more. Everything is supposed to be completed and open/reopen in October 2024.

Tracking Austin food and drink events, pop-up edition

Hot dog pop-up Zee’s Wiener System’s got a couple dates this mid-summer on deck. First is a pop-up at Chestnut neighborhood Mexican restaurant Nixta Taqueria starting at 6 p.m on Wednesday, July 31; then it’ll be slinging franks at East Austin bar Kitty Cohen’s from 5 to 10 p.m. on Friday, August 2; and it’ll participate in creative space Canopy Austin’s Open Canopy event on Saturday, August 3 from 1 to 4 p.m. And then, it’ll cook up at West Austin cafe Better Half’s Sloppee Sunday event on August 4 starting at 3 p.m. where chef Zak Drummond will make something that is not a hot dog.

Paczki pop-up Custard Prison is hosting its next event on Saturday, August 3 at the downtown location of coffee shop and bakery Manana Dos. It’ll start at 10:30 a.m. The Polish doughnut menu includes strawberries and cream, fig leaf custard, apricot cobbler, and a take on Cinnabons.

Barbecue restaurant vacation

Central East Austin restaurant Franklin Barbecue’s annual summer vacation is happening right now. The 11th Street barbecue restaurant is closed from Monday, July 29 through Thursday, August 8, and it’ll reopen on Friday, August 9.

Chef changes

Brentwood pizza and wine restaurant Bufalina Due’s executive chef Eli Rodriguez is now the head chef of both that location and its East Austin location Bufalina.

Food truck relocations

Jamaican food truck Mr Pimento moved from its East Riverside location into McKinney neighborhood brewery Austin Craft Brewing as of July 28 at 4700 Burleson Road. Its hours are from noon to 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday.

Nyam Sunshine Cuisine moved from its St. Elmo area location at Vacancy Brewing into nearby volleyball court Wooly’s Beach Volleyball at 514 East St. Elmo Road as of July 30.

Tracking Austin food events, guest chef series edition

Austin pitmaster Aaron Franklin and his restaurant Uptown Sports Club are collaborating with McKinney brewery Meanwhile Brewing for a summer barbecue series on Fridays from 6:30 to 9 p.m. each day rotating between Uptown Sports Club in East Austin or Meanwhile on Promontory Point Drive. August 2 will feature barbecue restaurant LeRoy & Lewis’s Evan LeRoy; August 23 will feature seafood truck Huckleberry’s Davis Turner at Uptown; and September 20 with Italian restaurant L’Oca d’Oro and pizzeria Bambino’s Fiore Tedesco at Uptown. On-site ice cream truck Besame and bakery Tiny Pies will serve desserts. The brewery is also releasing a special lager made for Uptown. All-event tickets are $165, which come with two drinks, dessert, and two dishes at each event; individual date tickets are $39 (though Franklin’s one on September 6th is sold out already). There’s also related merchandise for sale.