200 Lee Barton Drive
Austin, TX 78704-1059
(512) 473-3700
Paggi House is one of the best located restaurants in Austin. Luckily enough, the building and outdoor space have been designed to perfectly take advantage of the stellar views. The food and drinks in addition make this one of the best happy hour/fine dining date spots in the city. If you feel like relaxing with a nice cocktail or glass of wine, nibbling on some lightly prepared snacks all while taking in the Austin skyline, this is the place for you.
The restaurant is actually housed in one of the oldest buildings in Austin. The architect/design team did a great job of combining this historic landmark with frankly, quite urban updates. The restaurant’s foot-print is much larger than the original building. There’s a fantastic patio area out in the front with loungy couches as well as dining tables. In the back of the restaurant is a bar space replete with a deep-stone bar. The bar area is quasi-indoors with a translucent roof and open passageways. The interior of the small, original building has a luxe feel with black leather chairs, crisp white table cloths and a changing roster of artwork on the walls. The space offers many different types of mini-venues if you will – a happy hour spot on the patio out front, a true bar scene out back and a fine-dining interior.
The wine menu is quite extensive and generally well-edited. They have a good European and American presence, but don’t have a lot of wild cards. The most unusual wine I’ve had there was a rose sparkler from the Loire valley made, at least partially, from cabernet franc. Otherwise, I tend to have a nice nebbiolo from Piedmont or a lovely pinot from California. They do have a wines by the glass menu, which is on the higher end, but satisfies. The cocktails are interesting – Blood Orange Margaritas, Strawberry Mojitos and classic Mint Juleps. I definitely recommend this place for happy hour – they have half-price specials!
The food is definitely American, but with the now-pervasive locavore bent. Their ingredients are well-sourced and they are proud to tell you about them. They don’t seem to suffer with the same recent obsession with offal that other places have demonstrated and they don’t try to overly challenge you with their food. If there was something that might set them apart from other similar restaurants (Olivia, Parkside, Wink…), it would be their seafood focus. I personally love all of their fish entrees – they are excellently prepared. Their Mero Sea Bass, Alaskan Halibut and Hawaiian Ahi are all pan-seared to perfection and served with excellent veggie and sauce accompaniments. I tend to love their delicately dressed salads and tend to always get them, but when I’m enticed away, it’s usually for their seafood appetizers. I recently had their Lobster and Endive Salad and it was fantastic – succulent lobster with sweet beets in a lovely butter sauce. I will say that my husband, Stephen, is hooked on their Lamb Rack which is crusted with pine nuts and served with goat cheese whipped potatoes. He hasn’t changed his order since he first had it! Please be forewarned, though, this place is pricey! The average entrée is $29…
Overall, I would recommend Paggi House just for the view and atmosphere. It is quite well situated. It’s a bonus that it serves up well-prepared dishes accompanied by delicious drinks. If you haven’t been yet, I would either go on my next fancy date or happy hour outing so you can take advantage of the summer weather. ☆☆☆☆
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