Fabulous French bistro laV is opening today! I love, love, love the Aspen-Austin connection, which I wrote about here.
One of my girlfriends was lucky enough to attend all of the pre-pre opening festivities a couple of weeks ago. She scoped it out for all of us, and had this to report:
“The ambiance is amazing … you walk into a wine bar with hanging light pendants made from hand blown glass. The next room is the bar which has a huge mural behind the bar and reminds me of being in the King Cole bar in the St. Regis NYC. The dining room is really rich and sophisticated yet comfortable with cloth tufted dining booths. And of course this leads you into the wine room, which is a private dining room … Beautiful.”
these images are gorgeous, did she really take them on her iphone??
She was sweet enough to send along a pic of the menu, and detailed some of her fave dishes:
“What I really loved was the chicken liver pate … it tastes just like the one they serve at the Nell and is to die for.” [The Little Nell is Aspen is where the chef and wine director used to work]
“The Tilefish Crudo melts in your mouth.”
“The Farm egg and mushroom ravioli was my favorite.”
“Main dishes like the grilled whole fish and Chicken for 2 are outstanding … everything is so fresh.”
Deets about laV:
Owner Ralph Eads says, “Our field of dreams actually started as a modest wine bar in east Austin, but once we recruited Vilma Mazaite and Allison Jenkins we realized that we could aspire to be a seriously good restaurant. Add into the mix the award-winning design team, and we believe we’ve created something special.”
Sommelier Vilma Mazaite and Executive Chef Allison Jenkins are the Aspen connections, though Jenkins and Executive Pastry Chef Janina O’Leary (2013 James Beard semi-finalist) are both Texas natives.
Serving as its central vein of laV is its wine program: over 7000 bottles and 1200 labels, with 20+ wines by the glass. Cheers to that!
1501 East 7th Street
Tuesday through Saturday for dinner beginning at 5PM
Brunch on Sunday from 11AM-2:30PM
reservations@laVAustin.com or call 512-391-1888 / laVAustin.com