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The Townsend

Cocktail lovers rejoiced when the Townsend arrived on Congress Avenue, upping the previously stodgy and syrupy downtown cocktail scene along with other newcomers such as Small Victory and the Roosevelt Room. What I didn’t realize at the time was that the classy bar guided by general manager Justin Elliott would also help reframe how we think about eating in bars. Other operators in cities like Portland have found success in meeting eaters where they drink, and the Townsend has followed suit.

There’s no reason to just be a place for pre- or post-dinner drinks when you can serve a tightly curated menu of considered and varied bar food. Chef Justin Huffman, who also serves as a sous chef at Justine’s, created a menu that can do sophisticated takes on bar classics, like the red miso mayo on a burger dripping in American cheese and the North African spices on a crunchy fried chicken served with semolina flatbread.

The toasts, like one topped with a floral sake egg salad and salty tobiko and onion, are perfect snacks for drinking, and the cacio e pepe made with squid ink pasta and showered with grana padano could sit on the menu of any Italian restaurant in town. I hope others follow the trend. Bonus points for some of the best cocktails in town — like the Herringbone, a boozy old chap made with bourbon, brandy, and herbaceous and cherry liqueurs — served in a building with almost 150 years of history.

— Matthew Odam

  DowntownNew American

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Map tiles by Stamen Design, CC BY 3.0 — Map data © OpenStreetMap

Location

718 Congress Ave.

Austin, TX 78701

512-887-8778


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