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    Le Calamar

    4.1 (46 reviews)
    Closed 5:00 pm - 10:00 PM

    Le Calamar Photos

    LE CALAMAR ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Happy hour specials
    Outdoor seating

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    Recommended Reviews - Le Calamar

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    Reviews With Photos

    Megan L.

    Pricing for the pre-fixed menu is great, but I really wish they would portion the sizes among the guests. It feels really awkward to spend $80+ (including tip and tax) but have to portion control yourself and your party. Service is incredible, and our waitress was so sweet and helpful the entire time. The vibe is also intimate and great for dates and friends. The food itself is just okay. The tartare in the beginning was wonderful, but everything else was just okay. Nothing stood out, taste was just meh, and it felt like one mediocre dish after another. They also ran out of the chocolate dessert puff (I forgot exactly what it's called), so they gave us a free rice pudding that we also all had to share with multiple spoons.

    Baked Alaska
    Daniel S.

    I had been wanting to try La Calamar after being a fan of its previous concept, Underdog. Walking in you immediately notice the shift in ambiance as it's much darker and moodier than its predecessor. The menu has also evolved, leaning more into French cuisine, though I was glad to see they maintained a stellar wine selection. I was especially excited to find Beaujolais Nouveau by the glass, which is rare to come across in the States. It tasted just as elegant as its name suggests. Their martinis are also a strong choice if you're in the mood for a cocktail. For starters, the steak tartare was a standout. The chicken wing, however, felt a bit underwhelming as it lacked the crispness and depth of flavor I was hoping for. For my entrée, I chose the Yelloweye Snapper and I'm glad I did. The brown butter brought rich, balanced flavor and the almond crunch added a lovely textural contrast. To finish, I tried their take on baked Alaska. The presentation was uniquely shaped and visually striking. While enjoyable, I've had stronger versions elsewhere.Service was stellar throughout the evening, and validated parking was a thoughtful touch. I'm happy to see them receive Michelin recognition and hope they continue to refine and elevate the experience. I'd love for my next visit to be even better and maybe even a happy hour added!

    Chicken wing
    Loni M.

    Came here for a birthday dinner and they were very thoughtful to put a Personalized Happy birthday card on the table! The ambiance was dark and romantic and very French. The service was amazing and our waiter was very attentive and knowledgeable about the menu. The only hiccup that I didn't like was that they don't do substitutions for the prefix menu (I am allergic to shellfish and one of the dish was oyster). I really wanted to try it but ended up doing A La carte. All the dishes I had were amazing though. The stuffed chicken wing was really good and the chicken liver parfait with strawberry surprisingly worked well. I would come back for a special occasion!

    Happy Birthday note
    Chris W.

    The interior was much nicer than expected: intimate, romantic, and dim. Some chairs were not as comfortable, but they do have cushioned seats. The service was good, but not fast. The drinks took awhile to come out. We tried several of the most popular items, and we liked the beef tallow fries the best. The steak tartare was decent. Gnocchi was filling. We had high hopes for the pan roasted chicken, which was tender as advertised, and the chicken wings stuffed with chicken and veal, but they were not extraordinary. The waygu petite tender steak au poivre was also not as delicious as expected but good enough. The golden beets dish was pretty refreshing. It cleaned the palate. We had to order a second order of the fries because they were so good. I also enjoyed the roasted Lion's mane mushroom. They made my Old Fashioned just right. For our birthday celebration, they brought our dessert out with two candles on it. It was a double birthday. We ordered the quatre epices cake with butterscotch & crème fraiche. Not bad! Overall the experience was good.

    Crude
    Nida A.

    I haven't written a negative review in a really long time because I truly feel bad for establishments who work so hard, so here goes. We came in to celebrate our anniversary here and were met with a slightly negative experience. The cream puffs were burnt and extremely unpleasant to taste. I made it pretty clear I did not eat them, sent the whole thing back and was still charged for it since it was a part of the tasting menu. The server also did not offer to replace the desert with another item to make up for the negative experience. She did however asked if I wanted another one of the same cream puffs to go. No maam! Definitely don't want another one of those burnt horrors. I also don't mean to sound entitled but there wasn't anything done as a stand out to make the dinner special. This must be me overthinking things because of the burnt cream puffs, but I would've rather them not have done anything at all than have stuck a candle in a dessert I was already paying for as part of the tasting menu. I'd love to hear other opinions on this but I almost felt betrayed for them acting like they were surprising us with something we ordered and were already paying for. Their steak was extremely rare. To a point where it felt highly uncomfortable and chewy (like raw chewy). I also strongly felt like their tasting menu was not good value for money. We both opted for the tasting menu and later realized each and every portion is just a single serving of their ala carte items just expected to be split between two people. There were two off menu items but both felt like filler items to make up for the menu and we would have been better off ordering items of our choice instead. Once you add everything up, you are MUCH better off ordering Ala carte since you get to opt out of dishes that don't appeal to you. I do, however, like giving credit where it's due. Their red snapper topped with the spicy mole sauce was absolutely phenomenal. Truly, one of the more flavorful servings of fish I have tasted. Their beef tallow fries were also extremely top-notch.

    The salad, snapper, roasted chicken and gnocchi
    Quin T.

    Le Calamar is very unassuming. I have walked by this place quite a few times while dining at Dish Society and I did not know that they were there. The evening that we dined here, it seemed as if it was empty until I walked in to a packed house! I was shocked! I really love the front room that you pass through on your way to the main room; the decor is really nice and I loved the bathroom-super cute. For a girls dinner, we shared the chicken wings, steak tartare, pan roasted chicken, yellow eye snapper, gnocchi parisienne, and the salad. For dessert, we shared the baked Texas which is their take on baked Alaska. The food was incredible! The only reason that I am giving them 4 stars as opposed to 5 is because I find it extremely tacky when the hostess reminds guests that they have a time limit. I will definitely go back when they change their menu.

    Entry
    Wendy B.

    I showed up without a reservation with a friend and they accommodated us immediately, I had the salad, a cocktail and the main dish that was memorable was the wagyu au pouvre with the gnocchi, you must get the gnocchi, it melted in your mouth. The ambiance has dimmed lights and very upscale, great for a romantic date night

    Menu
    Isabelle K.

    In south of Austin. We ordered chef menu. My favorite is shrimp and steak. The shrimp is very fresh. $77 for two people dinner is very reasonable for Michelin recommended restaurant.

    Steve C.

    It's a beautiful interior. We sat a the bar and ordered a few items. We did try chicken liver parfairt which came with texas toast. The liver had the consistency of a mousse and had gelatin on top of it. I didn't think it was that good and thought that it was too light for the texas toast. The other item we had was the baked texas, honey, olive oil, pecan dessert. Looked almost like a cactus, pretty cool, but it must have been frozen because we had trouble cutting thru it with the small dessert spoon. The margarita was good - the list of wines by the glass was small. We liked our bartender.

    Chicken Liver parfait
    Elle K.

    Absolutely delicious meal and excellent service! The chicken and fish entree were some of the best I've ever had. Incredible flavor on the fish and with the squeeze of lime. The chicken was cooked perfectly and the pickled mushrooms on top were the perfect pairing. For appetizers the chicken liver parfait was the perfect sweet and salty combo on crunchy toast. I had never tried chicken liver before so was apprehensive but it was so good. The tomato salad appetizer was good but the least exciting thing we ordered. Would try something else next time. It was basically just cherry tomatoes in a vinaigrette, but they were very fresh. The side of potato was a pretty small patty but it was tasty. I would order two if you have more than 3-4 people at your table. The baked Texas dessert was a bit underwhelming. The olive oil martini was hard to get down but the dirty martini was great! Highly recommend for a nice dinner with some great flavor. Inside is also beautifully decorated.

    Steak au poivre
    Bri W.

    We were running quite late (25 mins!) and they were very accommodating - we let them know we were going to be late through the chat on OpenTable. Their flexibility was much appreciated. Ambiance is fantastic - moody with a bit of Texan eclectic flair. Service was prompt and friendly. We got the crudo and beets to start, followed by the au poivre, snapper, and gnocchi. Everything was very solid and very rich. The crudo could have used a bit of acid, and the steak wasn't quite as tender as I would have liked, but otherwise we enjoyed the dishes. I got two of the mezcal cocktails - the electron and the el diablo. The electron was particularly good, very well balanced. Recommend stopping in for a date night!

    wing
    Kimberley R.

    I'm hesitant to write this review as I had such high hopes for this newly revamped restaurant. Previously the Underdog, it is now La Calamar. I'm not sure why they completely changed a good thing. I absolutely loved the Underdog food, I still remember the cucumber kimchi. The food at La Calamar is just okay. We did enjoy the crispy chicken wing, the snapper and I loved the spice cake. But the other food was so bland. Especially the crudo and chicken. The fries were pretty good but they were just fries. Overall I felt they had something really special and much more flavorful with the Underdog menu. I know they are going for a French bistro but we just got back from France and this food can't compare. Sometimes a revamp it's not always better.

    Steak tartar
    Eina D.

    The space is beautiful. It's dark, intimate, and the service was superb. The food, however, was a hit or a miss for me. The best thing we ate was the chicken liver parfait. The sweetness of the fruit offset the iron taste of the liver. It was so addicting that we ordered more bread. The steak tartar was unimpressive. It was way too salty from the capers and the chips were rock hard. The fish with almond and brown butter was so, so tiny for almost $40 that it didn't seem worth it. The pan roasted chicken has good flavor, but it was dry, as if it's been sitting out for a while. It's also worth noting that the cocktails are premade. I asked about replacing mezcal with tequila and they were unable to make those drinks from scratch. For the price of the cocktails, I expected better.

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    11 months ago

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    10 months ago

    Gnocchi is a must get here. Hanger steak and roasted chicken was perfectly cooked. Lovely ambiance and the service was great.

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    11 months ago

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    The Roosevelt Room

    The Roosevelt Room

    4.4(921 reviews)
    1.4 miWarehouse District, Downtown
    $$$
    Full bar
    Takes reservations

    Upscale yet fun cocktail bar with great staff and drinks…read more Food: 4 Service: 4.5 Atmosphere: 4.5 Cost to worth it rating: 3 Opentableable: yes Return worthiness: yes Highlights - Classy atmosphere - Upstairs has a few tables and a quieter smaller bar - Downstairs has booths tables and a long bar which is a bit more lively - Isaac: skilled bartender that was fun to watch him make the drinks - Great temperature controlled drinks super cold classes--it's the little extra things that make a differene - Some cocktails have very cool glasses: one with a very long stem, a skull, etc. - Martinis: unique shisho and solid vesper - Grilled cheese: looked basic but the gouda and cheddar mix garlic rosemary oil on the sourdough bread, and crispy cheese on edges were great. 4.5 stars - Looks nice but no dress code where the FAQ said come in what you are comfortable in which which I appreciate - Can make reservation on open table and choose upstairs or down Midlights - Downstairs has a different menu than upstairs : down more simple by time period, up more upscale detailed - Pretzels for dessert were just simple tiny crispy choc covered. 3 stars - For the grilled cheese might have been able to go with an upgraded chip from Ruffles--maybe even a Kettle chip Lowlights - Even in quieter upstairs can't hear the bartender when right in front of him - Special board featuring drinks but they were out of the one I wanted

    My boyfriend and I came in for happy hour without a reservation and were seated immediately. The…read morebar had a dark, cozy, and intimate atmosphere. We ordered the Espresso Martini, Vodkadora, French 75, and Pisco Sour. All of the drinks were strong and delicious! The service was fantastic as well. The staff was attentive and friendly throughout our visit. Definitely check this place out if you're in the area! We'll definitely be back to try more drinks.

    Photos
    The Roosevelt Room
    The Roosevelt Room - BUCK TO THE FUTURE
 rye whiskey, manzanilla sherry, strawberry-basil purée, nardini amaro, ginger syrup, lemon, barrel smoked black pepper

    BUCK TO THE FUTURE rye whiskey, manzanilla sherry, strawberry-basil purée, nardini amaro, ginger syrup, lemon, barrel smoked black pepper

    The Roosevelt Room - ZOMBIE
 rr tiki rum blend, donn's mix, falernum, lime,
 grenadine, angostura, flamed absinthe, served in a skull with flamed cinnamon powder

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    ZOMBIE rr tiki rum blend, donn's mix, falernum, lime, grenadine, angostura, flamed absinthe, served in a skull with flamed cinnamon powder

    Powder Room - Craft Cocktail Bar

    Powder Room

    4.0(135 reviews)
    1.4 miWarehouse District, Downtown

    Upon stepping in I felt like I was transported to Miami in the 70s or 80s. Once you enter you turn…read morein your phones making it easy to lose time in connecting with your company. The staff was super nice and attentive our waitress came by multiple times and drinks were good and quick. They have a fun magazine style menu and plenty of options including mocktails. The mocktails were well balanced and not too sweet and my husband enjoyed every drink he tried. We ordered the French fries which were so good the perfect blend of freshness and salt. Would definitely come back for the ambiance and the no phones was a great reminder to connect to who your with and be present.

    The vibes are great, but I'm not sure they are worth the wait. There are two lines: one for…read morewalk-ins and one for those with reservations. We waited maybe 15 minutes at the walk-in line as others progressively started to pile on behind us. Then again, even people in the reservation line were waiting. This is definitely the kind of place that wants you to wait. The kind of place that wants to build a line outdoors to intrigue onlookers. We were treated nicely, but we definitely could have gotten in right away. By the time we walked in, the place was probably at 60% capacity. It was standing room only at the bar, but not overcrowded by any means. There is a dress code, but it's not entirely clear what it is. Some guy dressed to the 9s got turned away for not having sleeves whereas I got in with sneakers and a t-shirt. They ask for your cellphones upon entering and give you a key in exchange, but there doesn't seem to be any security to enforce it if you don't want to give them up. I have no problem with their policy, but I bet a lot of customers do. Interestingly, their little social experiment seemed to have a positive effect, where we ended up talking to strangers and vice versa. The Powder Room may be making America social again.

    Photos
    Powder Room - Spicy margarita

    Spicy margarita

    Powder Room - Leaving Powder Room

    Leaving Powder Room

    Powder Room - Craft Cocktail Lounge

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    Craft Cocktail Lounge

    Whisler's - Left On Read - Delicious! (Tequila, Amaro, Bitters, Strawberry, Citrus, Spice, Egg White )

    Whisler's

    4.3(675 reviews)
    2.2 miEast Austin
    $$

    These are moments I think why do I live in San Antonio ( and often work in Austin ) when I can just…read morelive here and enjoy great restaurants, bars and weird gothic haunts like this with weird dark goth decor, a scent of palo santo , superb music, a great crowd and amazing drinks! College me would have lived here !! Enjoyed a French 75, my husband enjoyed a smoked Old Fashioned and it was a great place to grab a drink prior to seeing Springsteen at the Moody seated amongst candles , a weird alter of sorts while enjoying some Stevie Wonder as is playing now though some weird NIN or Type O might have been more appropriate

    I went to Whisler's and had one of the worst bar experiences I've ever had…read more I had one drink. I was completely sober for all intents and purposes. The bartender claimed I was drunk and cut me off anyway. I was at the bar talking to a girl while waiting to get a drink (the wait was long because the service is very slow, despite the bar not being very busy at all). She was clearly into me, and the bartender kept jumping in trying to talk to her too (instead of doing his job making drinks). He was doing all sorts of things to try and flirt with her and make her laugh: pulling out and showing her buckets of pre mixed cocktails, running and sliding under the bar, etc. She was engaging with both of us , and right in the middle of that, I get cut off out of nowhere. No explanation other than claiming I looked drunk, which I very clearly wasn't. It felt very clear what was going on--he wanted me out of the way. I left and asked the bouncer on my way out if I seemed drunk. This was literally two minutes later. He said no, not at all, and asked me why I would even ask that. I then told him exactly what happened and asked him to let the owner or whoever was in charge know about this extremely unprofessional conduct so they can discipline the bartender. His response was that the bartender has discretion to cut anyone off, and let me know the bartender is supposedly married so he couldn't have been flirting with any of the customers. Well, sounds like his logic is flawed--not only COULD he flirt with his customers, he WAS, and was therefore cheating. I hope his wife finds out. This is perfectly representative of Austin customer service lately and not normal in other places. I was in Tampa for an entire month earlier this year and this would've been unthinkable there. I'm not coming back.

    Photos
    Whisler's - Side bar

    Side bar

    Whisler's - Inside seating

    Inside seating

    Whisler's - Main bar

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    Main bar

    Sign Bar - More booths and sitting areas

    Sign Bar

    4.3(131 reviews)
    7.8 mi

    I always see this bar on social media and I finally decided to give it a try. This bar exceeded my…read moreexpectations with the drinks, the size, events, games, and shops. The actual bar is to the left of the entrance. I love that they have a variety of drink specials as well as nonalcoholic beverages. I was hoping to get a taste of the food, but the kitchen doesn't open until 4pm. I would also suggest coming later if you want to catch a show from the live band or explore their seasonal mazes. There's plenty of photo ops, jenga, corn hole, pool, foosball, connect four, pacman, and a few other arcade games. This place is completely filled with 80s, 90s, and early 2000s' nostalgia. It's the perfect spot of tourist and for native austinites. There also a lot of vintage signs from old stores and restaurants that were local to austin as well. I would say this spot is worth the hype! I also give bonus points for the shops & food trucks outside of the bar. The perfect place to hang out with friends and have some fun.

    This place has showed on my Social Media feeds several times and while we were in the area on…read moreSunday we stopped by. Really great assortment of old signs, like walking through the Neon museum in Vegas but filled with old Austin haunts. We took a bunch of pictures and really liked the layout of the place, we gotta come back at night, as I am sure its even better.

    Photos
    Sign Bar - Entrance

    Entrance

    Sign Bar - Entrance to the Sign Bar

    Entrance to the Sign Bar

    Sign Bar - Entrance

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    Entrance

    Edge Rooftop

    Edge Rooftop

    4.3(215 reviews)
    1.3 miDowntown
    $$

    I found this via search of rooftop bars near downtown and I was pleasantly surprised at this…read morelocation and the venue itself. Arrived around 5:45-6 PM on a Thursday. This is gonna be located on the fifth floor in the JW Marriott. You have to walk through the pool area as this is on the west side of the building. Well, we didn't have a reservation and we were able to get sat right away. I forget the name of the individual who assisted us by placing our order. I ended up getting the espresso martini, and then my other person got an old-fashioned. I was asked if I wanted a shot of Bailey's with the espresso martini and that to me would've been way too much. The martini itself was almost kind of smoky. Not your typical kind of very crisp espresso martini had a nice foam on top of it. We also ended up ordering the sliders to go along as we had dinner reservations, and that bacon jam on there is magnificent. The sliders were all juicy and very well put together bun was very soft and the flavor of everything was really good. I would totally go back just for the sliders. Overall the service was great. The views were also quite stunning of downtown and the ambience overall which is very chill. The front part of the bar was actually closed due to a private event so I can imagine getting to take photos on that corner would be really pretty to see.

    My friends and I had a FABULOUS time here. The ambiance is beautiful and so cozy! Without a res on…read morea Friday evening (around 6:30/7) we were able to get a nice, big cabana area. The couches were so comfortable and the ambiance was so pretty. In terms of the drinks and food, it was okay! Got the job done, but nothing to rave about. I enjoyed the sliders the most. I enjoyed my drink as well (5th Floor Cooldown) once we added the extra sweetener we requested. Without it, I wasn't a huge fan (wasn't sweet, despite being told that it was). Valet parking is only $15 (for 2 hours) with validation. I appreciated that, as it made parking not a headache.

    Photos
    Edge Rooftop
    Edge Rooftop
    Edge Rooftop - Views of Lady Bird Lake from Edge Rooftop + Bar

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    Views of Lady Bird Lake from Edge Rooftop + Bar

    Le Calamar - french - Updated June 2026

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