10 New Austin Venues for Spring Meetings and Events

The first Austin restaurant from Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, Geraldine's opened inside Hotel Van Zandt in November. The restaurant features American cuisine on its seasonal menu helmed by chef Frank Mnuk, offering small and large plates inspired by the city. The space also offers views of Lady Bird Lake and has daily live music. The 4,500-square-foot space seats 80 in the dining area and 48 in the bar and lounge and is available for private parties and special events.

Dogwood Rock Rose opened at the Domain in January. The two-level restaurant and bar, which serves American food with a Southern flare, features an interior bar and patio bar than can be separated or opened into one large space, as well as a rooftop bar. The restaurant has live music and multiple TV screens often tuned to sporting events. The 9,333-square-foot space seats 550 and is available for buyouts. For smaller events, the restaurant has a glass-enclosed space that holds 50.

Austin's second Shake Shack opened at the Domain in August. The fast-casual burger and hot dog joint offers its standard fare and features lounge furniture and a boccie ball court on a patio. The 3,642-square-foot interior seats 100, and the 1,450-square-foot patio seats 60. The venue is available for special events.

Backbeat, a cocktail bar from DrinkWell's husband-and-wife team Michael and Jessica Sanders, is slated to open in South Lamar in March. The two-story venue will feature a cocktail lounge on the first floor and a rooftop patio on an upper deck. The interior will include large steel-framed windows, marble countertops, and booth, banquette, and lounge seating. The 1,900-square-foot space will seat 150 and will take reservations for private events.

Hotel Indigo Austin Downtown-University is slated to open in the Red River Cultural District in March. The 134-room hotel, which will be connected to a new Holiday Inn Express (a joint venture from Interstate Hotels & Resorts), will offer five meeting rooms with names inspired by South by Southwest, including a 730-square-foot room that leads to an outdoor pool and bar area, which will accommodate as many as 80 reception-style. An internationally inspired catering menu will be available. The hotel also will have a full-service restaurant.

Connected to the new Hotel Indigo Austin Downtown-University, the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Austin Downtown is slated to open in the Red River Cultural District in late February. The 171-room hotel will have one 310-square-foot meeting room.

New Mexico-based farm-to-table salad bistro Vinaigrette opened February 14 in the former Tree House Italian Grill in South Austin. The space is notable for its 500-year-old oak tree, which anchors a garden patio. Along with numerous salad options, the eatery will also serve pressed-juice-based cocktails. Combined, the 3,000-square-foot interior and 3,000-square-foot patio seat 300, and the space will be available for private events.

Chef David Bull and Jeff Trigger of La Corsha Hospitality Group are slated to open Boiler Nine Bar & Grill at the Seaholm Power Plant development this spring. The massive venue will be 11,000 square feet and take up four floors in the concrete and metal structure at the northwest corner of the development. The venue will feature three kitchens—including one open kitchen with a wood-fired grill—a bar on every floor, a rooftop deck that overlooks the Colorado River, and a lounge and dining experience on the lowest level near the boiler room.

Sweet and savory dessert bar and lounge Nightcap opened in Clarksville Historic District in January. Along with bar food, boozy milkshakes, and sweet-theme cocktails, the new venue offers unusual desserts including a goat cheese parfait with beet sorbet, olive oil cake with buttermilk gelato, and a banana almond brownie with coconut sorbet. The venue, which has a purple exterior, features multicolor banquettes and has a living room with cushy chairs in the front. The 2,500-square-foot space seats 50 and is currently renovating a back room for a private dining space.

Austin Burrito Company opened in Bee Cave in December. The fast-casual features build-your-own burritos made with locally sourced ingredients. The 1,900-square-foot space seats 46 inside and 40 on its patio. The patio will be available for private events when weather permits.