12 New Venues in Austin for Summer 2024 Meetings and Events

The former Sheraton Austin at the Capitol downtown hotel turned into the revamped Downright Austin, A Renaissance Hotel back in March. And in June, it debuted an all-in-one swimming pool-bar-restaurant, Swim Club. The decor takes on an '80s Miami vibe with teals and pinks, with the pool open to both restaurant and hotel guests. There’s the indoor sunken dining room that looks directly into the depth of the pool, fitting up to 50 guests, a private dining room for 20 guests, and an outdoor space. There are also live music and DJ capabilities.

Thompson Austin turned its previous rooftop bar and restaurant Wax Myrtle’s into a new Mexican spot, Arriba Abajo, in May. The revamped space includes multiple areas including two private dining rooms with audiovisual capabilities, one that can fit 20 people and the other 15. There’s also Tambien Mezcaleria, a bar that can seat 10 people, and the patio bar that can hold up to 80 guests. The full restaurant dining room can seat 140 people. There’s also the dedicated Bayberry event room that spans 3,200 square feet.

Renowned chef Mathew Peters opened his very first Austin space, luxury cocktail bar and lounge Prélude, this May. The downtown historic home building includes many elegant spaces, from the Dior Room fitting up to 10 guests to the game room for 12 people to the back lawn for up to 75. The chef serves high-end canapes like a take on chicken nuggets and sweet pea croquettes. Then there are the upscale cocktails centered on simple ingredient combinations. This is the first phase of Peters’ Austin plans, with a full-on tasting menu restaurant, Maven, to come in 2025.

Longtime Austin restaurant Parkside reopened in March after a year and a half of renovations in the downtown area. For the first floor, there’s a first-time-ever private dining room, new booths and a vestibule, tilework and white oak floors, and the addition of a wood-burning grill in the kitchen. And then, upstairs, the restaurant’s second-floor guest capacity has been increased to 120 seated guests at tables, 96 at banquet tables, 150 seated theater-style, or 200 standing. The second-floor private bar footprint was expanded, and there’s the addition of a covered patio overlooking the city.

Los Angeles hospitality group IDG opened a location of its BOA Steakhouse in downtown Austin in June, bringing along its high-end American menu and cocktails. The 8,000-square-foot upscale restaurant includes the main dining room that can fit 185 seated guests and a private dining room with the ability to seat 50 guests. The space is filled out with greenery, black steel, and warm oak details.

Retro (and mostly alfresco) cocktail bar The Long Goodbye opened in Austin’s Cherrywood neighborhood in April. Designed by the owners, the space includes dark walnut wood details, midcentury modern furniture, pops of pale blues and greens, and—since this is Austin—a huge neon sign. There are two bars, including the 1,100-square-foot indoor space and one on the front patio. Elsewhere outdoors, there are two food trucks, coffee shop Fleet, and Mexican truck La Santa Barbacha. The bar also houses vintage shop Howdy’s.

Growing Austin hospitality company Gabriela’s Group opened its latest restaurant, La Seareinita, in the city’s East Riverside neighborhood in May. The business transformed a former Whataburger drive-thru restaurant into a tropical 3,500-square-foot space that can fit up to 115 people. There’s the full kitchen dishing up Sinaloa-style seafood dishes and a full bar mixing up cocktails with tequilas and mezcals—and, yes, the drive-thru is functioning. There are also DJ capabilities.

Austin group Silk Road Hospitality transformed what had been a lobby between two of its far south Austin restaurants Oasthouse and Keepers into a speakeasy-style cocktail bar named Daisy Lounge in May. The intimate two-floor space, which fits up to 38 guests, is full of dark-green details, floral wallpaper, bookshelves, and stylish seating. The full bar serves up house and classic cocktails, and the snacks service takes advantage of its next-door sibling restaurants’ kitchens, churning out Persian dishes and lobster rolls. The second floor features a 12-seat table perfect for private dining events.

The team behind popular far south Austin bar Armadillo Den opened two new bars this year. The first is Dainty Dillo, which took over the former Tillery restaurant and bar space in East Austin in February. The indoor and outdoor space includes alfresco fire pits, a stage for live music outside, 13 televisions throughout, and a garage door for the dining room. The cozy backyard overlooks the Colorado River. There’s a full kitchen and bar, and colorful murals abound.

The teams behind Austin restaurants Sawyer & Co. and De Nada Cantina opened new Cajun restaurant Lil’ Easy on the east side in May. There are multiple spaces, from the garage that seats up to 25 guests to the front bar with room for 20 guests to the outdoor patio with a capacity of 100 seated guests. Food-wise, the kitchen is all about Southern Louisiana Cajun fare, alongside frozen cocktails and New Orleans-style drinks from the full bar.

Austin’s biggest cheese shop, Antonelli’s, expanded with this dedicated event space on South Lamar in April. The 1,492-square-foot indoor tasting room includes the ability to run cheese tastings, offer beers and wines, serve as a pop-up restaurant space, and so much more. There’s room for 32 seated guests or 50 standing guests. The outpost also functions as a cheese tray pickup hub for customers.

One of Austin’s best barbecue food trucks, LeRoy and Lewis, opened its long-awaited full restaurant of the same name in late February. Now with indoor space, the full 5,000-square-foot restaurant includes a 450-square-foot dedicated event room that can accommodate up to 38 seated guests or 45 standing. There’s a bar and multiple indoor dine-in areas. The kitchen whips up its signature new-school barbecue meats, vegetables, and sides.