On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Categories: French, American (New) [Edit]
Neighborhood: DowntownMon-Thu. 6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 6:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Loading...
This is a fantastic spot to get your foie gras on. I visited Restaurant Jezebel the week after the staff had returned from a week long wine tour in Spain. The executive chef was still there, enjoying himself I'm sure. I felt that from the start to the end, the staff was perfectly trained and polished. They were there when I thought about something, but not at all intrusive, almost ninja-like in their service.
First course up was the salad of pan roasted seasonal tomato with Gorgonzola cheese & lump crab meat, finished with mild chipotle oil. The tomato was wonderfully cooked, and even though it was roasted, it retained it's structure and shape very well. I typically don't like huge chunks of tomato, but I love this dish. The lump crab inside was sweet and succulent.
Up next was the foie gras. The foie gras was simply fantastic. Pan seared and served in a Thai chile sauce and balsamic vinegar reduction, this pricey appetizer is sure to please. The outside is crispy with smoke, and the inside is rich and smooth. Go ahead, order it. You'll thank me later.
I had the fricasee of rabbit with mushrooms in a dijon cream sauce served over potatoes. This dish was also wonderful with just a hint of mustard. The dijon was perfectly balanced with the rabbit meat, which tastes like chicken in case you are wondering.
For dessert, I had the honey - lavender goat cheese stuffed French toast - Made with sweet Challah bread, served with Sri Lankan cinnamon ice cream and Vermont maple syrup. This dessert was utterly delicious. It is one of the best desserts in the world. The flavor combination of the lavender goat cheese and buttery and crispy French toast is to die for. Seriously, this dessert deserves some props. I loved this dessert so much, I created a boozy version of it. Cinnamon - bourbon goat cheese stuffed Challah bread French Toast topped with pecan praline ice cream and 512 Pecan Porter Chocolate sauce topped with a maple bourbon pecan. Recipe is on my posted on my blog. Thanks, Jezebel for the inspiration.
Positives
- The goofy as handmade tableware that someone made.. I wasn't actually FOND of them because they are ugly as hell, but they do represent a free thinking and artistic spirit that must be in this place. That part was very French and I appreciated it.
- The Ambience was nice. The crumbly walls, etc .. loved it.
- We sat right down. It was a wednesday evening about 9pm.
Negatives.
- Wife's scallops were undercooked.
- Wife's sweetmeats were undercooked.
- I asked for a steak medium WELL, and it came back medium RARE which is two degrees apart. Normally I don't even care, but the waiter made a point of asking me how I wanted my steak cooked. His words were 'medium, or medium well?' so I clarified. Bogus.
- It seriously took an hour to get the food, and the place was more than half empty.
Finally.. the coup de grace was when the waiter came over and asked how the meal was.. well, we told him that the sweetbreads, the scallops, and the meat was all undercooked, he had a defeated sad look on his face and said 'yes, our kitchen does tend to undercook things' and he said it like it was just an inevitability.
Waiter left and my wife looked and me and said 'This is why Yelp! was invented' .. and I had to agree.
I live for adrenaline. That's why I'm a software engineer - each day thrilling to the menace of new fatal bugs, bravely powering my way through emails bearing baneful payloads with names like ISO 8583 and IFSF-EFT. I live life on the edge, sometimes driving for miles with my gas tank EMPTY light on.
That's why I like tasting menus - not for me the mundane chore of picking what I want to eat off a menu: no, I will drink life to the lees and chance the vicissitudes of a chef's whims.
For some reason I'd never noticed Restaurant Jezebel had a tasting menu; when I went there Saturday night and realized they had a seven course prix fixe menu with wine pairings a little frisson of excitement rushed through my body. The anticipation was only heightened when Scott, our server, gave us an actual food interview, asking us about our allergies and our likes and dislikes... never before had I been to a place that did this.
The anticipation turned to fear when the first course arrived... it was foie gras on a bed of lentils, but not the huge magnificent perfectly cooked foie gras appetizer we'd always savored here... each of our plates contained three tiny morsels of foie gras... seared to death, all overdone. Had the chef been replaced by a Borg? What had happened to what I thought of as Jezebel's signature dish?
Fear turned to relief... not just relief, but exhilaration... with the arrival of the next two dishes.
The orexigenic duck course was amazing, the flavors indescribable... the best duck I'd ever experienced. The monkfish course was also amazing... I didn't think I'd care for it, but it too was just totally delicious, with a great blend of flavors. After these I was in the afterglow of gustatory heaven... I vaguely remember enjoying the flavor but being slightly disappointed in the dryness of the slow roasted farm pig, and enjoying intensely but not unforgettably a quail course and a couple of other courses.
When the time came for dessert I was sated and fully satisfied, and when our server Scott said it was to be a set of sorbets I was ready to sit back and come down to earth with a few cool flavors to cleanse my palate. There was to be no rest though for my gustatory pleasure centers - the intensity of the flavors in the variety of sorbets was unbelievable.
You've noticed, dear Reader, that I haven't mentioned the wines. I must be paying for sins in a past life, for I must hang my head and confess that there are two noble categories of beverages I don't enjoy... not for me the pleasures of wines and coffees... when these pass my lips, I feel nothing but dislike or at best indifference... though I like their effects, their taste is not something I am enamored of, so I cannot in good conscience state of my own knowledge that the wines were great. I felt they complemented the courses, but that is as far as I can go myself. My date, however, does like wine, and she thought the wines were excellent, to the point that she asked Scott to write all the wines down for her at the end. Twice, actually, for it turns out that while Scott excelled as a server, his penmanship skills in the age of keyboarding were somewhat lacking.
After we finished dinner and were sitting there enjoying our all too brief achievement of food nirvana, I had an epiphany*. I understood why some people complained about the decor and the service - they thought of high end restaurants as palaces they entered as nobility where they were to be plied with food by obsequious servants. Restaurant Jezebel is not such a palace... it is a temple, vestal virgins lining the walls, the altar of a culinary Hephaestus at the end, its servers the messengers of heaven bearing ambrosia to the mortals.
Dear Reader, if you live to eat rather than eat to live, and if you too would drink life to the lees, hie to Restaurant Jezebel for their tasting menu. Forsooth, it is expensive - after adding tip, the final tab for the two of us was over $500. Is it worth it? That question, dear Reader, you must answer for yourself - how much is a taste of heaven worth to you?
* there is a slight... very slight... possibility this epiphany might have been alcohol induced
Went again last weekend, and it's as good as I remembered. But... if you get several appetizers,… Read more »
I had come in to Jezebel with high expectations as it has a good reputation among my foodie-friends, and while I was not disappointed, I did not walk away completely wowed, particularly for the price.
I love French style cuisine and found the menu to be exilirating. It was hard to decide on just 4 or 5 items between my date and I, but we ended up with a tomato and crab salad and fois gras to start and rack of lamb and a fantastic salmon entree that was dusted with chiles and served with medallions of molten chocolate on top! Serious flavor that worked very well.
The tomato appatizer was terrible. All the rest of the food was exquisite, including the olives that they bring to the table, which seemed to have been warmed in balsamic, olive oil, and oregano...delicious. The bread was not bad either.
Service was 8 out of 10: good but not perfect. They mentioned that all the servers tend all the tables, but our attempts to flag down a server when we needed something were ignored several times. Not a huge deal but worth mentioning. I did love the attention we got from our server when she was around. She brought bottles of wine to the table and was happy to pour a variety for us to taste.
The wine list was not organized which I found to be kind of silly. They find it to be a point of pride, but I just found it annoying. I'm not big into doing stuff like that for the sake of concept, but again not a big deal.
One thing we didn't try was the fixed plate option, which lets you just give the server an idea of what type of food you want and lets the chef go to town...I love the option and will go back to give it a try.
Bottom line with Jezebel was this: we went all out on food and wind and dropped $300 for 2, which I think was excessive for what we got. I would have been extremely happy with the whole experience at $200, but $300...not quite. Still, I recommend the place, especially for a nice date or special occasion and if money is not an issue.
Last year, Jim and I decided to celebrate our first anniversary at Restaurant Jezabel. Although we consider ourselves foodies and frequently dine out a lot at local casual eateries (from Thai to Persian to Vietnamese), we don't splurge like this often. We decided to go for the seven course tasting menu and asked for two bottles of wine that the chef thought would best compliment our meal.
The server seemed to be very knowlegable about their food and asked us lots of questions about our likes and dislikes as well as to gage our level of adventure. We are pretty much open to anything, but we did our best to steer the chef in a direction that we would enjoy. I can't remember all the dishes now and really wish that I had gotten around to writing this review sooner. Oh well.
Our fist dish was amazing. It was a fois gras soup served in a sea urchin shell. The presentation was awesome and it was absolutely delicious. It was unforgettable and literally blew us away.
We were very happy with the wine selection our server had made and of the four dishes that followed, all were very good and we were thoroughly impressed. Seered tuna, lobster, plate of fresh sausages and cheeses all presented in very creative ways.
The sixth dish seemed a little off...everything was red...sweet red peppers and strawberries. Tasty, but not great...seemed like a stretch to put something together. The dessert was ok. The presenter said that it was ice cream in an uncooked creme brule or something like that. Two bites and we'd had enough...super sweet, odd texture, may just be that we were stuffed by that time.
Overall, we had a wonderful experience. We will definitely go back some time in the future.
I have been trying to get to Restaurant Jezebel for some time. Something about the hours always got in the way and we ended back at Olivia's. not exactly and unhappy ending...
The service and setting were just perfect. Absolutely flawless. We all thought it was nice that the waiters gang up to set every plate down at exactly the same time, and every plate is different.
The appetizers were great. The escargot sauce was a bit rich, but I had to really dig to find something wrong.
The only thing a bit off the mark were the prices - they are a throw back to the bush era...
Pros: Great Food, good waiting staff
Cons: No clientele on weekd
I read such great reviews, so my husband and I were excited to try this place. The service is great, but the food really wasn't. It must be that some dishes are good and some aren't, and I just happened to have two that weren't. Also, the decor is lacking in a big way -- you expect something much cooler for the price.
Good note: The heart of palm salad was superb.
Bad note: My risotto was terrible. Very dark and heavy with a salty and pungent flavor that was just too much. There was an unusually high number of tough, rubbery mushrooms and huge chunks of ochre (something they should mention on the menu instead of just saying seasonal vegetables). I tried to eat it, but for $28 I should really like it, so I politely told the waitress that it wasn't what I was expecting. She was really nice and apologetic and offered me something else. I told her I'd like the lobster bisque and it was so salty that it was inedible. And I like salt! Oh well - we gave it a try, but it was a pretty big waste of $120. If you want a nice/romantic meal, try Wink or Aquarelle.
20$ lobster bisque - besides the scallops, not any different from run of the mill 8$ lobster bisque
9$ escargot - the sauce they use is pretty bad, tastes like a roux gone wrong. Not that it's bad, just that it's quite strange.
40$ steak with 22$ added fois grois - my mom said this was okay but seriously, not worth it.
The artwork in this place is drop-dead gorgeous. The waiter was pretty nice, it was fairly empty and freakishly dark, as other people have said.
I think they caught on to people not liking the scallops in their soup raw since they offered me medium first before saying it's supposed to be served raw.
Hella hard to find parking, as expected. The girl who answered the phone for me to make a reservation was quite nice.
I have a feeling you don't really need a reservation here, we were there at 11 on a Saturday and there was only one other table occupied during our entire meal.
The only reason I would go back is for the artwork or escargot. "Meh, I've experienced better"
What a gem...and not a place for Puritans. As you walk into the dimly lit restaurant, you are engrossed by a large selection of art of nude women in various positions--very tastefully, but nonetheless naked. The restaurant is very cozy and it is very clear that dining should be leisurely. It is clear that they only turn each table once an evening. The kitchen is open and you can see the chef hard at working making each meal.
The food was delicious. The portions were small, but very satisfying. I enjoyed a long, leisurely feast. I suspect that the chef uses a lot on Indian spices. I especially recall the interesting curry-flavored (??) chocolate truffles that were served at the end of the meal.
It's actually been almost a year since I've been to Restaurant Jezebel, and I still remember it clearly as one of the most amazing meals I've ever eaten. ever. My fiance remembers it this way too, which is miraculous because often our tastes diverge.
We started with a bottle of wine and the Grilled romaine lettuce hearts with passion fruit infused "Caesar" dressing and spiced chick pea 'croutons.' I had no idea lettuce could taste so good.
I can't honestly remember what my fiance had as his entree, though i remember that he loved it. But, I got the Dark El Rey chocolate and dried spice crusted Atlantic salmon, mashed potatoes, greens, with garlic and caper infused olive oil. Chocolate and fish may seem like an odd pairing, however, this was the most delicious, succulent, flavorful, amazing meal i have ever consumed. It was truly perfect.
Finally, for desert we had a seasonal item, I don't see it on the menu now, it was pumpkin bread pudding. My fiance actually had to talk me into this one. I wanted something chocolate (as usual) and he convinced me that at a restaurant that has something unique, you should get it, we could have chocolate cake any day. For once, he was right. It was so, so yummy.
However, my favorite thing about this place is the atmosphere. Its cozy, and romantic, but somehow still very hip (odd word choice/combo i know). As someone else said, it has an 'art-gallery inspired decor' which makes it really unique. The dining experience is leisurely, the waiter didn't bring us our check until we asked for it, he was good about being there when we needed him, and not there when we didn't (which is truly a talent). The restaurant is dark, and each table is lit with a candle. Honestly, I could go on forever, so I'll just wrap it up by saying that we will definitely be back.
Every once in a while, it's worth it to me to drop a bunch of money on a dinner. The timing's right, the friends are right, it just works out.
The stars were aligned for me to go to Jezebel's recently. I think there's two camps of people who have reviewed Jezebel. I'm in the "I'm okay with occasionally spending that amount of money on a really fancy dinner and awesome service" camp.
How many dinners have you been to where you get a "food interview" before you start? The three of us had already decided that we were going to do the tasting menu with the wine pairings. Our waiter was awesome. He asked us of the "definite nos" at the table, including food allergies (none--yay!). He asked us about spice level and flavor palettes and our adventureness level. He was very cognizant of the conversation at our table and those few "intense" moments we had--that girlfriends sometimes have--he stayed back a bit. They don't carry trays and when it's time to deliver food, other waiters help, so we all were served at the same time.
He wrote down the wines for us and I'm glad he did. They were fabulous and delicious and paired so well with what we ate.
And, oh, how we ate! We ended up doing the 4-course tasting menu. I can't even tell you all the stuff I ate. I know I ate curry out of a coconut, I ate woodcock (yes, we made jokes, too), I ate olives and bread and micro-greens and espresso beans on fish. There was much, much more than that, but it was all good. The tastes were so different, that each of us liked different things in different ways. (I love that our meal was made just for us!) While one of the dishes was a bit salty, the rest of the courses over-shadowed that. We ended with the sorbets and also some sort of delicious challah (holla!) French toast with goat cheese.
And how can you not mention the bathrooms? My account, once I returned to the table: "My take on the bathroom in adjectives and nouns only: Astroturf, barstool, floss, tampons, warm, naked."
I liked the inside. It was dark and nice and it felt unpretentious to me. We were the last ones in the restaurant and Chef Parind came and talked to us. We talked about how fancy it is, and how fancy it looks, but that once you get inside (as noted by the music that didn't quite fit, but worked), it's not as pretentious as it may seem. Yes, it costs a pretty penny, but yes, it is worth it.
We had the tasting menu here and were very impressed. Its been a couple of months ago so I can't write about the dishes in detail but they were unique and very flavorful. We told the waiter we were very open when it came to food but preferred bolder flavors and they delivered! By the way, the wine pairings that came with it were whole glass pours (not tasting size). I was drunk by the end of the meal....
This isn't cooking...it's magic.
The art-gallery inspired decor is elegant yet simple, which was great because it doesn't distract you from the main event: the food.
As for the food, we started with a lobster-bisque with seared scallops, and a grilled asparagus with creamy grits and manchego cheese. All cooked to absolute perfection. At any other restaurant, this alone would've been enough for four stars.
Then came the entrees. Filet mignon with truffled chevre and tomatillo sauce, and a braised lamb shank with with a pomegranate glaze and sweet potatoes that was out of this world.
The wait staff was friendly, incredibly knowledgeable, and attentive to every detail. The coffee we ordered at the end of our meal was pressed right at our table - a nice touch.
The prices (along with wine) start to ratchet up pretty quick, but again, it's well worth it.
If you ever find yourself in Austin looking for a culinary experince, do not pass this place up.
I felt this place pulled it off for the most part, but it was a little on the pricey side.. I think if they shaved off 2-3 bucks a plate it would be spot on and a 5 for me..
I had a venison with a supreme raspberry sauce..there was a blast of pepper up front, then a tender yet dense texture, followed off by the sweet of the raspberry.. it was very good.
My friend ordered surf and turf and enjoyed the scallops, but the beef was like a pot roast and not a steak like she was expecting. The pot roast style meat just melted in my mouth when I tasted it..
Both of these dishes were off the menu for the day..
The crab cake appetizer was OK but not over the top, but certainly functional, but not a great value. If the flavors would have been more bold or if there would have been some sort of dreamy flavor it would have been worth the $.
Dessert was the best.. Coffee and cigarettes..small chocolate sticks in a cookie ashtray, with espresso ice cream in a small espresso cup..it was a classic both visually and tasty.
Service was good.. but at the $ it should be..The Wine list was a little confusing, but we found a nice Pinot for around 25$ that we may buy in a store.. overall a good experience.
Superbe food and service - on par with the best of NY, SF, LA, Chicago, etc. Locale itself was nice and modern (not extreme) but the food was what is most memorable. Great wine list. Bit expensive for Austin.
Summary: Cozy and romantic. Best steak we've ever had (and we've had a lot of them). This is one of the few higher end restaurants we like in Austin because you get a decent portion and the food is flavorful.
(7/10) Roasted Chilean Sea Bass with Maine Lobster
The sea bass has a great texture and tastes fresh. The lobster was a bit chewy but complemented the fish well. We usually find seafood on the bland side but the entire dish was spiced just right - with mango and curry sauce. The dish included a side of mashed potatoes as well.
(10/10) Pan Seared Tournedos of Filet Mignon
This dish is fabulous! It's prepared with truffled goat cheese and tomatillo demi. We ordered the steak 'medium' and it was cooked to perfection. It came out piping hot, juicy and with a slightly spicy seasoning. The filet mignon also comes with a side of mashed potatoes. We are picky steak eaters, but this one is on our top 3 list. Just thinking about this meal is making us want to drive downtown to order it right now - the flavor is forever embedded in our memory.
(6/10) Warm Underbaked Chocolate Torte
The waitress recommended this dessert for two and stated its well worth the 15-20 min preparation time. Although large in size, it fell short of our expectations. The liquid chocolate inside the torte didn't taste too chocolaty. We asked for some cherry sauce as a topping and that helped bring the chocolate flavor out. The torte came with 2 generous scoops of vanilla bean ice cream which balanced the warm torte.
Service (8/10)
The wait staff at Restaurant Jezebel is very polite and down to earth. They were helpful with suggestions and checked on us just the right amount. Although it was busy (Saturday night) they did not rush us along.
Ambiance (8/10)
The interior has an upscale New York-ish feel to it. It's intimate and very romantic with cozy candlelit tables with real china and powerful artwork (nude paintings). The walls look unfinished but that is the look they're going for - comparable to a small "old world" European restaurant. There is soft jazz music in the background which adds to the romantic mood. Jezebel seems better for a group of 2-4, as anything larger would be too loud for the patrons dining next to you. Parking can be challenging because it is downtown. That won't deter us from going back one day soon!
Going to Restaurant Jezebel on Saturday night was carefully decided. I had done my research, read the reviews and chose this place over the many fine dining spots around town. We had a birthday to celebrate and those must go well.
The feel of this place reminds me of New York. Small, narrow, very dark, slightly smoky from the open kitchen with large nude portraits overlapping one another taking up all of the wall space. I totally loved it. The special touch of having a legitimate candlestick vs. some conservative votive or oil candle was even appreciated. It was romantic, but not cheesy. My only "slight" complaint would be the two tops being so close together that if you by chance sit next to a loud couple (like we did) it can kill the mood. I'm always amazed when people think they need to talk at normal voice volume even when there is another couple less than a foot from them. **Sure!!!! I'm DYING TO KNOW that you don't like cooked raisins! Thanks!**
Everything brought to our table was delish, even the olives, which I believe are marinated over night. I highly highly recommend the sushimi trio of sea bass, ahi tuna and salmon. I'm a major Uchi girl and this pretty much rivaled their cuts.
For main course I selected their house speciality, El Rey Dark Chocolate and Spice Salmon with mashed potatoes and baby greens. It was the heaviest fish entree I had in my memory bank, I couldn't eat it all the portion was so large. Very sophisticated menu, which carried even "beef heart", uhm...thanks but I'm not that adventurous!
I'm not quite sure how they set their wait staff up, it looked like there was only one waiter for all of the tables. This was the only downside, which is the reason I am giving 3 stars. I ordered a glass of pinot noir during our appetizer and finished it (special occasion don't judge ;)) When our entrees were presented they left for the rest of the meal. No asking how our food was, or filling up water and we went the rest our entire meal without any wine. WTF. SERIOUSLY??? A winos worst nightmare. I think my water glass was bone dry for about 5 minutes and someone filled it, seeing my lonely and neglected wine glass with no suggestion of a refill.
Our dessert was pretty damn good, so good, that I'm going to upload a photo. Honey and Lavender french toast with goat cheese. Very unique, could have used a bit more goat cheese but that is just me. I can spend $30 a week on cheese for my own personal consumption at home so I may have too high of expectations.
We will come back, but next time, with another couple so we don't get stuck with the close together two tops.
This place is dark and cavernous. It seems ultra chic in an Austin way...very chic for me because I rarely go into expensive places. Well, I'll say first off that this is a pricey place, meant for wedding anniversary, birthday or...mad craving for foie gras!
The foie gras draws me there. It is a large portion and always pan-seared perfectly. I ordered the starter menu foie gras which comes in a Thai glaze. The sourness of the Thai glaze cuts through the delicious duck fat of the liver. Foie gras is also available atop the filet mignon, and on the dessert menu. I want to try the dessert menu foie gras next time. Some how I feel that being on top of filet mignon may be a tad too hedonistic even for me.
The lobster bisque is just delicious. A plain, strong lobster flavor infused in a creamy bisque. I had mine with lump crab rather than sea urchin.
My dining partner had the filet mignon, which was tres mignon. Dang good, that is. It was too big for her so she gave me a large piece of it. Very good stuff, that.
I also liked the bread in their bread basket.
The waiters were very friendly and helpful. If I have one complaint it would be that there is one waiter who stood near to our table and seemed to be staring at us most of the time. He should have turned away and looked somewhere else. It was a bit creepy. I mean, he wasn't actually staring at us. But since he was hovering, it seemed as if he was. I just don't like that in restaurants.
But the food is inventive and highly flavorful.
I would definately recommend this place for a special night out, or for a gluttenous fattened duck liver fever relief.
I agree with Stacey G. I wasn't a fan of the interior of the restaurant either. I just couldn't relax. It was dark, cold and it made me a little tense. However, that was the only thing that was wrong with the whole evening.
I was lucky enough to go with three other people and we each got something wonderful. The lamb shank and the Chilean sea bass were both out of this world. My husband got the chocolate covered salmon, and I wasn't really a fan of that but he said it became more and more delicious and complex as you ate it.
The service was top notch, and I liked the way we didn't just have one server. Everyone helped each other.
Like many people have said, it was expensive but the food is well worth the price.
I have been to Restaurant Jezebel several times and have wanted the lobster bisque. The lobster bisque is pretty expensive ($20 for a bowl) so I have stayed away. However, for Valentine's day my boyfriend and I ate a late dinner here and I used that as an excuse to finally try it. I will never go here again without getting this soup. This bisque is delicious! When the bowl was set in front of me the smell alone was worth the $20 bucks. It had pools of white truffle oil, and two very large perfectly seared scallops in the center. The bisque itself was awesome -- not too watery, not too thick, and perfect lobster taste. It is big enough that it could have easily served as a full meal. Totally worth the price.
The usual reason I go to Restaurant Jezebel is the foie gras. Foie gras is expensive everywhere, and here there is no exception..but this is by far the biggest portion I have ever gotten at any restaurant. When you get it as a supplement to your steak, it totally covers the steak. The foie gras for Valentine's day was covered in a sweet Thai chili sauce, and it was the perfect compliment to the fatty deliciousness that is foie gras.
As a main course I had the tournedos of filet mignon with truffled goat cheese. The steak was perfectly cooked and eating the steak with the foie gras really enhanced the flavor. My only wish was to be able to taste the truffles more in the goat cheese.
No Valentine's Day is complete without chocolate. For desert we had the undercooked chocolate torte with vanilla ice cream. Going for the first bite, a warm river of chocolate gushed from the torte. The warm chocolate married perfectly with the cold ice cream. Even though I was already stuffed, I made room for this desert..yummy. It was not as good as their honey lavender stuffed French toast though..that is probably my favorite desert from any restaurant.
My only real complaint (and the same one I have every time I go to Restaurant Jezebel) is the mash potatoes. They have a sour taste, I thought they might be mashed cauliflower. I asked the waiter, and they are wasabi mashed potatoes..which sounds like it would be good, but I did not like them. My boyfriend liked them though, and he is a pretty picky eater.
I was really happy to see they did not have the standard Valentine's $100/person menu as their only choice. They also did not up their prices (granted they are pretty pricey to begin with)
The waitstaff there does a great job. They know the food and can recommend great wines (I had a great Pinot Noir). They are attentive without being overbearing.
I would recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for a delicious meal and is willing to spend the bucks to get it.
Loved my birthday dinner here! They did a custom four course, vegetarian, gluten-free "tasting menu" for us that was incredible. Our dishes: yellow watermelon gazapacho with homemade mozzarella, crispy long beans with meltingly roasted eggplant and smoked tomato coulis, baby arugula with spiced hearts of palm, and a smoked tomato risotto with black truffles.
The wait staff had its clunky moments, but overall the night was great. Atmosphere is a solid 4, a 5 at times (diminished only by the close proximity of some intensely perfumed patrons and loud conversation). Wine list...we went cheap, so there weren't a lot of great options, but it was extensive enough to be somewhat flexible. They finished the night with curry-spiced chocolate truffles - a great send-off to a fine evening.
We liked the open kitchen and the cozy candlelight. It definitely looked like our food was much more exciting and dramatic (oh, the presentation!) than what our neighbors were eating, so I would probably recommend the tasting menu.
The food might have been a tad pricey, but everything was exceedingly fresh and the truffle slices on the risotto were about 1/8" thick, so we didn't mind too much. Overall, one of the best meals I've had, and definitely the best in Texas.
I think that Restaurant Jezebel is a 4 star restaurant. I took a star away because I spent almost $300 there on a dinner for two and I left feeling a little bit off. That sort of price is really steep to not get everything that you wanted out of a dinner.
The waitstaff was good overall. While their wine list is huge, they didn't have the first two bottles that I asked for, and then the waitress didn't come back for over 10 minutes to get my eventual selection which left my wife and I with empty drink glasses for over 5 minutes. She also forgot to bring out bread upon request. She rebounded from there and worked hard to provide us with good service after the mistakes. Am I picky? Yeah, sure I am, but I feel that wait staff that are being tipped on $200+ meals should be providing outstanding service at all times. This isn't an Applebees!
The foie gras was delicious, which we shared. I had an arugala salad which was so so, but my wife was very fond of the hearts of palm salad she ordered.
For dinner I had the lamb shank. I thought that it was good, but not great. Nice flavor cooked into it along with tasty dipping sauces, but it was just a little dry. I am sure that I just got a bad piece, as I see this item is a big hit form the other reviews.
My wife had the tuna. I had a piece of that and thought that it was very good. It was a little smoky, which I liked as it was just a bit different from the other 80 places that have tuna as one of their fish options.
We shared the chocolate souffle for 2 for our desert. The tasty chocolate goo inside really complimented the ice cream provided very well. It gave the foie gras a challenge for the best part of the meal.
The decor of the restaurant was different. I could see the artsy types thinking this is the coolest place ever, while there could be a few people that are a little put off by it. It was certainly New Yorkish. Depite the risque artwork. you can definitely have a nice romantic meal here.
I'd recomend this place as I thought the food was at a high caliber, while offering something different from the few places in Austin. If it was a little less pricey I'm sure I'd be here again soon.
Amazing. We had a friend pick us up and dro pus off in a cab and sat down to a 7 course meal based on our likes and dislikes. We paired with that a 7 course wine tasting selected to match the food. The chef came out, greeted us, and welcomed us to come watch him cook and chat. Our waiter, Scott was awesome at asking for feedback and making sure we were 100% satisfied with everything. At the end of the night, after dessert, my girlfriend, who I had taken here for her birthday, got a card from the chef for her birthday as well.
Every single dish and every single wine selection was an amazing work of art. Of the seven courses, there was only one dish we didn't LOVE. We could see our answers from the interview come out on each plate. Some raw tuna, some lobster bisque, a scallop floating in it. An Ostrich dish that was INSANELY good, and the most tender lamb I have ever tasted on a pile of cheese grits that made me VERY happy.
Gave my girlfriend and I the best meal of our lives, and I think that is saying a lot, we have eaten at many high end places, but never had an experience like this before.
I should say however, this was the first time we did a full out tasting menu, however, so that in itself is an experience.
BTW, the prices were $$$ to $$$$ for entrees, but the cost of what we did was far more than a "dinner out" would entail. But it was 100% worth it, and I would definitely do it again.
Wow! I love love love this restaurant. It has a New Yorkish feel when you walk into the restaurant although I could of done without all the naked lady paintings on the wall. Yes its kinda on the pricey side but you really get what you pay for here. I looked up this restaurant on http://Yelp.com before I went and the pictures made the entrees look like they were small portions like the normal high end restaurant. Though I was hungry, I could not ignore the outstanding reviews the restaurant had recieved.
To my astonishment the portions were much larger than I expected. Restaurant Jezebel did not sacrifice quality either with these large portions. Everyone at the table enjoyed their dish (rare occasion)! I reccomend the lamb shank which is pictured.
I ordered the strawberry shortcake and the waiter also brought out a key lime pie complimentary from the chef! Also when the bill was brought we recieved truffles that were made at the restaurant.
This is definately a romantic spot and a great place to take a date. I would not really reccomend this place for groups because you can't help but feel like you are being too loud.
Make a reservation for the weekend because this place is small and I bet it fills up quickly!
It's not often that I drop $60 on a meal and leave the restaurant free of eater's remorse. Then again, it's not often that I run across a jewel like Jezebel.
Having made reservations, I was walking down Congress counting down the address numbers to 914. However, the hostesses spotted me before I did them, and when I turned to enter I saw them jump to attention, ready to either show me to my table or beat the crap out of me and run off with my handbag. Thankfully, it was the former, and before I could say "I have reserv..." I was at my table with a napkin in my lap and a menu in my face.
After reviewing my options, I threw caution and my pocketbook to the wind and ordered the baby arugula salad (w/ berries, herbs, and Spanish Manchego cheese) for starters and the king of the entrees, the roasted Chilean Seabass (w/ Maine lobster covered in a mango curry leaf sauce).
The service was as excellent as the food: efficient, professional, and not over-bearing. When our courses were ready, the wait staff would assemble in ranks near the kitchen, arm themselves with our orders, and move in on our table from all sides. Again, at first my friends and I weren't sure if we should make a run for it, but once we laid eyes on our plates, we surrendered all doubts about the place. As my friend so eloquently put it: "This is, like, the best thing I've ever put in my mouth."
Hyperboles aside, Restaurant Jezebel was truly worth every penny spent, and I plan to return anytime my bank account allows.
If there's a word that combines wonderful, beautiful, stellar, and WOW, now's the time for that word. On the advice of my sister, I went for my birthday with a friend. We experienced fabulous service, wonderful food, and I had an extremely good glass of red wine.
Yes, the service is a little slow, but I truly believe it's because this is the type of restaurant that refuses to make it's customers feel rushed. The same reason that only about half the tables are full at any time - they don't want you to feel it's all about "turnover".
The atmosphere is outstanding - low light, and goregous paintings on the walls, which are painted and crumbling in that "old-world" style, and some great music playing, not too loud. Plenty of space between the tables so you don't feel crowded.
We loved Jezebel!
We started with the oysters which seemed to be of good quality, but it was a bit hard to taste them since they were covered with diced shallots. I did like the touch of having a glass of beer served with them, even though we were at first unsure if we were supposed to pour it on them or just drink it.
My love ordered the ostrich mainly since we'd never had it before. It reminded me of a lean and tender beef and was extremely flavorful. We also had the sea bass with Maine lobster and mango/curry sauce which was absolutely delicious and had perfectly balanced flavors.
To finish the meal off, we accompanied cappuccinos with the Bananas Foster which had a fabulous sauce of Indian spices. I will continue to dream of that dessert which is one of the most unique and delicious I've had in Austin!
My only problem with the ambiance was that it was a bit drafty, but I think that was necessary for ventilation since it is an open-kitchen restaurant. Loved the quirky AstroTurf on the walls in the bathroom.
I will keep this short and simple, to emphasize how serious I am about this: Restaurant Jezebel is the best restaurant in Austin by not just a wide but a truly astounding margin. For the most part, there just aren't interesting, exciting things happening with high-end food in this town; Jezebel appears to be shouldering the weight of innovation for the entire city, and does so with incredible grace.
Just go, already. Geez.
I could rhapsodize for hours about Restaurant Jezebel. Hours. Luckily for you, I won't. But I could.
We went a week or so ago for our 10th wedding anniversary, and not only were we showered with complimentary beverages and dessert from the server who always remembers us, but they hand-wrote us a thank you note for spending our special occasion dinner there.
Understand that the service is very efficient, but they won't be trying to turn your table over. If you want to stay there for 5 hours and linger over coffee, they're cool with that. This means that they won't bug you to order and won't ask if you're ready for the check. You have to ask for these things. It's okay. Work with it.
The service is awesome, but it wouldn't matter if the food weren't up to par. It is. Not only is it uniformly delicious, but they don't suffer from the hipster huge-plates-tiny-portions that seems to have infected most high-end restaurants in town.
No review of Jezebel would be complete without a mention of the restroom. You open the ladies' room door and step into a surrealist painting. Once your eyes adjust to the even dimmer light, you notice the Astroturf on the walls. The squashy velvet armchair that's like something Great-Aunt Edna would have bought in her Goth phase. The nudie woman painting on the wall (well, that's all over the restaurant, actually). Should you have happened to get osso bucco or foie gras stuck between your molars, there are flossers by the sink.
This is our favorite restaurant in town and eclipses all the rest of them.
I showed up for dinner last night with my friend Dick G. There were lots of empty tables -- perhaps there were only a dozen people having dinner while we were there. The establishment has a very nice feel, and the personnel were extremely friendly and easy to get along with.
The wine prices are out of sight. There are plenty of perfectly ordinary bottles that are over $50 and no lack of bottles in the 3-digit range. The wine that I picked out, listed as "Au bon Climat, Bricco, Barbera, Santa Barbara, California, USA, 2005," was only $31. It was excellent, and we were very happy with the choice. After selecting the wine, we asked for some help choosing dishes that would go with it. Our server made some suggestions and then went back to the chef to ask for his advice.
In the end, we chose two starters that we shared-- a foie gras special and a plate of rillettes. Both were outstanding. For our main dishes, we ended up with the surf-'n'-turf that the chef recommended and also a salmon dish, made with chocolate, that our server thought would go well with the wine. My surf... dish (rack of lamb and scallops) was quite good (maybe at the 4-star level). The salmon, which I tasted toward the end, was much more unusual and probably something that many people would hate. I thought it was great, but perhaps that's because I had only a forkful.
Dinner here was perhaps the best meal I've ever had in Austin. Certainly it was one of the fanciest.
I enter this place and from the moment I step in there it takes me into a world of art/food fusion. The art is interesting and the artist uses the subject matter in a way that makes it a bit of a distraction for the patrons of this place. As I waited for my date to park the car (they do not have valet service) I was greeted by a wait staff that saw to my every need from my coat placement to my handbag's resting place.
We were greeted by the chef who insisted that my date try the Calamari for a starter. While most places with serve this a traditional fried way way I was amazed at the combination of garlic and capers of this dish and it went so well with the 1997 Ch¢teau Latour Pomerol Bordeaux that we decided upon.
The Calamari was so plentiful that we decided to split an entree. It was such a hard choice because everything was so incredible! After careful consideration we landed ourselves with Pan seared Lapsang tea crusted ahi with a seared fois gras that was glazed with a honey - shoyu gastrique. Excellent choice as this too complimented the bordeaux complexity and balanced out not only the sweetness of the ahi tuna, but the foie gras as well.
When it comes to food in Austin there are times that people are let down by portion to cost ratios. I can tell you that Jezebel has done it right. The only thing I can say that might hinder people from visiting this restaurant is that it does not stand out on Congress. You have to know where this place is to find it.
As I said the decor was a bit scattered and made you feel like you were in a vintage SoHo gallery and it makes you feel a little cold but the food completely takes your mind off this aspect of the place and takes you into your more basic aspects of enjoying a good meal.
This is one of those places that people should reserve for a special occasion and not a random place to try out unless you have one of those expense accounts that you can write off everything.
We went here on a weekday evening to find Jezebel occupied by only a dozen other people, and it was wonderful. Our waiter was nice to talk to, but not all over our table. The complimentary olive bread and warm assortment of olives were delicious and appetizing, there were many great choices of wine, the seafood ordered was cooked perfectly...so moist and paired incredibly, and the gnocchi so fluffy. We all passed on dessert because we were too full, but there were some inventive and appealing choices. I would love to go again sometime soon.
Here is the thing, this restaurant is not for the faint of heart or the faint of palet.
You either love it or hate it.
Restaurant Jezebel was a place I at first avoided because people who knew food, said, "he puts chocolate on sushi". Didn't sound any good. But then I hear he had a place in Ruidoso, NM my birthplace. I gotta try it. So I went when two friends who are both very well versed in wine and food. I had the lamb....WOW. We had apps, salads, entrees, and deserts. We all three throughly enjoyed our meal and proclaimed right then and there we had been wrong. And we also proclaimed we may not eat again for another three days as we had stuffed ourselves because we couldn't stop eating the amazing food.
The wine list is a bit confusing but fun, "not that there is anything wrong with that" being the tag line on the selection of White Zins.
The food is BIG. It is a lot to take in. It's big not only in size, which is nice for once, but big in flavor. To add to that the flavors are...complicated. It takes a lot to work them out. You have to be a very adventurous eater. The first time I went it was salty, the second time less so, but no less flavor. Drink water before you go to bed ; )
I took a friend there who lives in San Francisco and they said it really reminded them of great restaurants there and LOVED the dishes served. If you're a steak and potato guy or a salad hold the dressing girl, you're not going to like the food.
I love the atmosphere and my service has always been very good. I don't eat Foie Gras because of the way the animals are force fed, but I don't push my views on that on other people as I don't want people to push their views of religion or anything else on me. I simply don't eat it while there. I don't avoid places that serve veal either...and I don't boycott stores that sell leather, fur, or wool. So whatever, if that's why you hate the place so be it.
My only complaint is that the key lime infused with tropical fruit tasted only of papaya. I was totally missing the key lime.
But the lavender creme brulee and I hear the banana fosters is to DIE FOR!!!
Lets start by saying it's not french food -- except they have foie gras.
we tried their 4 course prix fixe:
shrimp grits were amazing
halibut: nice piece of fish but way out spiced -- good fish doesn't need to get covered up
scallops: had the same spices as the halibut (?)
arugula salad: wilted in many ways
wine: perfect recommendation by the superb staff.
3 stars b/c the food was not worth the money, but the service was the best I've had.
So wonderful. I've been eating at Jezebel since they were originally located in Ruidoso (NM). When I found out they were moving to Austin, it quickly became one of my favorite things about going to school here.
Fabulous service, fabulous food!
Garbage that is over priced. I went to Jezebel with some friends and the place was empty and way too dark. I was eating, not trying to watch a movie. I guess they keep it dark so you don't see the crap undercooked food you are eating. And the staff was never there to ask you how everything is so you can tell them and send it back. The service was terrible and I will never go back. If I am going to spend a few hours in a restaurant eating and drinking, then it needs to be comfortable and have great service and food to go with it. Oh, and valet parking would be nice. I am surprised this place has made it when there are countless better restaurants that I would rather go to.
Well I really wanted to like this place. I love foie gras. I went there on my 10 year anniversary and it was a lot of little things that left me wishing I had just gone to the Four Seasons, and I have never been there before.
To start it took over 45 minutes to get a first drink. I think they were trying not to rush us but this went a little too far. The kicker was the cock roach crawling across our table. Another couple dining next to us reluctantly told me once it was apparent it was heading toward my plate. The manager informed me they do not use pesticides which I'm sure the PETA people like, no wait they server foie gras :)
They comped us a desert that was terrible, we couldn't finish it, we ordered the cheese plate instead which is always a winner. I left feeling like while the food was good the experience and the chunk out of my wallet didn't balance out.
I had been to the restaurant when they just opened 2 years back. The style of the restaurant, the cooking, and the food is quite unique. Fantastic meal and service! Also, you can watch how they prepare food in the kitchen through the screen when you are enjoying the food. However, I was not too impressed of their food stand at ACL last year.
I'm so damn sorry I have to take this down to 3 stars.
Went there for my b-day, and I guess it was an off night.
Ordered the sauteed calamari as a starter, and it was utterly bland and oily. I don't recommend it.
However, our salads were wonderful. I had the portabella/mozzarella salad, which was outstanding. And my husband had the arugula/berry salad, which was also very good.
I didn't want to order the same thing I'd had last time even though it was excellent. I wanted to branch out. I don't eat beef or pork or lamb, so I'm limited to vegetarian, fish or fowl entrees. My husband was ordering the chicken, so I opted for the salmon even though I was skeptical. On the menu, it's described as ,"Dark El Rey chocolate and dried spice crusted Atlantic salmon, mashed potatoes, greens, with garlic and caper infused olive oil." Chocolate + fish = strange, right? So I talked with the waiter, expressed my misgivings, and he assured me it was magnificent. I decided to trust the waiter and the chef. I shouldn't have. The way the fish was prepared was totally excellent, and then at the end they totally effed it up by putting what looked like Hershey kisses on top of it and letting them sort of melt. Granted, I know they were fine chocolates and not Kisses, but it didn't make the salmon + chocolate combo any less ridiculous. Two strong and distinctive tastes like these are only going to war with one another--not complement, as they should.
I didn't like it. At all.
And the other reason I'm knocking 2 stars off? After it was clear we weren't ordering dessert or after-dinner drinks, our waiter pretty much abandoned us. And it wasn't b/c they were slammed either. Only 7 out of the 14 tables had customers. But one table was obviously filled with friends of the chef, so most of the waitstaff attention was focused there.
So, do I still recommend Restaurant Jezebel? Yes. But go prepared, and don't order the salmon.
I've been holding off writing my review about my dining experience here on Saturday night because it… Read more »
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: French
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: American (New)
Austin, TX
Category: Seafood
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: French
Austin, TX
Category: American (New)
When it is a special occasion here are my favorite…
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
My favorite locales to go get dressed up and have…
Some great places that WILL break the bank, and DO…
Thanks to Bob R. for this idea, a counter to…
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
Yelp has opened my eyes to many glorious gems to…
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
