Cafe Blue Restaurant In Austin – Detailed Review
Cafe Blue brings award-winning seafood and world-renowned chefs to the heart of Texas. You may remember it from our “Best Austin Seafood Restaurants” post. The restaurant was started after New England native, Chef Ben Nathan, settled in Austin in 2005. Chef Ben had traveled all over the world working in critically acclaimed restaurants before becoming an instructor at Texas Culinary Academy and a Le Cordon Bleu chef. He now acts as the Executive Chef at Cafe Blue.
The ambiance is pretty casual for a nice seafood restaurant. Aquatic blue lighting bathes the restaurant to make you feel like you are, in Cafe Bleu’s words, in a “tropical paradise”. It is known for its seafood, especially the oyster bars, in fresh oysters nearly every day. But, they also have salads, burgers, and sandwiches if you aren’t feeling seafood. All the staff wears masks.
Cafe Blue Menu
Cafe Blue offers a weekend brunch, lunch, and dinner menu. Brunch features classic staples like mimosas, omelets, and french toast, with some aquatic twists. The Eggs Benedict Arnold replaces the English muffin with a crab cake and the hollandaise sauce with a cajun shrimp and crawfish brandy cream sauce. For those with a sweet tooth, they have a decadent Cap’n Crunch French Toast. After all, the Cap’n is a Naval officer.
The dinner menu is similar to the lunch menu, but with more options. Cafe Blue’s famous Oyster Bar, as well as the Maine Lobster Rolls are always available. For dinner, they offer a wider variety of other meats, including filets and a N.Y. Strip. You can also get the Kick Ass Sea Bass, which is a sesame-teriyaki glazed Chilean sea bass. If you are unsure, try the Daily Seafood Feature, where Chef Ben picks out the best of the daily catch.
Cafe Blue Online Order Process
Cafe Blue offers Takeout and Delivery at both Austin locations. To order online:
- Go to the Official Website of Cafe Blue
- Click the “Order Now” button.
- You can click the “order takeout” or “order delivery” option for the Downtown or Hill Country Galleria locations
- The takeout option will take you to the Toasttab, where you find their menu and place an order for pickup
- The delivery option will take you to Doordash, where you can find their menu and place an order for delivery.
Cafe Blue Happy Hour
Cafe Blue can get pricey, but they do have some great deals throughout the week. Happy Hour happens all day long on Mondays and 3 pm to 6 pm, Tuesday through Friday. This means $3 off all appetizers, draft beer, wine by the glass, cocktails, and a half dozen oysters.
On Tuesdays, “Shrimp Happens”, and you get $5 off all shrimp entrees. They have coconut shrimp, fried shrimp, shrimp brochette, crab-stuffed jumbo shrimp, etc. Yes, I did write that list with Bubba from Forrest Gump in mind. They offer an array of equally punny food and drink specials throughout the week.
Cafe Blue Austin’s Locations and Hours
Cafe Blue has two Austin locations, one in Downtown Austin, right across from the Austin Convention Center. The other is at the Hill Country Galleria in Bee Cave, just west of the city. Both are open Monday through Friday from 11 am to 10 pm. On Saturdays and Sundays, the restaurants are open from 9 am to 10 pm.
Downtown Austin address: 2nd St. & Trinity 340 East 2nd Street, Austin, TX 78701
Hill Country Galleria address: 12800 Hill Country Blvd. Suite G-115, Bee Cave, TX 78738
Cafe Blue Restaurant FAQs
Does Cafe Blue Downtown Austin offer takeout?
Yes, Cafe Blue offers pickup and delivery options at both locations. If you don’t feel like driving, you can have their food delivered through DoorDash.
Is Cafe Blue Downtown currently taking reservations?
Yes, You can make a reservation through the Cafe Blue website which will direct you to the reservation service, Open Table.
Does Cafe Blue Downtown have outdoor seating?
Yes, the downtown location has a ton of outdoor seating.
Conclusion
Good quality seafood places can be stuffy and intimidating. Chef Ben and Cafe Blue offer a more relaxed experience, while still making delicious food. It is a little expensive, but the quality and the many deals make it worth it. Whether you’re looking for a great brunch spot or a romantic date night, Cafe Blue is a tasty option. Also, it is great for anyone on the seafood diet, those that eat whenever they SEE food. Sorry, but you know I had to include it.