Truluck’s Austin
Located in the heart of Downtown Austin on the corner of 3rd and Colorado, Trulucks Ocean’s Finest Seafood and Crab is a stand-out restaurant in many ways. The downtown Austin location just opened two months ago, and they have other establishments in the Arboretum, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Plano, Washington D.C. and the Woodlands. Serving up high-quality, sustainable seafood, they have an extensive menu with the best of the best fish, beef, wines, and liquors. Whether you have a birthday, anniversary, or you just want to pop in for happy hour, Truluck’s is guaranteed to be a new stop in your restaurant rotation.
The Place
Walking into the lobby, you are greeted by a classy interior, with black and white tiles and wood accents. The bar is in the front, and the conversation is lively during happy hour, which is 4:30 – 6:30 every weeknight. Moving towards the dining room, it expands to give way for tables and booths, all furnished with beautiful tableware. As you are dining, faint music comes from the speakers from the nightly rotating live DJ. The second floor of the establishment is a little quieter, for folks interested in a more intimate conversation. There is a VIP full service bar by reservation only as well on the second floor. The wrap around patio was not yet available for dining, but they plan on opening up when the weather gets below 80 degrees.
The People
The staff at Trulucks was wonderful. From the maitre d’ who checked us in, to the server who eventually closed us out, they were invested in our dining experience. Offering many suggestions and explanations of each menu item, we felt taken care of along every aspect of night. After dinner was finished, we were even offered hot towels to clean our hands off with a nice touch to an even nicer night.
The Drinks
If you are worried about not having a variety to drink there, worry not. The wine menu includes a pre-appetizer list of champagnes, chardonnays, rosés, whites, and reds, as well as many other options. At the bar there is another selection of hard liquor, and after-dinner drinks include scotch, bourbon, whiskey, brandy, cognac, and dessert wine. During dinner there is a variety of cocktails to choose from.
The Food
The best part of the night by far was the food. Appetizers had so many choices that looked incredible, including prime meatballs, salt and pepper calamari, and black river caviar. We ended up ordering the jumbo lump crab cake and the parmesan yeast roll. Both were perfectly baked, a great pre-dinner portion.
Dinner had options including their classic sushi grade tuna, prime king crab, a ribeye, South African cold-water lobster tail, and Chilean sea bass. We ordered the steak frites and the miso-glazed sea bass at the recommendation of our server. He did not steer us wrong, as both dishes were incredible. The steak was the perfect mix of tender and just cooked right, the frites were seasoned well to go with the tatar bearnaise sauce, and the sea bass was firm and moist, with hints of the miso glaze but not too overpowering.
Sides also looked delicious, and while we didn’t order any, we were tempted to order the crab fried rice, lobster mashed potatoes, and the plant-based bolognese.
Dessert ended up being a vanilla creme brulee, and we also got a complimentary Baked Alaska, both of which were great. They have four dessert options, the others being the world class carrot cake, chocolate malt cake, and key lime pie.
Overall
We had a great time at Truluck’s and definitely recommend making a stop at any of their restaurants. You will be treated with the best treatment, enjoy the best food, and have the best time.
