Third Grove Wine Bar Opens on West Sixth

photo courtesy of Grove Wine Bar/ Facebook

Austin restaurateur Reed Clemons originated the Warehouse District see-and-be-seen dining scene in the Nineties with his popular restaurants Mezzaluna and the Bitter End. Clemons left Downtown for the suburban success of wine bars in Westlake and Lakeway in the Aughts, but now he's back.

Clemons and his business partners Beth Lasita and longtime wine director Matt Berendt took over the space formerly occupied by Jezebel and Tapacitas earlier this year and have turned it into their third Grove Wine Bar & Kitchen with a Lola Savannah coffee shop tucked in for good measure. "The Cirrus Logic owners wanted a restaurant in the building as a perk for their employees," Clemons told us yesterday. "With the restaurant and coffee shop, we can serve three meals a day, with breakfast tacos and pastries from Quack's, Easy Tiger, and Word of Mouth in the mornings, lunch and dinner, and we're starting brunch on Saturday and Sunday this weekend."

Grove partners Matt Berendt (l), Beth Lasita, and Reed Clemons (photo courtesy of Reed Clemons)

Menus in all the Grove outlets are overseen by executive chef Michael Ortiz and his chef de cuisine at the Downtown outlet is chef Cody Krause, a long ago Mezzaluna sous chef who spent the past several years at Vespaio and Enoteca before rejoining the Clemons fold.

The decor at the new spot ably demonstrates Berendt's focus on wine - wine is everywhere. His Grove wine program offers 10 flights, 50 wines by the glass, and 200 by the bottle with excellent pairing advice. They're also offering a full bar with craft cocktails as well as the Mezzaluna Frozen Bellini, the perfect summer refresher for enjoying on the huge patio overlooking Shoal Creek.

Grove Wine Bar & Kitchen Central & Lola Savannah Coffee
800 W. Sixth, 512/236-1440
Coffee shop: weekdays, 6am-10pm; weekends, 6:30am-10pm
Wine bar: Sun.-Thu., 11am-10pm; Fri.-Sat., 11am-11pm
Brunch: Sat.- Sun., 10:30am-2pm
www.grovewinebar.com