You might think, upon walking into Elementary, that the primary-colored refrigerator magnet letters, the little cubbies in the back corner stuffed with jackets and backpacks, and the menu designed to look like notebook paper complete with doodles in the margins is a bunch of gimmicky hand-waving. “Elementary school” is a cute framework for the concept, which opened on South Lamar last July, but these folks – chef and culinary director Colter Peck, creative director and beverage mastermind Chris Arial, and operations director Allan Bautista – are no freshmen poseurs. Instead, they’re bringing a fresh (and refreshing) perspective to established cuisines and dishes.
Over the course of two visits, I was able to sample almost two-thirds of Elementary’s playful, globally influenced menu. Informally divided according to traditional courses like starters, seafood, pastas, and proteins, the menu reflects the seasons and what is available at any given farmers’ market at the time. On our first dinner visit, our party of four ordered six plates, each of which afforded everyone a modest sampling portion.
The burrata toast and the baked salad were the hands-down faves of the meal. The toast was thick and hearty, and the creamy cheese, strawberry, and fig balsamic worked together to emulate a very fancy PB&J. The baked salad – a heap of kale, Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, pickled apples, and pecans sprinkled with toasted panko crumbs – was a triumph of balance. Each bite was a perfect marriage of sweet, umami, acid, and crunch. The golden beet dish was similarly popular, with the walnut vinegar adding a butterscotch note to the bright and tangy beets and orange segments and crunchy, salty hazelnuts.
Our favorite among the non-veg options was the ramen risotto, with Japanese flavors overlaid on an Italian preparation. It’s actually a perfect dish to split among four people, as the pork belly, egg yolk, and rice all add richness and heft; just make sure you’re getting your fair share of pork belly when you spoon your portion onto your plate.
We ended our meal with an adorable dessert, a plate of milk and two chocolate chip cookies, served with a pool of dulce de leche for dipping. Half a small homemade cookie was just the right amount of sweetness to finish the night.
When my spouse and I returned for dinner, it was just the two of us, so we decided to go light, opting to share a Steelbow Farms salad, gnocchi, and a wagyu New York strip steak. I absolutely loved the salad, which comprised tender butter lettuce and slices of radish, dressed with dashi and citrus and topped with a generous swirl of nutty salsa macha. The tender gnocchi was napped with a cauliflower puree and studded with smoky sunchokes; the dish started off tasty, but was eventually overpowered by the intense smokiness. The steak was fine, not bad but nothing to write home about.
Everyone we encountered at Elementary was warm, friendly, and seemed genuinely glad to be there. It’s not kindergarten teacher levels of cheerfulness, but nonetheless positive and mood elevating.
Despite the fact that alcohol isn’t very fashionable these days (I guess we’ll have to wait a little longer until microdosing is part of the official dining experience), the cocktail menu here is both fun and creative. You don’t have to be a Gen X lady who binge-watched Sex and the City during grad school to enjoy the Kool-Aid Cosmo; the fermented kids’ drink adds an edge and depth of flavor to what might otherwise be written off as a pandering throwaway. But one sip of the clarified gochujang sour made me mutter, “oh, go to hell.” The crystal-clear concoction – an intoxicating blend of tequila, passion fruit, Cointreau, lime, and milk – is smooth and refreshing and entirely too drinkable. Make a plan for someone else to drive if you decide to have more than one.
The spirit-free options here are equally delightful. My friend enjoyed her nonalcoholic Riesling, describing it as “a nice, crisp finish to the meal.” I enjoyed my shrub, a seasonal tincture of chamomile and pear vinegar that somehow managed to be both bracing and mellow.
Elementary is a small restaurant with only about 15 tables. As such, they run with a lean crew, so set your expectations accordingly in terms of timings. On any given night, you will see one or two waitstaff running the floor with support from the host and a couple of server assistants. This means that you’re going to wait a little while before being greeted at the door with “still or sparkling water?” and the first table touch from your server. On our second visit, our waiter was serving 10 or 11 tables; to his credit, he remained friendly, cheerful, and unruffled the entire time. In fact, everyone we encountered at Elementary was warm, friendly, and seemed genuinely glad to be there. It’s not kindergarten teacher levels of cheerfulness, but nonetheless positive and mood elevating.
My one criticism is that, like most restaurants in Austin these days, Elementary is extremely loud. When the restaurant is full, it’s literally impossible to hear the waitstaff and your dining companions. I also worry that someone in a wheelchair or other mobility aid would find the space difficult to navigate, given how close together the tables are. Most importantly, if you’re dining with someone who has nut allergies, make sure you communicate this to your waiter, because while many of the menu items list things like almonds, pistachios, and hazelnuts, some items, like the salsa macha, contain stealth nuts not mentioned on the menu.
If you’ve got time before dinner, be sure to pop in to Hopscotch, the tiny 15-seat bar catty-corner to the restaurant. There you’ll find a sassy assortment of martinis (my spouse enjoyed his classic martini, served dirty), a healthy selection of retail wines (my glass of C.L. Butaud’s Frenchy Cinsault rosé was a smooth drinker), and a cheeky “bartender’s choice,” which on the night we went was an exquisite five-spice Old Fashioned topped with an adorable tiny rubber ducky.
I have left smiling every time I’ve dined at Elementary, and that’s not a particularly common occurrence. Not because every dining experience I have is bad, but because dining here made me happy. During a challenging time for the restaurant industry and beyond, Elementary is a revelation, fearlessly coloring outside the lines and joyfully embracing both whimsy and elegance when we need it the most.
Elementary
2026 S. Lamar
Daily, 5-10pm
Hopscotch
2032 S. Lamar
Daily, 4-10pm
This article appears in January 26 • 2024.