What a lovely surprise to have an Austin restaurant live up to both the hype and the expensive price tag that comes with it.
We went to Hestia to celebrate my husband's birthday and went all out with the chef's tasting menu and wine pairing. It's important to note that the table must agree to the tasting menu and surprisingly and wonderfully, the wine pairing can be split between two people. We were delighted to find this out, as the wine pairing provided approximately a full bottle to whomever indulged and while that seems like a great value for price, it's just not something we could do as individuals. Being able to split the pairing allowed us to enjoy the experience while not suffering the next day.
Let's go with the ambiance and service first. We were able to easily make a reservation online but be warned, this did require us to plan pretty far out in advance because we wanted a Friday seating. When we arrived onsite, our table was set with a birthday card and we were promptly helped with water and the menu options explained. We were given notice that the taster menu would take approximately two hours and honestly, the time flew by. Our courses were served quickly but not overwhelmingly fast and our servers took great care to explain each plate along with the wine accompanying it. Honestly, we were blown away by how friendly, knowledgable and quick the service was throughout the night. Multiple people took care of us and it was certainly a well-oiled machine. No missteps, no mess ups.
The tasting menu was prolific and honestly, one of the best we've ever had outside of our normal omakase experiences in Austin. The premise Hestia is fire/hearth and local farming partnerships. The menu outlined all of their local partners, highlighting their commitment to farm-to-table sourcing.
There were MANY highlights from this tasting but our favorites were the sun choke dish with caviar, the scallop and the beef skewers. The flavors were rich, layered and every bite was delicious. The menu was truly varied in protein selections and flavors and each was really wonderful.
The wine pairing was very white forward and also fairly sweet in nature. As not huge wine drinkers but when we do liking dry reds, this was an interesting experience but not necessarily a favorite. While some dishes truly felt complimented by the wine selected, others for us missed the mark. But, again, we know we aren't true wine people so take this aspect of the review with an understanding that more wine forward folks may truly enjoy the pairing top to bottom.
The biggest hardship for me with tasting menus is feeling overwhelmingly full by the end and this was true again with this experience. I was pushed over the edge in our second to last savory course, which was delicious and super rich. It made it challenging for me to enjoy the final savory course and I was truly unable to do more than the smallest taste of the dessert course.
We were given the most AMAZING sweet buns to go and they were spectacular to enjoy the next day. A wonderful reminder of a delightful experience.
The bill was as expected, very high. The two tasting menus and the wine pairing (split) came to just under $600. Tip is on total and again, the service we had was exceptional.
While a very expensive experience, for us it was worth the price. We would absolutely return to Hestia to enjoy the delicious food and excellent service. Next time, I'd definitely want to try the table side martini cart! I passed it up this time because of the wine pairing but the items you could select looked amazing. While we didn't have cocktails when we went, it is important to note they are PRICEY! The table side martini starts at $30 and can go up depending on add ons and most other cocktails were $25+.
Again, if you are looking for a beautiful foodie experience, Hestia is worth the trouble to secure a reservation and for us, it was worth the price. We will very likely return. read more