Hestia - Austin (TX)

5 /5 Sara Govero: Wow. Just wow. Hestia is where wood fired dreams come to life. Everything is cooked over an open flame, and the Michelin Star is fully deserved. A very elevated experience. You can taste the art in every bite. Wr started with 2 bites, the corn and husk and the crab toast. They were so cute. One bite. We then got the crudo and I loved the smokiness of this dish. The halibut was even better. It came with a pour of this green tasty sauce. Bring me 2 mesquite cakes! That wood fire process is making babies back there. Excellent!

5 /5 Li Chen: The food was fantastic, especially the small bites! A touch too salty for my liking, but overall very flavorful. The restaurant is not big, so it’s best to book a reservation in advance. They even prepared a handwritten card signed by all the staff for my husband’s birthday, which was such a thoughtful gesture.

2 /5 Анна: We visited this fine-dining restaurant, and unfortunately, the experience was quite mixed. Here is my detailed impression of the dishes and the service. Food: Oysters. They were very fresh, with a creative and visually appealing presentation. However, the non-classic sauces didn’t work for me — traditional pairings would have tasted better. Steak tartare. A complete disappointment. You can barely taste the meat: the pieces are tiny and thin, and the flavor is completely overpowered by a grain that tastes like toasted buckwheat. Mushrooms. Over-seasoned and over-fried. They were meant to be piquant, but there were so many spices that you could literally feel the powdery texture. Halibut. The highlight of the entire evening was perfectly cooked, beautifully presented, and incredibly delicious. The only dish I would genuinely want to order again. Desserts (panna cotta and ice cream). Both desserts were interesting, but the ice cream was the clear winner. Atmosphere: There is a powerful smell of smoke inside — so strong that your hair and clothes end up absorbing it completely. This was highly unpleasant. Service: Even though there were free tables and we had a reservation, we waited about 20 minutes before being seated. The waitress taking our order was very polite and knowledgeable about the menu, but the staff bringing out the dishes mixed up where to place them. We were also celebrating two birthdays, and the situation with the desserts was uncomfortable: we ordered two desserts, but both received candles. The second one was placed in front of the other birthday person, who didn’t even order a dessert. It felt awkward and unprofessional. In restaurants of this level, its standard to offer a complimentary dessert for birthday guests, but here everything felt strange and poorly handled. Overall: I’m giving one star for the halibut and one star for the waitress. Unfortunately, the restaurant doesn’t deserve more than that. I would not return.

5 /5 Cristian Cantu: An absolutely incredible place to have a great food experience. This was our fourth time visiting, and our first since Hestia received its Michelin star. All members of the front of house staff that attended to our table were inviting, entertaining, and enthusiastic. We felt like a part of the family, particularly as they were helping us celebrate our anniversary! Every dish of their tasting menu offered a really intriguing and delicious take on open hearth preparation. We particularly loved the beef and guanciale dish with the green Thai sauce as well as their staple take on seared scallop. I also left the meal thinking about how simple but beautiful their preparation of kanpachi with pickled roselles was. Lastly, I have to mention that at the end of the meal. It wasn’t until my husband and I looked at our watches that we realized that 2 1/2 hours had gone by. The meal was so expertly timed between the care of the front of house staff, the chef, and kitchen that it never felt like we were waiting for anything. Everything flowed like clockwork. Our heartiest congratulations to Hestia on another Michelin star well deserved.

5 /5 Ivy F: Absolutely delicious! Every meal from starting to end was perfection. Staff was friendly and I got to sit in front of kitchen. Everyone worked well and fast. Flavors included ingredients that complemented each other. Visually appealing and unique dishes. Bite dishes are small and fir only 1 person. Everything else is sharable. My personal favorites were the Waygu Tatar (raw section) 10/10 and Halibut ( main section) 10/10. Also tried the Waygu sirloin, scallops, crab tostada. Everything was cooked perfectly and exceeded my expectations. I read previous reviews, and some were mixed. I opted out of the fixed course ($195 per person)the offer because of mixed opinions. I decided to just pick things from the menu that I wanted to try. For 2 people and spent under $400. We finished with dessert Bunuelo and recommended if you like a variety of textures. Its base is a crunchy shell and it has a gooey almond filling, not overwhelming, sweet, and topped with ice cream. Overall, will recommended to anyone visiting Austin and would dine here again.