Closed since 2022, one of downtown Austin’s best restaurants returns with new look, menu

Matthew Odam, Austin American-Statesman
·2 min read
A new series of windows facing San Jacinto Boulevard allows more light into the bar area at Parkside.
A new series of windows facing San Jacinto Boulevard allows more light into the bar area at Parkside.

Fourteen years of living on Dirty Sixth will leave anyone (or thing) in need of some TLC. Parkside, the modern-but-retro gastropub at 301 E. Sixth St. from Austin native chef Shawn Cirkiel, was one of the most handsome spaces in downtown Austin when it opened in 2008, but Cirkiel closed the restaurant in summer 2022 for a deep clean and a facelift.

The restaurant famous for its raw bar, happy hour burgers and cocktails, located in a 19th century brick building, reopened this week with a shiny new look and an updated menu.

The western wall of the bar area now features a bank of windows that let more light into the space that felt cozy, but a touch claustrophobic, before. The remodel, overseen by Page Paul Architectures, also includes custom seating booths, new tile work and white oak floors. There are now private dining areas on the first and second floor, with the private bar upstairs offering a covered patio that overlooks Sixth Street.

Chef Shawn Cirkiel opened Parkside on East Sixth Street in 2008 in the 19th century building that formerly houses Jean Luc's Bistro, where Cirkiel worked before opening his own restaurants.
Chef Shawn Cirkiel opened Parkside on East Sixth Street in 2008 in the 19th century building that formerly houses Jean Luc's Bistro, where Cirkiel worked before opening his own restaurants.

A new live fire grill was added to the kitchen, which will execute a Texas bistro menu that includes new dishes like lamb pastrami ribs and roasted cod with a tomato basil crust. Cirkiel will be joined in the kitchen by new chef de cuisine Phil Masotta, who worked as the executive sous chef of Lambert's barbecue for several years before coming across downtown.

Parkside will also reintroduce its popular Wednesday happy hour, Oysters & Bubbles, which features half-priced bottles of bubbles and trays of oysters all night.

Cirkiel, who also owns adjacent Neapolitan pizzeria The Backspace, had intended to have the restaurant reopen about a year ago, but says he is reenergized to bring his first restaurant back to the dining public in the rapidly changing downtown.

“We are thankful for the last 15 years, and we are excited for 15 more. I feel the same excitement I felt when we opened downtown 15 years ago, in some ways, even more so, with all the new and exciting other construction projects happening,” Cirkiel said. “We have so many great memories with our team and guests, and we are excited to share the updated space.”

If you feel like you've seen the Parkside name in recent years beyond the confines of downtown, it's likely because Parkside opened a location at the Austin Airport in 2019.

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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Parkside gastropub reopens on Sixth Street after a 20-month closure