Red Ash - Austin, TX - Forks and Flights

We drove up to Austin to celebrate a buddy’s birthday. He had already made reservations at Red Ash a restaurant by Executive Chef John Carver. Since I’ve never heard of the place I googled it and found out that the name comes from the custom-built wood-burning grill, oven and plancha. According to the restaurant’s site red ash is released from the live wood fires, which became the inspiration for the restaurant’s name.

We got to the restaurant around 8:30pm and had some issues with the reservations (not their fault) but they worked very diligently to take care of it. In about 10 minutes we were seated in the second level of the restaurant over looking the open kitchen. The ambiance here is amazing, you can smell the wood burning stoves as soon as you walk in. Inside, the decor was fun and elegant and the vibe was alive. In the back there was a graffitied concrete wall which still gave it that Austin feel.It’s a little noisy but nothing to crazy.

We started with a Napa Valley Caymus Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon ($155) bottle of wine which was a little pricey for my taste but hey we were there to celebrate. I’m not a wine connoisseur so i’m not going to review the wine but I can tell you it was really good, very fruity and smooth. We proceeded to order Wood Roasted Vine Tomatoes & Burrata ($15) as an appetizer and it was delicious!! The tomato helped cut the creaminess of the burrata and both paired really well with the bread. I can’t tell you enough how good it was!! We then ordered some Hot & Crispy Country Italian Bread ($2.50 per person) and a Romaine Caesar salad topped with anchovies, croutons and shaved grana. The bread literally came out hot and crispy and was paired with a balsamic vinegar that was amazing. I’m not a big salad eater but the one we ordered was great it had all types of flavor and the anchovies gave it that saltiness that pushed it over the top for me. At his point we had not eaten anything bad so I was getting excited about the entree.

After all the delicious food we had just eaten I wanted to order everything on the menu. However, i decided against being a glutton and went with the Frutti di Mare a shellfish lovers delight. This plate had black and white spaghettini, cold water lobster, clams, shrimps, mussels, and crushed san marzano tomatoes ($34). Ecstasy on a plate!!! At this point we were all out of wine and decided to order another bottle. We went with a Malbec called Red Schooner, Voyage 6 ($72) also made by Caymus. Malbec has always been my favorite wine and this bottle solidified the reason why I loved it so much.

Once we were done with the main course our waiter offered the birthday boy some desserts. At this point we were all stuffed but hey who could turn down some free dessert! We went with a Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta ($9) and a Tiramisu ($9). You can’t go wrong with either of these two selections they were both delicious. This was a great way to close out our dinner.

Happy birthday to my boy hope you had a great time!

We had an amazing evening from start to finish. The service was impeccable and everyone’s plates were delicious. I left very impressed with this restaurant I definitely recommended it. It’s is pricy but worth every penny you spend.

5 out of 5 forks

Red Ash – Colorado Tower, 303 Colorado St #200, Austin, TX 78701.