The Guest House

5/5: i loved my meal here, fully enjoyed it, and would come again. i would ask to come back.

$$$$

👍 - get again ; 👎 - would not get again

---

The Guest House is an upscaled fine dining restaurant located in downtown Austin. They offer New American cuisine with a theatrical twist.

Menu Items I've Tried:

COMPLIMENTARY BREAD 👍

what i came here for

It is basically just a croissant. It is salty, flaky, layered, and crunchy. It has a nice buttery, saltiness. Nothing too amazing though. It looks cooler than it really was.

STEAK TARTARE ($24) 👍

on truffle toast

This was my favorite dish of the night. Spectacular and well crafted. You get tender, salty, umami melt in your mouth steak tartare topped gently with a citrusy, yuzu twist and dollops of creamy truffle mayo. It all sits on a neat fluffy piece of toast that is slightly crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. I love the truffle flavor, citrus upper note, and underlying saltiness.

SPICY RIGATONI ($26) 👎

pancetta, housmade pomodoro, calabrian chili

It was alright, I wouldn't get it again. The pasta is soft, not al dente. The pomodoro sauce is surprisngly spicy! The spice was my favorite part. It is creamy, tomatoey, and very light. Not too flavorful nor heavy, and it coats the pasta nicely. The pancetta does not really come through.

FOREST MUSHROOM PIZZA ($23) 👎

bacon, fontina, truffle

This was good, but not good enough that I'd get it again. The dough was hard and tough, no flop, but not a good chew. It is just one-dimensionally hard. Slight crisp on the crust. The flavor is cheesy, has a nice nutty sharp cheese flavor from the fontina, and an underlying bbq sauce flavor. It honestly just tastes like BBQ chicken pizza. I don't get much truffle from it. The bacon adds a nice umami, fatty, saltiness.

SWEET CORN PUDDING ($15) 👍

side

I loved this! This was just a side option, but I'm so glad I got it. It was creamy, sweet, and packed with corn. It had a slight grittiness too and tasted like corn casserole. Essentially it is corn casserole, but with the texture that's between creamed corn and corn casserole. Amazing.

Watch my full video review here!