The Grove Wine Bar & Kitchen

A patio over RR 620 South, a from-scratch kitchen, and a happy hour that's basically a dress rehearsal for dinner

Date night doesn't need a passport, just a table with a view and a wine list that doesn't make you feel rushed. The Grove Wine Bar & Kitchen on RR 620 South in Lakeway has been that table for a long time now, and it's still the one locals bring up first when the plan is "somewhere nice, but not a whole production."

It's the patio at golden hour, mostly. The dining room and deck look out over the Hill Country, and when the light starts doing its thing over the hills, the room fills up fast. Pair that with a wine program that's been part of the identity since day one, and it's an easy answer to the "where should we go" text.

Before Beth Lasita founded The Grove Wine Bar & Kitchen in Westlake, she owned a construction company that built restaurants, and she partnered with Reed Clemons to open the original Grove in Westlake in 2007. Five years later, The Grove in Lakeway opened in an area with a far-reaching view of the Hill Country. The Lakeway location has since become its own neighborhood fixture, separate in feel from its sister restaurants in Westlake and Cedar Park, but built on the same wine-forward, scratch-kitchen idea.

The kitchen runs Italian-leaned American comfort food with a few standouts regulars keep ordering. The Bolognese is spaghetti with veal, pork, beef, san marzano tomato, cream and parmesan with house garlic focaccia for $25, and the Seared Salmon Salad comes with Norwegian salmon, mixed greens, cabbage, radish, sweet peppers, English cucumber, carrot, crispy onion and a creamy miso vinaigrette for $24. Start with the Bruschetta at $16, or go bigger with the Classic Steak Tartare — tenderloin filet, capers, pickle, shallot, worcestershire, quail egg, dijon mustard, chive and crispy shallot with house chips — for $24. Wood-fired pizzas round out the menu for anyone who wants carbs with their view.

The wine list, weekend brunch and cocktails are all their own separate menus, which tells you how seriously the place takes each one. Happy hour runs 2pm–6pm Monday through Friday and 3pm–6pm Saturday and Sunday — a low-stakes way to try the wine list before committing to the full date-night version. Brunch runs 10:30am–3pm on Saturday and Sunday, and the kitchen stays open daily into the evening. It's closed Jan. 1, Thanksgiving and Dec. 24–25, so plan around those if you're booking around the holidays.

Local Eats covers what's coming soon, what just opened and the local food events worth planning around Lakeway, Bee Cave and Spicewood — free, every Thursday. Subscribe at localeats.news/austin-laketravis.