Chef collaboration, opening date announced for new restaurant and lounge at Four Seasons Hotel Austin

Officially set for September 27, 2018, the much-anticipated opening of revamped #restaurant and lounge spaces at Four Seasons #hotel Austin will bring an exciting new #chef collaboration and nature-inspired designs to downtown #austin.

Ciclo

Merging the diverse talents of two chefs – Four Seasons #chef de Cuisine James Flowers and world-renowned #chef and restaurateur Richard Sandoval, owner of more than 45 eateries around the globe – Ciclo (Spanish for “cycle”) will debut as a modern Texas kitchen featuring locally inspired flavours and ingredients with a Latin influence.

“James has more than a decade of experience in some of the city’s best restaurants and a passion for #austin that’s unparalleled. Given Richard’s global reputation as a #chef, as well as his past success working with other Four Seasons hotels and resorts, I truly believe he and James are the perfect complement,” said General Manager Rob Hagelberg.

Like the collaboration itself, Ciclo’s menu will offer a seamless blend of local flavours and global influences, all with – in a nod to the restaurant’s name – a strong focus on seasonal offerings. Standouts on the inaugural menu include starters such as oxtail bone marrow empanadas and Carolina gold rice croquettes, with Dover meunière,hickory-smoked prime ribeye, and sea bass with grilled radicchio and bagna cauda among the signature entrees.

For the dessert menu, Executive Pastry Chef Amanda Pallagi-Naim found inspiration in nature as well as the idea of the #restaurant as a lakehouse. The former is conveyed by a blackberry vanilla nest with beets and candied quinoa and a chocolate pudding cake with chicory root ice cream, while the latter is seen in Texas bourbon bon bonsserved in a boathouse-style lantern with wood-infused smoke.

Food-friendly drinks crafted by award-winning bartender Sarah Rahl, including large-format pitchers of sparkling rosé sangria, Moscow Mules and an ever-changing Ciclo Margarita are designed to enhance the dinner experience. Individual cocktails are also available and include the Hay Maze, a mixture of rum, Calvados, all spice, maple and fried apple threads and The Forager, featuring thyme-scented blue corn whiskey, tawny port and lemon. A full wine and beer list round-out the diverse beverage offerings.

Guests will be able to enjoy dinner, as well as breakfast, lunch and brunch, inside Ciclo’s dining room or on its expansive patio, which seats 112. All menus will offer gluten-free and vegan options. Reservations open on September 24, 2018 for dining starting October 8, 2018, and may be made by calling 512 685 8300 or online via OpenTable.

Live Oak

Available both inside and on the new deck, Live Oak’s all-day #food menu (11:00 am to 12:00 midnight on Sundays, until 2:00 am the rest of the week) presents flavour-rich dishes derived from Executive Sous Chef Abril Galindo’snative Guadalajara, including traditional torta ahogada and masa flatbread, as well as items with a more global slant such as duck confit flautas, salmon belly dumplings and a vibrant scallop ceviche with strawberry-habanero salsa.

“There’s nothing quite like this in #austin right now, I’ve tried to find it,” says Galindo, a veteran of several Mexico restaurants who visits Guadalajara annually for inspiration. “I’m very excited to share ‘La Perla Tapatia’ with the #people of #austin.”

Customary bar snacks, such as a burger and chicken wings, will still be available, but Galindo gives these items an upscale twist with the Live Oak burger – prime patty, bone marrow aїoli, charred jalapeño chimichurri and panela cheese on a house-made bun – and grilled tequila-pineapple chicken wings.

In Live Oak, Pallagi-Naim puts forth creative desserts that play off of traditional Mexican cuisine. Decadent ancho-chile spiced chocolate tacos are sure to be a star, while hand-held frozen sangria push pops and café con leche flan pops make it easy for guests to eat, drink and socialise simultaneously.

To craft Live Oak’s cocktails, Rahl drew from her own experience as well as an intensive week shadowing Mica Rousseau, one of Mexico’s top mixologists and the creative force behind the renowned Fifty Mils at Four Seasons #hotel Mexico City. The result is a beverage menu that stretches the imagination while still catering to guests who prefer classic, albeit impeccably made, cocktails.

Starting in 2019, Live Oak will also serve coffee, house-made pastries, authentic breakfast tacos and other grab-and-go breakfast items for guests and downtown dwellers.