Lutie's — Restaurant in Austin

For a restaurant that should shine on his reputation its hard to understand what went wrong. To start the server on his green blazer, with a crooked shirt and an undershirt that did not match the shirt, this would be the omen of what was a forgettable meal and disjointed lackluster service. We went with a big appetite and a soaring hunger for service, ordered drinks right off the bat and were interested in the $150 tasting menu. Which to preface was welcomed by our sever and his enthusiastic spiel about how they love to talk about the menu, as we announced our choice he proceeded to enjoy "this makes it easier" and forever forget about our experience. As we hinted that we wanted to enjoy a bottle of white, a glass of was recommended and proceeded to order a bottle after the glass suggestion. His demeanor toward our experience became more and more apparent. Gladly our food runner, with great knowledge and such a mesmerizing love for the menu, provided a charm and enchant that added some interest for the food. While there were some hits and misses in our experience, like onions so sulfuric and strong that seemed to be cut days prior on the scallop crudo, to a a wonderfully balanced tuna belly tataki, that was kissed in a grill adding that meaty essence that allowed the fatty tuna to shine, a dollop of caviar and a magnificent drizzle of brown butter made this an exciting second bite, one that promised and blinded all other experiences. The greens or lettuces with its flavorless kombu butter under some greens and a hot butternut, a memorabilia from Copenhagen, made it hard to compete with the tuna. As the heat from the hot squash, threw off the entire dish wilting the lettuce, screaming for salt,  just made my heart drop. We got an uncomfortable look as we politely asked for salt. BBQ shrimp and bread were a stepping stone for a great dish of Delta blue rice, grilled trout, as crispy and savory as life itself,  a sweet soy sauce and the umami of some delicate smoked trout roe that popped in symphony with the perfectly cooked rice and crunchy trout, all this welcomed that spark and understanding of a perfect dish, a chef mastering it. Between this entree and the next, time lapsed so slow that our next dish by surprise yet another seafood or fish component (they do showcase pork and meat in their menu)  after having already 6 fish dishes on a tasting menu, a more stellar choice of progression in the last savory course would  have allow it a showstopper, to not reminisce on so much fish and seafood. Not to take credit for the perfectly pan seared halibut with burre blanc and caviar ( as we had three types of fish eggs already on several dishes) made this tune sound, like that one artist that does not change the tune and keeps the same vocals throughout the concert. The excitement is lost and it become monotone. Same tone-deaf artists hit with two dessert with caramel, kouign amann ice-cream that was churned and finished with bites of kouign amann and a table side caramel sauce. Something so rich would be hard to understand why it felt so watery. Customary to drive a progression on a tasting menu, a creme caramel, custard baked with caramel, perfectly executed just got eclipsed by the same caramel flavor from the kouin amann. A lovely place with a majestic outdoor view that is bread taking, just not the experience or hospitality to complete...

Fantastic dining experience! Farm to table resteraunt, seasonal menu, knowledgeable and friendly wait staff, with family style plating. As a table of 4 adults, we had 5 main dishes and 3 deserts, all of which were amazingly delicious in their own respect.

Starting with "Steelbow farms tomatoes peppers, soft cheese, and fresh herbs" was a simple yet lively dish, smooth/creamy ricotta cheese pared well with the skinless tomatoes exchanging the typical bust of tomatoe with a gentile wave of sweet juices and then a crisp bite of roasted yellow bell pepper for texture and elevation. Next was the "Grilled Texas Camembert, Sourdough and Berries" a deconstruction of a grilled cheese, thick roasted slices of sour dough bread served next to a dish of Raclette and sliced strawberrys, combined back together gives you an amazing flavor that I might just try to make on my own for a breakfast snack (not saying this was not for dinner but just made me consider the possibilities of transforming my breakfast). Third dish was the "Smoked Ham, Turnip, and Butter Beans" honestly this was the least visually appealing and overall worst dish of our experience (not saying it was bad but something had to be at the bottom of the list), this was a home cured ham served in a plate with white turnips and lima beans, the ham had similar flavors as a high quality prosciutto but the texture of a roasted ham that simply falls apart in your mouth. Fourth was the "Blue Jasmoon Rice, Mt. Lassen Trout, and Smoked Trout Roe" this was served in separate dishes and encouraged to mix together as a kind of poké bowl, the slice of Trout had a beautifully crisp skin that flaked off as I attempted to slice the fish into the rice bowl and I left the roe for my company to add as they please, this was a fantastic dish and I loved every element, the rice was perfectly cooked just the slightest bit of aldenté to give a bite which paired perfectly with the burst of roe (just giving the flavor of the roe instead of the explosion, that some consider to much), the Trout was perfect flavor and the crispy skin was its own element of flavor and texture that would add to the dish. Last main dish was the "Texas Beef, Royal Trumpet Mushrooms, and Confit Potatoes" this was the highlight dish of the night, perfectly cooked Texas wagyu steak topped with sprigs of mushrooms and a white sauce that was amazing, served along side the confit fingerling potatoes, the steak was silky smooth to chew that matched the consistancy of the mushrooms allowing just the flavor of the mushrooms to come in and add to the perfection of the steak, the potatoes where roasted to have a beautifully dark golden brown skin, and everything was just simply better in that sauce, the taste was perfection everyone was fighting over the last bite. Lastly, the deserts no wrong choices here "Lemon soft serve", "Chocolate Creneux", and "Creme Carmel" all great although for me it was a tie between the creamy texture and unique flavor of the lemon soft serve and the simple yet elegant creme caramel with the side of local honey whipped cream topped with...

I researched online to try to find a great restaurant in Austin for "Atmosphere". And by that I mean an atmosphere that caters to the dining experience, not something else. I found Luties via the Open Table recommendations for "Ambience".

I'm disappointed. 2/4 of us arrived early and were promptly seated at our reserved table. I noticed immediately that the music was both uncomfortably loud AND overly vocal. There must be speakers above every table and it was like having someone yelling right in your ear. I'd say it was at an 8 and we prefer a 2 so we can hear the people we are dining with and not shout to be heard. So we asked if they could turn it down a little and they obliged quickly and put it down around a 6. Still too loud, but better. As the waitress came around to begin describing the specials for the evening while we waited for our other 2, I could not hear her clearly. So I interrupted her and said "If I have to listen to this music talking in my ear all evening, I will give you a 1 star review." Fair warning which I meant. She immediately disappeared and the music was turned down to a 4, approaching tolerable. Quickly a manager appeared to explain to me why the customer is never right: "This is the lowest we are allowed to put it." "We paid some blah blah company big bucks to design this music experience blah blah."

None of which I either cared for or did anything to dissuade me from my resolve, which was to give that 1 star if the music predictably returned...which it did. It always does. They always turn it back up. And they deserve the results. At this point our other 2 joined us and their first comment, at the "4" was that the music was awfully loud. It still was.

The music continued to get louder and more talkative as the meal went on. Think "Alex Jones" or "Rush Limbaugh" ranting in your ear for 2 hours. It was that bad. It was fingernails on a chalkboard bad. I could have tolerated anything from Andre Boccelli to Adele to Dimitri from Paris. It was none of those. Just fingernails on a chalkboard unpleasant.

The waitress joined us again and recommended we order 8-10 dishes for a table of 4. Another major strike. We ordered 6 and could have done well with 5, maybe even 4. Don't be fooled.

Past this I won't delve into the quality of the food because, like it or not, we won't be returning. 6 years directed the customer experience for a company that sees nearly 1 million customers per year. They lost this customer for the same reason many other companies do...they got arrogant about details that aren't and shouldn't be central to their experience.

Plenty of other great dining choices in...