Counter 3.Five.VII Review – Austin, Texas

It’s not every day that you get to be one of the first customers at a new restaurant in town. Last week we celebrated a special birthday at the newly opened Counter 3.Five.VII, a very small, high end fixed menu restaurant where you literally sit at a bar inches away from all of the chefs doing their thing.

As the name of the restaurant implies, you can choose from prix fixe menus that either have 3, 5, or 7 courses.

Here’s the quick review:

Overall, they have amazing food! In my mind it’s one of the top prix fixe in Austin comparing them to other places we’ve been like Uchi, Uchiko, Congress, Lenoir, Carillon and even Oxheart in Houston. As expected of restaurants of this caliber, they care about ingredients – top quality stuff that is locally sourced or made in house when possible (they even have an herb garden in the store under grow lights).

Combinations of flavors in our 5 course meal were very creative and delicious all around, and preparation, pacing, and progression of the meal was spot on.

I like the upfront pricing, set menus, and included service (no need to tip) it feels classier and more inclusive this way. Wine pairings were mostly great (they even worked a sake into the mix with the octopus dish)… and food was on point. We left feeling totally satisfied at the end, without the need to go to Mcdonalds afterwards (many jokingly say that about other high-end establishments).

Food was very innovative and was explained well without feeling stuffy. They pay attention to little things here, from the uniforms of the chefs to beautifully garnished dishes, and extra courses sent out from the kitchen, and even a scone to take home… all of this made us feel welcome.

The Restaurant is a little hard to find, but that’s ok. Price is not cheap, but at 26 seats it’s expected as they have fewer customers and they’re going for super high quality over quantity. Only other downside is that it’s hard to explain what the restaurant is actually called… 357? 3FiveSeven? III5Seven?

TL:DR; Counter 3.Five.VII review

3.Five.VII Pros:

• Amazing food, among the best in Austin
• Coursed meals use the best ingredients, are well thought out & prepared
• They really take care of you and give you personal attention
• Awesome for intimate special occasions
• portions are pretty good for a high end coursed meal

 

3.Five.VII Cons:

• It’s expensive – think Uchi or Congress prices
• Not good for large groups
• Not for everyone

Enough about the restaurant – here are photos from our dining experience (menu will change over time depending on available ingredients):

Sour dough bread / cake with yogurt

Tai Snapper with tomato, consomme, arugula, olive oil

Beef Tongue with mustard, honey, caraway – the tongue was amazingly tender and delicious

Octopus with Japanese sweet potato, bok choy, Chinese sausage (Lap Cheong) – who would have thought that tender octopus pairs well with sausage?

Lamb with sweet breads, turnip, fennel, olives, meyer lemon – perhaps the best lamb i’ve ever had

Beet sorbet with beet gel

Carrot cake with coconut, oats, pecan, candied ginger

They even gave us a scone to take home and eat the next morning

In summary… it was delicious, innovative, and an awesome experience, and I would like to go back again sometime (after saving some pennies).

Have you tried Counter 3.Five.VII? What did you think?