Austin’s Mediterranean dining scene is about to get a little brighter, a little lighter, and a lot more vegetable-forward.
Ēma, the Mediterranean and California-inspired restaurant from Chicago-based Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants, officially opens its first Texas location at Domain NORTHSIDE on Saturday, January thirty-first. Reservations are already live on OpenTable, which tells you just about everything you need to know about how ready Austin is for this one.
If the name sounds familiar, that’s because Ēma is the sibling restaurant to Aba, the South Congress favorite that quietly became a go-to for mezze spreads, date-night patios, and people who know their way around a whipped feta situation. Ēma isn’t here to replace Aba, though. It’s more like its slightly sunnier, daytime-friendly cousin that leans even harder into California sensibilities.
Created by Executive Partner Marc Jacobs and Chef Partner CJ Jacobson, Ēma focuses on a lighter style of Mediterranean cooking with an emphasis on vegetables, seafood, and bright, clean flavors. Jacobson, a Top Chef Duels winner with deep California roots, has built a menu that feels intentional without being precious. Expect dishes like sweet corn hummus, crispy wild mushrooms, octopus carpaccio, and grilled shrimp kebabs that understand restraint is a skill, not a limitation.
The bar program follows the same philosophy. Led by Senior Beverage Manager Nicholas Berggren, cocktails pull from Mediterranean ingredients and flavors without drifting into novelty territory. Drinks like the Don Higo, built around charanda rum, fig, coconut, Greek mountain tea, honey, and rosemary, are designed to sit comfortably next to mezze plates instead of fighting for attention.
The space itself is doing a lot of the talking. The five-thousand-square-foot indoor-outdoor restaurant seats more than three hundred guests and was designed to feel like a Mediterranean summer day that just happens to exist in North Austin. Natural stone, thin brick, reclaimed wood, soft ivory tones, and plenty of plant life set the tone, while an expansive, tree-covered patio makes a strong case for lingering longer than planned.
Ēma will be open for lunch and dinner seven days a week, with weekend brunch, delivery, and carryout on the way. For North Austin diners who love Aba but don’t always want to fight South Congress traffic, this opening feels less like an expansion and more like a well-timed gift.
Austin has never been short on big restaurant openings. The ones that last tend to know exactly who they are. Ēma looks like it does.