Austin is about to get a little saltier, in the best way possible. Skipjack Oyster opens Friday, October 3 inside The Westin Austin Downtown, taking over the former Stella San Jac space. The goal is simple but ambitious: create one of downtown’s largest raw bars and give Austin the seafood district it never knew it needed. With neighbors like Parkside and Eddie V’s, this corner of East Fifth Street is starting to feel like the city’s own coastal quarter, minus the seagulls stealing your fries.
The energy inside Skipjack is designed to buzz like a Friday night in New Orleans, only dressed in Austin casual. Community tables, indoor and outdoor seating, and a raw bar stacked with oysters set the stage. The menu reads like a greatest hits record for seafood lovers. Linguini with Clams sits next to a Fried Oyster Po Boy, Blackened Texas Redfish shares space with ceviche and guacapoke, and towering seafood plateaus come loaded with oysters, shrimp cocktail, tuna tartare, and king crab. For those who prefer surf and turf, the kitchen plates prime rib and the exclusive Brush Creek Ranch wagyu beef, celebrated for its deep marbling and found only at White Lodging restaurants in Austin.
The drinks are every bit as serious as the food. Thirty one sparkling wine labels line the list, with approachable pours alongside rare grower Champagnes and global icons like Dom Pérignon and Armand de Brignac. Behind the bar, there is playful innovation with house originals like Oyster Shell Infused Tito’s Vodka, fueling cocktails such as the Dockside Remedy Bloody Mary and the bar’s own oyster shooters. For fun, a pair of house canned cocktails rounds out the program.
Skipjack also tips its hat to Austin nostalgia by reviving Stella San Jac’s famous number sixteen biscuits, because nothing says seafood like a buttery carb to hold you over between oysters. The Long Weekend Brunch runs Friday through Sunday with items like Pearl Snap Battered Halibut Fish and Chips and a King Crab Soft Scramble, and from the looks of it, it might make you rethink every brunch plate you have ever ordered.
For everyday indulgence, the Half Shell Happy Hour runs seven days a week with half off wines by the glass, fresh daily oysters, oyster shooters, and seafood plateaus for thirty-five dollars. To celebrate its grand opening, Skipjack is offering 50% off bubbles by the glass all October. For ACL goers, flashing your wristband scores twenty percent off your bill during both festival weekends.
Located at 310 East Fifth Street inside The Westin Austin Downtown, Skipjack Oyster is open for breakfast and lunch Monday through Thursday, brunch Friday through Sunday, and dinner every night. Reservations are now available on OpenTable, but even if you walk in, there is a good chance you will walk out humming with seafood joy.