Restaurant food menu

Nestled on the edge of Austin’s bustling downtown district, Moonshine Patio Bar & Grill, or simply Moonshine, as it’s often called, is truly one of the starts of Austin’s culinary scene. With its gourmet take on comfort food favorites, Moonshine offers a unique dining experience.

Spread out over several different dining areas in multiple buildings, Moonshine offers its patrons options when it comes to ambiance. The lively outdoor bar and patios are a great option for a fun night out socializing with friends, whereas the interior dining room and adjacent stone house the second oldest building in Austin, in fact, and said to be haunted offer a quieter, more intimate option.

Regardless of where you choose to sit at Moonshine, keep in mind that reservations aren’t available on weekends, and the wait time can get long earlier than you’d think. But the wait is definitely worth it from the custom cocktails to the delicious appetizers the corn dog shrimp is a house favorite to the incredible entrees and sinful desserts, dining at Moonshine is always a memorable experience.

The jalape hanger steak and broiled rainbow trout with cornbread stuffing are two of the most poplar entrees. And while they may sound simple, the chef truly adds a gourmet flare to everything he prepares, making souther staples like macaroni and cheese, or fried sweet potatoes a truly extraordinary meal. In addition to an extensive menu of down-home favorites with a cosmopolitan twist try the horseradish crusted salmon or the cornflake fried chicken salad for an exciting and unexpected flavor experience Moonshine also offers an exceptional brunch buffet, including mouth-watering treats like the Green Egg Scramble, with pesto, cherry tomatoes, and Parmesan cheese; the king ranch casserole; and other breakfast favorites like sticky buns, omelets, and an incredible cappuccino bundt cake.

But Moonshine has a much greater history in Austin than its last few years as a restaurant. One of the buildings that comprises the restaurant, called the Sunday House, was built in the 1850s by a German settler, and many of its features are still original. The building has served as home to several different commercial enterprises over the years, and is the only remaining Sunday House in Austin a Sunday House being a place where visitors from surrounding farmlands and rural areas could stay the night when traveling into the city over the weekend to shop at the markets and attend church. While Sunday Houses used to be quite common there are still dozens to be found in surrounding towns like Fredericksburg the Sunday Houses of Austin have gradually been torn down over the years, making the one at Moonshine a very special piece of Austin’s history and culture.

Today, the Sunday House is most often used as a small private dining area for parties and events, and some patrons and locals claim that the more-than 150-year-old building is haunted. Regardless of whether or not this piece of Austin’s history is home to spirits of lives long since lost, Moonshine is creating its own place in Austin’s history as one of the city’s most renowned and beloved restaurants, and the experience of dining there is certain to linger in the mind of any patron.