At Contigo Austin, it’s all about a fun, jovial dining atmosphere. A restaurant spin-off of Contigo Ranch in the heart of South Texas brush country, it is clearly influenced by the ranch lifestyle. Customers stop by to dine in the outdoors, drink beer and margaritas, and enjoy the friendly service and warm hospitality of this dining establishment, which is located in the eastern part of Texas’ capital city.

DINNER TIME

Contigo Austin classifies its menu as comprising “Fresh, Quality, Bar Food.” The bar snacks include pigs in a blanket, crispy green beans, popcorn containing peanuts and spiced with cinnamon and cayenne, ox tongue sliders with pickled green tomatoes and Dijon mustard, and nuts bathed in maple syrup and black pepper. Customers who want a full dining experience can get a plate of rabbit and dumplings, skirt steak, Dewberry Hills Chicken, grilled turnip, sausage with a baguette and French fries, grilled cheese sandwich, or good ol’ fashioned burger and fries. Smaller plates include chicken thigh, mussels, Texas okra, and summer vegetables. The charcuterie section offers prepared meat-based plates that include pork liver pate, landjager (German semi-dried sausage), and coppa (Italian cold cuts).

DESSERT

After a good meal, customers can finish up with a serving of salted caramel, milk chocolate bourbon or blueberry sorbet ice cream; a blueberry parfait that includes chocolate syrup, graham cracker pieces, and layers of oatmeal. There’s also some s’mores; and a cocktail of Amaro Averna, Angostura bitters, and mescal nicknamed “The Closer.”

BRUNCH

Some of the dinner items—like burger and fries and rabbit and dumplings—are also available for brunch. Added to the brunch menus are snacks and small meals like yogurt-and-granola parfait, quiche with arugula salad, pozole, bacon-and-egg salad, eggs benedict, beef tongue hash, house-cured salmon, and buttermilk biscuits and gravy. There’s also a healthy selection of breads or pastry products to choose from; they include buttermilk biscuits, English muffins, raspberry jelly doughnut, gingerbread muffins, and brown sugar-and-candied pecan cinnamon rolls.

DRINKS

In addition to the regular drinks—such as coffee, sodas, and iced tea—Contigo Austin offers a host of wines (red, white, rose, and bubbles), cocktails, and beers (draft, bottled, and canned). Beer brands include Miller Lite, Guinness, Coors, Tecate, Stella Artois, Lone Star, Austin Beerworks, and Hops & Grain.

EVENTS

Contigo Austin welcomes events that include happy hour get-togethers, large parties, and private events. The restaurant runs a “Drink Local Tuesday” special, which guarantees $2 pints of beer from five Austin breweries—Hops & Grain, Thirsty Planet, Live Oak, ABW, and 512—every Tuesday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

HOURS

Dinner is served Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., with a full food menu available until 10:30 p.m. Dinner hours are extended to midnight on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and full food menus are available until 11 p.m. Contigo Austin is open on Sundays between 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. for brunch. The Happy Hour time period is 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. from Monday to Thursday, with reduced-price bar snacks, $1 off draft beer and wine by the glass, and a $6 price tag on select classic cocktails.