Worth the Wait: A Look at Lutie’s at the Commodore Perry Estate

Although reservations are booked through the fall, you can still get a sneak peek at Austin’s coolest new restaurant

Go ahead and book your spot now. Lutie’s, the new restaurant at the Commodore Perry Estate in Austin, Texas, has grabbed the attention of so many Austinites that reservations are currently booked through the fall. “So many folks have a connection to this place and want to experience its rebirth,” says executive chef Bradley Nicholson of the 1920s Italianate mansion turned resort in the heart of town. “We named the restaurant after Edgar Perry’s wife,” says Ken Fulk, the Virginia-born, San Francisco–based interior designer who headed the project. “The goal was to conjure the legendary parties that may have been held on the estate and evoke the delight of being a guest at one of these evening garden parties in the 1920s.” He manifested that vision with custom floral patterns, tumbled marble floors, wrought-iron furniture, latticework on the ceiling, scalloped banquettes, velvet bar stools, and Murano chandeliers. “It is utterly familiar,” Fulk says, “yet unlike any restaurant you’ve seen.” The food, too, is worth the wait. “My favorite dishes are the Estate Bread and the okra with Guajillo and grilled pecan sauce,” Nicholson says. “I also recommend the Delta Blues Rice; the dish is so simple but is a good example of how I like to layer flavor and texture.”