Este
Celia Pellegrini took MICHELIN's Sommelier Award for Texas off this wine floor, and the kitchen grills whole butterflied fish under an annatto marinade.2
Why go
Fermin Nunez and Sam Hellman-Mass opened this on the old Eastside Cafe site on Manor Road in October 2022, four years after Suerte.3 Nunez came up through Launderette, La Condesa and Uchiko, and was a Food & Wine Best New Chef in 2021. Here he took masa toward the coast. Swordfish goes into a crispy masa-battered taco. House-made corn chips carry the ceviches and aguachiles. The pescado zarandeado is a whole butterflied fish, brushed in annatto and red chile and put over the grill.1 The wine floor is Celia Pellegrini's. Every award this room has won belongs to a person who works in it. The restaurant holds no star, no Bib and no guide selection.2
Order this / avoid
- Order the pescado zarandeado. The Infatuation describes it as
a whole butterflied fish, brushed in a sweet, peppery annatto red chile marinade, then grilled to a perfectly-charred finish.
Before it, the top neck clamsswimming in a fiery pool of habanero pico de gallo and chile oil.
1 - Then whatever aguachile is on, eaten off the house-made corn chips.1
- Avoid: coming for tacos. Masa plays a supporting part here and the seafood is what the kitchen is built around.1
What locals & experts say
- Nicolai McCrary scored it 8.7 for The Infatuation:
a Mexican seafood restaurant on Manor Road that feels like you just floated into a small coastal town in Baja, California.
On the room,Tall vaulted ceilings with exposed rafters, and a golden backlit bar give the place a regal look.
That review was last updated in November 2023 and predates every award below it.1 - MICHELIN Guide Texas, 2025: Visit Austin's record of the ceremony reads,
In 2025, Celia Pellegrini of Suerte and Este won the MICHELIN Sommelier Award.
That is a special award to a person, across two restaurants.2 - James Beard Foundation, 2026: Celia Pellegrini, semifinalist for Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, announced 21 January 2026. She did not advance, and Austin took no finalists that year.4
- CultureMap Austin Tastemaker Awards, 2026: Ale Kuri, the chef de cuisine, took Rising Star Chef of the Year on 9 April 2026. Worth knowing how that award works: CultureMap picks the nominees, a panel of local chefs and past winners picks the winners, and the ceremony is a ticketed party where the nominated restaurants serve the food.5
- Este, on the chef's route:
Chef Fermin spent the last decade in Austin at local favorites such as Launderette, La Condesa, and Uchiko, where he honed his style before opening Suerte with restaurateur Samuel Hellman-Mass.
3
Good to know
- Dinner only, and the venue does not publish its hours, so check before you go.3
- Book through the site. It is worth doing.3
- Where: 2113 Manor Rd, 78722, in Blackland. Suerte is the sibling on East Sixth, and Bar Toti and Este Garden belong to the same group.3
- Outside: there is a deck, and the group runs Este Garden alongside the dining room.3
- Hygiene: Austin Public Health scores it 86, inspected 3 June 2025, on a 100-point scale where 100 is clean and under 70 fails. Earlier scores were 84, 96, 82 and a clean 100 in October 2023.6
Jeff's take (his words)
- Note: "More awards. Just go."
Verdict
should-visit — Book it, and let the floor pour. Order the whole fish and build the rest of the table around it, which means clams and an aguachile and nothing heavy.