Austin seafood restaurant Bill’s Oyster will be opened by chef Le Bernardin
A veteran of some of New York City’s best restaurants is bringing a seafood restaurant and raw bar concept to downtown Austin.
Chef Daniel Berg, who worked in the kitchens of New York dining institutions Daniel and Le Bernardin before running his own restaurants in New York and later Houston, plans to open Bill’s oyster (billsoyster.com) with partner and Austin native Stewart Jarmon in April.
The duo’s first restaurant will combine simple sophistication and casual neighborhood vibes in a part of town with no locally owned seafood restaurants and only a handful of homegrown concepts.
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Berg’s tight menu will include Gulf and East Coast oysters, plus raw seafood preparations, a couple of cooked dishes, classics like beef tartare, a cheeseburger and specials of the day. The jewel box space located in the 2nd Street District at 205 W. Third St. it will have a dozen bar seats and table seating for a couple dozen more.
“Growing up in New York and spending a lot of time in New Orleans, I’ve always loved oyster bars and seafood, especially ones that have been around forever,” Berg told the American-Statesman. “From a chef’s perspective, I’ve reached a point in my career where I want to strip down as much as possible when creating dishes and focus on product quality and sourcing. This is the bar/restaurant I would like to go to in my personal life, sit at a bar, have a nice drink and some solid food, be it a burger or a dozen oysters…it’s my thing favorites And do it in an unpretentious place.”
Berg, who trained in New York and Italy before beginning his career with celebrity chef Andrew Carmellini, served as Executive Chef-Partner at BB Italia for two years after moving to Houston to work with his brother The chef met Jarmon, who attended culinary school in Mexico City, through mutual friends several years ago in Texas.
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Bill’s Oyster will be the first restaurant for Jarmon, a seasoned project manager who has developed ties in the hospitality and entertainment world during his several decades living in Austin, where he graduated from Stephen F. Austin.
“We’ve seen a lot of out-of-town restaurants come to Austin lately, especially downtown,” Jarmon said, “So we wanted to take the opportunity to open a local place in a great location.”
Once open next month, Bill’s Oyster will serve lunch, dinner and weekend brunch.