Birdie's is a restaurant in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

.The restaurant is among the most acclaimed in America and was named a Best New Restaurant by Bon Appetit Magazine, Esquire and landed on the inaugural issue of the New York Times "The Restaurant List," in 2021. in In 2023 it was named ''

Food & Wine ''Food & Wine'' is an American monthly magazine published by Dotdash Meredith. It was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and sea ...

'''s Restaurant of the Year. Birdie's is also a two time James Beard Finalist.Chef Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel was nominanted for Best Chef Texas in 2024 and Arjav Ezekiel was nominated for Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service in 2025. The ''New York Times'''

Eric Asimov Eric Asimov (born July 17, 1957) is an American wine and food critic for ''The New York Times''. Early life and education Asimov was born in Bethpage, New York, the son of Stanley Asimov, former vice-president for editorial administration at ...

in 2024 called it "one of the most acclaimed restaurants in the country".

History

The restaurant was opened in 2021 by chef

Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel is an American chef and restaurateur. In 2023 her restaurant Birdie's in Austin, Texas, was named by ''Food & Wine'' their Restaurant of the Year. Early life and education Malechek-Ezekiel was born and raised in Tomball ...

and sommelier Arjav Ezekiel, who are husband and wife.

Business and service models

Birdie's is a counter-service restaurant and wine bar. The restaurant's business and service models, which '' Austin Monthly'' calls a "new take", maintain a minimal front-of-house staff; it takes no reservations, all diners stand in line to place their initial orders and seat themselves, and further service is not assigned to a single server. All workers are paid an hourly rate that does not assume tips; tips are pooled among all staff proportionately to the hours worked that week. The restaurant closes for two weeks in August and two weeks in late December/early January to provide staff paid time off. It offers

paid family leave Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" and "paternity leave ...

and

health insurance Health insurance or medical insurance (also known as medical aid in South Africa) is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among ma ...

. The restaurant is open Tuesday through Saturday. It sometimes closes to become a pop-up Italian restaurant called Aiello's, named after Malechek-Ezekiel's grandfather, who immigrated from

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

Reception

The restaurant was named to the ''New York Times'' 2021 Restaurant List. The ''Austin American-Statesman'' named it Austin's best new restaurant of 2021. Birdie's was also named a Best New Restaurant by Bon Appetit and Esquire Magazine. In 2023 ''Food & Wine'''s named Birdie's its Restaurant of the Year, calling it "the restaurant that everyone wants in their neighborhood". According to the ''New York Times'''

, writing in 2024, it is "one of the most acclaimed restaurants in the country".

References

{{reflist Restaurants in Texas 2021 establishments in the United States