Ventana

Same here. There is a phone recording saying that they are no longer open :(

just called to inquire about the menu and make reservations and the recording says it is no longer open… BOO!!!

Five course dinner for two, which included, but was not limited to, ceasar salad (with actual anchovies!) lobster endive appetizer, gazpacho, fillet mignon, roast chicken, profiteroles, and apple pie. With tax and tip, $ 40.
The service was excellent. Our wait staff said the kitchen was backed up and was apologetic, but neither of us noticed much of a delay in anything.
The roast chicken was succulent and juicy, and I would definitely order it again. I only mention this because it’s a rare thing to order chicken at a restaurant and it not be dry.

Very nice experience. The food portions were ample, well-​prepared and creatively presented. Tablecloths and silverware, interesting plateware and glassware gave a semblance of elegance. Knowing that it’s a school allows one to accept some shortcomings. The waitress forgot to check if there was butter in the butter dish (not), forgot to give a pen with the checkpad and forgot to mention a dessert (Bananas Foster) that wasn’t on the menu. Probably the most serious criticism is that the uniforms were not cleaned or pressed. If you want to aspire to French ambience, you need to class up the serving people. Nevertheless, I would go back and take friends for an interesting experience at a local cooking school’s bistro.

I brought my husband here last week after a great experience with my sister. I was hoping it would be just as good… not so much. The service was actually better except for the fact that we were not offered their special dessert (bananas foster) and didn’t even find out about it until it was being made for the table next to us, after we had paid our bill. Our server was really nice and funny.
The food… while it tasted good, most of it came to the table cold which was dissapointing.
Since this is a school we know that it won’t be perfect so we will probably try it again just because you can’t beat it for the price.

I had a group dinner meeting here, and I was putting on the program. I didn’t make the arrangements, but they were very accommodating for us, setting up the room the way we wanted, giving us a private space, letting us come before normal open hours, etc. When we needed a table for a display at the last minute, they cleared off some decorations, and let us have it. And when we had a raucous chocolate tasting, they were great about it.
The meal was a set 3-​course menu, and because our theme was chocolate they prepared something special for us. This is a student-​run restaurant, and everyone is in training. So the service can be slow, as they are teaching how to properly make and serve high-​quality food. And there can be some noise from the kitchen, as you hear people discussing, shouting directions, etc. It was kind of interesting from this perspective actually.
Our meal began with a nice green salad with a grilled goat-​cheese cake on top. Very tasty. The second course was a chicken with asparagus and grilled potatoes. Also very good — the chicken skin was CRISP (a pet peeve of mine when it is not) with the chicken itself still being moist. A neat trick for a group meal, and I was impressed. It was tasty as well, and veggies were also good. Both breads (a roll and an italian bread wedge) were good, but the butter supplied was insufficient for the table’s needs. A small complaint to be sure.
The dessert was outstanding — a hazelnut chocolate confection with a rich sauce and an egg-​shaped creation of dark chocolate sorbet. OMG yum. Serious yum. I loved that sorbet, and would love to have a gallon of it in my freezer right now.
The regular prices here are very reasonable for high-​quality gourmet food. The portions are small, but not too small. I prefer a variety of small courses to large, uninteresting ones. So I think I’ll be back to try them on a night when we can choose our menu. And it’s a great way to support students who are learning and will be the future of our gourmet restaurants! Vive le Cordon Bleu!

When my friend suggested we meet at the Domain for happy hour on a random Thursday I couldn’t help but roll my eyes thinking about the overly pricey choices available out there.
Then I remembered the Texas Culinary Academy was tucked away behind all the Pradas and Louis Vuittons.
The actual place is a bit hard to find, behind the hotels (who the heck is staying there by the way?) but we found it quickly enough and headed to the Blue River Café for a casual bite to eat. The chefs hanging out at the table outside said we would have better luck with a glass of wine at Ventana so we changed our direction and headed there instead.
We were the only people there, and remained the only guests the entire time. But this only meant that we got extra special treatment. We had about 4 different students waiting on us, each of them taking their time to make sure that the glasses were filled on the correct side, the prosecco was opened carefully, and the meal was to our liking.
We ordered small plates, wishing we had a bigger appetite. The salad was fresh, simple yet with dynamic flavors. My friend who doesn’t usually like bisque was blown away by the soup, sprinkled with toasted almonds. The frocaccia bread was freshly baked on the premises and tasted wonderful. They even brought out the «amuse» which was a canapé of the chef’s choosing that was a delightful bite.
The best part: this was all super cheap. Each plate was just $ 5 and the bottle of wine $ 10. Bingo.
The staff couldn’t have been friendlier and accommodated to our every need, always interested in what we had to say and telling us more about each item we were enjoying.
Next time I’m bringing the ladies so we can pretend that we are much fancier than our actual budgets.

So check this out, if you want a really pretty plate filled with unique tasty food at a secret steal then here you should be.
Now I will tell you upfront, it’s not perfect. You may find the temperature to be a bit off on something or something could be a tiny bit overcooked. You may find your server to be a bit nervous, but it is fun to try and calm their nerves and let them know you are there as a cheap bastard bitch and not to critique them (although they will ask you to at the end).
Bottom line is most of it is way better than I could do if I went out and bought all the stuff needed to make what I ate — but I didn’t have to cook it, serve it, do the dishes or go to the store to buy it. And I bet it would cost me about the same if I did.
If you come with an open mind, there is really not much at all to complain about here. Yes if you look one direction it looks like a culinary school, but if you look the other 3 it does not. Plus, I really like the way they did the ceiling and lighting. I mean seriously, for reals, $ 20 for a fancy-​ish 3 course meal? $ 5 for a glass of wine or $ 20 for the whole bottle? Desserts that will make you want to lean back in your chair and lather up with half of it while you eat the other half?
That’s what I’m sayin’!

French restaurant? Not really.
The founding institute? Yes.
The cuisine? It’s French, American fusion. Very interesting and fresh menu to taste for sure.
We came here for dinner on a rainy Wednesday night and we had the whole place to ourselves, how lovely!
The ambience is nice and the student staffs are very professional. While we were waiting for our food we were served with the dinner rolls that they make daily. The rolls were not well cooked and it needed more salt. My three-​course meal was perfectly prepared while the halibut my bf ordered was way, way, way too salty. The chefs needed more work.
Overall it was a great experience to dine at Ventana especially for the price we paid. I like the menu because it is pretty diversed and creative. We will definitely go back again someday.

I was lucky enough to catch the premier of Julie & Julia a couple of weeks ago. Julia Child, the subject of the movie, can be called Le Cordon Bleu’s most famous graduate. I love French cooking, and the movie had me drooling for something, anything of that influence.
The Culinary Academy is poised to offer great food for a reasonable price with the mutual understanding that it won’t all be perfect. That said, your expectations will be heightened after a visit to their fine dining establishment, mine certainly have been. This seemed a great alternative to putting my self in the poorhouse for food. In true joi de vivre form, I set out on my journey to eat more than my share of butter and vegetables, maybe something unique, and I would hope, a delicious dessert.
I was pretty pleased to find that the Ventana, TCA’s fine dining establishment, serves two menu options, the Pre Fix Menu and a Menu Formule. The Pre Fix menu is $ 18 with three set courses, The Menu Formule offers any 2 items for $ 15, any 3 for $ 20, and any 4 items for $ 25.
I grabbed a copy of the menu so my Unilocal readers could see what I was about to subject myself to eating in this one visit. I started with a glass of presecco, and made sure to preorder a glass of the Rhone syrah. I was going to taste as much as I could if it killed me and I might need an afternoon wine buzz to do it.
Warning: Some gluttony ahead — proceed at your own risk.
Appetizer:
Grilled Chicken Brochette with Quinoa Tabuleh —
Citrus marinated chicken breast, zucchini, onion, bell pepper, fresh tomato coulis, parsley oil
This was a tasty kabob, a good appetizer, not my favorite part of the meal, but a fine way to start on my path down Le Rue Saveur.
Salads:
Salad Maraichere —
Field greens, grape tomatoes, apple wood bacon, fried goat cheese, roasted shallot red wine vinaigrette
Mediterranean Stacked Spinach Salad —
Roasted tomatoes, marinated mushrooms, pickled onion, kalamata olives, chopped egg, feta cheese vinaigrette
This was a very good salad. Everything I like in a salad, with pickled onion, wow. The egg and feta cheese gave this salad a nice creamy texture.
Main Course:
Pork Milanese with Arugula and Asiago Cheese —
Olive Oil, garlic, tomato, capers, lemon and basil, sautéed arugula
I had to have a couple of pieces of the pork with cheese, the pork was a little dry. Good ingredients on this plate. I am a total sucker for arugula sautéed or wilted, put it on the plate and I will be fixated.
Pan seared Yellowfin Tuna —
Citrus risotto, green asparagus, lemon thyme butter
The tuna in butter was great and was nicely complimented by the citrus risotto.
Dessert:
Kaffir Lime Panna Cotta —
Blackberry compote, candied Lime, blackberry sorbet
Brown Butter Cornmeal Financier —
Mascarpone black pepper cream, candied pistachios, basil syrup, strawberry-​basil frozen yogurt
Basil syrup and candied pistachios decorated this plate complete with a corn cake that was slightly sweet. Basil in a dessert is the kind of experimentation that I had been hoping for, and I was pleased to get it by the end of the meal, this was something to try.
Candy Bar —
Flourless chocolate cake, salty peanut caramel, bitter mousse, dark chocolate sorbet
This was my favorite dessert. As rich desserts go, this one had all the decadence I was looking for and what the French are well-​known for offering. I didn’t know where to begin with the range of chocolate on this plate so my spoon darted around the plate stabbing greedily at everything.
Finir.
My meal had come to an end, but not before I reminisced over a double espresso all the plates of food that few were lucky enough to see intact as they were delivered to my table. Did I mention the food was all nice to look at also? They didn’t skimp on the presentation, so even where some things needed improvement in the pan, the appearance of the food helped me forgive them for those misses. I didn’t need much forgiveness honestly.
I don’t usually Unilocal about service, but there is nothing that compares to a properly trained French server. The student servers were attentive and knew how to take cues. I hadn’t realized the student chefs were expected to know how to serve, but since a fine dining establishment is part of the TCA LCB curriculum, I was becoming more familiar with the type of nuts and bolts education they were getting here at Le Cordon Bleu. Tips go to a scholarship fund, so the students are most responsive to mutual respect. The menu changes every six weeks, so I wouldn’t expect to get some of these dishes again. Overall I would rate my experience a four for their dedication to Le Gastronome. This gourmand was pleased with his choice for restaurants, and I would venture to say that the value you will find here will give you a reason to check them out. They are open for lunch and dinner and I look forward to trying the Bistro on my next visit.

The name sounds like a spa, but the food is definitely in the non-​spa French category. Good stuff for the prices, although the service was a bit awkward. Either way, worth checking out…

Lunchtime means eat at my desk time most days, so imagine my excitement when I actually had time between meetings to venture out! I saw it shining like a beacon on my calendar all week, and dressed up the day of to celebrate. But where does one go for such a momentous occasion? I then recalled a lunch outing a year ago that somehow ended up at Ventana, and it sounded like nearby fancy lunchtime fun.
When you arrive at the school (it is, as some have mentioned, a school) there are two eateries: Ventana, the restaurant, on the left and the quicker-​sandwich-​café Bleu River Grille on the right. A student from Ventana persuaded my two lunch partners to eat there rather than the Grille, with the promise of free appetizers. So in we went.
I think he actually meant free amuse bouche, because that’s what we got. It was an enjoyable little treat that entertained us while we ordered. It seems they are trying to encourage the ordering of more than an entrée, as the prices were not marked on each item in the Appetizer, Salad, Entrée sections. Rather, the menu indicated you could get any 2 items for $ 15 or 3 for $ 25. Okay… but we just wanted entrees. After some attempts at explaining, we just ordered entrees and figured we’d find out the prices later. All the while, the staff was amiable and refilled our waters after every 3 sips.
Lunch took… some time. So long, in fact, that they offered us free appetizers. This might have also been because the students were practicing, and rather than chuck the food, we got to have some. The fried oysters had an interesting texture and were dressed with a yummy sauce and thinly sliced fried onions. I would have liked the breading crispier, but hey, they were free.
Finally, my dining partners get their orders. And I get… a gentleman rolling a cart my way. I am excited! It seems he will be preparing my shrimp pasta dish in front of us! And then the excitement dies because I witness… oh gods… oil. Butter. Half and half or whatever the most fattening pourable white substance there is to add to a dish. More oil, now set on fire (yay!) assembled with 5 (nicely large) shrimp in a pan. But… my stomach already hurt. Because the menu had indicated a «Tomato Sauce Bouillabaisse» and my stomach was okay with that. The thought of what I’d just witnessed going into my tummy, however, was not comforting.
At this point though, it occurs to us to look at the clock. It’s nearly 1, and one of our group has a meeting. At 1. How did this happen? We got here at 12. Having no other options, I eat what I can. My stomach is giving me the finger, and I’m piling pasta onto it. There would soon be a reckoning, I knew. The pasta itself was mushy and looked mushy when he was preparing it, and the mushiness didn’t break up once it was incorporated into the (artery-​blocking) sauce. It just got mushier. It was ok, but I might have done better for my lunch and my health preparing something tasty at home. There wasn’t much diversity in flavors, though the shrimp was plump and good.
Overall, it was an interesting lunch dining experience. My buddy got the chicken dish, and seemed pleased. My dish was $ 11, so while it was meant to be fine-​dining, it wasn’t necessarily worth the amount. I might go again this year and try something completely different, and make sure to ask what they mean by the fancy sauce names. My stomach punched the bouillabaisse in the face later, so I’ll now refer to that sauce as the kid with the fat lip. No one wants him around.

This affordable fine dining experience is situated next to the Le Cordon Bleu culinary institute inside the Domain. Run by veteran culinary students, it offers some fairly creative selections on the nightly menu, but nothing too fancy.
Based on French influences, the menu included bouillabaisse, shrimp louis, brochettes, and more. Most were prepared somewhat ordinary, but nonetheless, slightly gussied up.
Because the prices are so reasonable, my dining partner and I ordered 6 dishes, with a dessert that I had to pay for after understanding that it was complimentary… this also plays a part in me dropping the rating 1 star. Though we got out with 7 courses for under $ 50, I was still angered by this miscommunication by the head chef.
The chicken and pearl onion brochette skewer was extremely plain; 2 sticks of grilled chicken with onions and mushrooms for $ 8? Not my choice next time. Shrimp louis had perfectly tender shrimp in a spicy mayonnaise based dressing, which was a tad too heavy. Ok dish. Salad maraichere gave nothing more than mixed greens in olive oil, bacon crumbles, and crusted goat cheese. They may claim it has a fancy dressing, but nothing special here. Lentil soup was salty. Bouillabaisse came as a hearty tomato stew with nice large, perfectly cooked shrimp. Duck breast was served over nicely cooked root vegetables and some wild rice. Duck was perfect texture, but slightly lacking in any particular flavor aspect. Pear compote crème brûlée was done fine without anything extra.
So looking back over the experience as a whole, with the advertised dishes, I left a little disappointed in the taste of the food, though textures were executed perfect. Service was quirky and a bit intrusive, but that’s to be expected with students who are going to make their futures in the kitchen. Probably deserves a 3.5 for the cheap, classy fare, but because of the pricing mishap, I left with a bad taste in my mouth, and it wasn’t the crème brûlée.

I actually found this restaurant on
looking at all the restaurants that we could make reservations online for. After reading up on it, it’s basically a student run French restaurant so you can get fancy dishes as a discount price.
It’s located by the Domain, but sometimes it’s hard to see from the road due to all of the construction going on. But if you have eagle eyes, you can spot the restaurant.
When my husband and I went, it was pretty empty so the student servers were very attentive. My husband got the prix fixe and I got the filet mignon with a salad. My dish was excellent – steak was cooked perfectly, salad was great and my dessert – orange ginger crème brûlée – was to die for. My husband got a venison dish which he wasn’t really a fan of.
Needless to say, with tax and tip, our meal came out to $ 60 which could be twice as much as much if it wasn’t at a student restaurant.

I tried to attend the Heart of Darkness… Dark Chocolate and Red Wine tasting event, but unfortunately the classes with «Miss Jane» who I read was very entertaining, was already sold out. That being said, there was a cooking demonstration being held and a gorgeous display of Mardi Gras themed chocolate sculptures created by the students. If only I could have gobbled them up! Oh well, the good thing is we were in the Domain and wine is abundant, so no loss! I have eaten at Ventana before and had a great meal and wonderful experience, so the next time they hold a wine tasting I will be first in line to buy tickets.

I’ve been meaning to check this place out forever, and finally got a chance this past Friday. It feels a little strange to walk in to a school with those heavy fire doors and find a restaurant, but once you get the food you tend to forget that part.
The menu changes once a season (presumably when the semester changes) so it never gets old. My sashimi tempura appetizer was excellent high-​quality tuna with a light vinaigrette dressing. It was so good I really had to concentrate so I didn’t just scarf it down. The gnocchi had a wonderful consistency, a bit crispy and drier on the outside and soft on the inside. My only complaint there was that the cheese was a bit haphazard, so I’d get bites with no cheese at all and some with way too much. The pumpkin cheesecake I had for dessert was probably my favorite part of the meal. It came with a cranberry drizzle and cranberry sorbet, and I’m a sucker for seasonal fall foods.
As a couple of the other reviews mentioned our waiter was very nervous, but our water glasses were never empty. One other thing to note is that they do sometimes run out of things, so don’t go with your heart set on one particular menu item.

Fifteen bucks for a delicious three-​course meal. Twenty-​five if you want wine pairings with each course.
No, this isn’t 1972. It’s Ventana, the student-​operated fine dining restaurant at the Texas Culinary Academy, the local affiliate of the Le Cordon Bleu Institute. The school has produced chefs who’ve gone on to cook at many high-​falootin’ local spots, including Aquarelle.
Offering what must be the flat-​out best deal for French food in Austin, it’s a surprise this place isn’t packed, particularly in this economy.
We came here for dinner on a Friday night. We were offered our choice of two fixed price menus. One choice opened with crab cakes, with an Asian-​inspired crusted chicken breast (sweet, with a kick) over pasta, and orange-​flavored crème brûlée (including a housemade shortbread cookie and sugared orange zest) for dessert. Total Woman ordered this, and loved it.
I went with the butternut squash soup and sweetened fruit garnish, braised short ribs in red wine reduction sauce with garlic potatoes and bacon-​wrapped asparagus, and a «candy bar» plate featuring a multilayered chocolate tart with housemade dark chocolate sorbet and salty peanut mousse.
Overall, the food was very well executed and presentation was top-​notch. Before the first course, we were served an amuse bouche of two tiny spring rolls, which were tasty, if a tad oily. But it was fun. We were also served long, thin slices of a simple and delicious French bread and wonderful honey butter.
Total Woman’s crab cakes were good, though the breaded crust tasted slightly like fried food (not in a Long John Silver’s kinda way, but I think Ventana was shooting for something lighter). Her entrée and dessert were both delicious.
My soup was outstanding, as were the falling-​apart braised ribs, creamy potatoes and bacon-​wrapped asparagus. All those elements worked well together. I also enjoyed the dessert, though the dark chocolate sorbet was icier than I expected.
Three of us ordered coffee with dessert. It was far too weak, and I mentioned this on the optional feedback form. There’s no reason or excuse to ever serve weak coffee, but especially with desserts of this caliber.
Service was eager and attentive, if a little unsure at times. But the quiet, respectful pace of the five-​star dining experience the school hopes to deliver offered a nice change from the rapid, chatty, we’re-buddies-now-so-tip-me delivery that you usually find when dining out. Our waiter was friendly and solicitous, and we felt he did a good job. I liked how the staff teamed up to deliver all entrees at once to our table of four… in fact, they even dispatched two waiters to serve coffee, just to make sure no one was left waiting. They also came by to replace silverware and frequently refilled drinks and coffee. Great job there.
Ventana also does a good job softening a clean, if somewhat institutional, space– it’s a school after all — and once the sun goes down, clever lighting treatments give this dining room a surprisingly intimate feel.
Visit this place. You will no doubt want to return.

My brother-​in-​law was one of the chef instructors at Ventana until recently.
The ‘staff’ is comprised of students in their last block of schooling prior to graduation, and the service is what one would expect from a five-​star restaurant.
Simplistically modern in its’ décor, Ventana offers up incredible cuisine at unbelievably affordable prices. Last time I was there I had watermelon consommé ($ 5), poblano relleno (under $ 20) and Panna Cotta with apricot sorbet and candied pistachios (under $ 10). I also had a few glasses of Prosecco (Vueve Cliquot) for about $ 7/​glass.
The food, atmosphere and price are definitely worth any wait there is to be had, and the ‘staff’ (students) are a generally friendly bunch who bend over backwards to please their customers.
Definitely one of the highlights here in Austin.

Wife and I walked in on a Tuesday for lunch. This is our first time here. We’re asked if we have a reservation (we dont’). I can’ t tell if the guy’s serious or not … for the hour we were there, there were only 3 tables total (including us).
Service was fine. As mentioned by others, it’s enthusiastic.
Unfortunately, the food was just not good. But that’s not the worst part.
We split an appetizer … crepes with goat’s cheese (and some other stuff). Cold to lukewarm. Maybe that’s the way it’s supposed to be. We didn’t ask, but just decided to roll with it, and look forward to our entrees. (Actually, every dish was lukewarm at best, though the waitstaff went to pains admonishing us to be careful of the hot plates.)
My wife had duck confi. I don’t eat meat anymore, so I can’t say anything about it other than what she told me: it was as if only one side of the duck leg had been braised properly, the other was just dry. Served with veggies, which my wife said were completely unseasoned. She didn’t complain. We understood, these are all students.
I had the butternut squash ravioli. Which now that I think about it, seems like an odd selection to serve in February. Now, I’m not a foodie. I’ll eat just about anything. But the pasta was just not cooked enough. Out of the 5 pieces, I sampled a bit from 2. The ravioli looked undercooked, tasted undercooked (you know, that underdone pasta taste and texture), and was frankly tough enough that I had to either use a knife to cut or exert more force than I’d think necessary with the fork.
OK. So the food was not all that great, except for the bread, which was nice. No big deal really. Here’s the kicker though…
I told our waitress that I thought the ravioli was underdone. She apologized and took it back to the kitchen. The chef (or whoever happened to be in charge) sent her back out to our table, and told her to tell me that I was «wrong». WRONG.
Maybe I was wrong. Maybe my palate is not refined enough to tell when pasta is underdone. I’m willing to entertain the possibility. I’m not, however, capable of understanding how a chef could in good conscience send waitstaff back to the table to tell a customer that they’re wrong. If s/​he is really that confident about their food, then by all means, please come out and tell me. With a total of 3 tables, I think the kitchen could have survived long enough on its own for the chef to step out for a couple of minutes.
Their comment card was the first one I can remember taking the time to fill out in recent memory.

Welcome to Austin’s newest reality show! Yes, tonight we’re taking students and putting them in a REAL restaurant, making them pretend to be servers and bus staff! But wait… they’re not just students: they’re aspiring chefs! We’ve given them a sophisticated venue, a cosmopolitan but classic menu, and a dense wine list… and now we’ve brought REAL diners for dinner! Let’s see what happens!
Ok, here’s the straight dope: if you want some superb food in a sophisticated setting with a staff that is REALLY focused on your satisfaction, at an amazingly inexpensive price, this is your place. The food: amazing. Fresh baked bread, followed by Pork Medallions and a bed of spicy (really!) applesauce to start, with a main course of Pan Roasted Sablefish or Chicken in a delicious beurre blanc sauce… impeccably prepared.
But really, you want to come here for the service. This is not a testbed for aspiring chefs; it’s a class. They are graded on this, so the service is impeccable. Plus, these chefs want to understand the front of the house, as well as the back, so they are extremely happy to explain anything on the menu. Jared was our server, and he was sensational: the right mix of professional and student for this place!
The only detraction I could offer would be the location and décor. The location is at the Academy, so it can’t be helped (though it is worth the trip). The décor needs work: it feels very temporary, with a clear focus on the basics, but lacking any overall character. However, as I mentioned to our staff, as long as the food is as good as it was and the prices as superb as they were, people will gladly overlook almost anything else. The wine list was truly diverse and dense, but don’t look for the staff to help guide your choices; they are students, after all. Great Paso Robles Zin by the glass was welcomed.
Great food, great staff, great prices: how can you go wrong?