Lamberts: upscale oak-smoked BBQ in downtown Austin

If you want barbecue that feels more like a night out than a quick lunch, Lamberts Downtown Barbecue is the place. It sits at 401 West 2nd Street in the restored Schneider Brothers Building, a historic spot in downtown Austin that the city helped save with a Heritage Preservation Grant. The restaurant opened in 2006 when Larry McGuire, Tom Moorman, Will Bridges, Lou Lambert and a group of Austin friends put it together, and it went on to be the first restaurant in what is now MML Hospitality, which has grown to manage around 30 places.

The food leans upscale. Everything is natural oak-smoked or oak-grilled, with prime brisket, smoked baby back ribs and crispy wild boar BBQ ribs at the center. Those wild boar ribs are a spicy, hearty appetizer served stacked like meaty Lincoln Logs, and they come in at $10 at lunch. Beyond the obvious, the menu runs to coriander and maple crusted Berkshire Pork ribs, quail enchiladas and delicately spiced barbecue clams. Brunch is a separate draw altogether, with a buffet that runs through new potato salad, jicama and cilantro slaw, deviled eggs with caviar, chilled asparagus with a sherry shallot vinaigrette, omelettes, french toast and pancakes.

What sets Lamberts apart from a lot of Texas BBQ joints is the bar. There is a cocktail menu with a mezcal and tequila-powered Ocelot, a house Old Fashioned and a standalone whiskey list, plus draft beer, and the wine selection is widely considered one of the best you will find at any barbecue place in the state. Upstairs there is a bar and lounge with weekly live music and special events, and the second floor has a private bar, a stage and a professional sound system that makes it a natural choice for business retreats, rehearsal dinners and birthday parties. Outside, the patio sits next to the Mill Scale BBQ smoker and comes with a mobile bar and a retractable roof. The whole place can be bought out for a private event if you need it.

It is not the cheapest plate in town, but that is part of the appeal. Condé Nast Traveler has described it as inventive, upscale barbecue in an airy, refurbished general store with exposed brick walls, plush leather booths and tasteful modern art, and the crowd tends to be well-dressed and polite. The reviews back that up, with a 4.4-star average across more than 2,000 ratings and a price range that runs from $20 to $70 depending on how you order. Lunch runs Monday through Friday from 11:00 am to 2:45 pm and 11:30 am to 2:45 pm on weekends, with supper daily from 5:00 pm until close. Happy hour at the bar runs Monday through Friday from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm, when Whiskey and Ribs Night takes half off featured whiskies and ribs. For parking, there is 2nd Street District valet at 2nd and San Antonio, plus garages at City Hall and the AMLI building. It is a polished take on a Texas staple, and it has held its own in Austin's competitive barbecue scene for two decades.