Take an exclusive look inside Austin's newly revamped Driskill Grill

McGuire Moorman Lambert Hospitality has given Austin dining icon Driskill Grill a new high-end-retro look. The historic grande dame of Austin dining is ready for her great unveiling. Austin’s most recognizable restaurateurs, McGuire Moorman Lambert Hospitality, who have helped define the look of 21st century Austin dining, have imbued the city’s oldest restaurant with glamorous new life. Driskill Grill reopens Monday after a complete renovation that returns the restaurant which opened in 1930 to its original glory. The sprawling but intimate steakhouse, finished in unlacquered brass and walnut burl paneling, is lined with classic Texas art, taxidermy and photos that reveal the restaurant and hotel’s importance in Austin’s social history. The space pours from the East Seventh Street entrance, past a dry-aging room and into multiple dining and drinking spaces, with the hotel’s newly defined upper lobby bar set on the other side of doors at the dining room’s southern end. The restaurant, which last touched greatness under chef David Bull almost 25 years ago, will open for dinner nightly, with lunch currently offered Thursday-Sunday. The main dining room at Driskill Grill. PROVIDED BY JUSTIN COOK Driskill Grill once hid behind frosted glass, with the main attraction of the space being a bar. The restaurant bar is now integrated into the space, with the upper lobby bar opposite a set of doors on the dining room’s southern end. The space has been opened up, old carpeting gone, replaced by handsome wooden floors. Massive circular and long booths that could easily seat three people per side line the dining room. The combined spaces seat 185 people, making it MML’s largest restaurant to date. The dining room at the white-tablecloth Driskill Grill features Texas art and oversized leather booths. PROVIDED BY Lambert McGuire Design took inspiration from London dining clubs and the great steakhouses of New York City and Chicago, and collaborated with MML's Marjorie Harris, who curated art for the space, pulling from the Driskill’s archives to complement her selection of Texas oil paintings and taxidermy. The space is large but the lighting, dark woods and sound design make for an intimate experience. Driskill Grill features a dry-aging room near the entrance on East Seventh Street. PROVIDED BY The dry-aging room near the Seventh Street entrance immediately lets you know that you’re in a serious steakhouse. The room gives MML the ability to fully age its hand-cut steaks in house or hold them in the right temperature and humidity for the final few days if someone else started the aging process. The room smells of leather, mushroom and marshmallow from the healthy molds, which help make for less water weight, more concentrated beef flavor and fat that emulsifies more readily. Driskill Grill dry-ages many of its steaks and cooks them in a broiler. PROVIDED BY JUSTIN COOK Driskill Grill highlights Texas beef cooked on high-temp broilers, a first for MML, which utilizes wood-fired grills at restaurants like Jeffrey’s and Perla’s. Driskill Grill serves a selection of proteins, including three fish dishes, in addition to its roster of steaks. PROVIDED BY JUSTIN COOK Roasted chicken and mint peas at Driskill Grill. PROVIDED BY JUSTIN COOK Wedge salad at Driskill Grill. PROVIDED BY JUSTIN COOK Oysters from the Driskill Grill raw bar. PROVIDED BY JUSTIN COOK The roster of classic cocktails at the Driskill Grill is listed from A to Z. PROVIDED BY JUSTIN COOK Selections from the Driskill Grill dessert cart. PROVIDED BY JUSTIN COOK Chef April Bloomfield is known as being a master of the burger. PROVIDED BY JUSTIN COOK The bar area at Driskill Grill will offer counter seating and round tables that can accommodate walk-in diners. PROVIDED BY JUSTIN COOK The Lady Bird Room in the bar at Driskill Grill can be cordoned off as a separate dining area. PROVIDED BY JUSTIN COOK Artist Evan Voyles of Neon Jungle has reimagined the iconic signage for the Driskill Grill on East Seventh Street. PROVIDED BY JUSTIN COOK