What to Eat Mattie’s describes its food as seasonal and farm-fresh, with menus changing throughout the year. But this is Texas, and there are a few things that deserve your attention. Start with the buttermilk biscuits. They’ve become one of the dishes most associated with Mattie’s, and you’ll see them mentioned again and again by people who have eaten here. Depending on the current menu, they’re served with a sweet accompaniment such as butter and local honey. For brunch, Southern comfort food takes center stage. Past and current favorites have included dishes such as fried chicken Benedict alongside those famous biscuits. Dinner leans toward refined Southern cooking using seasonal Central Texas ingredients. This isn’t the place I’d visit looking for enormous portions of traditional country cooking. Mattie’s takes those familiar Southern flavors and dresses them up just enough to make dinner feel special. Come for the Food. Stay for the Setting. There are restaurants where you eat an excellent dinner and leave. Mattie’s isn’t really that kind of place. Part of the reason to come here is simply to be here. Arrive early enough to see the property before dark. Walk beneath the oak trees. Find the peacocks. Have a drink outside if the weather cooperates. Then settle in for dinner. The restored farmhouse, warm dining rooms and gardens create the sort of atmosphere that’s becoming increasingly difficult to find in rapidly changing Austin. It’s romantic without trying too hard. Historic without feeling like a museum. Upscale without losing the relaxed personality that makes Austin Austin. Brunch or Dinner? I’d happily choose either, but they offer two very different versions of Mattie’s. Brunch is the choice if you want to see the property in daylight, sit beneath the trees and experience Mattie’s at its prettiest. Dinner is the choice for date night or a special occasion, when the old farmhouse and grounds take on a completely different atmosphere after sunset. My ideal visit? A late brunch reservation, biscuits on the table, nowhere else to be afterward and enough time to wander around the grounds before leaving. Before You Go Mattie’s is located at 811 West Live Oak Street in Austin, inside the historic Green Pastures property. Reservations are strongly recommended, particularly on weekends. The restaurant serves dinner during the week and weekend brunch, and the restaurant recommends smart-casual attire. There is also valet parking available on the property. The Basil & Birch Take Austin has newer restaurants. Trendier restaurants. Restaurants with tasting menus that require explaining half the ingredients on the plate. Mattie’s offers something different. It has a sense of place. Between the historic farmhouse, enormous oak trees, roaming peacocks and seasonal Southern cooking, this is the kind of restaurant I’d recommend to someone visiting Austin who wants more than simply a good meal. You come for brunch or dinner. But what you’ll probably remember is where you ate it.