Looking for a new twist on date night? Obviously, Alamo Drafthouse is a perfect movie spot, but have you seen the snazzy restaurant and bar across from the theater? VOX is lit up at night, quite beautifully, but is barely visible during the day—hidden underneath swanky apartments and overshadowed by Highball and Drafthouse. You can easily walk by the entrance and not realize it, which honestly, is part of the draw.

Once inside, however, VOX is anything but bashful. Modern black and white décor mesh well with a tangle of artistic lighting, a bright area to view the chefs hard at work, and a fully stocked bar. The wine, cocktail, and beer menu is vast—get ready to spend some time on that. Or, if you’re like me, give up and order a glass of Riesling like you always do when confronted with novel-sized drink lists.

Dinner is the real treat—there’s something for every palette, separated into these categories: provisions (cheeses and breads), leaves + roots, fins + shells, hooves, and feathers + beaks. Plus dessert, of course. Lunch is “TBD” on their website, so right now, they are strictly a dinner (and brunch on the weekends) spot. I really enjoyed how they divided the entrees—we tasted a plate from almost every section!

It has to be said that VOX doesn’t just look upscale—it definitely is upscale, price-wise. Plates are small and shareable, but not cheap, much like the close-by Odd Duck. Everything was delectable though, and immediately made the dollar sign not matter much (or maybe that was the wine).

We started with the wood-fired oysters, which were insanely tasty, topped with pancetta, garlic butter, and an herb crumble. Then, we ordered the grilled quail with mushroom bread pudding, which was also delicious, but paled in comparison to the poutine (crispy potatoes with gravy, cheese curds, and pig head terrine) that was next. Although at this point, we were stuffed, the “tongue + cheek buns” called to us, closing out the night. They are basically fancy barbaqoa-stuffed rolls and they are phenomenal. We couldn’t finish the third, and vowed to take it home for breakfast the next day—we had big plans for topping it with a fried egg. I will definitely be back one day soon to try the calamari noodles.

If you are a foodie, if you are in Austin, if you have some time to kill before your Drafthouse showing, if you need a chic night out—VOX Table is for you. Happy wining and dining!