The restaurant, which is located in a strip mall at the former location of La Joie Oyster Bar, serves over 20 different types of fresh oysters alongside a craft cocktail menu, an extensive wine selection and other seafood dishes.
What's on the menu
Operations Manager Rudy Casillas said unlike a traditional fine dining experience, Sweetwater takes a more family-style approach to courses, offering several small, shareable plates, and cold appetizers for brunch and dinner.
Small plates and cold bar dishes include tuna crudo, ceviche, shrimp cocktail, octopus, caviar and oysters from the East and Gulf coasts.
For the main dinner courses, there are unique combinations such as the chimichurri scallops, chorizo mussels and the fruit de mayor linguine, which has four different types of meat.
Weekday happy hours include drink specials and $1 Gulf oysters.
Diving deeper
Casillas said the different regions and waters oysters come from create different flavor profiles and textures, much like the variety among wines.
"I think there's an elegance to eating oysters, but it's also a very interactive thing to do. You're sharing different things, maybe describing what different type of flavors you taste. ... I think enjoying oysters brings people together," Casillas said.
The background
Sweetwater Oyster Bar was created by industry veteran Mike Yassine in 2023.
Casillas said he spent seven years as the manager for Steiner Ranch Steakhouse and knew Yassine through his experience in the nightlife and fine dining scene.
Deciding that Cedar Park residents needed more fine dining options that didn't require a commute into Austin, the pair chose Cedar Park as the first location for their concept.
Last fall, they also opened Pearl & Fin Oyster Bar in downtown Austin, which carries similar offers to Sweetwater but in a much larger space.
- 1500 E. Whitestone Blvd. Ste. 200, Cedar Park
- www.sweetwateroysterbar.com
