Hudson Bend restaurant 827 Ray’s Kitchen+Cellar opened Aug. 27, or 8-27—a very important date for its owners, Kerry Grimes and Executive Chef Wayne Brooks. The date is the birthday of both Grimes’ daughter and Brooks’ youngest son, and Ray is the middle name of Brooks’ oldest child.

Brooks and Grimes met while Brooks was executive chef at the UT Golf Club in Steiner Ranch. Grimes was a member who enjoyed not only the menu selections Brooks would create but also the wine dinners he hosted.

The owners wanted a feel of “casual elegance” at 827 Rays, they said. With original art by Salvador Dali and Henri Matisse on the walls to the waiters in jeans, and a community table that can seat 10-12 people, Brooks said he and Grimes thought of every detail to make the restaurant elegant and inviting.

The restaurant’s signature dishes include a baked goat cheese appetizer with roasted red pepper and tomato coulis, grilled filet mignon and grilled barramundi made with a cauliflower puree, crispy bacon wilted spinach, garlic chips and roasted fresno chile emulsion, he said.

“We always select the best ingredients, and use farm to table, which distributes locally grown farm products to area restaurants,” Brooks said. The restaurant has over 100 bottles of wine on the menu, each hand-selected by Grimes, as well as hand-crafted cocktails custom-made by Brooks with fresh juices.

827 Ray’s Kitchen+Cellar 3519 N. RR 620, Austin 512-266-9445 www.827rays.com Hours: Mon.-Thu. 11 a.m.-3 p.m., 5-9 p.m.; Fri. 11 a.m.-3 p.m., 5-10 p.m.,; Sat. 5-10 p.m.; Sun. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. 5-9 p.m.