After spending a few years working as a flight attendant and modeling in Europe, owner Amy Ramirez opened Blue Dahlia Bistro in East Austin in 2007. Ramirez said her travels across the continent inspired her to bring its food to Austin.
“I just wanted to bring back that simple, beautiful, healthy food that I would see around,” Ramirez said. “My friend and I just decided to try and open a restaurant, and it actually happened.”
In 2012, Blue Dahlia opened in West Lake Hills off Bee Caves Road and expanded to San Marcos in 2017.
While the East Austin location closed during the pandemic in 2020, Ramirez said the two existing locations have built a strong clientele.
“We’ve got a beautiful base of regulars in here,” Westlake General Manager Chrissy Scobi said. “We try creating a base of customers that enjoys coming back and people that we know on first-name basis is really important.”
Blue Dahlia Bistro serves European-style breakfast and lunch all day, and in June, started serving dinner on Fridays and Saturdays.
On Saturdays and Sundays, the bistro has an extended brunch menu from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Wine, beer, mimosas, coffee, espresso drinks and teas are also served.
With a European influence, Blue Dahlia Bistro specializes in tartines, French-inspired open faced sandwiches that Ramirez said she has not seen anywhere else in the area.
The Parisian breakfast sandwich, featuring a baguette with ham, havarti and butter, is another specialty Ramirez included on the menu from her travels.
“We were walking around Paris and one of the things we loved was this,” Ramirez said about discovering the Parisian sandwich with her husband and co-owner, Sam Ramirez. “So we came back from Paris one year; he’s like, ‘We have to put this on the menu,’ and we did.” Blue Dahlia Bistro
3663 Bee Caves Road, West Lake Hills
512-306-1668
www.bluedahliabistro.com
Hours: Sun.-Thu. 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 9 a.m.-9 p.m.
