Menu Guide · Austin
Geraldine's — Menu Guide
By Firoz Khan · FK Digital Media
Geraldine's is the restaurant of Hotel Van Zandt in Austin's Rainey Street district — a modern-Mexican kitchen led by executive chef Sergio Ledesma, wrapped in one of the city's best live-music dining rooms. Opened with the hotel in 2015 and named for Geraldine, the Rainey Street guinea fowl, it runs breakfast through late dinner with live music Thursday through Sunday nights, a weekend jazz brunch, and a 4.6 OpenTable rating. Below is our independent walkthrough, written in our own words. Note: the restaurant publishes no official menu page — we say so honestly, with menu highlights from the hotel's official site and prices from the hotel's own editorial and event listings, dated honestly.
At a glance
- Location
- 605 Davis St, Austin, TX 78701 (Hotel Van Zandt, Rainey Street)
- Chef
- Executive chef Sergio Ledesma
- Cuisine
- Modern Mexican / Latin American
- Price level
- OpenTable $31–$50 pp; Dinner Before Dark prix fixe $39.99
- Live music
- Thu–Sun nights 9:00–10:30 PM; weekend jazz brunch 11 AM–1 PM
- Happy hour
- Daily 5:00–6:30 PM (incl. $6 martini flights)
Hours
Per the official hotelvanzandt.com (accessed October 2026): breakfast/brunch Mon–Fri 7:00–11:00 AM, Sat–Sun 9:00 AM–2:00 PM; dinner Sun–Wed 5:00–11:00 PM, Thu–Sat 5:00–11:59 PM. The kitchen closes at 10:00 PM daily.
Menu highlights
The hotel publishes no standalone menu page; highlights below are from the official hotel site:
- Al Pastor — Berkshire pork jowl brochette.
- 48-hour Short Rib in mole negro.
- Pato — 21-day aged duck breast.
- Chilaquiles; Mole Enchilada Eggs; Steak and Eggs (Wagyu skirt steak, chimichurri).
- Bucatini with Uni butter; Lamb Birria Tetela.
- Scallop Tostadas; Lamb Barbacoa Pellizcada; Street Sliders; Birria Wontons; Tuna Crudo.
- Baklava Napoleon; Mexican Tiramisu; pain au lait milk bread.
Prices we could verify
- Dinner Before Dark: $39.99 per guest — a 3-course prix fixe (per a hotel editorial article, circa 2026).
- Happy hour daily 5:00–6:30 PM, including $6 martini flights (per the hotel's October 2026 event calendar).
- OpenTable price band: $31–$50 per person (circa September 2026).
Individual dish prices are not published by the hotel — we won't invent them. The only circulating dish-price list is an old third-party menu PDF (circa 2021, $4–$18) that is clearly stale and not reliable.
What we'd order
- The deal: the Dinner Before Dark 3-course prix fixe ($39.99) — the best value in the building.
- The signatures: the 48-hour Short Rib in mole negro or the Pato (21-day aged duck).
- The brunch play: weekend jazz brunch (Sat–Sun, 11 AM–1 PM music) — chilaquiles or mole enchilada eggs.
- The pre-game: happy hour 5:00–6:30 PM with a $6 martini flight.
Planning your visit
- Music matters: live music Thu–Sun nights 9:00–10:30 PM — book dinner late on those nights for the full experience.
- Kitchen closes 10 PM daily even though the dining room runs later — order food before the music set ends.
- Rainey Street: the hotel sits in Austin's bar district — easy to make a night of it.
- Pair it: our 1886 Café & Bakery guide covers Austin's other essential hotel dining room, at The Driskill.
Official links
About these prices
Geraldine's publishes no official menu page and no individual dish prices — we state this plainly rather than presenting old third-party figures as fact. The $39.99 Dinner Before Dark prix fixe is from a hotel editorial (circa 2026); happy hour details are from the hotel's October 2026 calendar; the $31–$50 band is OpenTable's (circa September 2026). Always verify with the restaurant before visiting.
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