R Lux is more than a charcuterie but the clue is in the name, expect "luxury" pricing in this prime location in the far southside of Abilene

This weekend gave my friend's and myself a chance to celebrate a birthday and try out a new restaurant/lounge in town. There has been a lot of buzz about it, both positive and negative. They have been open for two and a half months, so we figured most of the starting bumps had been smoothed out at this point. I believe they began as just a charcuterie caterer before opening a brick and mortar restaurant. There is only one charcuterie option on the menu and it is not cheap.

We arrived shortly after they opened and were seated quickly. The place had a nice vibe but it seemed more like a lounge than a sit-down restaurant since most of the tables were not particularly large. There are two big rooms that make up the space and we were put in the one that had the bar in it. The decor was primarily black/gray, gold, and green. The music that was playing was 80s, which we all enjoyed.

R Lux--south side of the restaurant

The hostess brought us some menus and water for the table. The server came to the table about 10 minutes later. We had some questions about the food and drinks, our server let us know she was new and would get the information we needed. Certainly, we understand when a person is just starting that there will be gaps in training but these would become more evident through the meal, particularly related to timing. 

Chips and dips

We ordered some more water for the table and began to look at the menu. About 10 minutes later the server returned to answer our questions so we ordered an appetizer of chips and dip which consisted of tortilla chips, queso, salsa, and guacamole ($14) and some adult beverages were also ordered from the bar.

Margarita--no salt

The wait for the appetizer was about 15 minutes with an additional 5 after that for the drinks to arrive. The guacamole was fresh and quite tasty, as was queso, though it had cooled enough to develop a "skin" on it. The salsa was served warm and had a heat to it which was quite good. Each of the dips came in a ramikan that held about 1/3 of a cup of the dip in each one. We ate the chips and dips and proceed to wait another 20 minutes for our server to return so we could order our meals. We had been in the restaurant almost an hour at that point. They were not particulary busy but there did seem to be a staffing issue due to the wait time involved. Fortunately, we were not under a time crunch but we were quite hungry at this point as most of us had skipped breakfast. 

 

Lux Pasta

As for the drinks, the margarita ($7) was pronounced delicious. As good as anyone had before in Abilene, if not better. The other alcoholic beverages were fine but not as impressive as the margarita and for the most part more expensive. 

For my main, I ordered the R Lux pasta ($19) without any meat added, the birthday girl had the Nashville Hot Chicken ($19) which came with cole slaw and fries, and two people ordered off the summer menu and had the Lux Stuffed Avocado which was two halves of an avocado with a scoop of dill chicken salad on each ($18). The food took about 15-20 minutes to arrive. 

The food quality was very good. The parmesan cream sauce with spinach, cherry tomatoes, and a hint of red pepper flakes for spice on the linguine pasta had a lot of garlic as well, so be warned. The sauce definitely tasted house-made. The pasta portion was generous, so I took home the leftovers. The slices of bread on it were more for looks than taste as they were dry. Overall, I was pleased with the dish.

The avocado with chicken salad was heavy on the dill but the menu does indicate that the dill is featured. The presentation was very nice, though a retangular plate can cause an issue when trying to cut the avocado. Both individals finished their meal. The avocado was perfectly ripe and if you like dill, the chicken salad was good.

The Nashville hot chicken was breaded in panko crumbs and fried. The flavor profile did have some spice to it but was more on the sweet side than expected. Also, the chicken itself was in need of some salt, so most of the flavor was coming from the breading. The cole slaw was crunchy and had a nice flavor, and fries were crispy just how the person likes them. 

During the meal, we did have to ask for our water to be refilled, and a second round of drinks for a couple of us took a very long time to arrive. At the point we were paying out we had been there for almost 2 hours. We were paying separately and the checks has to be re-done as well. 

The server did her best but I think the restaurant suffers from a lack of training when it comes to some of the employees or a scheduling issue as to how many are working at any given time. We did see the manager and she came to our table to help clear some dishes. We were asked at one point if we were enjoying our meals. As you might surmise, a couple of the separate checks has to be re-done. On the whole we were happy with the food but it should not take 2 hours to finish lunch due to staffing, which I believe is a management issue, more than then the server, in this case. 

You should expect the price points on the menu to be on the level of the other higher end places in Abilene such as the Taylor County Taphouse, Copper Creek, or Cypress Street Station. Check out the menu on their FB page. Currently, their website has no useful information on it. Hopefully, the training of staff and having enough of them on the floor will improve, even at "non-peak" times like a Friday or Saturday night.  

Next time I go, the fried green tomatoes and the goat cheese appetizers are on my list. 

R Lux

6838 S Clack Suite 6, Abilene, TX, United States, 79606

325-455-RLUX

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61559198378362

Hours

Monday CLOSED

Tuesday 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM

Wednesday 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM

Thursday 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM

Friday 11:00 AM - 12:00 AM

Saturday 11:00 AM - 12:00 AM

Sunday 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM

The Smokehouse at the Doubletree Hotel in Abilene--A new edition to Abilene upscale dining

The Smokehouse is the restaurant inside the new Doubletree hotel in Abilene which opened in late July. It serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner seven days a week. For my birthday, my date and I had dinner there in late August. 

Hummingbird cake

Chocolate cake

Previously, when the hotel first opened some friends and I stopped in for dessert in the lounge outside the restaurant called the Cattleman's Exchange. All three desserts were delectable and very large for the price which was $10 or less. Each of us took about half of our portion home with us. In addition, the lounge also serves bar food. I highly recommend stopping in for a sweet treat. I understand they have their own pastry chef. The server also told us that the restaurant employs a chef that moved to the area from New York City.

 The ambiance of the restaurant is modern with a western touch. Inside there are booths but most of the seating is tables for two or four individuals. For a date, ask for a booth. 

Chocolate chip skillet cookie

Our reservation for dinner was early so the restaurant was not crowded at all. More people came in as it got closer to 7pm. Once we were seated the server came promptly and asked for our drink orders. Upon returning with our drinks, he told us about the specials for the evening. We decided to try the appetizer for the night which was fried bread and butter pickle spears. I tend to prefer dill pickles but these were quite sour for bread and butter pickles so they had a bite to them and a slight spicy flavor. They were served with a barbeque aioli dipping sauce. I found the batter to be on the heavy side. In the future, I want to try the fried green tomatoes which are on the regular appetizer menu.

Restaurant interior

For dinner, I had the brisket plate and my companion ordered the filet cooked medium rare. Sides for the steaks can be ordered separately but the price on the menu is for the steak only. The sides that came with the brisket were pureed potatoes and broccolini. The brisket was topped with fried onion strings and a gravy. The steak was a little over $50 and the brisket plate was about $18. The website for the restaurant does not list prices but expect the meal to be on the expensive side for Abilene. Since it was a celebration we were prepared for the cost.

The steak was cooked nicely and had a good color and flavor. He said it was a little different than most "Texas" style steaks. The brisket was on the fatty side for me, but many people like that. It did indeed have a strong smoky taste (as one would expect from a place called the Smokehouse). I enjoyed the sides very much but found the gravy on the meat to have a shade of a sour taste but perhaps that was leftover on my tastebuds from the strong fried pickle appetizer. The portion was generous and I could not finish the dish.

Service throughout the meal was attentive and professional. The server was able to answer any questions we had or if he could not he found someone else who had the answer. We were pleased with the training that had obviously been done with the waitstaff before opening for business.

Sliced brisket plate

The next time I go, I will go for lunch since the price points on the lunch menu are lower and there is a greater variety of choices. The dinner menu is not large but they take pride in what they serve. You can tell that this is a chef-driven place

For most locals, dinner at the Smokehouse will be a special occasion splurge, much like Copper Creek or Perini's in Buffalo Gap. The Smokehouse has a more contemporary look inside, less rustic and Texan than either of those but still with a nod to locality in the artwork on the walls. A couple could easily spend over $100 on dinner, if you both had steaks, not counting sides, appetizers, desserts, or alcoholic beverages, so be prepared.

Filet

You can make reservations on OpenTable on the app or online. Currently, the website for the hotel does not have the menu or the prices available to check before you go. 

The Smokehouse

https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/abidtdt-doubletree-abilene-downtown-convention-center/dining/

Doubletree Hotel

500 Cypress St.

Abilene TX 79601

(325) 999-1878

Hours

The Smokehouse

Monday-Sunday 7am-10pm

Cattleman's Exchange Lounge

Monday-Sunday 11am-12am