The new, new, old Sunset is back. And this time it has gone tiki-style. Wednesday marked the grand re-reopening of the bar on Ross Avenue, this time with Free Range Concepts owners Josh Sepkowitz and Kyle Noonan and celebutender Lucky Campbell heading up the bar program. According to the bar's swanky new website, Sunset Lounge is a "neighborhood bar with a Bohemian ambiance highlighted by sounds of southern California and an Austin artistic twist."
The drink menu (aside from a respectable number of wines and beers) is packed with rum-based cocktails like caipirinhas, Bahama mamas, rum runners and even a punch bowl ($25) that's perfect for sharing with your favorite beach bum. Most are between $8 and $10. Order the right one (hint: try the zombie or the Bahama mama) and yours just might come out in a fancy glass with an umbrella. Close your eyes and you could, maybe, just maybe be in Baja. No? Keep drinking. OK, how does Barton Springs sound?
The food menu is small but packed with Caribbean flavor. And simple: whitefish ceviche, guacamole, plantain chips and dips, three types of tacos and marinated veggie "street snacks." Better still, nothing's more than seven bucks, and we're not even talking happy hour yet.
But while we're on the subject of cheap eats, in celebration of the third incarnation of Sunset, Sepkowitz and Noonan have instituted a $3 happy hour seven days a week from 5-7:00 p.m. All food and most drinks are $3 during this time, so you can get three times as wasted, I suppose. Or if you're me, eat three times the guacamole. Just an idea.
On our visit we sampled the guacamole, chicken tinga tacos, plantain chips and the ceviche. Oh, and a caipirinha for good measure. And even though it's only day two of this threequel, it was pretty packed. So perhaps the third time will indeed be the charm for this bar that keeps coming back for more.
Sunset The Third (not it's actual name, by the way) is located at 3030 Ross Ave.
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