Odd Duck’s Fast-Casual Concept Is Now Open In East Austin

Yipee!! Sour Duck Market is doing its soft opening right now, and they’re planning on having their grand opening very soon!

This is Odd Duck’s 3rd restaurant: after starting as a food truck, they opened their first brick-and-mortar in south Austin (Odd Duck) and then another restaurant that was born in south Austin but has since moved north (Barley Swine.)

I stopped in yesterday to grab a quick lunch and check out the new space. I’m so excited about this, y’all! Here’s what it includes:

A main, front building where you can order food, shop some local items (I saw Barton Springs Mills flour there yesterday), and smell the food being prepared in the giant kitchen. You can also walk outside and see into the kitchen from the windows facing the sidewalk. Love that feature!
A big outdoor beer and cocktail garden. There are lots of picnic tables, and just a little bit of shade. I went during lunch on a May afternoon and it was already pretty hot, so I’m wondering if they’ll add a bit more coverage for the summer months… There were some nice mister fans running, though. It’s still in the soft opening, so things could change.
A back building that has a bar with cocktail/wine/beer (wonderful beer list, as expected!) and some indoor seating. The Odd Duck offices are above the bar (which is NOT a bad place to work, *wink wink.)

I ordered the burger, the boudin balls, the smoked carrots, and an IPA from Pinthouse Pizza. I was given a number, sat down, took some pics (as we do…), and the food was brought out to my table pretty quickly.

If you’ve been to Odd Duck, you know that they use vintage, mis-matched plates and bowls to serve food. I’m happy to see that they’re keeping up that same theme, while also adding some aluminum paper-lined serve ware to help with the outdoor situation.

Hello. Perfect. Burger. The Odd Duck folks knows how to make bread (Parker Smith and Cody Hendricks are the dream team behind this department), so no worries about the bun…it’s gonna be good. And the patty was seared to perfection on the outside with just a little bit of a crunchy bite a perfectly medium-rare, melt-in-your-mouth interior.

10/10 in my books. This burger is $11, and it’s plenty of food to fill me up for a quick weekday lunch.

How is Sour Duck Market different from Odd Duck’s other restaurants?

The fast-casual approach of Sour Duck Market means that the food is brought out quickly, so it’s not plated as beautifully as you’d expect at Odd Duck or Barley Swine. Like I mentioned, I was just there for the soft opening, but I expect that to be the way it’s done here all the time. No complaints! If I want my smoked carrots to be beautifully arranged on a plate, I’ll go do Odd Duck. If I want ’em fast, I’ll go to Sour Duck.
Breakfast every day. Yay! I’ll be going back soon to try it!
Pastries galore! Erika Waksmunski is the master mind behind all the tempting sweets that you immediately see upon walking in the front door. When I have brunch at Odd Duck, a few delicate pastries are offered to my table. But at Sour Duck Market, there are cookies and brownies and blondies in a display case at the front counter.
The opportunity to shop local products. It is called a “market” after all! It’s a small, single wall of items for sale, but they only stock the good stuff. 🙂
There are lots of single seats at the counter, so you can easily show up as a party of 1 or 2, get a quick meal, and be on your merry little way.
The majority of the seating is in the outdoor area. This is going to be such a fun place to hang out with friends in the summer evenings!