Ararat Mid-East Fusion Catering & Events

Austin Middle Eastern Restaurant Ararat Returns as Walk-Up Window | Eater Austin

"Originally a North Loop restaurant from 1994 that later operated as a catering business, this longtime Middle Eastern spot has returned as a casual walk-up window at street level of the Pedernales Lofts in the Holly neighborhood, offering to-go food and drinks. Open as of July 29 and operating weekdays from 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., the menu centers on Middle Eastern staples—hummus, dolmas, lamb and vegan soups, filled savory breakfast pastries, muffins, cookies—with plans to expand. Beverage offerings range from crafted coffee drinks (including a ganache-and-espresso "Tall, Dark, & Lovely" and a vanilla-bean-and-cardamom "Estival’s End"), to bubble teas in chai, matcha, and yerba mate, plus regular hot and cold teas and espresso. The current edition was opened by the proprietor who ran the original restaurant and later managed neighborhood coffee shop Hot Mama’s; she launched this iteration in that same space working with a window manager and coffee/tea consultant, and the restaurant’s name references a dormant volcano in Turkey." - Nadia Chaudhury