David Burton Sanchez Revitalizes Soleil at the Oasis

When Soleil first opened several years under the helm of famed Texas chef Robert del Grande, there was genuine excitement in the Austin foodie community. Here was a Mediterranean restaurant high atop Lake Travis with fine-dining sensibilities and a kitchen that was fired up and ready to deliver. The only problem was in the delivery mode: the food at best really wasn’t Mediterranean and it lacked the flavor profiles one would associate with a high profile chef. I actually felt that the Eggplant Parmesan down the street at CraigO’s was better than the one at Soleil. Not acceptable. Not even remotely acceptable.

Chef David Burton Sanchez

So, fast forward a couple of years. A very talented chef from Colorado named David Burton Sanchez opens up a little gem of a restaurant at the Galleria called Apatite (after a gemstone). The place was phenomenal. Wonderful flavors and delicate, layered nuance in every bite. The new majority owner of Soleil, Beau Theriot, found Sanchez about the same time I did and like me, he was smitten. But unlike me, Beau had the wherewithal to offer Sanchez a much broader palate upon which to apply his deft culinary strokes. And so, last December, Apatite closed and David became the new leader at Soleil.

The result is that Soleil has become an entirely new restaurant. I suppose you could call the cuisine New American but it’s really all about Sanchez and his wonderful imagination in the kitchen. If you have been to Soleil in the past, forget everything you ever thought about the place. As Sting would say, this is a “brand new day.” And a brand new restaurant. I had my first meal there a few days ago and was mesmerized. The Scallops over a corn risotto, the Shrimp Sliders, the wonderful Shrimp and Crab cocktail with a dash of truffle oil: this was fine dining yet with approachable price points.

I tried a lovely Duck Breast, a melt-in-your-mouth Short Rib… I could go on but I’ll save the rest for my upcoming review.

Suffice to say, Sanchez makes Del Grande look like Don Quijote’s Sancho Panza. This guy may already be one of the top 10 chefs in the entire Southwest. He’s bursting with energy and ideas and you need to go sample the wares of this young phenom. Soleil (which means sun) finally has a chef worthy of its name.