OUT & ABOUT: CAFE SOCIETY

Buzios Room imports South American lounge vibes

Manager Silvio Ramos wants to plant a bit of Rio de Janiero in downtown Austin.

By Michael Barnes
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, June 05, 2008

The alluring dark at the top of the stairs leads to a few improbably pretty people, their legs curled up on black modernist couches while they sip expertly mixed cocktails. The Buzios Room, downtown Austin's latest lounge, hovers on a chill cloud of relaxation, elevated above Congress Avenue by globally inflected music and a feeling of delicious seclusion.

Then, as if on cue, the place fills.

The pace shifts like the sea images that decorate the walls of the still-new spot above the Copa, the longtime salsa club and restaurant where Palmeras and Club Meneo formerly lived. All it takes is an extended posse or two — the Room would feel overcrowded with more than 50 customers — and what had been a secret niche of pleasure becomes the latest international party pad.

"So many people come to Austin from around the world," says manager Silvio Ramos, a Brazilian immigrant who has installed a bit of Rio de Janeiro inside the black-clad club. "We want this to become a destination place, definitely not Sixth Street, but also not the Warehouse District. It's not a bar bar with a drinking crowd and loud music."

In fact, Buzios Room rides a wave of nightlife expansion in downtown Austin. The Orchid and the Ranch just opened, following the much-trumpeted arrivals of Qua, Imperia, J. Black's and Pangaea in late 2007. Soon, Aces will take the place of the deservedly doomed Hard Rock Cafe on Sixth Street.

By day, people might reel from the latest economic wreckage, but at night, the urge to party has not abated. Sixth Street and Red River crowds long ago spilled over onto Seventh Street, now home to 10 or so distinctive clubs. The more dressy Warehouse District now sends out tentacles to booming West Sixth Street and eclectic Second Street. There are now almost as many wine bars — Taste, Crú, Cork & Co., Tierra del Fuego — as gay bars within an easy walking distance of one aother.

Congress Avenue, anchored by the Little City colony up north and the Buzios/Copa combo down south, still attracts its own adherents, acting as a sort of toggle between east and west nightlife. One assumes much more will come when the Austonian residence and the Marriott complex open across from each other at Second and Congress. And Buzios is right there, positioned to take advantage not only of a more upscale clientele, but also one with increasingly sophisticated tastes.

Already, two other South American spots have sprouted nearby: the local edition of Fogo de Chão Churrascaria and Tierra del Fuego, an ultra-cool tapas and wine bar fashioned by the founders of Sampaio Brazilian restaurant.

Ramos wants to join their ranks with happy hours featuring South American cuisine prepared in Copa's kitchens (it's open for lunch only right now). He's also planning to use the club's patio for special events with world themes.

Is there any danger of lounge overkill?

"There's room for more lounges," Ramos says. "And we're trying to offer something different. We're bringing South America closer to Austin. It's going to be an experience you haven't had in Austin so far."

Out & About appears Tuesdays and Thursdays in print and is updated frequently at austin360.com/outandabout. mbarnes@statesman.com; 445-3970.