Family Serving Family

The Garbo's name goes back to the East Coast, where three sisters learned to adore the local lobster shacks and the catch of the day. The ocean and sandy beach were their entire life and embodied memories that the sisters are happy to share with anyone dining at their restaurant. The eldest, Heidi Garbo, took those ties to the ocean wherever she roamed from Connecticut down to the Florida Keys where she opened up the famous Garbo's Grill and met her husband, who somehow found a way to pull Heidi away from the ocean to the only land-locked home she's ever lived in, Austin, Texas.  

It didn't take long for ocean itch to set in, and Heidi found herself daring to serve her favorite food from home, lobster rolls in Texas. East Coasters flocked looking for a bite of home, and many were introduced to lobster rolls for the first time, and Austin gobbled them up! Thanks to the overwhelming support of the Austin community, one truck opened, and another, and another until she needed to opened up her first brick and mortar in the neighborhood of Wells Branch in North Austin. This restaurant, meant initially to just support the trucks turned into a neighborhood favorite. Heidi expanded her menu to feature more nostalgic cuisine from her home. It didn't take long for her sisters, Sam and Hannah, to join Heidi in her new pursuits.

Heidi felt that it was time to grow beyond her first cozy restaurant. In 2020, she set her eyes on an old crab shack, turned beer pub, turned vacant off of Parmer and Mopac that was once Opal Divine's. The building was desperate for a new tenant who could see its potential. In 2023, Heidi continued the growth of Garbo’s Lobster by opening a second brick and motar location in the heart of downtown Austin, a smaller scale 10 seat restaurant on N Lamar with her sister, Samantha. Garbo’s on Lamar caters to the downtown energy with a walk up take out window, trimmed down menu, special pop up collaborations and corporate catering packages.

Watch out for location number 3 coming in early 2024! Garbo’s Lobster will be opening a 150 seat, full service restaurant in Dripping Springs with an expanded raw bar and two private dining rooms for special events.

We've created quite the lobster family. I'm so happy to be able to serve my favorite food to my favorite people. Thank you, Austin!