Once a dilapidated beachfront motel circa 1963 — with a paltry two-star rating — the former Galveston Island relic, originally called, The Treasure Island Motel, is being completely transformed from top to bottom. Due to open late this summer as a chic new boutique hotel, renamed Hotel Lucine, it’s bringing along some kitchen and bar heavyweights from the mainland to make their mark on this sparkling new island retreat.
Lucine’s restaurant will be christened The Fancy, and Justin Yu, the James Beard award-winning chef and owner of Houston’s Theodore Rex, Better Luck Tomorrow, and Squable, will craft the food, while cocktail visionary Bobby Heugel known for the tinctures he shakes up at Anvil and Refuge will collaborate on the drinks menu and wine list.
The 55-seat restaurant, designed by Kartwheel Studio of Austin, is inspired by the spirit of this new hotel endeavor, helmed by partners Dave and Keath Jacoby and Robert Marcus. Keath Jacoby is “B.O.I.” or “born on the island,” and her strict requirement for this new Galveston restaurant is that it appeals to locals as much as it does to hotel visitors.
With one must assume, tongue firmly planted in cheek, the playfully named The Fancy will serve up what Heugel and Yu dub American fine-ish cuisine with food made with local ingredients (and the obvious — seafood) constructed with French cooking techniques. Think casual French fare, not the frou-frou tall toque and white tablecloth sort.
Yu aims to build a balanced European-style menu, at least half of which will incorporate fish and shellfish in novel ways. The menu starts with a cold plates section with nary an oyster on the half shell in sight. Instead, crisp, crunchy salads, shrimp cocktail with oh so many sauces and raw dishes like a chilled half lobster with a classic Ravigote sauce are proffered.
Small, warm plates include housemade pork and Texas beef meatballs and a warm mussel salad studded with chilies and olives. Bigger shareable main dishes such as a pot roast of pork belly, whole roasted Gulf flounder crowned with a braised oxtail and mustard green sauce, and a deluxe French dip sandwich round out some of the entrees. Diners at The Fancy can finish with small but decadent desserts. Theodore Rex’s warm butter cake might even make an appearance.
“I hope it’s food as crave-able as it is creative, grounded in my European kitchen upbringing, but with a lot of character,” Yu says. “There’s going to be much to celebrate at the hotel, and I think the menu is really going to help people let loose.”
The Fancy is the first time Heugel and Yu have worked to pair cocktails and food together in a full restaurant space. It’s the first hotel project for them both, too. As a result, you can expect classics they both love, including an extension of the fanciest martini on the Gulf Coast, Bobby’s Martini and originals inspired by local produce.
“Frankly, Justin and I spend too much time drinking and eating together,” Heugel says. “We feel that cocktails are a great start to the dining experience, but they must be deferential to a great wine list. We want our guests to count on a wine list of close to 100 selections that we both feel compliment The Fancy’s food well, with an above-average number of options by the glass.
“We think there’s a real opportunity in Galveston for a wine list that highlights smaller producers — both classical and natural in their approaches — in addition to selfishly stocking some of our personal favorites.”
Hotel Lucine and The Fancy is scheduled to open late this summer for lunch, dinner and weekend brunch.