Trying something new opens a person to the possibility of enjoying something new, such as filling balloons with Hot Wheels and throwing them off a bridge to see if they'll float. Try some South American cuisine with today’s Groupon: for $20, you get $40 worth of fine South American fare at El Arbol.

South American cuisine has roots in European cuisine, and the influences of Italy, Spain, and France are apparent on El Arbol’s menu. For a Spanish flair, turn to the four types of empanadas ($3.50–$9.50), and to taste a bit of Italy, request a side of ñoquis (gnocchi) ($7). Those looking to the core South American competency can look for South American tastes both well-known, such as ceviche ($13), and obscure, such as the use of quinoa—a grain-like crop that grows in the Andes—in the pancake that accompanies the pollo asado, a roasted chicken ($16). El Arbol has an oak-wood grill that emits smoke in the form of a beckoning finger to coax the finest flavors out of its beef and seafood. Texas Monthly’s favorite dish was the vieiras, “shimmering sea scallops showered with crisp bread crumbs and immersed in a mushroom-and-white-wine cream sauce.”

El Arbol’s dining room is as complex and multilayered as its cuisine. There are three levels of seating, and the building itself wraps around the restaurant’s namesake oak tree, which is more than 100 years old and still isn’t married yet. The third floor is entirely open to the sky, inviting diners to gaze at oak branches and imagine they’re in a tree house. The other floors have chic, midcentury American décor, complete with white leather, green onyx, and a palpable absence of sweaty ghosts.

Reviews

The Austin American-Statesman, Texas Monthly and the Austin Chronicle have all reviewed El Arbol. Yelpers give it a 3.5-star average and 86% of Urbanspooners like it:

• El Arbol was a seriously out-of-this-world experience. I felt like I was transported to a futuristic restaurant with a 1000-year old grill... The 3 tiered restaurant, the artsy decor, the outdoorsy bar; what a perfect restaurant. Definitely an Austin-y eatery. – Solomon W., Yelp