If you are looking for a fun little trip “out of town”, I recommend a visit to Trattoria Lisina.
Owned by the Mandola family (who also own Mandola’s Italian Market), Trattoria Lisina is located on the grounds of the Mandola Estate in Driftwood, Texas. The drive is beautiful – a two lane road with turns, and hills. It took us about 25 minutes to get there from South Austin. 
The restaurant is a “taste of Tuscany in the hill country.” The grounds are impeccably landscaped, and right now everything is in bloom. This is a great spot for photos. My girls loved running along the gravel paths and sniffing the flowers. 
The older children in our group gravitated toward the two bocce ball courts, while our younger children made their way to the shaded play-scape. The play-scape kept our children occupied while we checked the menu. If you have been to Mandola’s Italian Market, you will recognize several items on the menu. 
The restaurant has a lovely inside dinning room, but with 9 kids in tow, we opted to eat outside on the picnic tables. We ordered inside and our meal was brought to us outside. The pizzas are fantastic, so we ordered several of them for the kids. I would recommend bringing a few paper plates and napkins.
If you would rather eat inside, you may want to call head to get a reservation. It was fairly empty at 11:30 on a Friday, but we were told that the weekends are packed.
If you enjoy a glass of wine, Duchman Winery is next door to the restaurant. Tasting times and hours vary, so you may want to give them a call at (512) 858-1470.
Know before you go:
- I would recommend checking the Trattoria Lisina website to make sure there isn’t a special event going on. The restaurant does shut down for private events.
- Reservations are recommended if you want to eat in the main dining room.
Sunday 11am – 9pm
Monday closed
Tues – Thurs 4pm – 9pm
Fri – Sat 11am – 10pm
Driftwood, TX 78619
Melissa, a former teacher, enjoys finding the humor in her everyday life. Thanks to her three daughters, there is never a dull moment. She has written for MomSense, Scary Mommy, and several local websites. Her blog, Domestic Engineering, helps to keep her sane. In her “spare” time she dreams of one day becoming a spokesmodel for StarSearch.
