Pumpkin spice season may be creeping in, but Flamant is keeping summer alive.
Plano’s Flamant temporarily closed August 7, trading its European live-fire bistro for the return of Aguasal, a tropical pop-up that’s extending summer until the end of September.
“With Aguasal, we created the kind of place that instantly transports you somewhere else,” said Flamant owner Tanner Agar. “Summer is all about slowing down, trying something new, and making memories. We built this menu to capture that feeling, drawing inspiration from tropical destinations across the Caribbean and beyond.”
The concept first debuted in summer 2024 at Rye, the former Michelin-recognized restaurant that now makes half of Lower Greenville’s Apothecary. The return brings with it a revitalized version of the hit menu to Plano. DiningOut stopped by to see it firsthand.
Located on the Boardwalk at Granite Park, the pop-up re-emerges waterside, surrounded by glistening waters, a fountain, and a family-friendly strip of restaurants. Inside, the elegant space leans into paradise pairing, pairing a Picasso-inspired mural by Jennifer Kindert with lush greenery.
Agar and co-owner Taylor Rause mastermind the food program, basing it on their travels. Just as in 2024, the menu is a cruise docking in the Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, the Philippines, Jamaica, the Yucatán Peninsula, and Cuba. The layout is different, and some names have been updated, but all the hits made a comeback.
True to Flamant’s ethos, the culinary voyage is best shared. Dishes making a return are the crunchy coconut fried shrimp with a bright pineapple-chili sweet and sour sauce; grilled Caribbean wings spiced with jerk dry rub, Yucatán buffalo, or pineapple teriyaki; curried Jamaican beef patties with Salvadoran crema; and mojo pork belly lettuce wraps with Jamaican slaw.
New shareables include lumpia, thin, crackly Filipino eggrolls; crab Rangoon cups; poke nachos with ahi tuna and jerk-ginger ponzu sauce; chicken satay skewers; and the essential truffle fries.
Surrounded by offices, Aguasal has naturally expanded its lineup of soups, salads, and handhelds to cater to the lunchtime crowd. New wraps and bowls join options like a chicken Caesar wrap, salmon wrap, fried chicken sandwich, and a streamlined smashburger served without the pepper medley and Guyanese pepperpot glaze.
The main plates menu gets a lavish expansion with Big Bahama Baller, fitting for the affluent city. The $120 dish pairs a Yucatán-spiced 16-ounce Wagyu spinalis with beef-tallow truffle butter and one of every side on the menu, including Spanish rice and Venezuelan black beans. Other mains include four-cheese mac, Yucatán-crusted skirt-strip steak, and curried fish.
Cocktails range from classics to fruity and herbaceous. The 76 Flamingos embraces Aguasal’s new home with a French 75 riff made with vodka, rosé, grapefruit, sumac, and pink peppercorn. The Hot Mama Margarita is a sure-hit spicy skinny margarita, while Bananas in Pajamas combines trending banana flavor with the classic espresso martini. Embrace vacation culture with the viral soft serve margarita, made with grilled jalapeño, or an Ocean Wave, a frozen boozy blueberry lemonade.
Happy hour runs Wednesday through Friday from 3 to 6 p.m. with $2 off cocktails, $6 frozens, $4 beers, and $6 margaritas. At that time, deviled eggs, lumpia, coconut cheese, and more are also on special.
Aguasal’s first iteration was concept testing. The team confirms that the return continues the experimentation—this time with brunch.
The debut tropical brunch is available Saturday and Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Spice Island Pancakes with salted-molasses-honey butter and Tres Leches French Toast indulge the sweet tooth. For savory cravings, the tostada topped with a runny over-easy egg, melted cheese, Honduran crema, and chipotle purée fits the bill. Migas, a breakfast sandwich on a Cuban roll, jerk patties with eggs, and the All American Breakfast cross oceans.
With brunch now in the mix, Aguasal transforms a stretch of Sam Rayburn Tollway into a tropical escape—and suddenly, the suburbs feel a whole lot more like vacation.
Aguasol, 5880 State Hwy. 121, Ste. 103b, Plano, flamant.restaurant
