This is a goodbye review to Hissy Fit, as I just found out that they closed. I tried their bear…read moreclaw and their famous buttermilk biscuits, and both were good! The bear claw is an almond pastry in the shape of a claw. It was sweet and strong in almond flavor, which is a good pairing with their lattes. The biscuit sandwich featured their famous biscuits and was really nice and buttery. Both items were quite filling for breakfast. I hope they are able to reopen somewhere else!

This has been on my list for awhile to come and try. Seating set up is a bit different, you'll…read moreorder first at the counter and they assign a table. Bar seating is first come first serve and you do not need to wait in line. Learned that the hard way. Got the Old Fashion biscuit with maple sausage, egg and cheese and coffee. The sandwich was delightful. The biscuit was soft, buttery and flaky. I'm tempted to get one of the fresh baked biscuits..... Coffee was fine, nothing too fancy and hit the spot. I'd come back to try other items on the menu when in the neighborhood.

Vida Verde Kitchen -- A Hidden Gem That's Worth Finding…read more Austin is overflowing with trendy restaurants where the food is decent, the lighting is aggressive, and the wait time requires a light snack and a personality shift. I tend to avoid those places. Vida Verde Kitchen, thankfully, is not that. Tucked into a great area but slightly hidden (the kind of spot you feel proud to "discover"), Vida Verde feels like a restaurant that exists for people who actually want to eat, not just post. The menu is a thoughtful fusion of Tex-Mex, fresh flavors, and Americana--familiar enough to be comforting, but creative enough to keep things interesting. Yes, it's a bit overpriced, but the food earns its confidence. The guacamole is an absolute must, and anything leaning Tex-Mex is consistently solid. I can vouch. The wait staff deserves real credit here--knowledgeable, attentive, and genuinely invested in the food and experience, which goes a long way these days. The atmosphere hits that Austin sweet spot: industrial touches softened by lush green foliage. It's stylish without trying too hard, which is rare and appreciated. If I had one note? This place needs a happy hour and a few more solid specials. Do that, and Vida Verde becomes dangerous--in the best way. Overall: a unique, thoughtful restaurant that avoids the hype trap and delivers where it matters. Definitely worth your time (and thankfully, not hours of it).

So we came today for Mother's Day lunch. My husband called a few weeks ago to make the reservation…read moreand because of the size they said we would get a private room. This "private room" is just the back part of the restaurant and it is not private. Then they had a 2 man Karaoke duo singing the whole entire time right next to us! It was unbearable, so loud, not even good karaoke! We could not talk at all, we came to spend time with our family. These things should have been explained before we booked! The food came an hour later and hour and half for the rest of the table, so half of our table was done eating and waiting. They didn't even bring out the kids first, so then kids were starving. The quality of the food is good, but they really need to plan better. Would never bring a large group here. It's fine for a small table.

This was my first vist to Honest Mary's, I was treated to lunch here by a co worker. It is a nice…read morelittle gem tucked away in the arboretum shopping center. The staff was friendly and the service was quick. If you're looking for a lunch that will do your body good and not weigh you down for the remainder of your workday, this is your spot.

Went here for a healthy dinner with Lauren B. It was a pre-workout class dinner, so we wanted…read moresomething healthy, nourishing and not too heavy. Honest Mary's fit the bill. It was hosting a school fundraiser that night, so it was a bit more crowded and lively than we would have liked, but the food was good and the staff were helpful. I went for the Sedona Lime bowl. It includes Basmati rice, spinach, black beans, sweet potatoes, pumpkin seeds, cashew lime crema sauce (so good!) and a lime wedge. The flavors all blended well together and it was just enough to make me full, but not overly so. The seating area was bright and clean. All in all, it was a good meal that I know was good for me.

I recently visited Roaring Fork for a company dinner, and once again, it reminded me why we keep…read morecoming back. The service is consistently attentive and welcoming, making the whole experience feel effortless and enjoyable. The food quality never disappoints. I always order the Rainbow Trout--it's absolutely delicious every time, perfectly prepared and full of flavor. It's become my go-to dish for a reason. And I can't forget the cocktails. Their Paper Plane is my personal favorite, and they also make a fantastic Old Fashioned. Both are well-balanced and crafted with care, which really elevates the dining experience. Overall, Roaring Fork continues to deliver on both food and service, making it a reliable spot for any occasion.

While in town for work I was looking for something close to the hotel for colleagues and I to grab…read moredinner and came across Roaring Fork. Easily booked a reservation and was able to request seating on the patio overlooking the lake! The decor and overall vibe is extremely welcoming and several guests took advantage of the photo ops with the lake background. One colleague had the Huckleberry Bramble and we shared Shrimp Cocktail...the sauce wasn't quite atomic, could use more horseradish (my palate may be spoilt by St Elmo's). Both colleagues ordered the Salmon while I opted for the Roasted Duck. There was a significant period of silence when we first sampled our meals soaking in every flavor. We all devoured and commented on the green beans as well! I tried the Pecan Pie for dessert and it was outstanding and very rich! We had a great meal and will return on a future trip I'm sure!

Brought the Hop Queen here for breakfast after another overnight in Austin. My first visit…read moreimpressed me enough to bring the wife unit in this time, especially since she is more particular about her morning coffee than me (years in the Army and various levels of "work" coffee will do that). We were greeted and seated promptly, and as with the previous visit, all the staff were on the job and friendly. Our server suggested a couple of different items, we opted for the Farmhouse hash, which pretty much covered any "cooked breakfast" cravings we had. We also got an order of the Million Dollar bacon, so we left pretty much full for the rest of the day. The food and the coffee were spot on, and even as the Saturday morning rush started, we were never made to feel that we needed to clear out for new customers. This is definitely going to be our goto breakfast spot when we visit Austin. Also for those interested, the restrooms are individual and well kept. You know, in case the coffee kicks in!

No breakfast this morning as I had no appetite for food (hold over from yesterday when I had mouth…read morepain). By lunch time, I had conjured up some hunger, so the hubs took me out for lunch at First Watch. Life's short...eat breakfast for lunch. Smile. The hubs ordered pancakes and bacon, whereas I ordered the classic breakfast (multi-grain toast, egg whites, roasted potatoes and turkey sausage). I ate a good portion of my meal and gave my hubby the rest. The food was tasty and filled our hunger spots. Brittany, our server, greeted us immediately as the hostess sat us in a booth. While she was rather quiet, she attended to our every need. Lunch crowd was large. No matter what time you arrive at First Watch, there will likely be a crowd. My mouth feels much better today...I think I'm on the mend.

I sat at the bar. They obviously had a conference in town during my stay. They were very attentive…read moreto me at the bar. They continuously checked in and were friendly. They provided recommendations. It's a nice vibe - the outdoor area is really where the best experience is. It's so nice out on the deck. The street Knotty Tacos were surprisingly good. They had a marinate on it. I had that and was STUFFED. This is just one out of many stays at this hotel. Always top tier experience.

After Zach my wife wanted to come here to eat for Valentine Day, so we stopped off to get food and…read moredrinks. The decor is different as last time we were here it was all Christmas themed. Some of it is still the same but still a nice place, sports on the TV's at the bar and nice lighting. We didn't think about tables being reserved for the day but lucky for us one couple didn't show and they gave us there table. Our waitress was very friendly and fast, she and Shana hit it off pretty well. The drinks were good and came out pretty quickly considering it was fairly busy. They also had managers or supervisors going around checking on everyone which is nice. Now the food, It was good as usual but I had ordered my smash burger with mayo, cheese, and bacon. I am a simple person, I was a few bites in when I hit chopped onion. As we had been there awhile and were ready to go so when the server came back around I asked for the burger to just be removed as we wanted to go. They either didn't hear me or didn't listen as they took it to get it corrected. So I tried to talk to a manager to explain we just wanted it removed, not remade as we really needed to go. He said he would take care of it, then nothing for a bit and a new burger was brought out. So I just took it, ate a few bites and got the check. The server was very nice and even took pride in getting us a new burger but I felt that no one listened to me at all and it soured a lot of the visit. They did have a 3 course Valentine's day menu. Overall we still like this place but the being ignored twice was frustrating. We were tired, we wanted to go.

I've been here twice now, and this place has earned a spot on my rotation…read more I started with my standard Pho Tai, and it was excellent. The broth was perfect and authentic. On my return trip, I went for the Stone Pot Pho with fresh noodles, and it was even better. I can't go back to regular noodles after having the fresh noodles. I found the staff friendly and attentive both times. If you want authentic Vietnamese, I'd come here.

The bone marrow appetizer was delicious, two large bones along with some bread with pate…read more The Banh mi at this place is also quite good. However prices are pretty high.

Previously, I'd only been to the Barton Springs location. I…read morewas happy to check this one out for a light lunch on Mother's Day. The Arboretum Market (not to be confused with the actual shopping plaza across the street of the same name) was happening and some folks were set up at Juliet selling their arts & crafts wares. Every Saturday 11 am- 3 pm in the Juliet parking lot is the Arboretum Farmers Market. For a light lunch I shared a Caesar salad and cup of tomato bisque soup with my boyfriend. Perfect Juliet goodness. Since it was Mother's Day and during brunch hours, they got extremely busy. However, service didn't suffer. We were in and out just like that!

I've been to Juliet's several times and unfortunately many of us were disappointed with the food…read moreand service this time. The butter lettuce dressing was off (more oil than vinaigrette flavor b/c they didn't mix the dressing well), they didn't offer welcome bread service, and my friends also felt their food was not as good as when we've all been before. They did take off some of the price of two of our butter lettuce salads. We were surprised that adding salmon cost $14, which seemed excessive! It was nice they seated us in a separate table for 6 since it was my birthday and they did give me a birthday treat, which I appreciated. The others all ordered deserts as well but I forgot to take photos of the deserts. They didn't seem that full/busy, but we had to waive down someone several times to answer questions and ask where certain items were. Our server was very nice and helpful but often we couldn't locate her so others we could flag down helped us. I hope they address some of the food quality and service items because many of us have really enjoyed going here in the past.

Our kids requested habachi before heading downtown to a play, and chose this place. We had never…read morebeen and were skeptical, but man was it a great choice! Our habachi guy was funny, entertaining, inclusive and really generous! Our kids loved him! The food was good & we will definitely be back! Compared to other habachi experiences nearby, this is definitely the best one we've been to.

Pretty weak experience overall. My partner and I made a reservation at 7:30 on a Friday for a…read morehibachi table, and had it confirmed by email. When we arrived at the restaurant, the hostess said that she didn't have the reso on her end; rather than apologizing or making a single effort to fix the issue, she just stared at us. We had to prompt her for clarification and next steps, and had to continue to prompt her through the process of getting us sat. When we finally sat down at a regular table, we waited about 15 minutes without a server coming by. I eventually flagged a server down, and we got our order under way. We requested the manager stop by to tell him about the issue with the reservation and the fact that his hostess needs additional training, and surprise, the manager was also not helpful. He did apologize for our reservation being lost, but blamed it on the system and denied any responsibility for taking care of it - basically just told us that "life is life". He did not offer a discount or any kind of relief for the setbacks or bad service. I wasn't expecting the world or anything, but good hospitality dictates that you do more that basically tell us to just deal with it. For the food: the sushi was pretty gnarly - it looked like somebody was angry at the fish when they were slicing. Most things needed salt. Steak and fried rice was good, but the vegetables were pretty much raw. I can forgive quite a bit when it comes to service, especially on graduation/mother's day weekend. But honestly I'm a little impressed at how little the entire staff cared about their guests.

Visited Saltgrass Steak House for our Beef Team pre-race dinner before the Austin Marathon and it…read morewas the perfect spot to fuel up for a pre-race meal. When I arrived, there was plenty of parking available. They had a private room space reserved for our group. The servers were friendly and attentive to our needs. They brought out complimentary bread and butter, which was served warm and fresh. We had a prefix menu to choose from which consisted of a salad, petite filet and a side item. I ordered the Caesar salad and filet cooked rare with flash fried green beans and paired it with a mezcal cocktail. The filet that I was served was a bit smaller than others, but my filet was cooked as requested and topped with butter. The filet was tender and exactly the protein I needed before race day. The green beans were so flavorful and had the perfect texture. The Smokey and the Bramble cocktail featured Fósforo Ensamble Mezcal, Bombay Sapphire Gin, lemon juice, blackberry purée, and club soda. It was a very refreshing and flavorful craft cocktail that paired well with my meal. Great atmosphere for a group dinner and the service kept everything moving smoothly for our team. Definitely a great choice for an event!

I love this place and don't have a single bad damn thing to say about it. It's a fantastic American…read morestyle steakhouse at more affordable prices but great quality. The service is always so lovely, the servers are so friendly and polite and super super on top of it. I feel extremely taken care of here. The food is always spot on - the star of the show is the bone in ribeye for me. With the mushroom and butter and green beans/mashed potatoes.... Yum! Also... the bbq ribs. Incredible!!! Do not sleep on those! Overall never a bad night here. It's nice and quiet, perfect for a date night or family outing. I am a real fan of this place.