Counter service is slow and their personalities are worse than the selection of food. Yes, it is a bakery. Would it kill them to have some fruit in the refrigerator case? I have had better service at Starbucks. What is the point of going to a neighborhood business, if you can get better service from a chain? read more

We have been to Russell's Bistro once and it was fabulous! We thought we would give Russell's Bakery a chance today for lunch (6-25-15). What a a let down. The sandwiches we chose were "ok" at best. Seriously, $9 for a couple of pieces of lunch meat on and one slice of cheddar cheese? The tortilla soup was lukewarm. The worst part about our lunch was the person taking our order. She was so preoccupied with what the other employees were doing and answering their questions that I had to say my order at least three times. She seemed a little put off that we only wanted lunch and didn't order any pastries or coffee. Won't be back :( read more

Lovely spot for an afternoon coffee. Very professional service.fantastic coffee and food. My favorite is the tomato soup. Yummy comfort food! Easy location to get parking, sometimes you might have to walk a bit but area is lovely so not a problem. read more

I haven't been to the bistro location in many years, generally make it a point to come by when I am in town. I went today and had the usual flourless chocolate endeavor ( thats what I call it) it's great as I remember, but I walked in and the glass display case was gone. I was quite saddened that I couldn't see the offerings because I am a visual buyer. The muffins and croissant were captive in a lucite display case that in my opinion made them look cheap. I felt a little cheap myself and that is not the feeling I recall having since you opened some 6 years ago. The experience is why I have rated you so low. I hope you understand. read more

Best place for morning coffee. Yeah it can get busy on sat and sun mornings, but the coffee is good and the food is too! Blueberry scone is my favorite. They have a lot of cakes and stuff, but I've never bought them. They are reasonably priced overall. read more

Staff was very friendly and the coffee was good an inexpensive. Parking can be a bit tight at times, but still recommend coming here to visit. read more

We went to the location on Kirby Lane to pick up a muffin. Wow! Best blueberry muffin I have had so far in Austin. Maybe the best ever. Tasted very homemade and like eating blueberry pancakes. We will definitely go back again to try something off the breakfast menu. read more

This bakery is the best ever! I have had many of their bakery items and have never been disappointed. Their coffee has always been made to order. The staff is always friendly. This place feels like home. read more

This is our warm and friendly neighborhood bakery (especially love the Saturday morning staff). The espresso drinks and the baked goods are wonderful. My only wish is that Mr. Russell would add the whole blueberries back into his blueberry scones. read more

I met one of the baristas the other day. She said this would be a good place to get some work done on my laptop. Well I'm here and there are NO OUTLETS. read more

It's great to find a real bakery with Andereson's coffee, a full menu of sandwiches and within range of biking. The baked goods are delicious, some dense, some light. The crowd was a bit older and mostly women. There was a knitting circle. It wasn't hip or cool in any way, but it was good. I found the counter help to be pretty nice, but in a glazed over sort of way. I would take my Mom there because it's quiet and the food is great. Perhaps the lack of scenesters is a good thing. read more

Russell's is a great neighborhood place. It's an easy spot to stop, grab coffee and a little something sweet. I particularly like their cinnamon rolls. They are a unique combination of sugar, spice and goodness. read more

Russell's is a quaint special local coffee shop with excellent pastries and cakes. Chicken salad on a croissant makes a nice lunch and I frequent here for meetings. After bringing newbies here for coffee meetings they always convert to Russell's fans. Lemon bars = awesome. read more

Great sandwich! Lot's of meat, good bread and fresh veggies. Cool little place to have coffee, sandwiches and desserts in old Austin.

They get 5 for their dirty chai lattes, amazing pastries, friendly employees, and good sandwiches. They make vegan pastries too!

Ordered a coconut cake for my mother's 90th birthday. This cake had 4 layers and was beautiful. What was even more beautiful was the INSIDE. Absolutely fabulous. The best cake I have had in a very long time. Moist and filled with something...unfortunately the bites of cake were never on my fork long enough for me to decipher the ingredients. Even coconut 'haters' were licking their plates. Once everyone had eaten there was still some cake left. People literally walked by with a fork and speared whatever they could get of the leftover. I've been on a sugar free regime for 3 weeks and when this is over in one week, I really think I'm going to stop by Russell's for a piece of cake. read more

This is a very nice place for lunch or a sit-down snack. The restaurant has an outdoor patio with lots of seating, as well as nice seating inside. The chicken salad was really good, served on toasted bread and with chips and spicy salsa. Not very expensive at all. Nice service and staff. we were too full for dessert, but the treats looked great. It's perfect for a semi-formal meeting, or brunch/lunch with friends. Very nice! read more

Russel's has done several custom cakes for our family's events and they've always turned out fabulous at a reasonable price for asking for very specific designs. Everyone always comments how fabulous they taste. email info@russellsbakery.com to discuss/arrange custom orders. read more

We are big fans of getting coffee and a muffin/pastry on Sunday mornings, and this was the first spot we tried when we moved to Austin. We have since tried several other popular Yelp recommendations, but I can now officially say that Russell's has the best muffins in Austin. Both the pumpkin and blueberry muffins are excellent, and I enjoy the little sugar crystals they put on the tops for just a little added sweetness. The interior is nothing exciting, and I found the coffee below average. However, this is a great spot to grab some muffins to take home or go to a better coffee spot for a nice Sunday breakfast. read more

Great little find! The atmosphere is quaint and the coffee is good. Baked goods are priced well, and they came through for me on a last minute special occasion cake. The only improvement I would like to see would be a little more moistness in baked goods. That would give this 5 stars! read more

Russell's is on my way to work, but today was the first day I stopped in. My quad latte was delicious and prepared perfectly, but I have to take away one star for the weird geriatric vibe of the place. I've never seen so many senior citizens in a real coffee shop (like...not a dunkin donuts or a crummy diner). Maybe it's the area? Also, they apparently have a no-wifi no-laptops during lunch policy. Weird, but just FYI. read more

my absolute favorite bakery ever. it's so cute and the atmosphere is just really calming and warm. the staff are extremely nice and patient and i LOVE all of their drinks and pastries. i 100% recommend. read more

My to-go-to cafe for studying, interviews, coffee, and sweets. I've never been let down by Russell's!

Really enjoy the baked goods here. My favorite spot for year around pumpkin bread or muffins!

A customer of mine suggested I check out Russell's for lunch; it's right around the corner and I am tired of Subway. Right off I liked the atmosphere. A french bistro with an un-forced retro ambiance. I got the salad trio (you can choose from a bunch of options.) I got the tuna (AMAZING!), the pimento and cheese (traditional with an unexpected spicy kick!), and the Caesar (the lettuce was cut a bit thin, loved the addition of black olives and their amazing crostini croutons, but something bitter over powered that salad.) Also came with two of their delish buttery/cheesy crostinis. I also grabbed some day old bread for a reasonable price and the nibbles I had at work later in the day were delicious as well! On top of that the staff was helpful and sweet. Overall a great experience. I would definitely recommend Russell's and will surely dine there again! read more

Russell's has a lot of things going for it, but with some flaws. Here's what to get: sandwiches salad soups baked breads/muffins like pumpkin bread, etc. chocolate chip cookie This is what not to get: cupcake oreo brownie coconut cake In my experience, the desserts are a toss up. (I haven't tried the Chocolate Indulgence yet, and I've heard its good, so maybe I'll post an update when I do!) Some are great and some aren't. The cupcake is dry, doesn't taste much, and the frosting is too sweet to handle. The oreo brownie was just dry and weird-I actually had them take it back. The decorated cookies are pretty but too sweet to eat. The chocolate chip cookies are giant and are yummy but one of the staff told me they are not made there, they order the pre-made dough. Still, I love having lunch there. it's quiet and quaint and the sandwiches are great. Just know if you venture for a dessert, it is a toss up. The service has always been great, I'm not sure what some reviewers are talking about. read more

**This review is based solely on their pastries and coffee** Today I woke and thought it would be nice to forgo my usual oatmeal for something sweet for breakfast. I chose Russell's Bakery because I have driven by it several times since moving to Austin and there is a bakery with the same name in my hometown that is amazing. Russell's is just a small, neighborhood coffee shop type place and so it only has a few parking spaces (maybe 10 at most). When I got there the parking lot was full, which I actually took as a good sign. I parked and went in. There is not better word to describe my experience from here more than "average". The restaurant itself could be so much cuter if they added some comfortable places to sit and relax. The pastry case was filled with all the normal pasties croissants, muffins, danishes, cakes, etc. I ordered 2 danishes, one cheese and one blueberry, and regular small drip coffee. The two guys behind the counter were really nice and when the line began to get a little backed up one of them jumped right in to speed things along. The reason that this place gets 2 stars instead of 3 which is average from me is that for those 2 croissants and a regular small drip coffee I paid almost $7. That's ridiculous to me. Once home and jumped right into my sweet breakfast. The pastries were both averagely good and the coffee was good, but nothing to write home about. They kind of tasted like something you could just buy at the store any day of the week. I hate to give this place only 2 stars because I think it really does have a lot of potential and maybe I can rate it higher if I ever go for lunch and it proves me wrong, but at this point I just don't see anything that sets this place apart from any others. read more

10/10 would recommend. Great customer service, great coffee and bakery foods. Love it! I especially like the pumpkin bread!

The coffee's good and while the pastries look pretty they taste only so-so. They serve basic sandwiches for lunch but nothing to get excited about. I live just down the street from so it's a disappointment that this place can't step up their quality. read more

Was in the area and dropped in for coffee and breakfast. Amongst all of us we had a cafe mocha, drip coffee, Hansens juice, breakfast croissants, danish. The Croissants were really good, very flaky light and crispy outside. The coffee was very good too. The counter help was fine. If I lived near here I would stop by very often. Didn't try the sandwiches but they looked great! read more

My husband and I stop by at this cafe on weekends for some great coffee & baked goods. He especially loves their cake slices. So for his birthday I decided to order their red velvet cake & it was delicious. I also sent an email just 2 days before asking them to do a custom fondant on it. I got a call within an hour confirming that they would do it & checked with me on any other specifications. The cake was ready on time & it looked exactly as I wanted it, and tasted even better. :) read more

Such an incredible place to go, you can read your emails while your lil one plays with magnets and enjoy a delicious cup of coffee as well as a nice cake or one of their wonderful cookies ... Lunch is great... I was running late and stop for a quick fix and end up surprised by their delicious chicken salad sandwich. read more

I've only had coffee and a couple of pastries and it was all delicious. Great atmosphere in a wonderful part of town! Very relaxing to sit and enjoy your cup of coffee. Staff was very friendly and very welcoming. I was there for quite a long time with a friend and felt no pressure to be moved along. It is a great local place that beats a Starbucks any day! read more

Awesome bakery place for a quiet n no frill breakfast or bunch. More apt if you are mount bonnell. Loved the garden salad with fat free raspberry dressing. read more

Fabulous baked goods and incredible coffee. Staff is very helpful and friendly! I heard Annie recite a customer's order by heart and I was truly impressed by that customer service! I can't wait to bring my co-workers here for lunch! Come out and support this local business! We met Russell last night and are so glad he told us about his business. What a gem! read more

I found this place while taking my daughter to Crenshaws Gymnastics. I needed something to do while she was in class. When I first started going here it was dead which I loved because their were no lines. But with cinnamon rolls like these, the word was going to get out. It's very busy now...I would prefer more comfy chairs in this place. I've taken a couple of friends here. I just love it. With my daughter not going to gymnastics anymore I really don't have a reason to be on this side of town. Every once in a while I will drive over just for their delicious bakery goods and great coffee! I like the people that work here. Two thumbs up from me! read more

Great soups, sandwiches (chicken salad, especially), (completely amazing) cinnamon rolls, pumpkin muffins, cakes and atmosphere. It's a great breakfast & lunch place! read more

The best Saturday morning routine in the world. I love their iced coffee and spinach and mozzarella croissants. We bring our dogs and enjoy the cool summer mornings. Such friendly people, such delicious food! read more

My Mother doesn't own a coffee maker...I live in Colorado and come to visit with my son who is 11 months old. This place saved my life every morning of my trip! Mind you I've been going for years on vacation here but this time it was critical...mommy needs coffee! Thank you for being so close and friendly! Great Apple Fritters too! Yum! read more

Good coffee, really love their scones. Ambiance is so-so, but all in all not a bad place to sit for a while and read a book, or the Onion. The employees are either average (nothing wrong with that!) or extra nice, I've never had a bad experience there. read more