Austin Ale House

The staff here were very friendly and prompted with their service. The food however wasn’t on par with the service. We ordered the calamari for an appetizer it was over cooked and pretty thinly cut. The marinara was bland and didn’t have much flavor. I think that the calamari at Mia Bella and McCormick and Schmicks is much better. My burger was suppose to be cooked medium well and it was brought to me a little more pink than I like and it was surprisingly actually dry. The beef lacked seasoning. The fries that came with my burger were ok a few pieces tasted old and stale for some odd reason. The side of sweet potato fries we ordered were burnt and tasted burnt. The beef tacos were not good. The thin corn tortillas were nuked in the microwave and had a weird chewy texture. I’m not one to really complain while I am there because I don’t want to be difficult but I will not be a returning customer.

I work downtown, and I had been eyeing this place for lunch. Went there, and I wasn’t that impressed. They don’t really have a dedicated lunch menu, and the prices seemed a couple bucks higher than they needed to be. Got a chicken sandwich with goat cheese. It was fine, nothing special. The french fries seemed fresh cut, but were really overcooked, a shame. I didn’t have any brews because it was lunch, but that may be the better way to go here. Not bad, but not a place I’d go out of my way to go to again. There is nothing particularly inventive about the menu or the atmosphere here; it’s kind of a please the masses but not wow anyone type of place.

very clean bar. wide selection of beers on tap & the bartender was very friendly to us. definitely will come back the next time we’re in Austin, Texas.

I just came in just for a drink, so I can’t say much about the food. But the bartender was very nice. The other waitresses were very nice as well.
I had a mimosa on a Saturday, it was only $ 3 ! Woo! So I had two and went on my way.
I thought it would be more dive bar-​like, but the décor was fresh and somewhat contemporary.
I would like to come back to try the food!

Great food! We went here for brunch with a group the day before a wedding.
The food was great! I had the Tommys scramble and my bf had the byo burrito w chicken and goat cheese. YUM!
5 stars for the food.
The service was slow for a Friday afternoon. But the employees were very nice.
I would return.

Great service in the heart of Austin. I had the pulled pork with coleslaw and it was heaven! Defiantly a staple of the restaurant. If you’re a beer enthusiast I suggest you try the local flight, they have all sorts of beers from pilsners to Indian pale ales.

Had their steak tacos and they were a delight. Beer selection is solid if you’re into local and mostly non-​major brand brews. The staff was very friendly. If I’m back in Austin again I’ll make it a point to stop in

Rip off!
This has got to be the only place in the southern US that charges for iced tea refills. $ 3 ea for the 3 teas I had. Was shocked when I got the bill but the bartender said that’s what they do and stuck to it. Food wasn’t that great and service was really slow. Won’t ever go here again…

Hands down for their Santa Fe burger (GRASS-​FED beef). I had their bloody Mary for $ 4 on Easter Sunday afternoon, it was spicy and good.

Austin Ale House
I had the Santa Fe burger (medium well) but was cooked well done.
Fries on the side and a Mac and cheese with bacon.
EVERYTHING WAS LOADED WITH PARSLEY! Even my partners salad had parsley on it. It was ridiculous, I literally got my plate and blew air into it and it was a confetti of parley flying out.
Both the fries and the burger were not seasoned well but we were hungry and this place had no wait at all. Chipotle aoli was savory but my buns were just laid on top and squished! Not crispy or buttered or anything basically just out of the bag. I can say the burger was not greasy and the fries were well cooked.
Mac & Cheese was cooked above al dente. The cast iron was only for presentation since there was no bread crumbs to bake and out sauce was a little on the runny side.
Overall it was a ⁶⁄₁₀ service was great and happy. She was attentive with our water refills. However she didn’t ask how our food was, just came when our plates were placed on the side.

Came in today not having high expectations at all… looks like your typical beer-​centric bar food type lunch joint… boy was I wrong. From the timely and extremely friendly service from our server (Kirstin or Kirsty maybe?), to the smoky savory chipotle ailoi served with the burger and calamari… top notch all around.
Food: Santa Fe burger was fantastic. Perfectly cooked, fantastic white cheddar (sourced from Vermont?) and that aoili sauce complemented every ingredient perfectly. Additionally, I was very impressed with the crispy calamari that I had… was not soggy like most bar-​restaurant types. Solid meal all around!
Beer…need I go into detail? I think not. Best beer list in Austin. I indulged in a Stone Enjoy By IPA… juicy tropical hop heaven, suggested by our server (very knowledgeable on the whole menu!!!)
Needless to say I went back to my cubicle and pretended to work for the remainder of the day, while being engrossed by a satisfying food coma that would make a grizzly Bear hibernate for 3 months.

Our Austin experience was short but interesting. Frankly, I’m all taco’ed out so finding this place was most welcomed.
As I’m currently losing weight, I wanted something light and tasty. The right dish for me seemed like ceviche was a good choice. Wow! My choice turned out to be excellent! This was a flavor explosion, party in my mouth delightful! The fish was perfectly cured and the seasoning just down right delish. I cheated and had a few tortilla chips on the side which really added to the flavor.
For my beverage, I tried the hefenweisen wish was pretty darned good. I think it was from 512 brewery but don’t really recall.
About service: GREAT! our server was attentive and accommodating, sweet and fast. Can’t ask for more than that. The music was also good with a solo guitarist. Good vibe here and not terribly crowded on a week night. I’d go again!

Really chill place. Came in from Denver and wanted to try some Austin beers. Good selection and friendly wait staff.
Ordered the breakfast burrito it was tasty. Plus they have Tapatio hot sauce here which makes them legit.

Grabbed a quick beer and ate a steak quesadilla. Its a popular after work drinks kinda place, laid back and casual. Pub atmosphere with local art and retro lightbulbs, I really liked the beer selection and the food was good too. Service was just fine, had a chill experience.

One word: underwhelming. My husband and I came here on a Thursday night and the place was pretty dead. There was a sign at the door that said to seat ourselves. We picked a table near the bar and our waitress came over after a couple of minutes to take our drink order.
My husband ordered a burger for dinner and I ordered the grilled cheese. My husband really enjoyed his burger but I was not a fan of the grilled cheese at all. In the words of Sheldon Cooper, the bread to cheese ratio was way off. I was even able to remove one of the slices of bread without sacrificing any cheese :(maybe this isn’t hat big of a deal, but if I can make a better sandwich at home, then it’s not worth me paying for it.
As far as our service the entire night, it was okay. She didn’t do anything wrong, but I didn’t feel she did anything great either.

Stopped here for a late dinner and had a good experience. It’s a pretty big space with lots of tables and ample seating (and of course a bar).
Our waitress was really friendly and prompt with taking our orders, and I needed a few minutes multiple times to decide on what to eat & drink.
We eventually settled on splitting nachos, with market vegetables added for $ 1, and a black bean burger. Those nachos were seriously loaded! I love a lot of my food completely smothered with toppings, so I enjoyed them quite a bit. I would have taken a photo if the lighting wasn’t so dim.
The black bean burger was decent. The patty itself had a little bit of a kick to it, so proceed with caution if you have no tolerance for spicy food. I really liked the fries it came with — they had a great crunch to them (miraculously, many of my leftover fries were still crispy even after spending the night in the fridge).
They also have a pretty good beer selection — $ 6 – 7 for most pints. With that said, the beer of the week is a good deal — I’m not sure if the price changes much, but when I was there it was $ 4 for a snifter of an 8% beer. I imagine happy hour would be pretty great too.
Bottom line: I’d come back mainly for the nachos, and maybe wash it down with the beer of the week if it meets my fancy.

I think sometimes you want low expectations to be wrong. Sadly it usually isn’t the case.
We saw the relatively milquetoast reviews for Austin Ale House but decided to check it out anyway. It was a slow early afternoon, and the place was pretty empty. We got seated right away, and then waited, and waited, and waited. When our waitress took our drink order, we put I an appetizer as well. The appetizer came before our beers — the first indication the service and kitchen weren’t on the same page. They were out of not one but two different beers I ordered. They were nice and tried to offer two beers they did have on tap as samples, but they were completely different from the wheat beers I had ordered (and one was actually a cider). When you go to a place with «ale house» in the name, you expect the staff to be knowledgeable — at least about what they have on tap.
I ended up waiting for my beer until after our food came. And that food, which did come quickly wasn’t anything to write about. Nothing overly exciting or interesting.
The bathroom was in gross disarray as well — another indication they have some service problems.
All in all, not a horrible experience, but bad enough we won’t likely be back. It’s never a good idea to keep a table with a toddler waiting…

Went here for breakfast during our visit and I thought it was one of the best places we went to.
The staff was SO friendly and attentive. You never waited for water, the coffee was great and the eggs came out perfect.
The portions were pretty big for the price and they had fresh squeezed orange juice for mimosas. We specialized our omelette orders with no mistakes. All of the veggies in the omelettes tasted fresh.
We didn’t try out the nightlife here but I was super impressed with our waitress and the food options. There were plenty of vegetarian options (not sure about vegan I didn’t ask).

I have been to Austin Ale House twice in the past few months and those visits definitely warranted an updated review. Anyone who can feed me fast on a Saturday night and do it with a smile and good fries will rate 5 stars with me.
Firstly, if you’re in the need of a burger or other such bar food in this four block radius, this is the place. Even on a Friday or Saturday night, AAH can seat you almost immediately. The hostesses and waitstaff that I’ve had in the last two visits have all been especially nice and personable, none of that entitled-why-are-you-making-me-work-when-I’m-at-work bs phenomena that seems to plague maybe mid-​level Austin eateries. These young women seat you quick and with a smile, and build that little bit of rapport that makes the whole experience more pleasant AND would go a long way in smoothing out any issues that may arise throughout the meal process.
But the last two visits, have been great, so the rapport just adds to the value of the experience. In fact, the last visit was downright superb. I wish we had gotten the waitress’ name but she was so sweet when a girlfriend of mine and I went in to have a bite around 9:30pm on what would be an all-​night Saturday night. We already knew we wanted to split a burger and fries just to have something in the belly before continuing our carousing. And that this half burger *may* prevent an ill-​advised late-​night stop at Whatburger or Taco Cabana (it totally did!).
We told the waitress we wanted to split the burger and to just bring an extra plate. Well, they totally split the burger on two places and a handful of fries on each. That was super sweet. They kept the water and soda glasses full and checked in right after we’d taken first bites to ensure everything was to standard. The burger was juicy, cooked to order, with nice bibb lettuce, red onion, and tomato. They have good mayonnaise here that goes especially well with the crisp fries (choice of sweet potato or regular). It’s around $ 11 for the burger and fries I think and that’s just about right. They have other more adventurous things but I think they do a good burger that is relatively clean and simple – no morning after burger hangovers here!
Though I am rarely downtown on a weekend or in this exact area, I know I can plan to include Austin Ale House if it will be a long night for a little belly and soul food to get me to the next stop.

Austin Ale House is one of my favorite places to eat downtown. They do a pretty good job on everything they make and have a very diverse menu.
Some of my favorite things are:
The Beet Salad — Add salmon to it and this is a delicious salad.
Risotto — I like both the scallops and the steak; however sometimes the steak is a little chewy and grizzly.
Steak Quesadilla — Good amount of ooey-​gooey cheese perfectly toasted.
The grilled cheese and soup has an enormous quantity of cheese. Mmmm, be a kid again.
The french fries are solid and the sweet potato fries are good, but can trend to the soggy side.
Great happy hour prices and you can usually get a seat without too much waiting.
We’ve eaten here 3 or 4 times in the same week before and can usually be found at least once or twice a week. If you work west of Congress downtown you need to stop in and get your grub on.