Café No Sé

Very clean and chic interior with great staff. Lots of healthy options for brunch and good prices. It’s right in the South Congress Hotel so it’s a great place to get breakfast. I had their egg scramble, and kale salad. The food was good but a tiny bit bland for my liking. Overall a good p

They do not take reservations, so the wait can be long. For a party for 2 on a Sunday at 11:00am, we were told it’d be about a 45 minute wait… however we only waited 15 minutes so it depends on the crowd.
The interior is purtayyy, I guess it’s more contemporary (don’t hate on my limited interior vocab). I like how they have a variety of chairs; it adds to the unique feel. In regards to their pink neon sign…“I want that.” (–Napolean Dynamite)
For brunch we got the Avocado Toast and the Egg Sandwich. While I have no complaints about the food, I don’t think Café No Se is a spot I’d extremely want to come back to. The presentation of the food was great, but nothing special.
I do like how they serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner so it’s convenient if you stay in the South Congress Hotel. Otherwise a good boozy brunch place!

Really liked my entrée of avocado toast as I was able to finish the whole thing #proud. The apple and ham and cheese croissants were soft and really good. Love how their teas come in cute tea pots. The pancakes were delicious and overall it was a great place for brunch with the girls.

Comfortable, rustic-​chic setting but overpriced and the menu is quite limited. With it being small, the Sunday we came for brunch, they were also out of an additional two items. There are so many great options on South Congress to try for a better meal/​price.

Your typical overpriced and aesthetically pleasing brunch location.
Great attentive service and interior of the place. The overall feel felt very comfortable and it was like you were dining in a friend’s home.
The food was alright. There want anything amazing about the food that stood out to me. I ordered the egg sandwich and although the cheddar biscuit was delicious (I would totally eat it by itself) the rest of the dish was just… Eh. The dish came with pan fried potatoes (who doesn’t love potatoes with their eggs) but they weren’t as crisp as I prefer them to be. It’s a cute place for pictures and to catch up with your girlfriends, but I wouldn’t choose to come back here anytime soon unless a friend wanted to go.

Café No Se is fine. I mean, it isn’t the best, but it isn’t the worst. We went for the first time yesterday, and I normally don’t write reviews after one visit, but I don’t really see us coming back.
It’s pricey. We knew this, but the disappointment came in feeling like the quality didn’t match the price. The interior of this place and their patio/​outside area is wonderful, and the service was fantastic. However, our meals, the bucatini pasta and chicken salad, were fine. Just fine.
I know they will do quite well because S. Congress is a great draw and the hotel looks fantastic. If you wanted to grab some drinks and chill out (my bf said his sangria was one of the best he’s ever had), I’d recommend this as one great spot along S. Congress. Maybe try different meals?

No se indeed. Not sure. Great spot, really nice décor BUT the service leaves something to be desired. Short hostess, inattentive waiter and a 45+ min wait with open tables and a huge community table. The mimosa for 7 is a huge letdown. The food was not bad, but for $ 12+ entreee I was hoping for more than not bad. My green curry poached eggs was inventive and cool. But that’s about my only high point.

Today, I went to brunch to try out their offering as south congress café was a 45 minute wait. I’d had dinner here and albeit pricey, I enjoyed the meal and service.
Today unfortunately was different. When coming in, I saw a girl with a humongous egg sandwich with a plate full of potatoes and her partner eating a huge stack of hot cakes. That looked amazing but way to big for me and my date to eat. So we decided to just half the egg sandwich. When the server arrived I asked the question of half orders or a smaller portion of the hot cakes to which he was pretty curt in his answer just saying no.
After waiting quite a while to place our order, we got the food brought out and the plate of the egg sandwich was much smaller than what we’d seen. After the plates were dropped off my date wasn’t brought a fork so we waited and waited while seeing our server never come to ask if everything was done correctly. So we had to get up and ask another server for a fork. We waited yet again and while I was almost done with my sandwich did we finally have to sternly speak ‘sir!’ To get his attention to bring us a fork. He finally brought a fork and I was done with my portion.
About ten minutes later the original server we’d had to ask the fork for popped back to make sure we got one.
We were never asked anything about our meal (which actually was really good hence the three stars) as our server silently took our plates away and even placing the check down never said a word. No thank you, no can I get you anything else? No nothing.
While we waited for our bill to be picked up the table next to us started a conversation and we asked how they enjoyed their service and they said, it really was not great. This is a huge risk for this restaurant to employ unfriendly or low energy servers which will make lasting impressions. Unfortunately you are only as good as your worst server. Hopefully this review can help café no se make trainings that encourage better customer facing as if not, will continue to cost them more customers.

Get the curry poached eggs. Not perfectly poached, but about as close as you can get. This was a great meal and the curry was was spicy and perfect.
The Bloody Mary was smokey, spicy and delicious. Two wasn’t even enough.
My wife got the avocado toast and it looked so good. Can’t wait to try it next time.

We stopped in briefly for a quick drink. They have a huge door leading into the place. They are dog friendly, but pets must remain outside! They weren’t busy at all on this particular Sunday around 5 in the evening. It’s nestled in a new structure off of Congress and the atmosphere would be ideal for a date night. I’ll update again when I actually eat here!

Went here for brunch. As someone who recovers with a Bloody Mary almost every Sunday, the $ 12 Bloody Mary here did NOT hit the spot for me. It was very bland and I don’t think the alcohol content was that high. What a shame.
The food was mediocre. Semi-​special dishes that you wouldn’t usually see on a brunch menu, so I expected a lot of flavors. Unfortunately, I was disappointed with the tasteless plates. Also, depends on what you get, you might need more food, like the poached eggs, which came at a small portion. The burger was very good though, and rather large.
Overall, it’s on south congress so parking might be a pain. They do have valet. But the décor of the place itself was very tasteful. Perfect lighting for that Instagram pic with the large glass windows and intricate bookshelf placement. Definitely worth the try, but didn’t wow me enough to go back.

Stumbled upon this quaint little café on South Congress Street. Nice atmosphere, enjoyable food, and friendly service.
We opted to each have a salad — I chose the Kale Salad while my SO selected the Greenhouse Salad. Both were very delectable! From the fresh green bases to the variety of fruits and vegetables to complete the salad, all was very delicious.
The only downfall is that it is a bit more pricey than we would usually pay for salads, even if we were to make them at home, but was a great healthy option as a break from fast food for lunches.
Overall, loved this little place and would definitely return! :)

Everything I want
(as far as brunch goes, at least)
Low-​key, rustic chic
But why all five stars?
Lentils, bok choy, and poached eggs
and the kouign amann!

Nice staff. Delicious food. The Big Eyed Tuna Poke is a must try. The portion was big for an appetizer, perfect to share between two people. The tune cubes were cut large mixed with refreshing grapefruit, pistachio, olives and pickled jalapeño. I also really enjoyed the Grilled Skirt Steak with its buttery «celery seed» sauce. The entrée came with charred carrots that were soft enough to bite into them and still receive the light carotene taste (by the way, carotene is great for your skin and vision.) The ambiance feels like home. Opens early and closes late.

Everything we had was tasty! Stand-​out entrees were the ricotta gnudi (dreamy texture and a habit forming sage and brown butter sauce) and the cheeseburger (perfection with the buttermilk bun). The kale salad starter was so good, with the puffy rice sprinkled in for added texture. The malt fries is the way to go, although these were over salted… and I like salt on my fries. Their cocktail menu is sparse, but you can order drinks from your server from the hotel’s bar and their Old Fashioned hit the spot.

It’s a gorgeous space. So many places on SoCo feel a bit grimy and dingy and this place is the opposite. The big windows flood the place with light right to the back and the clean contemporary design is low key and really works.
Between us we had avocado on toast, schnitzel and the cheeseburger (no prizes for guessing who was hungover here) with some extra sides and pastries.
Food was ok/​good — speedy, Well presented — but not excellent. A bit lacking in real pinch or originality. Coffee good. Croissants excellent. Server was a delight (but then coming from the UK, homeland of the rude restaurant staff I think ALL American wait staff are enchanting!)
The croissants and interior alone would get five stars. But the good to average — slightly over priced food definitely only a three. I know it’s SoCo but $ 15 for one piece of toast with an egg and some Avo is kinda painful. I’m averaging it out as a
Very good 3* It’s definitely somewhere I’ll use for meetings in this part of town. But I won’t be making a regular trek from W/​Lake to eat here.

It’s got this look that just screams to me, «This is what Austin is all about!» It’s a little trendy, bashfully Texan, and homey. The décor is just so spot on, that I don’t mind how pricey the drinks are. I’ve been a couple of times, and though my wallet cries tears of sadness, my heart cries tears of joy. (It’s not really THAT bad, but it’s not cheap.) They’re littered with books so cool that I secretly want to pocket them, and the whole space feels very feng shui. It’s a spacious spot, and I’d take a date there in a heartbeat. The service is nice, and all of the wines are spectacular. Trust me, I tried them all. I can’t vouch for the food, yet, but the menu looks concise and is very likely well-​executed.

4.5 stars… This isn’t your typical café. The sharp finesse of executive chef Michael Paley and pastry chef Amanda Rockman infuse their brilliance into the food. From the Quinoa Fritters to the cheesy No Sé Cheeseburger. The desserts are also a force to be reckoned with.
I am a frequent visitor who has an affinity for their in-​house baked goods and sweets. Everything in the restaurant evokes comfort. There are even purposeful plugs placed throughout so people feel like they can sit, work and dine. Much like a casual coffee shop, except you get to do it with Baba Ghanoush and Ricotta Dumpling Soup.

I’ve been for lunch a few times and the food and service have always been solid. The ahi poke bowl is delicious and I’d highly recommend it as a side or meal.
I’ve been with people who have ordered the burger, a few of their salads as well as their schnitzel. No one has ever had a compliant and seemed to really enjoy their food.
The ambiance is upscale for the south congress scene but it still has elements of that eclectic/​hip vibe you’d expect on SoCo.
My only qualm with café no se is the limited menu. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like when restaurants have 5 pages dinner menus and hundreds of entrée options, but I think if they had just 2 – 3 more entrée options it would go a long way here.

One of my favorite meals all year. Very vegetarian friendly. I found myself saying «amazing» after every bite! You can tell careful thought goes in to each ingredient in every dish. Original yet familiar enough= Austin.
It’s a hotel restaurant (which are always expensive), but it does a good job of feeling just like a lovely local joint. Both the chef and pastry chef are big names. You are paying for the location, the adorable atmosphere, and the high quality– ingredients/​food preparation.
I would take anyone here I am trying to impress with how hip yet classy Austin is.
It seems as though the reviewers who left less than 4 stars have issues with prices or don’t appreciate the sophisticated elements to some dishes.
I also noticed some complaints previously made were addressed and no a problem when I ate. Like the staff– enjoyed my service– and lack of water– we had a carafe at the table.
MUST GET THE OLIVES!!! I’m stealing the roasting idea for my next gathering.
Really nice ginger peach tea.
SUPER DESSERTS
**the girl in charge of events was on the floor, Hannah, and was sooo hospitable and informative.

Located in the newly built South Congress hotel, Café No Se is brightly lit, open and has a modern design flair to. Not being downtown, parking is easy
Seven of us went to brunch on a sunny Saturday afternoon. It wasn’t crazy crowded, we were seated quickly. Do get the Big Eye Tuna Poke, it is every bit as good as the others mention. The avocado egg toast and the burger were other stand outs that I remember. Next time I will get the burger for myself. They have your regular mimosas, coffee, breakfast beverages and micheladas.
The service was excellent and on point. Since we were a big group and that they recently opened, they gave some baked goods to try on the house. The apple scone was something to remember.
I’m a great fan of value for money brunches, where you don’t have to go at P Terry’s after spending $ 30 – 40 an a fancy. This place isn’t one of those.

Came here for dinner on a Thursday night. The 3 of us sat outside, and we had just come from Lockhart so we weren’t starving but wanted a good, light meal.
I had the Shredded Kale Salad ($ 10). The puffy rice was texture-​wise the perfect accent to this dish, and all of the flavors complemented each other well. It was the perfect portion size following my post-​BBQ day, but I would maybe add a protein to it for it to be a full dinner-​sized meal on a standard day.
The White Wine Sangria with Apricot ($ 8) was light, sweet and refreshing.
The service was kind of slow which was surprising because the restaurant was barely full. It’s a small space which offers and intimate vibe, and it is fun people watching right on South Congress. It is definitely «trendy» which I like, but my parents couldn’t stop commenting on how every valet had a man-​bun. I would definitely enjoy trying it out during brunch or lunch to see a different vibe.

The Poke Bowl is really good and has excellent flavor. Décor is really nice. Service/​Morgan is great too. I came for a quick bite and a drink so didn’t get to explore their menu much. I would definitely like to come back and try more at some point including their coffee. I will say their Pimm’s Cup cocktail was kind of weak in my opinion.
*This isn’t against the restaurant, but I have to say I think the design of this new building is awful. It looks like a building you’d find your dentist’s office in. In fact, my dentist’s office building is much nicer looking on the outside than this one.

First of all, I want to point out that this place is overpriced especially for the portion of the food! But come on, who doesn’t love Sunday brunch?
We came here for brunch before we headed to our last day of ACL weekend. We decided to go on South Congress to check out different brunch places but every place was about 60+ min wait. On Unilocal,it showed that Café No Se was a «hot and new» place so we decided to check it out. When we came inside, there were at least 4 open tables but they said it would a 45 min wait. I assumed that those 4 open tables were reserved for other parties. I told them to jot down my name anyway. The hostess scribbled my basic info on her iPad and said she would text me once a table was open. We roamed around South Congress since there are shops around the area.
20 minutes later I decide to call them to see if our table was ready. They told us to come on in and the SAME 4 tables were still open and they finally us. Why couldn’t they seat us earlier when we came in?
Service: SLOW AF. Our server was nice but not a attentive at all. It was busy but they had a decent amount of servers working
Food: It took forever for our food to come out. WHY. The food portions are so small there is no reason why it should take almost 40 min to get our food. I ordered the pork sandwich, my boyfriend and our other friend ordered the poached eggs and orange juice, and my boyfriends cousin ordered the pancakes.
–Pork sandwich: The ONLY thing that was good and it doesn’t even come with a side. I believe it was about $ 15 – 16.
–Poached Eggs: Served with 2 poached eggs, bok choy, and some beans? Not sure what it was but it wasn’t special. Our friend didn’t even like the dish
–Pancakes: It’s 2 pancakes with sliced bananas in between for $ 12 – 13. Seriously? I can make that at home for under $ 5.
–Orange juice: The class of juice was tinier than my hand and it was $ 5 with no refills.
Ambience: You’re pretty much paying for admiring how beautiful the décor is. Because the food and service sucked. The inside of the restaurant is bright, white, and very chic. That was the only good thing about the restaurant.
Bye Felicia. Never coming back and I do not recommend this place unless you want to spend $ 60+ on brunch.

Not a bad place to spend a Saturday brunch! The inside is very simplistic and rustic. You almost forget the craziness of South Congress right outside.
We were seated very quickly around noon. The staff was very friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable about the menu. My friend and I were seated at a large communal table in the middle of the room which I loved. However, there are more intimate tables around the perimeter if you would prefer not to be seated with strangers. There’s also a small outdoor patio with seating looking out onto South Congress.
I ordered the cheeseburger (which turned out to be a double cheeseburger! My stomach was happy.) with fries. The cheeseburger was delicious and the fries were covered with a malt vinegar aioli that was so incredible. I highly recommend!
I didn’t try any but there are plenty of baked goods like croissants and muffins available for dessert. I loved the «country» feel of the place along with its relaxing atmosphere. The restaurant is fairly new so I’m excited to see how it grows.

So far so good… not quite «excellent» yet, as I popped in only a few days after they first opened. The staff was friendly enough, but they seemed a bit unorganized when it came to where to seat us and who would be our server.
We were just in the mood to order a couple of snacks and drinks on a warm September afternoon out on the patio. (Great location for people watching I must say!)
The server offered us sangria, but then later returned to let us know they had run out. Bummer. So instead, we went with a cider and a glass of rose. For food, we tried out the tuna poke and french fries. The poke was interestingly prepared, different than what I am used to but still good. And the fries were actually really great… something I’d order again for sure.
Will definitely try this place out again soon, just seems like they need to work out the typical «new business kinks.»

I walked away from this more impressed than expected.
Ordering was a little difficult for me as the only photos online were those of the restaurant itself. I hate to say I can’t order something based on the description on a menu alone, but man… pictures of dishes definitely play a huge part in my decision making.
Lamb ribs — I can’t quite compare this to anything as I don’t really think I’ve actually had lamb ribs before. Lamb is one of my favorite meats so I know well how it is one of the fattier ones. First impression — the ribs were pretty fatty. But hey, I can’t really hold it against them (what if that’s how it’s supposed to be?). The flavor was great and the crushed peanuts and sliced scallions (or green onion?) also added a nice change of texture and flavor from the fattiness of the meat. One plus — I never got a string of meat stuck in between my teeth because the meat was so tender.
Big Eye Tuna Poke Bowl — I can’t wait until the next time I come back to order this bowl! I actually almost didn’t order it because I didn’t feel the listed ingredients would go well together. So the rice ended up not being a main part of the dish as expected in a «bowl». The minimal amount of perfectly cooked grains spread evenly throughout the dish more so acted as an accent. The tuna was not fishy at all and all the ingredients that my mind couldn’t formulate together as a good meal melded perfectly into a tangy almost ceviche like dish.
The amount of ribs that came with the dish surprised me. It seems lately the trend at restaurants is ordering a $ 16 plate with just a few bites to taste. For just two «share plate» dishes I feel two tummies were decently satisfied at the end of it all.