Arlo Grey by Kristen Kish

I loved Arlo Grey! We came for our anniversary and the food was spectacular! In true transparency, Foodwise, I would probably would rate it as a 4.5 stars because my non-sophisticated palette husband had difficulty comprehending the menu. The dishes are very unique and if you like more straight-forward food, this may not be the dining experience for you. We ordered the fried cauliflower (so delicious!), Bucatini (this one was a bit unique for my palette even), and the Berkshire Pork Chop (so tender and perfectly flavored) with a side of French fries. Since it was our anniversary, the server even comped us a slice of Fluffy cheesecake, which I thought was delicious because I love matcha flavor. My husband was not impressed because it was a fluffy, more Japanese style cheesecake and he was expecting a NY style cheesecake. Service, as mentioned, was friendly, but it was definitely an experience. The staff even wrote us a Happy Anniversary card, great attention to detail. We had a reservation for 7:30, but did not finish our meal until 10:30 because the food took a long time to all come out. The food came out in courses and we shared all the dishes, as was recommended. The coursed meal and dim lighting definitely made it a very romantic atmosphere. It is a great place for a fancy date night or a celebration.

I wish I could give this place zero stars. I usually try to find something positive in every situation and give businesses the benefit of the doubt, but this experience was beyond disappointing and warrants a bad review. I made a reservation for 11 people on a Friday night at 8 pm. We ended up leaving the restaurant hungry, thirsty, and frustrated by 10:15 pm. The service was terrible--our waitress was not only rude, but completely absent. To start, it took the kitchen over two hours to bring out a few appetizers. On top of that, our waitress was nowhere to be found when we needed her. The kids were thirsty, and she didn't bother to bring water until we tracked her down. She took drink orders from one person and then disappeared, never checking in with the rest of the group. By the time we still didn't have any food, everyone was starving and we were so frustrated that we just paid the bill and left.We had friends visiting from Houston and were celebrating a birthday, but the whole night was ruined. We ended up leaving at 10:15 pm, still hungry and not knowing what to do. I really regret not choosing a more low-key spot where we could've had a nice, stress-free evening. After this unpleasant experience, I won't be coming back to Arlo.

I went here for dinner and had a wonderful experience. We had a reservation and were seated promptly. Our server was super attentive and went above and beyond to offer non- alcoholic options for drinks when I said I was pregnant. The head chef also went over and explained to me which cheeses were pasteurized and separated things on our table order . My favorites included the grilled sourdough bread, the steamed buns, rigatoni, snapper, pork chop, duck, hazelnut feuille, and toasted sourdough ice cream. I have been following Kristin Kish's career and I've always wanted to try her restaurant. I love the aesthetic of the restaurant ( I would by the dish ware, the glasses were beautiful), the sauce work, and the attentiveness of the entire staff. If you are in Austin and looking for a perfect date night, this is it.

To make sure I set the context for this review, it is important to note we came to dinner at Arlo Grey with very high expectations. As followers of Kristen Kish across her multiple Top Chef appearances as both contestant and host, we were looking forward to an evening that we'd talk about for years. Perhaps this is just a case of expectations versus reality, but we left a little disappointed with the experience. As a matter of fact, if I could give half stars, I would have chosen 3 1/2. I gave it 4 stars because there is no doubt the food is above average. The question is how far?To echo what some other reviewers have noted, the restaurant is in the lobby of the Line hotel. We didn't realize this until we got driving directions on the way to dinner. This is not a problem, but it does make the atmosphere a bit strange at times. There was a big mix of people seeking different experiences in my opinion: There are the hotel guests looking for the closest place to feed the hungry kiddos, couples trying to enjoy an intimate dinner, and young business people having meetings. Again -- expectations vs.. reality? Perhaps...We arrived a little bit early and were asked to wait until our seating time to be taken to our table. Once the 5 minutes passed and our exact time arrived, we were escorted to our table. After a few minutes, the server arrived and took our drink order. We were very pleased with both our Sundown Cobbler and Blueberry Dacquiri cocktails. They were well balanced, and we enjoyed them immensely.Unable to bring ourselves to a decision, we decided to go with that evenings Prix Fixe dinner for the two of us. It began with the AG Grilled Sourdough and TX Sweet Potato. They were both a delicious way to kick off the evening. The bread came with grilled Bulgarian white cheese, fig, honey, and mustard green. The bread was fantastic on its own; adding the cheeses took it to the level of heaven. I wouldn't think of putting pistachios with sweet potatoes, but I'm so glad Kristen Kish did, and that I got to try it. So tasty!The rigatoni and ricotta dumplings made up the second course. This was the first thing we received wasn't fantastic. The rigatoni was good. As much as I hate to say it, I didn't think it was any better than Romano's Macaroni Grill though. Just expectations again? The ricotta dumplings also contained butternut squash which is one of my personal favs. The were the perfect texture and were good. I found them a little better than my wife did, so I'm going to leave them in the just good category.The third course was the honey roasted duck breast. It also came with a side of Sonora grain porridge with radish and duck sausage. This course was our biggest disappointment. I'm a big duck fan, and this one was just *too* rare for me to stomach. I believe the intention was for it to be that way. When we mentioned it to the server, she didn't seem surprised at how rare it was. Regardless, it was not good. I did try a bite to make sure I wasn't missing something; I wasn't.The final course was the Fluffy Cheesecake made with matcha. It was good as well. The cake had a very unique texture to it; thus the name I'm sure. The closest similarity we could come up with was a sponge cake. The accompanying strawberry sherbet was our pick for the dish though. We enjoyed it thoroughly.My summary is the food is good consistently. Some items are amazing - but not all items. The ambiance is not what I would have expected and felt a bit "off". If you use these notes to frame your evening, I hope you have a better experience than we did.

Lovely dinner at Arlo Grey last night. I'm a huge Kristen Kish fan so this was on my list to try when I stopped in Austin. The burrata dish with sourdough bread was heavenly. I loved the sauce that came with it even more than the burrata - and I adore burrata. The mushroom pasta dish that was based on one of her winning top chef dishes was also divine. I love the small plate style so you can try many dishes. Everything was well-priced. The space is in a hotel but don't let that be a turnoff for you - it's beautifully decorated with lots of space between tables so you feel like you have your own private area. My server was excellent and had so many good recommendations. Will definitely be back here!

Service so bad we had to leave after first drink. Relatively empty but still made us wait for our reservation. Very disappointed given how excited we were. Rude, rushing staff.

Went for dinner with a few colleagues during a work trip and forgot to take photos. First off, we didn't have a hard time getting seated despite the "celebrity status" of the restaurant since we went on a weeknight. Awesome service - very attentive. Glasses were never empty. Our server made such wonderful recommendations when asked. Ordered family style and shared with each other so we could try multiple dishes: AG grilled sourdough: wish I could have this as a snack everydayBurrata: never met a burrata I didn't like. This was absolutely well-balanced and refreshing with the tomatoes and cucumber brith Fried steamed buns: MY FAVORITE of the night, she's a rockstar that tickled my tastebuds. Perfect balance of sweet and savory. Play on textures was Mafaldini: an umami-bomb. Very delish but nothing new. Brick half chicken: love how crispy it was and the sweet pepper puree was chefs kiss16oz Berkshire porkchop: Beautiful cook on the porkchop. Would have this again even if I'm not a huge pork eater. Delicious and would be happy to return!

Great restaurant with a wonderful aesthetic. The food was amazing and the atmosphere was elegant and edgy. I used the hotels valet which made it a bit easier with the parking. Definitely would recommend!

Pretty good but maybe not my first choose for a tapas style restaurant. The overall ambiance is great. Soothing and chill. Right off the water and very cozy. I could see myself coming if even for drinks and to relax. Nice lighting and just a cool vibe overall. Staff was very friendly and the over all presentation and serving of food was well organized. Very comparable to other styles of this kind of restaurant. I think where I was expecting more was with the food. It was good but not great. Decent flavors and well organized with a very nice presentation, but I think I was expecting more. We had much from the menu. What I would not get again is the rabbit dish, wagyu dish or even the deserts. Again, good but not great. The strawberry sorbet was actually quite delightful. The fried rice was good as well as the buratta.

We walked in and the place looked deserted so was a little worried about the night. My first cocktail was way too sweet so they remade it for me and it was much better. The food! The food was absolutely delicious. Crispy rice, fried okra, fried steamed buns with eggplant, pork chop entree, all inventive, delicious and surprisingly large portions for fine dining. Service was friendly and warm. A wonderful experience and worth every penny.