The Best Southern in Austin

Y'all's Down-Home Southern Cafe

★★★★☆ 4.1 (886) • $$

"Upon entering you get the sidewalk cafe vibe. Always good music playing. There were signs warning of short staffing, but Kristin didn't miss a beat. She was patient , so cordial and accommodating. Warning my husband ( who has a shellfish allergy) that shrimp was cooked in the same oil as catfish. Word of caution to others. My husband ordered the old fashion meatloaf with gravy, savory greens, and not overly sweet yams. I had the "Homie Salad" with balsamic vinegar dressing. Let me put this out there folks. How do you feel about croutons?For me they are always "meh". Let me tell you, cornbread croutons, hit way differently. These "cake" cornbread croutons ( the sweeter cornbread), added such a distinctive touch to the salad. The chicken was crispy, hot and balanced in the seasonings to complement those croutons and fresh,fresh,fresh salad greens. They brew their own tea. And the rich, deep flavor ( not brown sugar water), comes sailing over your tongue. So refreshing. This cafe hits all the right buttons. Prices are friendly too"

Whip My Soul

★★★★★ 4.7 (619) • $$

"I finally made it to Whip My Soul, and let me tell y'all--this place is the real deal! From the moment I walked in, the staff welcomed me like family, with warm smiles and genuine hospitality. You can feel the love and care they put into both their food and their service.Now, let's talk about the food--absolute perfection! I had the chicken & waffles, fried gizzards, and a Kool-Aid from their drink station, which was such a nostalgic touch. The chicken was crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside, and seasoned to perfection. The waffles? Light, fluffy, and the perfect balance of sweet and buttery. And those fried gizzards? Chef's kiss! They were cooked just right--crispy, flavorful, and not too tough.This is true soul food, the kind that reminds you of home. I caught myself doing a little happy dance after the first few bites because it was that good. I'll definitely be back, and if you haven't tried Whip My Soul yet, you're seriously missing out!"

Jack Allen's Kitchen

★★★★☆ 4.3 (663) • $$

"Large restaurant with a fun open bar area and a variety of things to eatApps orderd were fried jalapeños, guacamole and fried catfish . Alls apps were done well, fresh and tasty Entree was the trout. I wanted the bacon wrapped quail I had read about in a different YELP review but they no longer offer it. For accuracy I wish they could update that infoTrout was good , overall dining experience was 3.5 stars"

Jacoby's Restaurant & Mercantile

★★★★☆ 3.8 (826) • $$$

"My friend and I came here for a bite to eat before a ghost tour. She had made reservations online, which is highly recommended.I showed up first and was annoyed with having to pay $6 for valet parking. The attendant backed my car into a spot right near the entrance which I clearly could have done. Also, what was weird was that Venmo was specific to him. For starters, my friend and I got the deviled eggs with bacon. Why was it three pieces instead of four? It is annoying when restaurants use odd numbers. Is there some weird science behind that? The eggs were good and I loved the spicy hot sauce. However, I do not think they were worth the price.For my meal, I ordered the steak fritest. The steak was overcooked, and my meal came out just warm. I would never complain about this in a restaurant, but I was disappointed. I knew the steak and fries would have been better cooked med rare like I had asked, and coming out to me hot. That is why I am not changing my review rating.My friend had ordered the shrimp and grits and Brussels sprouts. The sprouts never showed up with our main course, and we had to ask about them. We ended up getting them complimentary, which was appreciated. The Brussels sprouts were amazing, the star of the whole meal!!! They were a fresh batch, flavorful, and just amazing overall.I had tried two drinks while here. The Marfa margarita was tasty, and the flavor was great. I would recommend getting that. The spicy Texan...I don't know where to begin...they must have run out of jalapeno peppers and subbed red bell pepper; it lacked both booze and spicy. Overall, I would come back here. I know my review does not sell it but I felt like maybe some of the issue was due to how busy it was the night I went.One thing to note is food allergies. They are great in accommodations and labeling the menu. It was clear I could have the deviled eggs, steak frites, and Brussels sprouts."

Jack Allen's Kitchen Anderson Lane

★★★★☆ 4.4 (493) • $$

"I love Jack Allen's Kitchen for date night! My husband and I go to Jack Allen's Kitchen frequently for their nice selection of fresh foods and succulent drinks that are reasonably priced. Occasionally we will pick up food to go. Jack Allen's Kitchen on Anderson Lane has a roadhouse vibe with Texan undertones. Our dining experience has always been great - food quality is consistently notable and service top-notch.Reservations are recommended but not required. The downside of not making reservations is sometimes you must wait for a table to open. During the week this is not an issue. However, on the weekends it gets quite busy. A hostess greets you as you walk in, and information is taken for you to wait in the dining queue, or you are shown immediately to your table. Standard fare includes a complimentary sample size pimento spread with crackers. We are creatures of habit and usually order salmon or trout entrees, occasionally we deviate off the main path. We also love their guacamole and catfish appetizers. It's truly amazing how fast your menu items are prepared. Important to note, Jack Allen's Kitchen has happy hour Mon-Fri 3:30-6:30 pm with half-priced appetizers and $1 off cocktails. Amazing deal!!!Today was a rare "to-go" order day for a working Board meeting. I selected salmon with Dijon and horseradish glaze, pan seared potato cake, herb roasted veggies, white wine lemon butter sauce, and toasted paprika glaze. So delicious!We have celebrated birthdays, career milestones and many date nights. Jack Allen's Kitchen has ample free parking. Recommend Jack Allen's Kitchen for your dining pleasure!"

Olamaie

★★★★☆ 3.9 (614) • $$$

"We dined at Olamaie for our anniversary and had a great dinner. We were greeted with an anniversary card and small complementary drinks. The space is small and I enjoyed the intimate dining room. Our waitress was working her first night there but it didn't show, she gave great suggestions and provided good service. While we were mid-meal there, they were officially awarded a Michelin star, which was a cool experience. I expected more celebration but the staff played it cool. We ordered three apps, the biscuits, and two entrees which was probably one app too many. My favorite were the fish dip appetizer and the catfish entree. The rabbit was great but a bit salty for me. Overall I thought the food was good and different but not quite in my top meals in this city. The cocktails were good as well, the Fringe Contender was a stand out."

Brooklyn's Down South

★★★★☆ 3.9 (586) • $$

"A new favorite spot for us to frequent now that we are near Buda. The staff was friendly, although somewhat absent minded with our orders. They made up for it with spot on quality food and drinks. They have an extensive drink menu and an above average beer listing, even if it didn't have anything for me. The restaurant has a nice vibe somewhere between sports bar and bistro."

Spud Ranch

★★★★☆ 4.3 (301) • $

"Decided to try them out for an early dinner around 4:00pm. Walked in and was greeted immediately! We explained to the girl at the register that we had never been there before and she told us about some items on the menu that were popular. We all ordered and then had a seat in the dining area. We only had to wait about 8-10 mins before they brought out our meals and everything was piping hot! Everyone thoroughly enjoyed their meals. I ordered the steak sandwich and hand cut French fries, at the suggestion of the girl taking our order, and I am really glad that I did! It was awesome and the fries were hot and fresh when they came out. All in all... We will definitely be going back!"

Cafe 290

★★★★☆ 3.5 (315) • $$

"I went there to eat this morning in Maynard Texas. It was really good breakfast. I had the three egg omelette. It looks so good. I forgot to take a picture of it. I just dug right in and started eating it. The coffee is really good. I read at the actual café that it's fresh ground from a coffee place in Austin, so the coffee was super good. My waitress is really nice. Was pretty quick for. For breakfast. I have friends that live in Manor. I think I'm gonna invite them to go there with me and maybe have dinner there. I will definitely go back and it's worth the trip."

Blue Corn Harvest Bar & Grill

★★★★☆ 4.4 (101) • $$

"I honestly have no clue what all the hype is about with this place!We were taken here for a business dinner; I was expecting some real "Tex Mex." It was completely packed, and we had to walk quite a ways, so I'm thinking it must be amazing, boy was I wrong! The servers were great, and accommodating. Pretty standard decor as far as restaurants go, nothing special really. Opened the menu, and I kid you not there were maybe 4 or 5 items that were "Mexican" the rest was things like; stuffed chicken breasts, or pork chops with mushrooms... WTH?!!!! Also there aren't any complementary chips and salsa, you gotta order those, so fortunately the boss got queso, guacamole, and salsa.The queso was basically like a rotel dip, their salsa was really good, and their guacamole pretty standard. I got the streak tip burrito that was basically just meat in a flour tortilla with queso on top, good but definitely not amazing...I absolutely would not call this a "Mexican Restaurant." I'd say it's more of an upscale dinner that just added a few Mexican style dishes to help it stand out. Extremely expensive for what you get. Is it good, yeah I guess it's not bad, but it's really no different than other high end dinners; is it worth the money? I wouldn't go back there, but I also just think there isn't a lot of competition in that area, so people can pretty much do whatever they want. Maybe I'm spoiled because I'm from a place where there's a restaurant every mile or so.."

The Cavalier ATX

★★★★☆ 4.1 (114) • $

"I honestly can't believe I've never written a review here! We frequent The Cavalier weekly sometimes multiple times a week. Their food, service and drinks are always consistent and they have daily happy hour and BOGO burgers on Mondays. They're currently having a Krampus themed pop up bar right now with really unique drinks. This neighborhood gem is one of a kind and we can't rave enough about how much we love it."

Z'Tejas

★★★☆☆ 3.4 (108) • $$

"I hesitate to write a review knowing the last time I wrote a review for another business, their business got so popular and busy that we sometimes had to wait for a good table. However, we received 5 star service and food at Z'Tejas on our last visit during HH so Z'Tejas in Avery Ranch deserves the praise. We're big gans of Z'Tejas for happy hour! We've been here many times for HH and also for dinner or brunch on the weekends. When it was patio weather, we enjoyed sitting on their large open covered patio. The outdoor space can accomodate large parties and the live music makes for a fun, festive time. The manager was there when we arrived and we were very impressed with his friendly demeanor and first class service we received. Drinks and food were on point and came out quickly. I've brought my girlfriends here too for happy hour and they're now repeat customers as well. My favorite appetizers are the catfish beignets and yucca fries. I also really like their salad and mushroom & spinach quesadillas. The frozen swirl margrita is delightful. Your kids will love their yummy cornbread served in the mini iron cast skillet. They have different events like trivia night, movie night, etc. If you recently received Z'Tejas coupons in the mail, put those coupons to use!"

Z’Tejas

★★★☆☆ 3.2 (93)

"Surprised as we knew this was a chain and not your mom pop authentic Mexican. Came for happy hour and grabbed a seat (3-6) at the bar. Drinks are strong (no complaints here!)Orderedd off the HH menu and the catfish beignets did not disappoint! Flakey, perfect crust that isn't too thick! Gringo tacos...suits the name. Queso is a great started, smokey flavors!"

Ham Bonz Soul Food

★★★★☆ 4.1 (15)

"A few things were excellent: collard greens, peach cobbler and the "southern smoothered" gravy. I'll come again to try the yams as a side. And they only provide one small cornbread muffin, but it's very tastey. The pork chop was prepared well, but it's hard to remove gristly edges when it's all buried under the gravy. It could have been a better cut of meat, and that would have helped. There are certainly nicer porkchops available for purchase at Costco (and even HEB) if they want to upgrade the quality of ingredients. There are limited beverage options. They were out of coffee so I had unsweet tea, which was nice. The staff seemed to have something unusual going on. Maybe someone hadn't shown up for their shift or maybe they were training someone. But from greeting to seating to taking my order to checkout, it was just awkward. I don't expect it's normally that way. Lunch special was $12.99. Other meals were in the $20+ range. White meat chicken isn't available on the lunch menu, only dark. But even on the regular menu, it's dark meat only unless you pay a $4.95 upgrade. So basically, this creates a large (2X) price between different variations on a fried chicken meal, which fine, I guess, but for me, it's a strange pricing strategy that I haven't seen anywhere else. But mostly, to me, it feels like I'm eating in a city rec center with a staff of community volunteers. Friendly enough, and tasty enough, but not quite restauranty enough. I haven't given up on it, but I'm not quite sold yet. Wishing them well. I like having a soul food restaurant in town."

La Cabana Restaurant

★★★☆☆ 3 (25) • $$

"5 stars for the service and say 4 stars for the food, such super great service, we think it was the owner or manager that kept coming to the table making sure everything was Ok and if we needed anything. Great selection on the buffet, fresh, and they even had cat fish that was very good. The desert bar was very well maintained and very good. Frozen margaritas were good and strong in the icy glass. The reason for the four stars this was the rating on the buffet only, like I said very good but it was a buffet. BUT, OH YEAH we will be back. We highly recommend....don't know why it has only two stars, it needs many more.."

Hoover's Cooking

★★★★☆ 3.6 • $$

"Hoover's has gone so far downhill since several years ago. We went recently on a Sunday at lunch which used to be a very busy day. There were only 5-6 tables and just two people at each. And only one rattled waitress. Service was woefully slow. But the real difference came when the food finally arrived. The butter beans were just a bowl of tasteless mush. I guess they had been made several days before and reheated until the basically dissolved. The fried chicken was ok but not great like it used to be. The small pan fried cornbread was so hard on the bottom that we couldn't eat it. Not burned but just plain tough. The candied yams were pretty good. We never saw Hoover himself, so I'm not sure how hands on he is these days. He needs to get back in there and be visible to his customers and whip things back into shape. And change the worn out tablecloths. We won't be back any time soon."

Blue Corn Harvest Bar & Grill

★★★★☆ 4.4 • $$

"Handsome, upscale-casual, place with interesting menu. Bonus was getting free cornbread muffins. They were different- more dense, chunky, and wet than the dry, fluffy, stuff. Still, my favorite cornbread is free, so we good.We shared a fine Crisp Wedge (Crisp iceberg lettuce with blue cheese dressing, blue cheese crumbles, farm fresh tomatoes, with applewood bacon on the side). She had "flavorful and uh..." (her review) Stacked Wild Mushroom Enchiladas (sautéed mushrooms, spinach, and tomato with jack cheese and mole Verde, topped with sliced avocado, served with rice and black beans). I had the Bacon Jam Burger (8 oz burger, house made bacon jam, blue cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles, and chipotle mayo) with about 14 steak fries. Yes, I counted them. No, I am not the Count. Declan's service was excellent. Not sure why they have a greeter. She wasn't really happy or outgoing. She didn't really greet. She did eat lunch there, though. She's an eeter."

Jack Allen's Kitchen

★★★★☆ 4.4 • $$

"I was pleasantly surprised when the first thing the waiter did was leave a plate of the pimiento cheese appetizer. This is what I was wanting to order and it's like he read my mind! It was a small portion, though, so I still had a big appetite and ordered the spinach gorgonzola pasta. It paired so well with the dipping bread and I wished for never-ending pasta. Of the several entrees we enjoyed, this was my favorite entree of the meal. The migas were Texas style, making them different from traditional Mexican migas. Jack Allen's Kitchen cooks them with giant tortilla chunks the size of nacho chips. I was a little disappointed by this, but the flavor was decent. The chocolate dome cake was small with an extremely rich flavor. I was glad I shared it with my family. I will return to Jack Allen's Kitchen!"

Stella San Jac

★★★★☆ 4.1 • $$

"Hospitality was amazing and so welcoming, finally a place that gets it when you are dealing with people. Everyone and especially Matt, Jazz and Becky are so good and make for a great experience here. Absolutely a must for brunch (my visit was on a Sunday).My order was the All American breakfast and everything was prepared perfectly. Matt was very impressive with his knowledge of the menu and his responsiveness. Jazz is amazing so helpful and made me feel at home. Becky has the biggest heart and welcomed me with open arms. I'm so happy I had brunch here. In the future I'm sure they will offer Huevos rancheros!"

Terry Black's Barbecue

★★★★★ 4.5 • $$

"What an experience that was! The brisket was so amazing!! At the end, we went back to where it's being cooked and the guy that works there was explaining the process! They have people working around the clock 24/7 to make sure if amazing as it is! We got pork ribs and sausage and brisket! I don't eat pork but had the brisket and it was AMAZING! I loved it! The line was so long but was so quick and so organized! It's amazing! The sides, Mexican rice was good, max and cheese and the corn! All good additions! But the brisket was something else!!I'm glad our friends took us here! I have to say best brisket that I have ever had! So worth the try! I would do it again!"

Fixe Austin's Southern House

★★★★☆ 4.1 • $$$

"Southern Fixe is a gem in Austin that knows how to serve up Southern Louisiana comfort. My visit was made even better by the accommodating staff, who went above and beyond to ensure we had everything we needed. Their warmth and attentiveness added to the overall experience. They accommodated us with deviled eggs which was whipped and dressed to perfection.The highlight of the meal was their biscuits--soft with a perfect crumble, paired with whipped butter and apple preserves. It was the ultimate fall comfort food, simple yet bursting with flavor. I also tried the Brussels sprouts, and they did not disappoint. Cooked to perfection, they were glazed with a sweet sauce that had just the right amount of heat. This "sweet heat" flavor made the dish standout. The fish and chips dish was okay, but only because I'm not the biggest catfish fan. Otherwise it was well seasoned and the fries and hush puppies were great.Southern Fixe delivers both in food and hospitality, making it a must-visit for anyone looking for Southern classics done right. I'll definitely be back!"