Martindale River Cafe and Mercantile

Nice, quiet area. Sat outside on a beautiful morning. Friendly service. Ordered breakfast sandwich and MRC breakfast. Sandwich was very tasty. Eggs on MRC were over done, but toast and potatoes were good.

Just some darn good food at this chill little spot. It's a nice place to stop in for a bit.

Very nice place if you are in the area. It's a small town, so it a small town feel to the place. I'm from Martindale, I'm just so happy that I can go home and enjoy a meal and a beer downtown, where I used to run around and cause chaos as a youth. The menu looks pretty interesting, haven't tried any of the food yet, but we will. I really enjoy just being able to chill and have a beer. Looking forward to returning time after time. The staff is friendly, the place is super small, but plenty of room outside, on the front, or even across the street, where they have live music and other events.

I love this little place. The food is great, the staff is friendly and the drink selection is fantastic. We can't wait to come back again.

We stopped in on a weekend drive during Spring and were attracted by the crowd sitting outside and across the street where there are picnic tables. The inside is quite small, but very attractively remodeled in a historic building right in the center of Martindale.I had the Brisket Burger which apparently featured BBQ brisket from one of the famed Lockhart pit masters. It looked exactly like a hamburger, but was better than the best hamburger I ever ate--which is saying a lot since I am pretty long in the tooth. I am uploading a photo of its cross-section.My wife had the Chicken Banhmi. It was a bit too spicy for her, but the bite I had tasted pretty good.All-in-all, this might be the "jewel of Martindale" and close enough to Austin to justify a trip out for some variety. Traffic and parking were not a problem. While you're in the area, take the road down the steep embankment and across a wood bridge over the pristine San Marcos River. The sign says "Private," but that should be read as "dead-end" rather than "don't try this." It's right down the street from the restaurant.

Nice little spot with pretty good food, best interior, nice folks working there, and general good vibes.The inside is kind of narrow and can be crowded if it's a happening time, like when we stopped in. I dig the brick and plants.Everyone liked their food. Above average but not great or amazing or incredibly memorable. Just solid and worth a second visit if you're in quaint, cute little Martindale. I believe I had an adult grilled cheese? Hope I'm not confusing this meal with another - lulz - but everything else I said definitely applies to this place.Not a ton of choices right along Martindale's little main drag, so it's nice that this is a good one. Looking forward to the next stop in this little town that I predict will grow rapidly...

A nice little place in downtown Martindale. Very friendly, welcoming owners. Love their piped in music and decor. Menu is limited but everything we got , namely chicken bahnmi, fancy grilled cheese and pulled pork tacos were really good. They have live music on certain nights, Friday -Sunday(I think). We'll have to back and check that out.

Four of us had brunch at the cafe today. I've read all the reviews of how welcoming and friendly they are, but honestly that was not our experience. Wondering if the fact that we're seniors had anything to do with it. That's all we could come up with, since lots of other customers were being served with a smile and they weren't busy. We felt less than welcome, even though we spent approx $80. I will say the food was quite good.

Stopped in for breakfast on a weekday in June and so glad we did. We were the only ones there at the time so service was quick but not microwaved, thank goodness. I had the Sweet Avo Toast. Bread was good and crusty and the balsamic strawberry feta made such a nice combo. Hub got the breakfast sandwich and it was huge! We'll definitely be back when coming thru Martindale. Looks like they are ramping up the "downtown" area so I imagine things will get busier. They have live music on Thursday-Saturday nights too.

The presentation of the food was outstanding . My husband said the Buffalo Burger fantastic was better than a hamburger by far .Our server was very responsive to our needs . The cafe inside was clean , and beautiful touches . Had a lot of charm . Kept the old style yet it seemed modern ! Would call it new old :)