Carlos' & Charlie's

nice place with nice staff

by cdubsacks

I found this place when i moved to austin a couple years ago. Since then I go in for happy hour and lunch sometimes. Never had a problem with the food, the cheeseburgers are my favorite in town. B.S. with the bar staff and the day manager often. forget the oasis I will never go back, This is the place for me to relax!

• Pros: view and happy workers
• Cons: not actually in mexico

Fun night with friends!

by LA Lady

Went to Carlos & Charlies to meet friends & had a great time! Enjoyed the food, party atmosphere & the band! (newcomer to country music Brian Winfield & band put on quite a show) Lots of fun people (all ages) were there. Service was good, nice waitress, & friendly staff. Want to

go back another time & see the sun set on Lake Travis.

• Pros: Love Lake Travis
• Cons: Laid back so don't be in a hurry!

Your usual lake side dining

by unrulyJulie

We live by the lake and I have noticed lake people move on a different schedule. So do not go to CNC (Carlos and Charlies) if you are in a hurry, the food is not fast but drink service is great. I have found every waiter or waitress there to be very nice, fix things that were wrong, they are just moving at a lake (slow) pace.

Stick to beer and wine as I agree with other reviews that the drinks are weak and a little on the expensive side. They do not have good wine, but its drinkable.

Order an appetizer the moment you are seated. Frog dig with chips is good and comes fast.

Have low expectations on the food and you will be happy. While I saw some reviews saying the food was expensive, its actually reasonably priced food for a lake place.

If you want great food on the lake at a reasonable price with lake views, go to Iguana Grill. But it doesn't have the party atmosphere of CNC although it does have good live music.

If you want fantastic views, go to the Oasis (where drinks are overpriced and food is too and so so food). fun, but because there isn't lake access its a different sort of dressed up place, you wouldn't show up here after a day of partying on the lake without cleaning up first. It is also full of tourists as it is famous for its sunsets.

If you want good food and are willing to pay more cafe blue is really good, but it is a more calm atmosphere and I have never seen live music here. you can drive up with your boat and look kind of messy and still fit in.

All these places are family friendly, but don't sit at the bar area with your kids and expect it to be family friendly, we take our kids to all these places.

I enjoy CNC but my expectations are exactly right on what to expect.

• Pros: fun place at a different pace
• Cons: expensive, so so food if you dont order right, lake pace

Worst Lake Food and Expensive

by ilovemulligans

The only thing i like about this place was leaving. yeah the deck is kinda cool but between the price of the crappy food and the average service i was less than impressed. I have worked in the service industry pretty much all my life and this is far from the 2nd best place in austin

Best Birthday Ever

by atxdarling

I recently moved here from out of state and was told I had to go out to Carlos n Charlie's... I was not let down, even though it was really cold we had a great time! Our waitress was great and spent time with us, giving us tips on other austiny things to do. She recommended we try their Chicken Changatas, I was surprised, she didn't suggest the most expensive items, she suggested what was good!!!! The dipping sauce was the bomb too!

I would recommend it to anyone, the views were unbelievable, the atmosphere and staff were awesome, the band was good too!

• Pros: Great Views, Staff, and Atmosphere
• Cons: Far away from Downtown