Thistle Cafe

Recommends

ashleylynnlewis

Joined 6 years ago

Fantastic menu, great service, comfortable atmosphere. My first Thistle experience was at the Davenport location a couple of years ago and I have been back almost every week since. It is hands down one of my favorite restaurants in Austin. Both locations (6th street and Davenport) are absolutley superb. My favorite item on the lunch menu is the spinach salad which is served with the freshest veggies, tender chicken, and honey dejon dressing that that melts in your mouth. The creation pasta is also a favorite of mine, for this menu item you get a choice of several different types of pasta, a few veggie toppings, a meat, and a sauce...mmm yummy! Really the best thing about Thistle is the variety of the menu, there is something for everyone, salads, sandwhiches, pastas, fish, wraps, steaks, burgers, you name it! I would eat Thistle everyday of the week if I could!

Doesn't Recommend

mlgm_b

Joined 6 years ago

Poor management & even worse customer service!. This is the most poorly managed and unprofessionally run restaurant I have ever been to. I scheduled my rehearsal dinner there 8 months in advance, and three weeks prior to my wedding was called and told they double booked my date. We were forced to move our party to the Davenport Village location, which was fine except most of our out of town guests needed transportation. In an effort to "fix" the situation, we were promised 2 buses to transport our guests, appetizers, the entire restaurant including patio, and an alcohol discount. This was accomplished through several conversations with the Chef who acted as if he was going out of his way to help us when he in fact created the problem. The week before we met to finalize details (to which the Chef was 30 minutes late) & were promised (for the umpteenth time), a signed contract - No contract ever arrived and on the day of ,only one bus showed up to pick up guests - we had people sitting on coolers in the aisle. When we arrived at the restaurant other people were dining on the patio, not enough seating was set up for our party and no discount was taken off the final bill. The owner acted completely unaware of any discounts to our bill and was not even apologetic for their error. Needless to say, we did not leave without rightfully settling our compensation, however for all the stress, last minute un-organization and rude treatment, it wasn't worth it. Had another restaurant been able to accomodate 80 people last minute, I would've gone elsewhere in a heartbeat. I will never set foot in one of the Thistle restaurants again, nor will I ever recommend them to anyone.

Doesn't Recommend

tracy_a

Joined 6 years ago

TERRIBLE SERVICE. Food was good--BUT the service was probably the worst I've had in Austin... and I've lived here 22 years!! The wait staff was great, but it was actually the manager/owner who really made the experience terrible. After a great meal, they had added charges to our bill so we asked to see the manager because we just had a question about it. She basically got mad as US, asking us who we thought we were to question her restaurant and her authority? She was extremely rude and unprofessional...hopefully this wasn't a race issue, but it could have been. Talk about a place I will NEVER go to again...and I'll definitely never recommend this to anyone, either!

Doesn't Recommend

sfa

Joined 7 years ago

these people could not care less. i tried to get a catering menu faxed for a client who was interested in booking a party for close to 100 people. was told it would be faxed right over. called back after not having received fax after well over an hour. hostess huffed like a 9 year old and told me that the manager was now on a conference call and would fax it when he had the time. i have heard mixed reviews about this place, but after the attitude i just encountered, i will pass.

Recommends

Contributor

Joined 10 years ago

It's very sleek, very elegant, very '60s, yet very cutting edge.. In Short
Thistle is reminiscent of the glory days of New York's Four Seasons. The olive-green-and-dark-brown palette highlights soaring ceilings, tranquil taupe and celadon walls and jazz piano setting the pace. A seviche of tilapia, scallops and shrimp marinated in tangy lime juice gets a nice kick from house-made salsa and puffy tortilla chips. Pepper-crusted ahi tuna is pink swims in olive oil, capers, kalamata olives and delicate haricots verts.

Doesn't Recommend

austinatty

Joined 9 years ago

customer service at its worst. On June 21, 2005, my opinion was forever changed. Although the food is consistently edible, and at times, very good, the counter help on this occassion was abominable. As we (4 attorney's) ordered our meal, the counter woman was condescending and rude. Instead of being polite and welcoming, she complained about how busy she was and instructed each of us on how we were to order our food (soup nazi anyone?). After my meal I requested a to-go cup to take some tea back to the office. She screamed at me in front of the entire restaurant that I would have to pay extra for a to-go cup. She was standing 30 feet away, and the every diner turned to see what the problem was. Long story short, not the kind of place that will ever get my business again. I would recommend you go elsewhere as well.

Recommends

cashious_chic

Joined 11 years ago

User review by cashious_chic. The atmosphere & decor is very chic, the food is good, but didn't blow me away. It's a good value for lunch if you work in the downtown area. Probably wouldn't be my first choice, but it is a nice restaurant.

Doesn't Recommend

aec9516

Joined 8 years ago

Ruined birthday dinner!. I regretably spent my birthday dinner here with friends recently. I can not express how disappointed we all were with this overall dining experience! The service was horrible and put a huge damper on the beginning of what could have been a great evening. I can not blame the server for all of our disappointment though, as you can tell that this restaurant is very, very poorly run by people who obviously do not know the service industry. Bad music, bright lighting, poor service and generic food. After being ignored for the better part of an hour (empty drink glasses, no orders attempted to be taken) we were also told at 9:15 that we needed to order since the kitchen was closing. What a shame!! Thistle is beautiful and could be one of the best restaurants in town if under the correct ownership/management!

Recommends

renko

Joined 9 years ago

Good food, at what price?. Bad overall experience: good food, good value and location, location, location! BUT owner is standoffish at best, the evening manager was rude last time I was there. I would not go back.

Recommends

supershine

Joined 9 years ago

great place to eat. this has been one of my favorite dining experiences in a long while. the service was great and they were friendly too. the manager(i think she was the manager)went out of her way to fit me in with reservations on valentines day. on top of that, the food was also very delicious. try the duck quesadillas as a starter. atmosphere was a plus.

over all i highly recomend this restaurant.