Magnolia Cafe

09/27/2007 Posted by austingirl112

I love this place. Simply put. Great food, great hours, fun servers.... My favorite 24 hour joint. ;)

04/06/2007 Posted by doublespanshack

All I have to say is- red potatoes for the home fries! They are delicious. I was afraid of the service from reading previous reviews. But my experience was very nice. I ordered an omelet not on the menu-avocado, bacon, cheddar, portabella- and they prepared it great to order with no hassles. I suppose if I had one thing to gripe about it would be thier coffee. Only because I like good gourmet coffee. Theirs is standard diner variety. Not bad, but considering the good food and great atmospere, they should have top notch coffee. They have a cool mural painted around the walls and a rotating art show, of local artists. Now that's cool!!

Pros: home fries, atmosphere, flexibility,

Cons: coffee not the best

02/04/2007 Posted by c_monster

I have never knocked a resteraunt online, ecspecially one catering to the sixth street go-ers afterhours, but I cannot let my experience at Magnolia Lake Austin go. After work, two of my coworkers and I went there for food. We were having a conversation and were'nt ready to order when the waiter came to our table, he aggressively told us that we needed to hurry and order because they were getting slammed (which never actually happened, the room was only 2/4 full). Then, he avoided our table , walking past us and averting his eyes, we had to wait another 15 minutes to order. When we finally ordered he told us we were getting too much food, that it was going to take a long time. I tried to place a to-go order with him so he could put the order in all at once, but he said we could worry about that later. He brought our food and the check at the same time so I never even got to order my to go food. And worst of all, some actual rude customers who WERE drunk, came and sat at our table. The waiter told the guy to move his chair out of the aisle, and when my friend told the waiter they were'nt in our party, the waiter yelled at her and said " I don't care he still can't sit in the aisle".He should have asked THEM to leave , but instead WE were treated rudely. Being in the service industry myself I know what it is like to deal with jerks, but I can differentiate between jerks and nice people and the waitstaff at Magnolia obviously no longer takes the time to do that. If you want late night snacks, go to Star seeds, they may have rude waiters too, but at least the musics better and they refill your coffee.

Pros: The woman who sat us was nice

Cons: Unfortunately , we did not get seated in her section

02/02/2007 Posted by jojobear

I have been eating at the Magnolia for 15 years now. I love going there at all times of day, and have tried items from every part of the menu. Of course some things are a lot better than others. The pancakes are the best in town and you can never go wrong with the Love Veggies. The service can be random but I always feel that at least the staff are trying. This is the kind of restaurant that appears to employ people who actually care about their customer's experience, but at times they seem to be run a little ragged. One of my favorite things about going there is the fact that the restaurant has really managed to maintain that "old Austin" feel. The clientelle spans all age groups and the atmosphere is eclectic. I've noticed a marked change in the past few years in the quality of items on their dinner menu, and highly recommend trying one of the daily board specials. It seems a little weird ordering something here that costs more than ten dollars, but I've been pleasantly surprised by the quality.

Pros: cheap tasty food in a casual environment

Cons: parking can be a problem and sometimes the music is too loud for me

02/01/2007 Posted by dupree

Your immune system maybe up to the task, but why risk it. For the heavy drinking, late night crowd or students, this is a great place. I was concerned with what I saw on my last visit. Utensils dirty, dropped food served, and staff uncleanliness. What I don't see in the kitchen can pass as the unknown won't hurt me, but out front with servers-yikes!

Pros: Open whenever you want it

Cons: Not clean

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful

11/18/2006 Posted by kpp58

if you must come here, stick to stuff that you know is easy to make: nachos, pasta, breakfast tacos, omelettes. don't be tempted by the fancier sounding stuff. good coffee.

Pros: coffee, eggs

Cons: all around a little on the blah side

10/20/2006 Posted by orangejulius

Lived in Austin 13+ years and don't get the popularityof this place? It's OK, just OK. Food has some good dishes and others that seem like they just lack a certain something--flavor perhaps? Service is my biggest complaint. Wait staff is the typical Austin slackers in those one size too small, proletariat brown t-shirts that always seem too cool to really care about good service.

09/08/2006 Posted by ekoester

They have one of the most creative uses of space at this restaurant. We came across a little bit of a wait, but I must say it was well worth it. Their staff is kept busy, but they're still friendly and on top of your order. You can't be a place that serves breakfast all day either.

Pros: Breakfast all day

Cons: Tight spaces between tables

07/31/2006 Posted by amill123

We ate at Magnolia b/c it was recommended as one of the best places to go in Austin. The restaurant does have that "Austiny" feel, but everything else was way below par. The food was not good at all - bland and boring. The waitstaff was not polite and seemed rushed even though there was no crowd. We were disappointed with the appetizer and the main dish - I recommend NOT wasting your time or money here. If you looking for something with that Austin feel, go to Kirbey Lane instead.

Cons: Everything About this Place

05/14/2006 Posted by krickettavalon

The best in Austin, where different social classes come together to feed and be fed...The food is always great, and the best part--No deep-fryer!!! Everything is grilled to excellence and the staff are all clean and cute! If you have a problem there, you are the one in a million, because they aim to please! The cooks are well-seasoned, and love what they do. The owner's classic old school Austin, and still shows up for dinner! It is a place to take your patience, as any hopping little joint in town, and well worth the wait!

Pros: healthy food, good service, no deep-fryer

Cons: parking in the rain, latenite =customers