Tree House Italian Grill

07/12/2008 Posted by ditter05

If the perfect romantic, fine dining experience with good food is what you're looking for.. .search no further. This has been one of my favorite locally owned restaurants since their doors opened. The huge oak patio dining area was a nice addition. Everytime I visit, there is something new and updated.. .yet, the menu has remained with the same quality & consistency. Service is outstanding. A little slower on weekends or when a band is playing.. .so just bring a good date or friends and enjoy the atmosphere. Don't tell too many of your friends about this place - I'd like it to remain one of the best kept secrets in Austin!

Pros: Quality of food, service, price, ambiance, cleanliness, location.

Cons: Too far from Lakeway.

06/21/2008 Posted by fenixxishot

My girlfriend and I greatly enjoy Austin Italian food and have been to many amazing and poor restaurants around town. This is what I can say about Tree House, take it or leave it, I am just trying to explain my visit. We were greeted promptly and decided to sit outside which was a good idea because they had a great small band playing the only downside were the flies which really was not their fault. The staff was amazing the busboy was quite funny and was more or less like a second waiter. It was really nice it seemed as if the entire staff helped each table to ensure drinks were full and bread was on the table. Now comes the reason for only three stars and to tell you the truth the rating should be two. The food was really not very good, again, I am just saying how I felt. I ordered fried calamari which was alright but was a bit cold and for the main course I had veal marsala which was very bad. My girlfriend had chicken Parmesan which not better than any Carino's or Olive Garden dish. The side spaghetti and sauce was just like out of the 2 dollar bottle at HEB. Overall you will be better off going to a chain Italian restaurant. The atmosphere and staff were excellent better than almost any place I have ever been but the food was just not very good and thats all I can say. Oh I would consider going back but would definitely get another dish maybe it would be better.

Pros: Staff and atmosphere

Cons: food

05/10/2008 Posted by jaybird255

I swear the negative reviewers smoke rock. I've seen negative reviews on CitySearch about the best places and best people in town. This should not be considered remarkable, because I believe people want to see others fail. In any event, the table bread is okay at the TreeHouse. The veal marsala has, by far, the best flavour of any marsala I have had anywhere, and I order marsala whenvever it is available at any restaurant in the country. The New York marsala was not as good as this, the the marsala in Little Italy in Boston was not as good as this. Also, the marinara on the pasta was FABULOUS. In contrast to other psychotic reviewers, the service was really good, and the stone walls of the restaurant were really pretty and romantic.

Pros: Best Marsala On The Planet

Cons: Table Bread Only Fair

08/29/2007 Posted by kriss70

I liked the over all look of the place and setting. The food was good nothing to special. I thought maybe they would offer something a little more specials. So yeah no specials. And the manger seemed very aloof or like he was some Italian mobster sent here to hide out. I did not feel welcomed what so ever from this guy.

06/25/2007 Posted by ams21

I have had Tree House ranked in my top 5 italian spots in Austin for sometime now. The food is delicious, and consistant with taste each time. However, since Tree House made my top 5, I have been raving about it to my Mother. I was finally able to take her on Friday for lunch! I was so excited to show her the atmosphere, and just relax - and in turn, all we received were complete frustrations, and utter disbelief. I'm a restaurant manager and sometimes feel that I'm overly critical on service and overall experience, however this was possibly the worst ever! There were maybe 2 tables in the restaurant when we arrived at the door, without a host, NO smiles gleaming toward us, NO one saying hello, good afternoon, welcome to tree house, screw off, or ANYTHING besides.... "how many?" I smiled of course with an eyebrow shrug as if I was confused, but I was SHOCKED, and said with a small giggle, 2 please. The gentleman attempting to seat us, forcefully "grabbed" two menus, still without any eye contact, turned quickly around, and walked so fast to the table, I heard my Mom behind me say, "is it a race?" Slamming the menus down, walking away, of course, luck would have it, he was also our server. Drinks?? Is how he asked us. I was about to walk out by this point, but was so baffled I wanted to stick around for this show. He brought the drinks to us, and never returned, UNTIL, i flagged him down for more bread that the bus boy brought us, as well as filling our drinks, and a another server bringing us our meal. When he returned with our bread that I had to flag for, he set it down, I heard him say something, I looked up, HE WAS ON HIS CELL PHONE TALKING - while serving our table. I have never! I was Furious beyond belief. My Mothers jaw dropped. Needless to say this was the worst service ever on record with me. I don't think I will go back, but I will order TO-GO the next time I have a craving. Matthew is the servers name.

Pros: FOOD!

Cons: Matthew the server! He needs to be in a cubicle doing data entry, AWAY from people!

06/13/2007 Posted by noteable

I had a great time here! I was told about this restaurant , it was better than i thought. Great food, service, oh the patio. We will be back!!!!!

Pros: All

02/20/2007 Posted by jlojan

I just recommend this place to everybody who wants to exprience a great food and service. Tree house is my first choice when it comes to italian food. I love it .

Pros: great

Cons: none

02/14/2007 Posted by smurfie

This was the worst dining experience ever. Our server disappeared for 30 minutes at a time, and our drinks were never refilled. We were told they were out of hot tea - and then watched as the table next to us got hot tea. A server saw our bread basket was empty, refilled our cup of olive oil - and then gave the basket of bread he was carrying to a different table, leaving us with a full cup of oil and NO bread to dip it in. I asked another server (yes, a third one) to bring us some bread. He did - 15 minutes later. And to top it all off, the food tasted like something from a Banquet frozen dinner. There was no way in hell this was worth the $30+ bill we ended up getting. This was our first time here, and it will also be the last. Avoid like the plague!

Pros: wine

Cons: service, food, everything else.

01/20/2007 Posted by smagilow

My husband and I thought this was a totally mediocre meal. We had salads, appetizers, two entrees and one dessert and we both agreed that it wasn't worth the money or the calories. For a similar price range, I would go to Romeo's instead.

11/21/2006 Posted by sthgblue

This food is hard to rate specifically, because it very much depends on what you're looking for in Italian food. If you like food that has a lot of flavors (some very strong, some not necessarily complimentary of others), and your idea of a good marinara sauce doesn't include basil, a pure tomato taste, etc. then you will probably like this restaurant. My mother is Italian, so I am admittedly hard to please when it comes to good Italian food. That said, here's what I thought...the calamari was breaded in something very dark, spiced heavily and had a very "fishy" taste. Neither my husband (who's not Italian) nor I liked it. My main dish was canneloni, and I couldn't even finish one piece of it--the marinara sauce was flavored too heavily and I thought it was horrible, and there was so much strong cheese on the top that it was overpowering. The flavors were so strong and contrasting that I couldn't stomach much of it. The bread that they give you was hardish and not of very good quality...and my husband had meatballs that were probably simply baked in the oven. In the end, neither of us will return...but I'm sure that plenty of people will because the tastes do appeal to some.

Pros: Prices, ambience, wait staff

Cons: food