Reviews & Ratings for Austin Pizza Garden

02/02/12

A not-so-thin crust of deep-dish scorn.

by WillTaggart at Citysearch

When first my eyes settled upon the faint visage of the “Austin Pizza Garden”, glimmering like a dream-sung Olympus on the horizon, I could have wept with joy. I saw salvation for my wearied body that, at the time, was wracked with famine nigh unto breaking. I had struggled through a night of assisted insomnia and Bacchanalian over-indulgence that had left me exhausted, head sore, and desperately in need of nourishment. However, the first ominous chords of discontent echoed through the Austin air when I found the doors locked, despite the establishment ostensibly having opened five minutes previous, at least according to their printed declaration. I soon found that the written word means nothing to the Philistines at the Austin Pizza Garden. Their menu proudly declared an offering of “Stromboli” which I was nonetheless denied. They claimed they had “run out”, and yet they had just opened. Was this an odious untruth, or simply carelessness on the part of the staff tasked with stocking the day’s fare? In any case, my troubles were only beginning. I finally settled upon a small pizza, hoping my initial enthusiasm could be reinvigorated by the speedy delivery of the mortal equivalent of heavenly ambrosia. Sadly, that dream would, in time, die too. I waited for several minutes before being asked what I had ordered a second time. I waited while they “warmed the oven”. I waited for as long as a man can wait. The seconds dripped away like ichor and with each passing moment my pangs of hunger grew and worse still, my soul withered with dashed anticipation, caught in a limbo from which there would be no harrowing.

When I finally received my “pizza”, I again felt myself on the verge of weeping, but now with sorrow. The “sun dried” tomatoes would have been more aptly described as “sun-burnt”. Somehow still soggy despite being scorched. The prosciutto ham was marbled with an intricate network of sinew that left it nearly inedible. The cheesy topping was scattered haphazardly about the surface of the disc, lying in great clumps or lacking so conspicuously that tomato sauce oozed through gaps in the coverage, in places cheese dripped off the very edge of the pizza, dangling into an abyss. Despite these shortcomings, I acquiesced to the greater impetus of my still un-sated hunger and attempted to consume the abomination. My first sensation was of the cursed triangle simultaneously scalding my tongue and oozing a chill and viscous sauce. The pizza had somehow managed to mimic the temperature wizardry of the proverbial hot pocket. The bottom was not just burning hot; it was burnt to a crisp like a Dresden art museum. I simply could not continue eating that anathema. Against my general nature, I resolved to return the grizzled carcass of a meal that I had been served. My request met only ire and flippant dismissal. Too weary from hunger to press the issue, I gave up, and determined to leave empty handed. I had given the Austin Pizza Garden the last full measure of my dining devotion, and found my desperation and determination to be insufficient to overcome the slapdash apathy and malice of the establishment. I stumbled into the street poorer and still hungry. The light of the Sun near blinded me. I fell to my knees on the sidewalk and felt as if the very hands of death were seizing me, and I welcomed that embrace after the torment I had suffered at the far less hospitable hands of the Austin Pizza Garden.

Good Cheesecake though.

01/26/12

Great Pizza!!

by Bma1003 at Citysearch

The pizza is amazing! ...the crust is thin and crispy, definitely the best pizza crust I've had. Great place too!

05/13/10

Worst Service Since I've Been To Austin

by rgvtxguy11 at Citysearch

I'm not one to write reviews, I never feel compelled enough to do so, however the service (and I use that word in it's loosest terms) in this restaurant was horrific. The entire restaurant was empty except for about 4 or 5 staff members who were gathered in the bar area reading and lounging around. When my brother and I entered, we were told that our server would be "right with you".

About 10 minutes later, the same woman who said that, finally sat us down. She returned 10 minutes later to take our drink orders and took another 10 minutes to bring the drinks. After about another five minutes of waiting for her to return and take our order, we had had enough. We dropped a five and walked out. If this restaurant would have been packed to the rim, maybe we would have understood the time issue, but there was absolutely no other patrons when my brother and I arrived. Beyond that, when we did leave, we saw our waitress reading in the corner, with her feet up on the next chair. Ridiculous.

After hearing all the great things about this restaurant I feel like I lost 30 minutes of my life to a big waste of time: be warned, stay away.

• Pros: None
• Cons: Staff

12/13/09

Don't waste the trip!

by Hurricane at Citysearch

I didn't know it was actually possible to mess up a pizza....I could have done better in my own kitchen. First, we waited over 20 min. for service and had to go get the staff to take our order. They had numerous staff persons and only 4 patrons in the whole place. Many of the staff were gathered around the TV in the bar area. Once we ordered, it took forever to arrive to our table. We got the Collosus, it was dry (no sauce) and the crust was like cardboard. A Totinos from HEB probably would have been better. The high marks.... the building was a neat old historic building but they had a roaring fire blazing. So I had to sweat as I ate my pizza since they sat us close to the fireplace. The beer was reasonably priced but I'm not sure I got the Fireman's #4 I ordered. With the options in Austin, I would not return nor would I recommend this place to anyone.

• Pros: historic building
• Cons: poor service;bad pizza

07/30/08

Delicious! Great price!

by gumdrops334 at Citysearch

I went here after a long day in the sun at Hamilton Pool. It just looked like some small, unknown pizza place, so our expectations weren't very high. When we sat down, it was so cute inside, and felt like a genuine Texas place. The pizza is freaking delicious, and they have $7 pitchers of draft Shiner Bock!! They're prices are amazing, and I can't wait to go back.

• Pros: prices, quality, cute
• Cons: none

04/28/08

Great pizza from an Austin Original

by welleducated at Citysearch

The pizza was fantastic! Staff and atmosphere good too!!

Really enjoyed the food along with the cold beer

• Pros: taste was great!
• Cons: none

06/26/07

Great Building, Great Atmosphere, Great Pizza!

by babydais at Citysearch

I recently ate at Austin Pizza Garden with my boyfriend and it was fantastic. Waiter was great and very friendly, pizza (especially the cheese and crust) was phenomenal. I'll definitely be back soon, I want to try some of pie combinations they have on the menu.

• Pros: pizza (cheese, dough, fresh ingredients), ambience, price
• Cons: sort of out-of-the-way, but worth the trip

03/31/07

Move over Gatti's! This is the best pizza in town!

by poochie1 at Citysearch

Wow! I was just in there tonight, it was busy. I got put on a waiting list for about 20 minutes, but we didn't mind. The host staff took good care of my party. They served us drinks at the bar and kept checking to see if we were alright, and they had a lobby full. Somehow they managed to keep everyone happy. We got sat and order drinks and had a good time. Our server was excellent! We ordered salads that came out as fast as the server could put the order in. It was just perfect timing! We had finished our salads and our server had given us plates for the pizza and said the pizza was getting cut and on its way. We had the #2, forgot the name, and a #5. Both were awesome! Very unique crust. None that i have very had before. My recommendation for those is to try the Austin Pizza Garden. It was a wonderful experience and a very homey pizza joint! Forgot to mention the ambiance that makes you feel very welcomed. Also it is said to be haunted which makes it a cool place to eat. I will be dining there again.

01/25/07

What a huge disappointment! Who is runnning this place Dumb and Dumber?

by sendittojeff at Citysearch

WoW! What a huge disappointment!

First night we went , we waited 40 minutes only to have our waitress tell us that the Kitchen staff had burned our Pizza, ( that?s cause the game was on in the bar and the Kitchen staff was standing around watching the game.) The second time we went in, we were told that they had to remake our Pizza because the Kitchen Staff had dropped it on the floor. So what can I say, Is this the Pizza the Best? The toppings and sauce are wonderful but the crust is hard and tough like it had been over worked. Would I go back? No cause the place has been jinxed for us. P.S. Could somebody do something about that tacky CD Player sitting on Fireplace Mantel. Ok so this place isn?t 5 star dining but come on guys get it together. It?s a shame what stupid mistakes and lack of attention can do to a restaurant.

• Pros: Great Building
• Cons: Poorly run and the crust is hard as nails

01/19/07

Enjoyed the Lunch Special Pizza

by bspmanic at Citysearch

I recently ate lunch here with a friend. We both loved our pizza lunch "specials". I had the cajun which just sounded good and was well, even better than expected. The lunch size personal pizza was perfect. The service was very good and friendly. If I had a complaint it was that the salad was the "bag mix" variety which contained a majority of ice berg. The dressing was good though and overall we had a very nice time.

• Pros: Food and Service
• Cons: Iceberg lettuce