07/24/09

Decent healthy food, bad experiences

by jonbolden

I live in Hype Park and used to frequent Mother's cafe. I was usually by myself. The last seven times I've been there, I'm almost always treated with contempt. I assume it's because i'm alone and their tip is going to be less than a big table. I like to go there for tea and dessert sometimes and I always get a dirty look or forgotten. One time, I waited almost 45 minutes for food and it wasn't busy at all. And I was really nice about it, but they didn't seem to care. I'm tired of the attitude. Too bad, the food is pretty good.

• Pros: Healthy, wide selection, peaceful
• Cons: Rude Snobby Staff

12/04/08

If you like veggie food this is pretty good

by universeman

Dive-like atmosphere but pretty good food. I'm really writing this primarily to test out Facebook Connect...

• Pros: creative menu
• Cons: veggie only

11/28/08

Nice food, really lousy service

by WhatWouldKeithRichardsDo

I've gone to Mother's twice now, and each time I have seriously considered not going there again. My first visit was for brunch with a friend. Our waitress was such a snot - typical Austin tattooed girl, hair in a bandanna, who disappeared for long stretches of time (we didn't even get a coffee refill once), and when she did grace us with her presence she projected an attitude that we were intruding on her day somehow. But, the food was good, and its close to my house, so a couple of weeks later when a group of friends rolled into town (with about half being vegetarian), I figured I'd give Mother's another shot. We walked into the place and immediately we were given attitude by the staff. Granted there were 8 of us so perhaps they were incensed that we didn't call first, but I still can't believe a restaurant would be so ungracious for that amount of business, especially in the late afternoon when there were only a few other customers in the place. And oh, lucky us, we got the same snotty waitress. No friendliness, no coffee refills, no checking back in with us after we got our food. One of my friends even remarked, "Are they actually giving us dirty looks?" Oh, and we found a very long hair in our salsa. So, I'm not sure what to say. The homestyle vegetarian food is nice, but I don't think its worth the attitude a third time.

• Pros: Nice homestyle vegetarian food
• Cons: Expensive, snotty waitress, bad service

09/22/08

Best Lasagna EVER!

by heatherinaustin

I have been going to Mother's Cafe & Garden for almost 10 years. The atmosphere is really relaxed, the patio garden is peaceful to eat in. The prices are totally reasonable and you leave STUFFED.

The veggie lasagna has nuts and spinach and is so creamy I crave it constantly.

There can be lines, so be prepared to possibly wait a few minutes, but it is well worth the wait...

• Pros: Vegetarian, incredible food

07/22/08

flavorless and overrated

by thewiz

horrible. thats it... one word. HORRIBLE. over priced and bland. i ordered a tempeh sandwich and i dont even think it was cooked. anyone who knows anything about tempeh knows that its got to be steamed or boiled for at least 20 min or your body has a hard time digesting it. it seems more like a place to be seen or something for trendy dieters who know nothing about vegan or vegetarian cuisine to go. very unimpressive. not to mention my wife got "sick" there about 3 years ago. how do you get "sick" at a vegetarian restaurant? leave this place for the trendies if you actually know anything about a veggie diet.

06/01/08

A lovely breakfast

by conjunction3

Upon entering the restaurant, i smelled the amazing aroma of pancakes and waffles. I saw many an eggs benedict and plates full of delicious migas on the way to our table. The layout of the house is so quaint and aesthetically pleasing, casual yet chic. I ordered a field green salad with grilled goat cheese, granny smith apples and homemade rasberry vinagarette...which was soo good. I also has a cup of veggie soup straight out of the garden and a jalepeno cheddar cornbread muffin...yummm. My father got a waffle, which was ok,,,but his cheese grits were delicious. A table close to ours got an order of french toast which turned out to be what i smelled when i first arrived...I know what ill be ordering next time. Love this place, plesent setting, music, people...highly recomended. Don't get the waffles, they were just ok, as waffles often are. I wouls recomend an eggs benedict, migas or the french toast...and cheese grits for sure.

04/15/08

Disappointing Service

by squiddygoodness

This was my first bad experience at Mother's...but it was bad enough to think twice about not going there again. The service was simply atrocious. The waitress took forever to take our order and then she seemed to disappear for a really, really long time. When she was around, we couldn't ever get her attention. Nothing got refilled, our order wasn't right but instead of fixing it she just stamped off to yell at the kitchen and then didn't return again until she gave us our check.

• Pros: Vegan and Vegetarian Food
• Cons: Horrible Service

03/31/08

The food is average but the service is HORRIBLE

by austinlover22

I keep trying to give Mother's a chance to change my perception, but the waitstaff continues to disappoint. As far as the food goes, it's pretty average. I haven't found anything phenomenal and nothing has been horrible. The menu items are pretty standard vegetarian/vegan dishes, there's plenty of room for creativity.

The waitstaff is terrible. It consists of a bunch of hipster kids who try harder to portray an image than to serve the customers. The last time I was there was the last straw. The server actually walked away while I was in the middle of ordering. I was picking a wine and he just walked off without saying anything. I've had bad service there before. They are just slow in general and don't seem to like their jobs. Even when they're not busy they act as though the customer is an inconvenience. I'm pretty easy to please too. I don't consider myself to be a high-maintenance diner. I usually pick things straight from the menu and rarely make complaints. There was absolutely no reason for the waiter to have an attitude, but he was rude through out the entire meal. I will not be going back.

There are plenty of places that offer vegetarian/vegan options for diners. I would never subject friends or family visiting to that sort of attitude. I would recommend trying the others over Mother's to anyone visiting Austin.

• Pros: Lots of options for vegetarian/vegan diners
• Cons: The attitude from the waitstaff

03/29/08

One of the best Vegetarian restaurants: Gotta try it!

by chemgirlle

Mother's is one of the best vegetarian restaurants in Austin. It has been around a long time, and for a very good reason.

You cannot argue with the quality of food they serve. I'm a meat-eater myself, but when I eat here, there is nothing lacking in substance and flavor. The lasagna is superb...try finding a recipe for lasagna that has pecans in it! Not out there, I looked!

The first course, a salad dressed with cashews and a talamari/soy sauce viniagrette is perfect.

Barbecued tofu is another gem. However, I can only comment on the dishes that I have tried. I understand they have vegan desserts, which can be important on a special day like a birthday, for example. Ambiance is great, and service is personal and prompt.

03/17/08

Great vegetarian food!

by e893

My roommate and two guys friends went here Sunday night and loved it! Not only was our server nice and dealt with the two guys we were with(we hadn't told them beforehand that it was vegetarian only) but she was very understanding of our unfamiliarity with the menu. Great vegetarian food and atmosphere.