Hyde Park Bar & Grill

11/02/09

Downhill - Quick?

by frfiv40 at Citysearch

What's happened to this once wonderful place? Has it been haunted by a ghost chef who thinks his/her fried chicken actually has flavor (tasteless breading, tasteless chicken meat). Has serving a roast pork in a bowl swimming in gravy become vogue? Try disgusting. Do you really not seat a party of three in a nearly empty restaurant when one party is running late? Do you then try to seat the party at the crossroads of the kitchen and bar, and upon protest seat them in a nearly empty room NEXT to the only other party in the room. And, unlike times in the past, the wait staff was well just .... okay.

• Pros: Fries
• Cons: Service, The Newer Dishes

08/09/09

Excellent Service, Great Food!

by CharlieTaylor at Citysearch

I've been a regular customer of the Duval location for several years, so I thought I'd see what citysearch thought of it. I was so surprised to read the previous review that I wanted to post my own. The management staff is always at the front door, ready to help in any way. The waitstaff is friendly and obviously enjoy working there, and the food is always exactly what you want . Also thier desserts are delicious. Try the bumbleberry pie!

• Pros: consistently delicious food, friendly staff
• Cons: sometimes you have to wait

07/08/09

Terrible Service

by dynamitemissj at Citysearch

Like many others, I USED to be a fan, until my most recent visit this past weekend. The food was tolerable, but what was the most unpleasant was the service. When we entered, no one greeted us, and when we were brought to our table, the host seemed irritated that he had to actually work. Actually, I would say that most of the servers had an irritable attitude. We felt this was strange, since we were not needy customers at all, only requested what we needed, like condiments and what not. No one smiled. This place just had an overall drab vibe to it. It wasn't the worst service of my life, but it was bad enough to make me never want to come here again, and I will also not recommend this to any of my friends, ever again.

• Pros: French Fries
• Cons: Service

03/10/09

Dishonest Establishment, too bad.

by AbneyFamily512 at Citysearch

I'm sorry to say, we had a very dishonest, first-time dining experience. The wait was ok, the food was good, but the customer service was below average, and to top it off, watch your receipts! This was very unfortunate, especially during these times. Someone in the restaurant added $2 to the total bill; assuming this was done on the tip section. Grant it, we left over 20% even for the original tip and this still occurred! We have had this happen before so we keep an eye out and sure enough, it happened here. It is not the dollar amount, but the principle of the matter. How very unfortunate since we will not be attending this restaurant again and I will not recommend it. As for management? We'll see. I'll be visiting the establishment with my evidence and in my opinion, all staff who are hired and work there are direct representatives of their organization so maybe more effort should be taken when interviewing and hiring.

03/10/09

A long-time Austin favorite

by SursumTX at Citysearch

Well, I've always gotten good food and good service here. I guess everyone can have an off-day. In any case, I recommend it. The Wom Kim peach pudding and the brownie dessert are to die for.

02/22/09

Lousy customer service - Top off with under cooked and luke warm food!

by lb108 at Citysearch

I had read so many great reviews on Hyde Park and Grill so I decided to give it a try (Westgate location). We had a short wait before the hostess came and showed us to a table. The waiter did not show up for at least five minutes and was not friendly at all. We spent more time waiting for him to show up than anything else. I could see him briefly standing around in the back. When our food arrived it was luke warm to say the least and my food was not cooked properly. Again - I had to wait until he decided to show up again to explain my food was not cooked properly. The food went to the kitchen only to come back cooked the same way. By this time, my daughter was almost done eating (note - how much time had passed). I told him I did not want to send this back to the kitchen again. There were no apologies - or would like to try something else on the menu. His attitude was totally tough. Marshall seemed like he rather be somewhere else rather than attending to our table. I felt like I was inconveniencing or cramping his day. Marshall - if I would not come to the restaurant you would not have a job. Oh - note - I would never recommend or go back to Hyde Park and Grill again. I had ordered a chopped steak dinner and my daughter had a fried egg sandwich with the famous fries. Neither of us thought the fries were all that. I like plain old french fries - crispy without batter. Food quality and temperature was a F and the outstanding - friendly service was no no where to be seen - another F. I would have to say among the worse restaurants I have ate and had service at in Austin. I also want to note the restaurant was very dirty and the place seemed very run down. My chair was stained and was wobbling so bad I thought I was going to fall to the ground. I think this place has seen its better days... go somewhere else.

• Pros: Parking
• Cons: Food, Service, Dirty Tables, Walls, Floor, Chairs, Stained Furniture

02/21/09

Fantastic!!!

by chellebelle007 at Citysearch

YUM! Great atmosphere, quick service and to die for food!! The Raspberry Margarita was delicious and in no way weak. The fried/sauce was killer... had the BBQ Pork Burger..delish! Great date night with hubby..will be back!!!!

02/14/09

The fries made us come back, the lack of kids is another draw.

by bohrer at Citysearch

I used to think this place was expensive when I was a broke grad student, but it's actually ok prices and I like that it's locally owned, in an old house in a regular neighborhood, with the best gellato outside of Italy right next door. The fact that it's NOT kid friendly is a plus for me, as I frequently I like to hang out with grownups. I don't mind well-behaved kids, but the fact that It's a BAR and grill, that ought to be a clue your 2 yr old is not the target customer demographic. The food is good, the fries are really special. Personally, I can't imagine paying money in a restaurant for an egg sandwich, certainly not 6.99 or whatever it is that is considerably more than the price of two breakfast tacos.

Sometimes the service has been really lousy at times, so bad we walked out after 15 minutes of noone even acknowledging our existnece after being seated, not a crust of bread, not a glass of water, no "we'll be right with you" or "we're really busy" (That would have been a lie, the restaurant was nearly empty). more than an hour before closing and vowed never to return, but we finally relented, because of the fries and the central location close to where we live, and they seem to have remedied that problem.

• Pros: Mainly adult diners, central location, magic french fries, next door to best gelatto place ever
• Cons: sometimes huge lines, cramped seating, service varies wildly depending on who's working at the time

The cozy ambiance and popular fries are the big draw at this Duval Street eatery.

by Contributor at Citysearch

In Short
The restaurant has made the transformation from hip-and-happening spot to neighborhood stalwart. It doesn't draw the young trendies anymore, but does seem to appeal to couples and groups of friends from the university and surrounding neighborhods. A hammered-copper bar anchors the retro interior, which is casual and comfortable, but plenty nice for a date. The menu at Hyde Park features burgers, sandwiches, salmon, fresh salads and home-style desserts. Prices are moderate, particularly given the high price of real estate in the area.

09/29/08

Not kid friendly

by KAdoremi at Citysearch

I actually went to Hyde Park South with a gift certificate from someone and ended up spending more than the gift certificate. We have a family of four, my children are 5 and 8. The kids menus were ridiculously expensive ($6) and didn't include drinks. They ordered lemonade, which was $2.50 each! (Not home-squeezed, either!) I'm sorry, but $8.50 for a 30 pound 5 year old is ridiculous! The gift certificate barely covered my kids meals plus tax and tip, and that wasn't including our meals, which were okay, but also expensive. You would think with the overall price of our four meals and one drink each, that we had eaten fine dining in a fancy hotel, not a "Bar and Grill!" We wil not be returning and do NOT recommend it for anyone with children! Most Austin restaurants have us spoiled with consideration to people with children, so we were shocked. Oh, I didn't mention that the food took FOREVER to come, which is also not good for small children!