Roaring Fork

08/21/2008 Posted by tamm1919

There wine list is impressive, but that's about it. Service was on par with the type of restaurant it is, but the food is to expensive for the quality they claim to have.

Pros: Decorations

Cons: Not really anything bad, just not anything great.

08/19/2008 Posted by sheepmonopoly

The food is no doubt great here, but an addition to any dinner out is the people watching on the second level bar before or after dinner - a great location right on 7th and Congress to watch all kinds of people out and about. Apparently David Letterman eats here when he's in town, according to the Austin Star Map web blog.

06/07/2008 Posted by newaustinite

Having visited The Roaring Fork last year during a visit to Austin, we decided to take some friends there for dinner last night. Even though it was very busy, due to a show at The Paramount, we could not fault the service or the food. When I made the reservation, I asked for a table behind the bar, rather than the large dining room near the kitchen, I was told they were very busy, but they would see what could be done & true to their word we had the table that I had requested. Our waiter was very knowledgeable about all the dishes, including being able to answer our questions about certain things on the menu & his wine recommendation proved to be very good. The only comment that I have, was that it was very warm in the restaurant,. Having asked our waiter about this, he said that the air conditioning was controlled by the hotel, not the restaurant & unfortunately, due to the structure of the building, there was nothing that could be done. This did improve once the show started at The Paramount & it was a very warm evening outside. We will definately return & so will our friends.

Pros: Great food & service

Cons: Too warm in the restaurant

05/13/2008 Posted by dafiedla

After reading some of the negative reviews, I felt compelled to defend The Roaring Fork after my recent visit. My wife and I have an infant son, so nights on the town are few and far between. Her parents decided we needed some time to ourselves, so they came over and told us to get out. We chose the RF for dinner and we were far from disappointed. First off, the restaurant was packed due to a show next door at the Paramount. This didn't affect any of the staffs' personality. Everyone, (host, manager, bartender, and servers included), worked with an upbeat yet professional manner. We were lucky enough to find a seat at the bar and had a couple of incredible margaritas while we waited. The guys behind the bar really seemed to enjoy their jobs and never seemed to let the level of buisiness bother them. One of them suggested we try the lamb chops and fondue plate...Big thumbs up! Soon after this we were seated for dinner. Now the only complaint my wife COULD of had, is our table was behind the bar close to a plasma TV with the Spurs playing on it. Being the wise husband I am, I faced the other direction and nipped this problem in the bud. Our dinner from there was perfect. Our server was upbeat, knowledgeable, and not suffocating. I enjoyed the braised short-ribs via his recomendation and my wife had the enchiladas with jalapeno shrimp.(She's still talking about them) We also tried the green chili mac-n-cheese and tried to pry the recipe from the kitchen with unfortunately no luck. We finished with the apple pie ala mode and cleaned the plate. Over all a perfect dinner! Once again, I was shocked to read anything negative about the Roaring Fork. My wife and I will definitely be going back and would highly recommend it to any of our friends or family.

Pros: Big thumbs up! Service matched the excellent food

Cons: I'd be reaching if I tried

04/23/2008 Posted by Stephdee

My husband and I love to dine out and we chose the Roaring Fork last night. It was fantastic! The staff was energetic and the food to die for. I had the tuna and my husband had a filet. They were extremely busy, which made for great energy. We were having so much fun we stayed in the bar after dinner for cocktails. I would highly recommend the Roaring Fork to my friends.

Pros: valet, wide variety of menu options and good wine list

Cons: not cheap

04/17/2008 Posted by ActionTycoon

Alrighty, so I'd been there before and had a greaAlrighty, so I'd been there before and had a great time. Staff was friendly and food was superb. HOWEVER, this time for my 21st birthday, they were AWFUL. I had called a week ahead to make reservations and the girl was really nice and took my information and everything sounded great. The night we got there, there were no reservations. They seated my friends who had arrived ahead of time anyway and got a table for us. I was the last to arrive and the host was INCREDIBLY rude. He was like, “oh so you’re the birthday girl.” Very annoyed sounding. We were seated and it took about half an hour for our order to actually be taken. We got our food which was REALLY amazing. Very impressive. I ordered a margarita and he took my ID of course and what not. When it came time for dessert, they brought the dessert that said Happy Birthday to the wrong girl! AFTER he’d checked my ID to make sure I was 21!!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I am really upset and will probably call a manager to get a free dinner or something because that’s just insane. It also took about 45 minutes for the waiter to just bring our ticket after we were done with dinner. I was so angry.

Pros: GREAT food

Cons: HORRIBLE staff

04/15/2008 Posted by WestAustin

The food is very delicious, but the service is definitely not at par. Think about a place with an exquisite chef and student part time staff, then you will get the picture. Sometimes a lack of service or a certain edge to the service can be charming, but not in this case. They just plain don't care. I had a business dinner there. The waiter did not bother to bring us more bread or water when requested and the place was noisy. The whole atmosphere was not very conducive to the meeting. I guess they are getting enough business from the capital so that service does not matter much. So go there for the food, but not for the service.

03/06/2008 Posted by Deneason

My wife and I visited The Roaring Fork on a whim Wednesday evening. It was one of the most disappointing dining experiences I have ever had. The filet my wife chose was extremely small, thin, tastless and overcooked. The shallot whipped potatoes she ordered with her steak were obviously left over from the night before, and tasted like instant. I had beef ribs that were greasy, overcooked & almost unedible. However the asparagus I had was flavorful and properly cooked. The service was adequate although it would have been nice to know the bottled water I had was $8.00! And the worst part is we could have gobe to Ruth Chris... but we wanted to try something new. It was a $100.00 lesson we won't soon forget!

02/20/2008 Posted by lesrhea

I ordered lunch from the Roaring Fork today; I have been for dinner and it was lovely. Today, on the other hand, was awful. The bartender was unfriendly when I arrived. He handed me the bill and went to check on my order. I put cash in the book and set it on the bar. The bartender returned and handed me my food, looked in the book and walked off. I waited for a couple of minutes to see if he had any intention of giving me change, when it seemed that he didn't I just left (it was only $2). A few minutes later the manager calls my office and leaves a message saying that I had left the restaurant "without bothering to pay for my order" and that I could call back and pay over the phone. I called and said that I had given cash to the bartender. The original manager called back a couple of minutes later and said they found the money and thanks for calling. My issue with this is that they all but accused me of stealing and when they figured out they had made a mistake they didn't bother to apologize. I will not be returning to the Roaring Fork; There are too many other restaurants with great service.

Pros: Food is decent

Cons: Management lacks decorum

11/07/2007 Posted by emaxwell79

It was my first trip to Austin, and my fiance and I went into the Roaring Fork on a Monday night. I was extremely impressed. The service was impeccable from start to finish. The hostess was very nice even though we didn't have a reservation. The wine sommelier came over to present our bottle of champagne personally. The cornbread was amazing! We shared the New Mexican Fondue for an appetizer. After we used all our dipping material, I took the cornbread from our bread basket and started dipping it into the fondue! The brownie dessert was the perfect size for sharing since neither of us had a lot of room after the dinner.

Pros: Service, food, value