Taylor County Taphouse — Restaurant in Abilene

The Taylor County Taphouse (TCT) is a semi regular place for us mostly because our experiences seem to waiver between fair and decent. Tonight was one of those nights we wish we could erase.

TLDR: extremely greasy burgers and a subpar oyster presentation leaves me concerned about the quality of the food at TCT. The service, fortunately, was awesome and much appreciated. Nice beer selection too.

Before I say anything else, our server Aaron was great. He was very attentive and took good care of us. Nothing about our experience was in his control.

TCT serves raw oysters flown in fresh from wherever they are sourced. These are a real treat here in the middle of West Texas. The issue is they serve them with roughly 4oz of prepared horseradish, an equal amount of cocktail sauce, your choice of hot sauce, and a bucket of saltines. Good grief! You might as well serve smoked oysters from a can! If you eat that much horseradish on a dozen oysters, your eating very expensive horseradish. Anyone heard of mignonette?

The burgers took the cake tonight though. I can handle a semi-greasy burger patty, but these were way past that. Not only were both my wife's and my burger dripping grease (and I'm not confusing it with juice here), our lettuce was greasy! The "rings of Saturn" red onion rings were greasy. There was Mayo oozing out of the soggy bottom bun. Honestly, my stomach still rolls thinking about that gut bomb. I cannot recommend the burger at TCT.

It will probably take some time to work my nerve up to go back which is a shame because TCT did a really great Octoberfest last year. I'll be torn to miss it this year, but scared of what to expect considering this most recent visit on a Friday night.

Beer selection at TCT is pretty decent, and I was pleasantly surprised to see Avery Maharaja on tap. If you're thirsty and not too hungry, it may be worth...

9pm on 3/19. The food (CFS mash was COLD) is good (chili pork loin a little overdone and dry good flavor though) but the service is TERRIBLE!! I dont know our waitresses name but she had long dyed red hair. Watched her stand in the back or behind the bar talking to other servers 90% of the time we were in the restaurant! She had the audacity to return to her tables and say "sorry about the wait". I think she had just 2 or 3 and the restaurant as a whole was practically dead. Couldnt get most of what we asked for like a tea to go or lemons for the water. I had a question about my drink (bloody marys come with no bacon or celery but just as expensive if ordered at times other than brunch!) and had to walk to the bar myself because it was clear she wasn't coming back. She never returned to ask how the food was and even sat down at a table with another employee to chat for a while. It even seemed as though they were shooting us dirty looks??? There was a short young man waiting the larger table across from ours. I think he made 3 times the number of trips to his table if not more.

Prior to this I had an instance where a bar tender copped a NASTY attitude when I couldn't recall what drink I'd gotten last time I was there. Basically acted like a snarky little teenager. It was completely uncalled for. He was left a nice message on the receipt and a penny. Too many bad attitudes here!!

Not sure whats going on with management, but there is a breakdown somewhere. At brunch the staff does ok, but in the evenings its terrible. Maybe they simply dont care that their servers behave this way? This isnt a cheap place to dine so such poor service is really unacceptable. I encourage them to check out the management model employed at the beehive down town because they are...

I visited Taylor County Taphouse yesterday with a friend, and the experience was deeply disappointing and frustrating from start to finish.

We ordered the Salmon entrée, an Egg appetizer, and the French Dip. After placing our order, we waited over 20 minutes for the food to arrive. In the meantime, we politely requested some bread while we waited, only to be told there was none available. We then inquired about the availability of French toast, and upon confirmation, we decided to order one.

The Salmon, which was priced at nearly $32, was requested with a substitution of mashed potatoes in place of rice, and a salad as the second side. When the dish arrived, we were extremely underwhelmed. The portion of salmon was shockingly small and poorly prepared—it was overcooked, dry, and unpleasantly tough to chew. The herb salad was merely a couple of spoonfuls, lacking any substance. I’ve tried salmon at almost every reputable restaurant in Abilene, and this was, by far, the most disappointing—especially given the steep price.

To make matters worse, we were overcharged on the bill for the mashed potatoes (which were clearly a substitution, not an add-on) and the French toast. When we brought up these concerns to our server, she seemed indifferent and dismissive. We then asked to speak with the manager, hoping for a resolution, but her demeanor was even more unprofessional and condescending than the server’s.

This establishment clearly lacks basic standards of customer service and integrity. It feels like the primary goal is to take advantage of customers rather than offer quality food and respectful service. I would strongly advise others to avoid this place. It was a thoroughly unpleasant experience, and I will not...