Arlo Grey by Kristen Kish — Restaurant in Austin

Arlo Grey struggles to break out of the Hotel Restaurant stigma and with its inflexibility to properly accommodate their guests, it makes them appear to be a "Michelin Star Restaurant wannabe". Unfortunately with the poor and unyielding management, stubborn restaurant logistics, and while merely meeting the standard dining service; the food is decent but still not good enough to compensate those shortcomings.

Long story short, my friends and I went to Arlo Grey this past weekend to celebrate our friend's birthday; we had a party of 12 but didn't want to be forced into a prix fixe tasting menu because of the size of our party (prix fixe menus are for party of 8 and above). Not wanting to settle with a prix fixe menu is not due to financial reasons but mainly because Arlo Grey is still fairly new with inconsistent reviews, so the confidence level of the restaurant's ability to present a solid prix fixe menu is uncertain.

Anyways, we asked our party to be broken into 2 reservations/tables but must be seated as close as possible, which the restaurant gladly agreed that they will accommodate. When our party showed up at the restaurant, we did have 2 tables BUT the tables were in 2 separate areas in the middle of the restaurant - essentially.not.close.at.all. Here's the thing... the ability to have 2 tables close by one another was absolutely possible for the restaurant because Arlo Grey was only around 10% at its capacity when our party showed up. Even at it's highest capacity, it was still only at 60% full BUT Arlo Grey's Floor Manager insisted that by putting us close by one another will mess up the reservation (note: the table nearby went completely unoccupied for the full 1.5 hours!) and the efficiency of their food delivery and Kitchen. If simply changing table assignments could completely mess up the entirety of the restaurant logistics, then the biggest issue here is not that table assignment change BUT how poorly the restaurant is run/managed that it cannot even accommodate a fundamental guest service request.

It is time to face the reality that Arlo Grey is a Hotel Restaurant; definitely not anywhere near to a Michelin Star Restaurant, unfortunately still not close to a fine dining restaurant, so this unwillingness to properly service its guests to meet their needs is just not acceptable.

Our party's dining experience was disappointing (who enjoys celebrating a birthday at 2 far away tables...) but Chef Kish's effort on her menu and Kitchen is inarguable. The core message/storyline of her menu still doesn't seem as defined yet, but each dish still delivered a simple sweet message of her thoughtfulness in creating it.

It is not easy to write a hard review on a restaurant, especially one that is trying hard to make it. With this poor experience, I wanted to understand what the Chef is trying to carry out with her restaurant...in an interview, the Chef mentioned about "fine dining is to provide exceptional care, kindness, story and authenticity so the guests feel important and good..." Unfortunately, our whole party experienced a completely opposite sentiment... throughout our interactions with the restaurant, they excelled in valuing their own efficiency over the care of their guests. We did not feel valued and that definitely does not feel good.

If the Chef truly believes in what she says, then Arlo Grey must assess, reflect and improve because the standard right now is not going to make it. That restaurant location in the LINE Hotel by Town Lake is a prime spot that needs to be fulfilled by a prime dining experience; hopefully Arlo Grey can overcome its shortcomings and make it.

Note: Arlo Grey did offer only ONE of the two tables one free round of drinks (not even the birthday man table). While that effort is recognized, it is not what our party wanted. The main message still remains the same...please listen to your guests and understand their...

This was the worst dining experience I’ve had in Austin in 10 years. Mostly due to the service, but the food wasn’t much better. Three of us went to Arlo Grey expecting to be wined and dined in a beautiful upscale atmosphere on a quieter Sunday. We should have walked out after our first interaction with the server. TLDR: food was one note and subpar if it was edible at all. Our server was atrociously rude, condescending, and attempted to con us into over ordering (to pad the bill) and into ordering on his preferred pace on a slow night.

After declining to share a bottle of wine, opting for cocktails and glasses instead, and attempting to order an appetizer, our server Nicholas let us know that the menu was “family style small plates” and everything should be shared. We again attempted to order a first course explaining to him that we’d figure it out as we went. He told us we should order 5-8 plates and that everything needed to be ordered at once because of the “huge” table they had. At this moment, there was ONE other occupied table in the entirety of this restaurant. It had about 16 guests- a large group for any kitchen sure, but not as alarming when the only other table is a group of three hoping to order slowly. All three of us have spent other lives in restaurant service btw, both front and back of house in all kinds of restaurants and dining clubs around the country. We knew immediately he just wanted to fluff the bill and make as little work for himself as possible on a slow night. Nicholas, in addition to this weird con, was incredibly condescending. He went out of his way to ask if we were absolutely SURE we understood all the terms on the menu; he asked us this three times! When we ordered (five items, all at once, as requested), first he was sure to correct my pronunciation (incorrectly, I might add), before stating “well it’s not the order I’d have picked, but okay” and then “are we on all carb diet or something, ladies?” (presumably annoyed we didn’t order a steak). We were absolutely fuming at this point and squabbling about whether or not to alert the host and leave; we didn’t, unfortunately. When he brought the first available dish out, I’d had my cutlery and napkin arranged on either side of my plate, ready to use- he stopped before setting the food down and took the the time to deliberately pile all my cutlery and napkin onto my plate??? The plate I’m about to use?? OCD or truly weird power move, I don’t know. It was baffling. Staring at him while I immediately put everything back where I’d had it, this was a weird and uncomfortable moment for everyone. The first course to come out was probably the only truly edible thing we had that night (the fried steamed buns). Everything was very one note and not even half as decent as what we’d have otherwise created at home. The “lasagna” was so salty it almost read as spicy for a moment. No one touched that after an exploratory taste, and it was thankfully removed from the bill once dear Nicholas finally read the room. I am posting photos of how empty this restaurant was and how much food we had left over. We only took one item home, out of some misguided and last ditch effort to minimize the otherwise avoidable waste of food. The fusilli still wound up in the trash. It is not unusual for me to think that the Austin upscale restaurant scene is overrated compared to other cities. But this? This experience at Arlo Grey was appalling. I truly cannot fathom the positive ratings. Nicholas, you and your jk Rowling and Beavis and Butthead tattoos might be better suited for mixology at a pretentious speakeasy or a Dicks Last Resort- somewhere where people actually expect to spend money in public for people to speak...

Been a fan of Chef Kish since her appearance on the cooking competition shows. The creativity that she displayed on screen is apparent in the dishes served at Arlo Grey as well, more on that later.

In short, the cook on everything was perfect..pastas and proteins. ingredients were all fresh, and drinks were tasty. I did find 3 of 6 dishes ordered to be too salty. Other than that the service was spot on, everyone was attentive. The atmosphere was low key, with great spacing between tables..I personally would have like it a touch brighter but that's subjective. And would I come back again, well it would likely be for drinks and dessert (we left no room this time around). Cheers!

Service: Arlo Grey is located on the ground floor of the A-Line hotel..walk through the front doors and co tinue straight ahead. We were quickly created by the host and hostess with a welcoming feel and seated at our table immediately, I did have a reservation. There is a nice bar area with seating available at the bar and some high top tables nearby, which is where we were seated. Once seated, water was poured in our glass..and kept filled throughout the evening. Our waitress came around shortly after after we were situated and explained the menu some and the ideal dining experience, family style (sharing plates). She was knowledgeable and happy to answer my questions we had in regards to dishes and drinks.

Atmosphere: The decor and design of the space was elegant but a bit dark to my taste. I like a slightly brighter setting to see the cook of the protein and vibrant colors of the ingredients used for the dish, but that's just me. Tables were spaced well, allowing for conversations where you don't have to talk over others. The path to the wash room was roped off with a do not enter sign, which was odd when coming from the restaurant. (I'm guessing this is a shared hotel lobby washroom). While my visit to the washroom was short, washing my hands, what was playing as background noise was headache inducing for me. I'm certain it was a phrase being said in another language, however, the pitch/frequency of the voice and the repetitiveness had me trying to get out ASAP.

Food: As I mentioned earlier Chef Kish's style is definitely present. While the cook on everything was spot on, what I didn't expect was that 3 of 5 dishes we had were on the saltier side. The duck in the Housemade Fusili while flavorful (has spice flavors that reminded me of Peking duck) was salty enough that even eating it with the Fusili was not enough to temper. The Burger which came with a salad was a must to temper the saltiness of the patty. And the Malfaldini, the noodles were wonderful but the sauce was again on the saltier side. For the remaining 3 dishes the Fried Steam buns..nice thin crisp layer on the outside of the bun while still soft on the inside..dip that in the sunchoke and port "dish/dip" gave it a nice mouth feel full of flavor..textures, creamy, char/smokey from the roasted broccoli. Steamed Swordfish. This was quite the opposite of being salty. But let me first say I've never had swordfish prepared so delicately that it didn't eat like a "steak" fish. It was velvety smooth. What I did hope for a slightly thicker sauce, which was poured over that needed a bit more salt.(or maybe our taste was off already since it was our last dish of the evening). The 3 large pieces of fennel, I believe it's a 1/4 of a bulb each, was steamed to have almost no flavor. The fried component, shallot?, was clumped into 2 intertwined balls that were also flavorless. Tuna Crudo: I really enjoyed this dish Tuna was high quality and fresh..I'd prefer a bit more lemon to add a bit more tang and brightness..but that's just...