Austin Taco Project — Restaurant in Austin

I was quite happy with The Austin Taco Project which is located inside of the Downtown Austin Hilton. As I was there for my birthday, this was the perfect place to grab a drink before the festivities began for the evening. More importantly, I was quite happy to have a place that I could enjoy some breakfast after a night out on Sixth Street!

The restaurant itself is located on what you could call the ground floor of the Hilton down toward the far end past the lobby. If you see the other restaurant and pass it, you are heading in the right direction. Just head down the escalator and it will be on your left. As an alternative if you’re coming in off the street there is also a couple doors for access to/from the street. After walking in for the first time to have a drink, I was quite impressed with the interior as it was clean and spacious (I didn’t take too many photos as there are plenty out there of the interior). I found my way to the bar and enjoyed a nice conversation with the bartender who had a few suggestions on where to go on Sixth and where not to go. Wouldn’t have mattered years ago, but now that I am older, picking a place that is more my speed in a college town kind of matters!

Moving forward, the next day I went back to have some breakfast. I first tried the Chilaquiles and they didn’t quite do it for me. Not sure why but might have been my stomach that particular day after a night out. Either way, the hostess/server Hope was wonderful and took them back and I ordered the Bacon, Egg, and Cheese on a Brioche Bun. I was quite satisfied with this sandwich as the Arugula was a nice touch and the bacon was perfect. Heck, everything was pretty darn good. The sandwich also came with a side of potatoes, and I found them to be perfectly cooked and above all, great on flavor. This sandwich was a total win for me!

Final Thoughts:

If you are staying at the Hilton, this restaurant is worth considering for your breakfast, lunch, and dinner needs. They close at four on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday and 10 P.M. the rest of the days, but most bars start to open around four so… The hostess and my server Hope was a wonderful lady and was great to talk with. More so, she put up with my constant talking and was a great person to have take care of me. Great hire on the part of this restaurant and I do sincerely appreciate that they took the Chilaquiles off the ticket. Not many places will do that these days, so that alone should tell you about the quality and character of The Austin Taco Project. Definitely check...

Horrible service. I’m staying at Hilton and wanted to try this place since it’s inside the hotel. A couple of days ago, I wanted to place a to go order for breakfast. I called countless times for over two hours (no joke) and was either placed on hold or sent to voicemail but no one ever assisted in placing my order. So that day was shot and I went elsewhere.

I tried placing another to go order this morning and called over 40 times, literally! But once again no luck. So I decided to stop by in person on my way to work. (If you’re wondering why i kept trying it’s bc the hotel offered food credit to be used at the restaurant.) I advised the male host that I attempted to call and even showed him the call history on my phone and that no one ever answered the phone. He claimed he just arrived at work and couldn’t explain why there was no answer. He was not sympathetic one bit. I proceeded to place an a order for the açaí bowl to which he responded that they couldn’t serve it since it was no longer breakfast time. Mind you, I had attempted to place my order by calling before breakfast ended and I wanted to show him my call history before 11:00 am but he could have cared less. So I proceeded to ask for the manager. (My apologizes for acting like a “Karen” here but I felt justified.)

While waiting for the manager, I dialed the restaurant again to test if they would answer since the restaurant was not busy. The phone is next to the host’s stand where I was standing and I noticed that the calls were not being answered. The ringer was off but the phone would light up. The phone also reported 117 missed calls! Wth?! That’s a lot of business they’re losing from potential customers that want to place food orders.

Richard, the manager, just added fuel to the fire. I waited nearly ten minutes for him. When he finally surfaced from the back I explained the situation. He was very cold, not apologetic and just asked me if the açaí bowl was all I wanted. When I answered in the affirmative he said “ok” and walked off. Never said it’ll be right out and never apologized. So rude and unprofessional and so disappointing coming from management.

I eventually received my order but not an apology. The food prices are also excessive. Can get much better tacos at much lower prices elsewhere with much better...

Ron U. worked his magic to put together this special UYE event at The Austin Taco Project. We were greeted genuinely and enthusiastically by management and led out to the magnificent and expansive patio where our jovial group could get loud and bold. Our servers, Rachel and Travis were absolutely amazing and didn't wind up in a mental institution after dealing with us.

When one pulls up Austin Taco Project on Yelp, it's clearly noted, 'Tapas/Small plates'. My first taco was The Bulgolgi and it had to be tiniest of all the small plate tacos but it was montrous in flavor, ribeye, kimchi, peanuts, cilantro on a steamed bun.

Next I ordered a bar snack, the North Pacific Poke, salmon, lotus root, cucumber sesame seed and daikon radish. I recommend using a fork with this 'snack', although very tasty, it can be a bit messy using one's fingers.

The Casa Blanca was by far my favorite taco, Moroccan spiced lamb, red onion, radish, harissa, labneh on a flatbread.

I also was privileged to sample the Green Chorizo Meatball, poblano gravy, queso fresco,

The Poutine, ribeye cap barbacoa, tater tots, fried cheese curd, pablano gravy, sunny side up egg, and last but certainly not the least,

The Charcoal Wings, brined, smoked, grilled, with blueberry ghost pepper.

The only disappointment was that the house margaritas were a tad bit on the weak side however the weakness allowed me to partake of more, for digestive purposes only.

This is a great Tapas bar to meet for Happy Hour and don't forget to check-in on Yelp and redeem your buy 'one taco and get one free'.

Another big thanks to the staff and Ron for this...