Bar Peached — Restaurant in Austin

I do not write reviews. But this experience was so awful that I felt I had to. My husband and I (over 50 crowd) were on our way home from a lovely dinner/drinks at Honey Moon Spirit Lounge-- (which we highly recommend for many reasons), when we passed "Bar Peached" on our way home, and thought we would enjoy an after dinner drink. Knowing this place from its prior owners, therefore knowing the limited parking, we decided that if there was a place to park we would have that after dinner drink. Finding a parking spot, (of which there were even a few), we decided to park and walk upstairs to the Bar Peached's bar area.

The bar (8-10 seats) was empty, so we sat down at the bar to order a drink. However, the bartender, instead of asking us what we wanted, asked if we had first checked in with the hostess. Since we had not, as no one greeted us at the door/hostess area, we asked where to go, and then went to the front door area again. However, at the hostess area, there was still no one around. We waited, and waited. During that 10-15 minutes another party of 3 came to the hostess station. We shared our concerns with them about not being able to be seated at the "empty" bar. They concurred with our concerns, as they wanted to do the same. A few minutes later a hostess appeared, and we requested to be seated at the (empty) bar. She disappeared (to never return). While still waiting-- it has now been over 20 minutes since we arrived, a different staff person came to the hostess area, spoke with the other 3 party group instead of us-- we assumed because perhaps they wanted a table now instead, and they all disappeared into the restaurant. After yet another 5 minutes or so, in frustration as no one returned, we decided to try again to go to the bar area. We saw that 3 party group seated at the bar, so we decided to try again to sit at the (now only 3 person seated) bar.

However, now a manager came up to us-- (FYI, my husband is a professional bartender in the food and beverage industry, so he assumed that person was the Manager on Duty). We had a brief conversation on how we were trying (in vain) to simply have a drink at the bar-- yet he informed us he was no longer seating at the bar as "the bar staff could now not serve both the bar and the restaurant." Yet the restaurant was only half full, and it was only 8:15 pm on a Thursday night, so not too busy, and not close to closing! In great frustration and puzzlement, we really had little choice but to leave-- as this "manager" did not promptly show us to one of the empty tables either. [Let me therefore summarize that my husband is a food and beverage professional, that we only occasionally have time to go out to a restaurant given our different schedules with me being a college professor, so as over age 50 professionals trying to avoid the SXSW and Spring Break crowds were simply trying to enjoy a rare evening out together, patiently waiting for almost 30 minutes to be seated at a nearly empty bar at only 8:00 pm on a Thursday night!]

I am writing this review to warn anyone who has not been to "Bar Peached" to not undergo the ridiculous frustration, waste of time for no apparent reason, and humiliation that we endured. This place seems to not support the "Bar" portion of their title, so perhaps be more appropriately renamed Peached "Pit". There are so many better places to go to instead in Austin. This review may be all for naught, as I suspect they will be out of business by the end of the year based on their total disregard for...

Rating: 3.7/5 [delivery]

We ordered dinner via Postmates, and it took a little more than an hour for the food to deliver. Granted, it was a Saturday night so they were probably busy. The food were nicely packaged - each item, including the sauces, had its own box and was clearly labeled. However, the sauces themselves weren't labeled, and by the time we got our order, the food was almost room temperature.

Bar Peached really pushes the limits in terms of Asian fusion but it's a hit or miss. I appreciate culinary creativity, but they need to refine their flavor profiles to ensure everything is cohesive and flavorful.

Pork Buns ($13.80): Vietnamese braised pork belly, cucumbers, green onions, chinese bbq sauce. This order came with two buns, but they kindly gave us an extra one on the house :) The pork belly slices are thick and juicy, but a bit too fatty for my taste. They also could have been braised longer as the flavors were more subtle than I would have liked. Definitely recommend adding sauce for sure.

Taiwanese Duck Roll ($16.10): confit duck, shaved cucumber, green onion, hoisin, scallion pancake, soy chili dipping sauce. This was my second favorite dish while it was my husband's favorite. The duck roll was quite compact - almost like a sushi roll - but it's packed full of confit duck. The flavors were good but even better with the soy chili dipping sauce.

Taco Trio ($18.40): I saw the bad reviews but still decided to give it a shot because I've been craving tacos. Unfortunately, these were as disappointing as people said - skip these for sure. The sauces, pickled veggies, & slaw came on the side. We assembled them but opted to dip the tacos in the sauce instead of drizzling it on. The ingredients just didn't compliment each other to create a cohesive taco. If you want tacos, go somewhere else. Brisket on Flour Tortilla: Southern dry rubbed brisket, creamy apple slaw, roasted peach bbq sauce. The brisket was bland and not juicy, but the sauce was good. Banh Mi on Flour Tortilla: Vietnamese braised pork belly, pickled daikon carrots, sriracha mayo, cilantro. Some pieces of pork belly were fatty while others were dry. I also wasn't a fan of their take on the pickled daikon & carrots. Sweet Potato/Cauliflower on Corn Tortilla: Arugula, kewpie mayo, toasted coconut, peanuts, watermelon radish, lime wedge; with corn tortilla. I actually think this was the best one, but it was a close tie with the banh mi taco.

Whipped Ricotta ($14): Charred tomato salad, thai basil, chili crisp, scallion pancake. I don't think the scallion pancakes paired well with this whipped ricotta. The texture of the ricotta did not survive the car ride - it was thick in the middle yet watery around the edges. In terms of taste, it was interesting...that's the only way I can describe it. Worth trying once, but only in-person - not for take out or delivery.

Mapo Bolognese ($17): FIve spice pork, whipped tofu, sichuan peppercorn, wheat chow fun. Surprisingly, this was my favorite dish. It was unique, and the flavor combination worked well together. However, we weren't fans of the whipped tofu, and the Sichuan peppercorn messed up our stomachs afterwards so be prepared and stay close...

So, good stuff first: food is spicy and interesting, room is lively, drinks are strong and creative. We (ultimately) had a really good dinner.

But before it got good, it was pretty awful.

Five of us showed up for a 7:15pm reservation and got escorted to “the private dining room.” Spoiler: it’s not a private dining room; it’s a basement. 20-something other people were eating down there, surrounded by industrial boxes of toilet paper and paper towels. I get it: Bar Peached has gotten popular and there’s a ton of demand, but if you’re going to seat diners in a windowless basement, you should warn them.

We gently asked if there was something upstairs in the, errrr, actual restaurant. We were told it might be a few minutes, which was totally fine. We were there for a birthday and the ambience, happy to wait.

Went up to the bar, and night went from odd to embarrassing. We had just ordered a drink and settled in to wait for table, when hostess Alli launched herself our way SCREAMING. “No standing at the bar! Let’s go! Get out!” The two members of our party who were sitting in bar stools were allowed to remain; the three who were standing and waiting were marched outside, downstairs, and parked next to a dumpster while we waited for table.

I now understand: despite the name, Bar Peached REALLY isn’t a bar and takes that incredibly seriously. They want you ordering dinner at bar, not drinks. And they very much don’t want anyone standing and waiting. And… okay, I guess?

But Alli yelled at us, embarrassed us, talked down to us, and just totally ruined a nice evening. It was baffling behavior — unnecessary, unhinged, unkind. I gently said as much and the response was “I’m just doing my job.” Again, okay, maybe? But wow.

We were eventually marched in from the (literal) cold and seated at a terrific table. Dinner was lovely, server was great, food was inventive and delicious. But it’s hard to come back from a terrible and insulting start to evening.

I stepped outside and spoke to manager during dinner — she was apologetic and understanding. Explained that the hostess in question “was on her way out.” Not sure if that implies a termination or resignation, and it totally doesn’t matter. Good she won’t be working there anymore, bad she’s still behind hostess stand insulting customers with one foot out door.

Anyway.

This is an adorable little restaurant with a creative menu and stellar cocktails. Secretly, we liked the apps better than the mains and the deserts even better than the apps. But all great.

But we won’t be back until this young, angry, odd hostess has officially departed. Life too short to get yelled at while...