Counter Cafe — Restaurant in Austin

Came here w/a friend late one Sunday for brunch and the place was packed (very small seating area inside) and we were told it was going to be about a 30min wait. I absolutely HATE waiting for food, but my friend said that it was going to be that anywhere on this side of town. So we sucked it up and 30mins turned out to be closer to 15. We got sat at the counter (I'm guessing the origin of their namesake) and I perused their menu. It had all the basic Austin brunch fodder and fare. I love benedicts, so I decided to order the seared pastrami benedict since that was a first and I like to try and be food-venturous when I can. My friend ordered one of their blueberry pancakes and the thing was not only thick and ginormous, but the way they make it the blueberries basically melt into the batter. I had a few bites and, though I am not usually a pcake person, it was actually pretty damn delicious!

I wish I could say the same for my benedict. It was ok, but maybe I had just set the bar too high. The seared pastrami was good, but again, nothing mind blowing. The potatoes were just ok too.

Now the reason for the rating. First off, while I appreciate our waitress was busy (I was a waitress for hot minute, so I empathize with being SWAMPED, but when I was overwhelmed I either asked for help or made all kinds of notes when tables made requests, especially for refills); but the fact that she forgot my coffee refill multiple times and then ran out of carafes for our mimosa (which was not her fault) so she said she would bring us individual glasses that would be equivalent to 3 each, though I only got two even though I asked twice for my 3rd, (which was her fault) did not sit well with me. Second, again, I can appreciate the place is busy, but to run out of mimosa carafes on a brunch day is just bad management. Either have the stock or have someone washing them like crazy. I absolutely HATED having to sit there and wait to try and catch the waitress to request my next mimosa and then have to wait again for her to bring it. It may sound like a trivial first world gripe, but when the carafe costs $20, I should be able to drink my mimosas at my leisure and not have to stress about if and when I am getting my next fix of watermelon juice and champagne between bites.

In any case, there was nothing special or good enough about this place to bring me back, especially for the inconvenience of the wait, service and price point. I'm glad I got to check it out, but it looks like it is doing just fine without my...

This is right next to my place of work and my colleagues and I have been coming here once or twice a month for years. It’s cozy, easy, and normally the kindest employees. They know us by name and even know some of our regular orders. We had never experienced any issues… until today.

We went for lunch as normal and at the end, the server dropped the bill on our table. It was the tab for all six of us. We asked if she could split the bill and she said that’s not something they do. I let her know that’s never been a policy the dozens of times we’ve been previously and asked if something had changed, and she said she would do it this once. I double checked the menu, looked at the door, the chalkboard, everywhere, and nowhere did it mention this policy of not splitting checks. Every time we’ve come, it’s always automatically been individual checks - never once all on one.

She came back and dropped off the separate tabs and we thanked her. As we were grabbing our cards, we said thank you again and she walked away, turned around, came back, and said quote “but seriously, if you guys ever come in again, we will never split the check for you again.”

It was extremely disrespectful and rude. If it would’ve EVER been communicated to us that we couldn’t split the checks, we would’ve understood and probably gone somewhere else. We have elderly people in our group who do not use Venmo/Cashapp/etc - so paying on one tab is not an option for us. It was very nice of her to do it, but to end the meal on such a harsh tone was something that honestly will probably keep us from coming back - which is sad after all these years.

I suggest printing on your menu that you do not split checks so expectations are clear, or having the server communicate that - especially with large groups who are clearly coworkers and would likely not pay a tab together. I also suggest a little customer service training… the way we were spoken to at the end was one of the worst service experiences I have ever had. I worked five years in the service industry and my husband is still in it and has been for 14 years, I can’t imagine ever speaking to a guest with that tone. Really disappointing. We will find a new spot for our...

I have always wanted to try this place where every time swing by there is no parking left and figured I arrived too late. But this time around I was dedicated to dine here even if I had to wait a long time. When I pulled in to the parking lot once again it seemed like every spot was taken until I found one. It was the last one, but my luck was not over yet. When my wife and I walked inside it was very busy but there was two spots open at the chef’s table which was bar-type seating. We could watch food getting prepared right in front of us. I was excited.

The menu consisted of breakfast and lunch served until 3:00 PM. I decided to order a Top Chico and the Quail & Eggs. My wife ordered the Pork Chop & Fries. The place was packed and the attentive staff keeping up quite good with the customers. There was inside and outside seating but not a big place. I just felt lucky everything fell place to be able to park and seated so quickly.

I watch my quail as it cooked on the grill and admired the plates of food ready to be served to customers. They all look marvelous and soon mine was ready to be placed in front of me. It was beautifully presentable with a whole piece of grilled quail, two sunny side up eggs, breakfast potatoes and homemade biscuit. My wife’s pork chop looked and smelled good with fries and salad. My quail tasted excellent and was basically boneless except the legs and wings. It had great flavor and with soft meat. The eggs tasted farm fresh for it had dark yellow yolks. Along with the potatoes and biscuit I truly enjoyed it all.

I cleaned my plate clean and headed to my wife’s to taste the pork chop. It was a half inch cut pork chop cooked with nice seasonings and tasted really good.

Perhaps next time will enjoy the blueberry hot cakes I saw get served to...