Dai Due — Restaurant in Austin

Dai Due: All Hat, No Cattle, No Pork Chop

For seven years I came to Dai Due the way some people return to confession: reliably, reverently, smugly self-righteous about the Texas-only ingredient dogma. The pork chop was my sacrament. I brought birthdays here. Out-of-town guests. Visiting gourmands. Anyone I wanted to impress with the myth that Texas could be both rustic and refined.

The last year has been a slow rot, like a fridge quietly unplugged.

First came the Great Drunkenness That Wasn’t. We were on the waitlist, sent next door for a drink (their suggestion). One drink later, we returned, only to be greeted by a waitress who sized up my cheerful out-of-town friend like a Prohibition agent hunting a bootlegger. She accused him of being drunk, refused his wine order, and even tried to snatch his glass. A manager arrived, muttered something about “slurring,” then completely reversed herself, apologizing and admitting it was all a mistake. The damage was done. Bill paid. Exit stage left.

I told myself it was a one-off.

Then came the Elk Tomahawk Steak Instagram Bait and Switch. The Instagram post promised a carnivorous masterpiece, so we crossed the city. The waitress confirmed there were only two left—“just for you.” What arrived were two sad, medium-sized sticks of fat, like something dragged from a raccoon’s bin. She knew full well these were the runts, nothing like the glammed-up, charismatic tomahawks on Instagram—but apparently thought we wouldn’t notice. My friend and I laughed at the insult. I showed her the post alongside our limp steaks; she admitted they were the last two but served them anyway—and charged us full price.

The final straw was the Great Pork Chop Betrayal. I brought a French-trained chef friend, a man for whom pork is practically a love language. We waited an hour, during which I told the hostess—twice—we were here for the pork chop. Once seated, we learned they hadn’t had pork chops “for a while” and no one knew when they’d be back. The waitress pushed pork medallions as the “next best thing.” What arrived was a chewy slab of swine leather that could have been used to sole boots. My friend chewed politely before admitting he feared for his jaw. I noted its toughness; she lied to our faces—with the confidence of a New York realtor showing you a coffin size apt, calling it cozy — She called it “fatty and tender.”

At every turn, the staff’s aggressive, dismissive, and downright dishonest attitude was as exhausting as it was baffling. It’s as if they’ve been trained in some shadowy school of “denial and deflection.”

In just one year, Dai Due has slipped from my dependable Texas standard to a cranky, self-important, occasionally delusional mess living off old Rogan plugs—still selling the premise but having misplaced its talent, manners, and most importantly, its pork chops.

Seven years...

I’ve been a loyal customer at this restaurant for almost a year, and I was really excited when I found out they have brunch on weekends. I’d happily come in nearly every weekend in the past few months and always made sure to take care of my server. So, you can imagine my shock when I received an email asking me to stop dining there because of my “unsatisfactory experiences.” In all my years of eating out, I’ve never been kicked out of a place I treat with respect.

We really try to avoid complaining when the food is just okay. I remember one time when a manager asked my husband—who’s not one to ever send anything back—about his dish, He mentioned that it wasn't super great, a bit gamey, and her only response was a thank you for the feedback, we’ll try to make it better next time... not an offer to replace it or see if he wanted something else.

Sure, I have spoken up about the occasional hiccup with my meal, one particular time when my $80 entree came out poorly, but it was a shock to realize they’ve been keeping tabs on my feedback and “compensations.”

Most recently, my breakfast arrived with most of the meat missing. They said they dropped it on the way to the table and would bring it back later. Really? I just wanted to enjoy my $30 breakfast while it was warm, hard to do so with the main item missing from the plate. I would have hoped if that happened and half the breakfast lands on the floor, that they remake before putting it in front of someone.

My friend who I was with, could not enjoy the soggy eggs when they were presented that way and she had ordered them hard, also she had ordered toast instead of the biscuit she was given.

Leaving food on our plates should have been a clue that we weren’t happy, but its overlooked unless we said something. Which we did this time and apparently it was their last straw. They comped the two meals and wrote me an angry email expelling me from their place.

This is basically how I got to the $200 in comps that they claim is losing money to their business and I should discontinue dining with them. I guess they got my email from me making reservations each time. Super creepy..

It’s honestly disappointing to feel dismissed after all the support I’ve shown. This place seems more focused on tracking complaints than making sure customers...

Fantastic service and experience. Absolutely love the atmosphere as well. The decor and design were thought out well and really tied everything together. Loved the enthusiasm of the kitchen as each order came in. Plating was beautiful, especially for the flautas appetizer.

I wasn't super pleased with the pork chop being plated on a wooden cutting board, as some of the wood was splintering. Luckily I didn't find any in the food. The pork chop was 90% off the bone so plenty easy to eat. Perfect fat to meat ratio and cooked to perfection. The remaining 10% was on the bone so making that the last part to be eaten was a bit awkward getting the meat off the bone without picking it up and knawing on it. The knives provided just really wouldn't do the job no matter how hard I tried. It would have been nice if this was done kitchen side since they already served it mostly off the bone, take that last step.

Saw this place online as a recommendation for some of the best chicken in Austin. They don't have a menu online so I was not really expecting such high prices, especially with the unassuming area it's in and neighboring restaurants and businesses (a sample menu is available but they say it's frequently changing so they don't post one. I'd suggest digitizing your menu for the website so as you make changes, they are published live on your webpage and ready for printing. I found this odd that at such a price point a menu couldn't be provided online.)

The website which recommended them for chicken was also off in the fact that they don't have chicken. It's actually "chicken fried" quail (deep fried quail). The dish is only available on Sunday. Absolutely delicious. It's something I would come back for. Was it worth $35, that's hard to say. Again, at this price point, I'm not sure I wanted something I still had to pickup to eat by hand. That was already messy since quail is a bit greasy naturally and then 2 pieces were right on top of the mash potatoes so I had those all...