Grizzelda's — Restaurant in Austin

From the folks behind Jacoby's (and featuring beef from their family ranch), Grizzelda's features "interior and coastal Mexican" (per our waitress) -- which is a breath of fresh air from Austin's over-saturated Tex-Mex scene.

You'll probably love the interior. We did. Various shades of pinks and greens mixed with clever lighting and fun textures--feels like nothing else in Austin.

I've been looking forward to checking out Griselda's since it opened. Sadly, our experience was mediocre. The cocktails (we tried three) were fine, but at a restaurant of this caliber and with cocktail prices hovering around $13, the cocktails need to stand out and and lead to "ooooh's and ahhhh's". They did not. All overly sweet without anything to set them apart from an $8 cocktail at any given East Austin spot.

We started with guacamole and queso fundido. The fundido ($12) was 90% bell peppers and onions with very little visible cheese. They need to rethink this. We ordered the ribeye (with meat coming from family ranch in West Texas) and opted for the "fajita treatment", which for $8 more included tortillas and toppings. For $60 bucks--and the menu promoting that the meat is aged for a several weeks--this was hugely disappointing. Far too much gristle and the flavor of a basic piece of beef from HEB. My friend ordered the picadillo tacos ($15) which featured overly dry but pleasantly spicy ground beef. We also added on the emapanadas (3 for $9). Meh. They tried too hard and fell way short on these. The rice was dry and bland and the refried black beans were basic as basic gets.

They also seemed to be relatively short staffed. 15-20 minutes passed where our water glasses sat empty and when we weren't asked if we wanted additional cocktails. Additionally, the tables in the middle of the restaurant are crammed in there like coach seats on American Airlines. Staff and patrons are constantly walking back-and-forth, meaning you're going to constantly get bopped in the head and have your chair pushed. Pretty uncomfortable. So be sure to be seated on the patio or in the far left of the dining room.

For three people, one cocktail per person, three appetizers and two entrees, the tab came to $160 before tip. When I think a $50/pp meal, I want high quality, impressive flavors/textures, and top-notch service. We didn't have...

Our group really enjoyed our overall dining experience at Grizzelda's. Most things were excellent, with a couple misses. Here's what we tried:

Ceviche Mixto (with shrimp and snapper) - fresh tasting and delicious, but the bowls they serve it in drain all the juice to the bottom. The accompanying chips are great. Cuitlacoche Enchiladas (the special) - This was the winning dish of the night. The flavors are complex and there's a lot going on. It had great texture and I savored every bite. Our server described cuitlacoche as a fungus that grows on corn (a delicacy in Mexico) and that was enough for most people to pass on it, which is a shame; mushrooms are a fungus too, right? (Just don't google it before you try it!) Deshebrada (short ribs) tacos - Another winner, perfectly cooked short ribs. All tacos come with the protein on your plate and the in-house made tortillas come separately. Picadillo tacos - Good picadillo, meaty and well-seasoned. Chile Relleno - Although it looked beautiful, it was just an okay dish.....nothing particularly flavorful about it. Mexican rice (side, served family style) - Meh. Lacked seasoning. Borracho beans (side, served family style) - Sooo good! (And I don't even like beans all that much). Salsa (red) - One of the best salsas in town. Conquistador cocktail (bourbon, apple brandy, clove, floating anise star) - Unique and delicious boozy cocktail, highly recommend.

The decor is contemporary, stylish and gorgeous; loved the wall paper. I also loved...

I do not review restaurants often, but the experience I had here warrants leaving a note for prospective customers. We had previously come to Grizzelda’s frequently and it was one of our favorite brunch spots. We recently brought family visiting from out of town for brunch and were shocked by the service we received. The food was fine, but the service we received was appalling. Our family member walks with a limp due to a medical condition and after she went to the bathroom and returned when we asked for another drink before leaving we were refused. The waitress told us directly that her manager said we were “wobbly on the way to the bathroom” and needed to be cut off. Our guest was understandably very hurt by this comment. We were not drunk or causing any sort of disruption to the restaurant, we had enjoyed a family brunch and it was shocking to have the staff make such a rude and ableist comment while treating our party this way. When we left the restaurant we went to speak to the manager to raise our concern and were blown off and dismissed. I am still so upset to have had our guests treated so poorly by an Austin establishment we were excited to share. Safe to say we will not ever be returning to this restaurant. Those looking for brunch in the area should check out Tillery or Sawyer. We have been to each of these places and enjoyed our...