J Carver’s Oyster Bar & Chophouse — Restaurant in Austin

Austin has Grown Full Of Itself

“Be Less Impressed, Be More Involved” Matthew McConaughey Greenlights

I’m a born and bred Texan, proud of it. I had the pleasure of being raised in West Texas. It’s a hardened part of the Lone Star State but a part of the great State nonetheless.

Since I was in college I’ve travelled to Austin to experience another unique part of Texas. “Keep Austin Weird” was always the mantra. What that always meant to me is you could come to Austin and sit down at a bar (usually playing great music) and one one side you’d see an Emo Goth and the other a weathered Cowboy and you’d all be having a great time. The spirit of generosity and acceptance made the city a haven for all and a unique, colorful place to visit.

Earlier this year, for Spring Break, my wife and I decided to get some quality time with our two teenagers and Austin was an easy drive from home. As anyone with teenagers knows, getting quality time in the age of smart phones is a challenge unto itself. So although, we were only going 3 hours away from our Dallas home - we’d be able to focus on each other.

In a lot of ways, Austin still embodies the spirit of generosity that’s always made it special. Although this spring I noticed a disturbing trend that I hope changes.

Austin seems to have become full of itself.

We had some great experiences… Like a walk through the state capital where a great tour guide showed heart and energy while walking us through those hallowed halls. We spent an hour or so at Antone’s and got fed some great Zydeco as the institution celebrated its 50th anniversary. My lovely wife set up a kayak trip down Lady Bird lake where we saw the Mexican Freetail Bats do their nightly dance at sunset.

Although our experience at J.Carver brought us back to earth on the disturbing turn Austin is taking.

We decided to enjoy a nice evening and a great steak at one of Austin’s premier Steakhouses. I’ve been to J.Carver before and absolutely felt that this place had the formula. Amazing food, awesome experience and warm ambience on a level to match the high price.

We took the kids and a close family couple to dinner and expected to enjoy all these things.

Instead we ran into an entitled waitress that decided to ruin our evening.

Our teenagers, who while well behaved, are still teenagers turned the small lamp on the table into a game where they turned it on an off based on some back and forth they’d created. Although not what you’d expect from a “high-end” steakhouse crowd the light change only impacted our table and wasn’t impacting anyone else in the darkened restaurant.

Our waitress, with a spirit of anger and correction, grabbed the light and slammed it on the table, letting my son know that “this needs to stay on, and right here…”

Twenty minutes later, she came to the table and slammed their plates down with disdain as she served them causing my wife to ask for a conversation with management.

Said manager came by and feigned interest in my wife’s gripe about our treatment. To the point where, when asked, she said “I’m just waiting for you to finish…”

The food was great and the restaurant decided to move our service over to James who is a pro and handled the rest of our evening with the grace you’d expect when paying ~ 1000.00 for dinner.

Although the spirit of entitlement delivered from the server and manager prior to that show a crack in the strategy J.Carver delivers.

In order to be great restaurant you have to do more than just make great food, you have to deliver an amazing experience.

Especially at the price tag J.Carver delivers.

Here's hoping J.Carver can feel less entitled in the future and get back to earning what got...

A Birthday Dinner Letdown at J Carvers, Austin

I had high hopes for a memorable birthday celebration for my wife at J Carvers in downtown Austin, a city renowned for its vibrant dining scene. Regrettably, our experience was marred by a series of service failures and organizational mishaps that cast a shadow over the entire evening.

Our reservation was initially delayed by 15 minutes due to "car traffic," an inconvenience we were willing to overlook, hoping for a delightful dining experience ahead. This understanding, however, was met with further disappointment as we were awkwardly positioned behind the bar, an area cramped and ill-suited for waiting guests, especially near dining patrons. This setup immediately made us feel overlooked and out of place, a sentiment that was reinforced when the head chef personally greeted every table but ours, rendering us invisible in our corner.

The neglect extended to our service as my wife's simple request for a glass of wine was seemingly disregarded, with the wine never arriving and our server clueless about the order when we were finally seated — a half hour later than promised. This was just the beginning of a night characterized by delays and disorganization, as even "simple" appetizers and mains took an inordinate amount of time to be served.

To compound the frustration, our coffee, meant to accompany dessert, was forgotten until after we had finished our dessert and the bill had been prematurely presented. Despite our server's best efforts, who was the only semblance of a saving grace in an otherwise chaotic evening, we found ourselves repeatedly reminding and asking for items we had ordered, including basics like bread.

The culmination of these issues was the difficulty in even settling the bill, a final testament to the disarray that defined our visit. The restaurant's gesture to comp my wife’s $14 dessert, while appreciated, did little to amend the cumulative effect of the evening's disappointments. Considering the significant cost of a birthday dinner in downtown Austin, the value and experience we received were exceptionally poor.

In a city teeming with exceptional dining options, our experience at J Carvers stands out for all the wrong reasons. This review serves as both a cautionary tale for potential patrons and a plea to the restaurant management to address the glaring deficiencies in service and organization that spoiled what should have been a joyous celebration. The first impression is indeed lasting, and unfortunately, J Carvers has left an indelible mark of dissatisfaction. For those seeking a special dining experience in Austin, I strongly recommend...

I was proposed to yesterday, it was my mine and my fiance’s 4 year anniversary, and we went here to celebrate and enjoy a wonderful dinner - but we didn’t even realize just how wonderful it would be.

THE SERVICE As someone who has worked in fine dining for years, I know this kind of establishment sets high expectations for their service team - Alex far exceeded all expectations! The hosts, Emma, Chris & the server assistants also helped in working seamlessly together to make this experience so effortlessly special for us.

THE FOOD Please tell the chef/kitchen crew they did SO well!!! We started with two varieties of oysters (YUM, can’t go wrong.) We enjoyed the scallop special (good) and the crab cake after (Alex told us this was the best crab cake around and he wasn’t kidding - we agreed it’s the best we’ve ever had - sooo meaty!) The bone marrow came after and holy smokes was it good! (Honestly, maybe a little overly dressed, but just scratch off some of the toppings and get to the good stuff. The bread is thick, but tear it up and the flavor is incredible and it’s easy to enjoy.)

We were thrilled when the mains came! 45oz tomahawk (you choose the size over 40oz, it was super charred and topped with an herb butter, cooked to perfection.) The potato gnocchi is a MUST have!!! The corn crème brûlée side was good but i didn’t get a true creme brûlée feel, just call it sweet corn dressed up, yum. The glazed carrots were perfectly dressed and soft, big fan!

Dessert included a cappuccino (only regular milk available), the strawberry thing (sorry I can’t remember the proper name but deliciously layered with vanilla gelato, dehydrated meringues, and Grand Marnie dipped Strawberries), cannolis (different kind of lemon ricotta filling that tasted so good in waffle-cone-like crisps), and the raspberry gelato (super good but tasted more like vanilla with a raspberry syrup on it).

THE DRINKS were both sober so they treated us to sparkling water and I got a yuzu/lime/cucumber mocktail that was excellent!

THE PARKING the valet was extremely accommodating upon arrival and (I’m sorry we were the last guests in the building, but we were) they waited patiently for us to come retrieve our vehicle, expressing nothing but kindness when we did so.

THE BATHROOM so cute! So clean! Has a little station with mint toothpicks, flushable wipes, & nice tampons of all sizes. My fiancé said the men’s’ had a similar setup and was well taken care of. Classy.

Overall extremely impressed and will HIGHLY be recommending this place for their atmosphere, food quality, and overall service. Will be back soon!...