Jardin Corona — Restaurant in Austin

Good Mexican food Was in the area and wanted to try a new Mexican restaurant. This place is centered around a bar. It has a nice little patio and well cushioned bench seats inside. If you like to watch soccer or Mexican TV while you eat it's a plus.

First tried the complimentary chips and red salsa. Pretty much what you would get at any other Mexican restaurant, nothing stands out. Next we ordered the queso. This is an important standard for me. Unfortunately they got a failing grade, but this is probably due to personal preference. They use what I think is a mushroom soup based queso, similar to the consistency of what you get at the movie theater with some tomatoes and other bits thrown in. I'm more of a fan of milk based queso with more actual cheese in the mix. I understand a restaurant may prefer the soup based queso because its more consistent and cheaper to make, but at least pass those saving on to your customers. My companion did like the queso so ymmv. I ordered the chicken chimichanga as it's one of my favorite reference dishes. It was pretty good. I was impressed with the perfectly crisp not overly oiled fry with just the right color. The chicken was flavorful tender and finely shredded. I wish I knew about the queso before I ordered it because I ended up using the chip salsa as the topping. Probably worth a second visit to try that difference. Spanish rice and refried beans were pretty standard a bit on the bland side, nothing special there but are adequate. The dish was large enough that I didn't need to eat the rice and beans to feel fully satisfied. They have good portions. I'll also mention they had pricier fare on the menu under specialties that may be good but haven't tried it. Good enough for a return visit but wouldn't go out of my way as Austin has many restaurants...

What is up with this place??? I'm serious, never been here before...strolling in on a Thursday around 2pm, ordered a Martini drink that should have Reposado & some other good liquor in it, the guy is making the drink behind the wait station where we can't see which bottles he's picking up, Instead of in front of us. It wasn't until the 2nd bartender made us a 2nd drink that we seen him make it with the right alcohol right in front of us. The 1st Bartender laughed and told him he didn't use the Repasado in the first drink (This is a required part of the drink we ordered). Do not order "free pour" drinks here!!!!! I don't trust them (been 6 mos) same bartenders. Order frozen drinks, you're still not getting the alcohol you deserve but at least you know it. That being said, already this behavior tells you how this joint is being ran. So drinks you can't trust already. This place is almost all DUDE wait staff & not friendly ones either. The guys have this muchismo attitude and feel like they don't have to wait quickly on NOBODY. The day your bar is empty is when you are nEEDING people to come in and spend $$$.. Even when we are the only customers at the bar.... the guys are still don't acknowledge the arrival. I have literally see them glance over and then run to the back to the kitchen... This place is getting stingier & stingier with their portions but you're still paying more $$$$. NOw the important part. Hands down the 2nd best Carnitas plate in Austin TX. Flavors are phenomenal it's just a bummer when I go I have to deal with the nonsense of who ever is working that day & what their attitudes are going to be....They need nice people who appreciate people who can go anywhere & spend their $$$ but chooses to...

We were looking for a breakfast place nearby while we were running errands. I noticed this place had good reviews and decided to stop in. There was a be help wanted sign on the front, so I figured they might be short staffed. We were immediately seated, but took a few minutes before the server realized we were waiting for him. He took our drink order and brought drinks back. I ordered a chorizo taco and and omelette with fajita.

They were fast bringing our food out after we ordered it. The first thing that was very disappointing was the tortillas are not homemade. Why would not just make tortillas? The tortillas had very little color on them. The refried beans were bland and tasted like they came from a can. The salsa was good, but could have been a tad bit spicier. You could get "breakfast chips and salsa" for $1. I am not sure who orders chips and salsa for a dollar for breakfast, but sill you would have to pay for them when most of the times it is free at other places. I was impressed this place actually used cheddar cheese on their tacos. Many other places use American cheese (Some folks like to call it "government cheese".) and try to call it authentic. The potatoes were crispy, but needed a tad bit more seasoning. They did bring us extra tortillas, but after realizing the tortillas were not homemade, I did not go after a second tortilla.

The food was descent. I was not too impressed with our breakfast as I expected a...