Loro Asian Smokehouse & Bar — Restaurant in Austin

Loro (The Domain location) has a great concept and some solid food, but you kind of have to decode the system to enjoy yourself here. First things first: you grab a table before you order, which isn’t obvious unless you’ve been before or read reviews. Once you’ve staked your claim with a water cup and silverware, you head to the bar to place your order. Food comes out as it’s ready and in no particular order. Not a big deal for me. If you want something else (a second drink, dessert, etc.), it’s back to the bar you go. It’s not especially intuitive, but manageable once you get the hang of it.

One thing I appreciated: you close out your tab every time you order, and tipping is totally up to you. I would recommend leaving 10% the way the ordering and food delivery is set-up. There’s no built-in pressure or automatic 20%, despite what a previous reviewer said. You’re in control.

The menu is big and kind of all over the place, so I recommend looking online or scanning the QR code at your table to avoid staring blankly at the bar while the staff waits ... expressionlessly. This wasn't the most enthusiastic crew. No one was rude, but no one looked particularly thrilled to be there either. It gave off strong “I’d rather be anywhere else ... ANYWHERE” energy.

Now, about that food delivery moment that still has me blinking in confusion: a server came out holding a dish and instead of placing it on the table, he hovered it above our heads. The two of us at the table stared at it in awkward silence, unable to tell whose dish it was because we couldn’t see it from that angle. I finally had to ask him to lower the dish so that we could identify what it was. It was awkward. I’m not sure if he was new to food service or just checked out, but honestly, eye-level food delivery seems like a basic skill. That little interaction kind of summed up the service vibe overall: not hostile, but noticeably lacking in effort.

Now for the food: the sesame rice noodles were the unexpected MVP as they were light and had just the right amount of flavor. The sweet corn was another solid choice. The smoked butcher’s cut beef had great texture and quality, though it was heavily bacon flavored, which might not be for everyone. The salmon bowl was excellent and the coconut lime jasmine rice was a total standout, making the whole dish yummy and balanced.

On the flip side, the melon arugula salad was not it. The dressing was aggressively bold (like, almost fighting the rest of the ingredients and my throat), and the cantaloupe tasted like it had been prepped days before. Honestly, they really could remove this item from the menu and I doubt anyone would notice. The edamame was fine. Nothing special, just there. The Vietnamese frozen coffee slushie was a solid choice if you're a fan of Viet coffee. The slushie gin and tonic was super refreshing -- not too much gin flavor but just enough, and shoutout to the bartender for mentioning it was happy hour pricing when I went up for that second drink. That was a nice moment in an otherwise meh service experience.

Bonus tip: multiple reviews mention a guy named Harry as if he were some kind of food service legend. I don’t know who Harry is, but I can confirm, Harry doesn't work there anymore. Don’t ask for him. Don’t even wonder. Harry is gone....

Update: I’m happy to say that management here stepped up to the plate and promptly responded to my review. The manager Cat went above and beyond contacting me several times to get details on the situation, refunded our bill and gave us a gift card for us to give Loro another try. Because of how great she was and how rarely restaurants go this far to ensure a good experience I will happily give them another shot. Will update then!

Today I visited Loro for the first time and most likely the last. Upon arriving at the hostess stand, we were pleasantly greeted and informed of how dining here works. There is a large outdoor patio with lots of chairs to sit in, a few tables, and a bar. Inside there are quite a few tables but relatively small dining area. It is open seating so you choose where you would like to sit, scan a QR code at your table to see the menu, and then go to the bar to place your order. I was with a friend of mine who is in a wheelchair and since they were no tables available inside, we chose to go outside on the patio. There was only one designated spot for wheelchair access at the bar as all the other tables on the patio were side tables only meant for drinks. The bartender greeted us, and after taking my friends drink order with a smile seemed to have a pretty quick change of mood when I asked for just a water. She brought back the drinks and I inquired about recommendations on food & what I might be able to easily alter to my dietary needs. I was told that “nothing on the menu is spicy. Only like one thing really.” Which is very confusing considering there’s habanero, piri piri, gochujang, and several other very spicy things on the menu. We settled on edamame & we weren’t spoken to for 45 minutes after that. Not because anyone was too busy. It just felt like others who had men in their party or were drinking were the only priority? This was supposed to be a nice birthday dinner with my best friend but ended up a huge disappointment. We finally flagged down our server and just got the check so we could go somewhere else that would serve us. I honestly think they should just let customers order through the QR code & have their food/drinks brought to them. This would probably help the wait staff who doesn’t want to have to wait...

We have been to Loro several times and are big fans of the happy hour menu and chicken karaage. This time we came for the Loro x Hattie B's collab. I have fond memories of trying Hattie B's in Nashville and their 2nd Austin location is opening soon here in the Domain. We tried the hot chicken bowl, hot chicken sandwich and the fried waffle with ice cream and viet coffee caramel . All three dishes were great. The hot chicken bowl came with Hattie B’s “medium” dark meat chicken bites, coconut scented rice, seasonal pickles, Thai herbs, chicken skin furikake, miso comeback sauce, nam jim. It had the signature Hattie B's spicy seasoning and that beautiful breading and crunch. The sauces came on the side and you added as much or as little as you'd like. the bowl was a savory, crispy experience with enough acid from the pickle to cut through the heaviness of the meal. The collab chicken sandwich came with miso comeback sauce, Loro slaw, double bacon smoked pimento cheese, chicken skin furikake and a pickle on the side. The chicken was fried perfectly, juicy on teh inside and crispy on the outside. everything came together so the miso sauce and slaw made the buns a little too wet by the time it was served. I would've like to see a different order in the ingredients to maintain the integrity of the bread. That being said, the chicken was so crispy and juicy that I am ok sacrificing the bread if it means the breading for the chicken wouldn't be soggy. Finally the dessert was Fried Waffle – Vanilla ice cream, chicken liver mousse, Vietnamese coffee caramel, powdered sugar. You'd think chicken liver mousse on a dessert would be weird and it was..... but I didn't really taste it. the sweetness of the ice cream and savoriness of the viet coffee hid that flavor. I tried it on it's own and it was mild. I don't know if the dish really needed the chicken liver but I guess that's ok.

All in all, we enjoyed out meal during this collab. We've come to Loro several times and have always enjoyed the food, vibes and service. Shout out to Elaine for helping us with our meal experience today! Thank you for...