Oz. Tap House — Restaurant in Austin

Update 02-23-2024

We stopped by OZ. Tap House for a quick bite after a long day spent out and about. Even though it was about 6:30pm, the place was not that crowded. We needed to be briefed on "the process" again, open a tab, order food, get your drink cards, serve yourself at the tappers. The restaurant has about 40 self-serve tappers, wine, beer (lots) and mixed drinks. Slide your card into the tap machine, pull the tap, shut off when you have as much as you want. Simple. We had Moscow Mules this time, very delicious, moderate amount of alcohol included (about the strength of a beer).

For food the table ordered the fried fish tacos, the ahi tuna tacos (rare), the steak salad and the Blue burger. All were very good, and the food came out fast! The tacos were in flour tortillas, fried fish and ahi tuna were perfectly cooked, the veggies and all on top crisp and fresh. We requested and received a little jalapeno hot sauce, that was the perfect topper for the tacos.

The steak salad was huge, the steak plentiful and cooked perfectly at medium rare. The dressing was good as well. Al the ingredients were fresh, and the combination of extras worked well. The blue burger may have been the runaway star this time. Expertly cooked to medium rare, crispy bacon on point, caramelized onions, and a generous heap of blue cheese crumbles. The fries were excellent.

Oz. Tap House is very good for what it is meant to be. Easy access top-shelf bar food/gastropub, family friendly, great place to hang and chat, and the self-serve beverages are a unique concept, and fun! Highly recommend Oz. Tap House!

Stopped by Oz. Tap House for the first time after a Vandegrift H.S. football game, recommended to us by a family member. “Go to Oz (pronounced Oz, like wizard of Oz) Tap House, is great. First things first, we realized later it’s not Oz it’s Oz. Notice the period after the z. Oz. = ounce! Makes perfect sense when you see the concept. Dozens of self-serve taps, pouring cocktails, beer, wine, etc. Way cool! We couldn’t tell how much vodka was actually in the Cosmos we had, but they were tasty! The Community brand ice tea off the charts too. Any place serving Community products knows their stuff … oh yeah, the food. Definitely “gotta go back for more” fare. Fried cauliflower and jalapeños, nice ranch sauce. Our server, unprompted, brought some buffalo wing sauce, “dip a little in here, then the ranch.” Awesomeness! House tacos and cod tacos were delicious, depths of sublime flavors layered into top shelf flour tortillas. Our only observation was using the house taco slaw on the cod tacos may be a better pairing than the sautéed cabbage… at any rate, the tacos were outstanding. We’ll definitely be back, lots more on the menu to explore. And a special shout out to James working the register. Explained the concept, led us through the process, and answered quite a few “newbie” questions. He was great, no need to hire more employees,...

My wife and I travel frequently to Austin and have for a number of years. With two of our children here, we have dined out at many of Austin's finest restaurants. I am a partner in a number of businesses in Sonoma County, California, including golf courses, theaters and a restaurant. I am rarely motivated to write a restaurant review, particularly a glowing review. My wife found Oz. Tap House online and it was very close to our hotel. My personal experience with tap houses is that they have great beer, but mediocre food and generally less than mediocre service.

I went online and looked at the menu, still not particularly enthusiastic. But I decided to place a dinner order for my wife and I and was immediately blown away by the online ordering system. Virtually every menu item can be custom ordered in a dizzying variety of ways. I even remarked to my wife that it was the finest online ordering software that I had ever seen. But ordering is one thing and execution is another.

My wife ordered the Oz. House Burger (Beef), cooked medium, substituting lettuce wrap for the bun and adding avocado with a small avocado jalapeno side salad. Again, the customization options were many. I ordered the Charcuterie Pretzel and a Side Caesar Salad, with no croutons.

I knew the restaurant was only a couple of minute drive, but even then the speed of the announcement of the projected pickup time and the time itself was amazing; less than 15 minutes.

When I picked up the meals at curbside, I told the waitress how impressed I had been with the online ordering system and she thanked me and told me she would have to tell her husband. Turns out Krista and her husband, Sean, own and operate the restaurant. I had assumed with the level of sophistication that it must be a franchise or chain, but no, Oz. is a true mom and pop restaurant.

When leaving I told Krista that the proof would be in (i) whether the delivered food matched the order and (ii) the quality of the food. I had barely started eating when my wife announced that her salad was spectacular and the burger one of the best she had ever had. My meal was every bit as impressive. Again, uncharacteristically for me, I called Krista (even though the restaurant was hopping and I knew she was busy), just to tell her that the food was as good or better than the service.

This is as advertised: true farm-to-market fare, exceedingly fresh, expertly prepared as ordered and quickly delivered. Yes, Oz. may not have McDonald's prices, but it has infinitely superior food, expertly prepared and efficiently delivered.

We admittedly didn't even try what was probably the standout feature of the restaurant: the beer. I assume if the restaurant part of the tap house was spectacular, the beer side of it must be even more so. Next time.

Do yourself a favor and try the Oz. Tap House. My very best wishes to Krista and Sean on a very successful business in a...

We are first time visitors here although we have lived down the street for many years. This evening, due to getting real tired of the ridiculous amount of traffic heading any direction from our area we decided to try one of the few local places we have yet to try. When we arrived it was a little confusing on what we were supposed to do but the staff spotted us immediately and guided us through how to order. You can order at the register or grab a menu at the counter and go find a seat and use the QR code on the table to make your order. Simple enough. While we were sitting there looking at the menu I swear 3 different staff members checked on us to make sure we were doing ok and asked if we needed any help. Staff here is probably the best in all of Austin. They are all that friendly and helpful.

Unfortunately, the food here was just ok but priced way above a place like Chilis which is a similar "American Food" restaurant. The French fries are horrible. I have never met a fry I could eat with ketchup until today. These were so bland and undercooked (and room temp) that after two I just stopped eating them. The fried fish was pretty decent but the tartar sauce was super thin. If you want the best fish, Fries, and tarter you have ever eaten go to The League.

So food quality and cost are a large part of this low review.

The last part of the negative review is atmosphere. We unfortunately picked the wrong seating area. I recommend NOT sitting near the beer station. Our table was surrounded by gossiping 40-50 year olds who were obviously enjoying their drinks a bit too much. It was very annoying.

So her sis the break down. If you are looking to drink a lot of different beers and you are extremely social so louder environments do not bother you and food is a secondary part of your visit this might be an ok stop. Deep pockets and a drinking problem would make you a prime customer demographic. I bet the food taste way better if you are tipsy.

One last time - THE STAFF HERE ARE AWESOME! I wish I could give a 5 start review of the other parts of this business but the food was not even as good a McDonalds and...