Roland's — Restaurant in Austin

Let me tell you...I'm all for supporting a black owned business..but that DOES not mean that I'm going to let bad service pass. My boyfriend and I came from Houston to Austin for a mini bae cae. We looked up soul food restaurants and this one was on the list. Mind you...I read the reviews and they seemed good. I did notice one that said the cashier asks or tries to guilt trip you in to a tip as soon as you order. I laughed that off. 😒 I wasn't ready. I really wasn't.

So...we get there and find a place to park...that's sarcasm because it's like 6 spots to park. Anyhow...we went in...made our order and as the lady rang us up...SHE ASKED FOR A TIP!! I have NEVER eaten anywhere and had them ask me for a tip before I even so much as sat down. STRIKE ONE!

We paid and asked what drinks they had...they pointed to a counter and there were 3 plastic pitchers. One had hawaiian punch...the other some type of lemonade...and the third had water until a worker walked up and dumped off brand tea into it and stirred it up.

Anyways...they brought our food out in like 3 minutes. I ordered meatloaf...black eyed peas and cabbage. Whoever warmed the meatloaf up in the microwave forgot to heat it up long enough so that the gravy could thin...😒...the cabbage was lukewarm...and the BLACK EYED PEAS...had no sauce...and were dry and hard. They had not been cooked long enough. The cornbread...😒😔..bless their soul...it was barely warm and kinda wet 🤔 on top. Jesus take the wheel!

My boyfriend ordered fried fish and shrimp which was also magically cooked in 3 minutes. 😒🤔😒 It was supposed to be fresh. It was clearly from the day before...there was no crunch to it...there wasn't a lick of grease on any of it. It was limp..😂 Just saaaaad af. He poured so much hot sauce on that ish. Lol

I could not believe it....the entire time I kept thinking whyyyyy oh whyyy did Ms. Lola have to leave Austin. Her food was the best!

Lesson learned...never again. My Granny always said if you can't SMELL the food cooking you have no business eating it..and I understood exactly what she meant. Just say no to MICROWAVED FOOD if you are running...

The best food in Austin, TX. There, I said it! Outstanding food and excellent service! I will eat here every single time I am in Austin! Roland’s is on Chestnut street, its painted bright orange so you wont miss it. There was plenty of parking out front, even during lunch time. The ambiance is what you would expect from a soul food spot. There are at least a dozen tables, everything is clean and the walls are adorned with features from local magazines and awards for being the most badass food on the planet, pretty much. I was greeted by two lovely ladies the second I walked in the door. The place felt like home and I hadnt been in there a minute yet. Everything smells so good, and the menu had a little bit of everything. It made it really hard to choose, especially with the sides. I could see the sides and wanted all of them, but ultimately decided on baked chicken with yams and greens. Rene, my server, asked if I wanted dressing. Ive never been a big dressing fan, but everything smelled so good, I told her why not. My son ordered wings and fries, with mac an cheese and peach cobbler. All dishes come with 2 sides and cornbread. I just dont know where to begin. Everything was on point. The dressing that I wasn’t even sure about to begin with, was one of the best things I have ever eaten. The chicken was beautifully seasoned, and had a lil kick to it. The greens and yams were delicious and the cornbread almost made me cry. Im not kidding. My son said the wings were the best he’d ever had and Id have to agree. You can tell they were fried tge right way- in really hot oil, because they were fried to perfection: crispy with almost no grease. They were perfect. The macaroni and cheese was rich and creamy and full of flavor. My son loved the lemonade and the peach cobbler, which we ended up taking with us because we were too full from lunch. I forgot to mention that the portions were fat as hell. This is the best food I have eaten in Austin yet. Rolands does not disappoint and I...

I went there on April 3rd, this was my last weekend here in Austin, I had ordered Oxtail , rice gravy, candy yams, green beans, peach cobbler, I also ordered the Kool-aid that was watered down . When I tell you they are wrong for charging 21.00 for one Oxtail an a neck-bone that was not on the menu. I took my plate back in to let the lady know that it was only one oxtail and that there was a neck-bone in my plate. She seemed surprised that I knew what it was talking about lol I am a country girl I know my meats. After that she said I will get you another order . I got that ordered went back to my truck opened it up it was the same thing. At that point I just said forget it I wasn’t taking it back.( I only went there because Big Mama’s Kitchen, permanently closed. Now that’s where you would get your money’s worth. She changed 36.00 for hers , I promise you that you got what you paid for and then some it was all Oxtails no other meats aided in . ), Now the candy yams were good and the cornbread, I usually wait until I get home to eat my food not sure why but I am glad that I open it up to taste it . If not I would have been home that’s a 30 minute drive due to traffic. I would have been so mad 😡 . You think of all the People that didn’t open their food until they got home. You wonder why people don’t support you is because you always try to get over on people. Just sale what you say . I will never go back there again. So...