San Ginés Austin — Restaurant in Austin

I preface my review by saying that I was thrilled San Ginés was opening their first location in Austin. I’m a Spanish citizen and have been to many San Ginés locations in Madrid. I love the brand, concept, and food! The opportunity to add another (authentic) Spanish place to El Raval and Kalimotxo in Austin was exciting.

Now for the review… even though I rooted hard for this restaurant, I went there today for an early evening bite and the place was a complete dumpster fire. It was a chaotic and terrible first experience.

First the place: it seemed nice upon entering and even had a somewhat Spanish feel, but it was hard to navigate your way inside and outside the restaurant. The only way to order food was at two food trucks outside and you couldn’t tell which truck served what, or even where to place your order. The patio itself was nice, but was cluttered and the layout impeded the flow of traffic. I expected much more from the restaurant.

Second: the drinks and food. We arrived at 6pm and the first thing we heard once we entered was a rude woman screaming “we’re not selling any more coffee, hot chocolate or drinks…” — at a Chocolatería 🫠🫠🫠 — like what? And at a prime time hour. We also ordered churros and papas bravas. The churros were terrible. They were stale, oily, and had no flavor. The accompanying cup of chocolate was skimpy and not great either. Additionally, the papas bravas didn’t come out for 30+ minutes, and we just left. Utter disappointment. All of this said, you’d be better going to Starbucks, ordering a basic hot chocolate and dipping a butter croissant in it. Seriously.

Third: the service. The woman screaming was a very bad first impression. Add to this that the two food trucks weren’t labeled (Tapas and Churros like they should have been) and the way the servers would deliver orders was super chaotic. There were at least 10 servers running around at all times using their phone flashlights to check customer orders. It was a fully chaotic and stressful experience.

Fourth: the parking. I parked my car in the San Ginés lot and the way the lot is designed led me and others who parked in legitimate spaces to get blocked in. Markings and parking blocks were misleading and inappropriately placed, leading to confusion and guests leaving cars in places that were not in fact parking spaces. Because of that, myself and others were parked in and we had to wait 10 minutes to leave. The manager himself had to come out of the restaurant and ask people to rearrange their cars. He did not apologize and was arrogant, insisting that the issue was a lack of common sense among his clientele and not the obviously poor lot planning. Terrible, terrible customer experience. Incompetence from the design and management of San Ginés. They couldn’t plan ahead and see that parking was going to be an issue?

I really hope that the San Ginés team reads this review (as well as others) and improves the experience. A complete rethink in strategy needs...

This is not a restaurant or even a cafe really. Inside the small building, there is a bar and you can order coffee at the register. There is a large courtyard with lots of tables and chairs, totally open seating. There is no host stand and no waiters to bring you food. You can sit anywhere you want, but you have to order your drink at the bar first and take it to your spot.

There are two different food trucks in this back lot area, one only sells churros and one only sells savory food items (appetizers). This is a nightmare for ordering for the customers. I can’t get in line at the bar and order my cocktail, then hold that while I’m in line at the churro truck, then hold that when I’m in line at the savory food truck and carry it all back to a table. There are no signs marking which food trucks and which counter sells what. You can’t buy any food inside the building it’s basically just a bar with two food trucks out back. The churro truck of course had a super long line and nobody wanted the savory foods. I really hope the owners realize a QR Code online ordering system would be their best strategy. If each table had a QR code where customers can order their food and drinks from their phones (like Sour Duck) and servers bring it to their tables that would make way more sense and feel a little more upscale. My other complaint was that at 7pm on a Sunday night this bar was full of kids, literally many tables of children under 10 years old and the children were sugar high off the churros and running around and being loud. This place doesn’t look family friendly and really should just be classified as a bar/21 and up in the evenings. We left after 1 drink due to the kids for a bar that doesn’t allow kids.

The famous churros and hot chocolate are really good, but beware that the hot chocolate is not to drink it’s more like a chocolate dipping sauce and very thick. Our churros came out hot and crispy and our cocktails were actually delicious. The bar tender was really sweet and provided excellent service.

I would definitely return if they fixed the ordering system, not a fan of food trucks and wish it was not labeled as a restaurant as there are no waiters or food...

I live around the corner and watched as this was being built. Having never heard of San Gine's, I googled them and the video/website looked awesome, so I was eagerly awaiting their opening. While this location looks similar, that is where the comparison ends. There is no hustle and bustle, no eggs and pancakes or salmon bagels, however, they do have a good looking bakery case. Parking is limited, but they do have quite a bit of seating options, albeit, outdoors. The inside fills up quickly particularly since the weather is cold outside, so I suggest you put your belongings down before you stand in line to order. After checking out their very limited menu, I ordered the tortilla espanola, the san-gine choco-latte and cinnamon sugar churros. I asked if I could let him know when I wanted the churros, because I wanted them later and he said that was fine. The barista was very sweet and allowed me to try a sample of their hot chocolate and it was delicious, so I was very excited for my latte. Once you order, they give you a number to place on your table so that when the food is cooked in the outside food truck, they bring it to your table. I did not have to wait long for my coffee that ended up tasting rather bland and I swear it was missing the chocolate. The tortilla espanola was pretty to look at, but taste-wise, it lacked any seasoning so it was just ok. I had only been eating my food for 10 minutes when the churros arrived! I was not happy and being that the waiter did not speak English and my Spanish is limited, I just dealt with it. I have never been a fan of churros as I have only ever had the Mexican kind, but these were delicious with and also without the side of chocolate sauce for dipping. I may stop by again in the evening to see if the menu is different and maybe try a cocktail or two, but with Proud Mary's and Loro across the street and so many other amazing restaurants in close proximity, it will not be...