Swedish Hill — Restaurant in Austin

UPDATE: demoted from 4 stars to 3 for their consistently inconsistent quality control and increasingly smaller portion sizes.

Swedish Hill has been a staple pick for brunch since the first time I’ve visited. Their pastries are delicious and tend to sell out fast by the afternoon. Unfortunately, they recently have been having issues with consistency and quality control as their portion sizes will vary greatly from visit to visit. While the food is still tasty this can be frustrating as a particular dish you loved the first time you had it may not be so great the next, particularly their deli items.

Pictured is an orange rum cake, seasonal hand pie, salmon lox bagel platter, deli trio with oranges and beets, rotisserie chicken salad, and pesto pasta salad, and a matcha latte.

The matcha latte was pretty good.

The pastries, however, are always the highlight of the meal. The orange rum cake was my favorite this time and was moist, sweet, and tangy with an orange glaze. The seasonal hand pie was wonderfully crunchy with a nice layer of coarse sugar that paired well with the jam inside.

For the deli trio the rotisserie chicken salad is always a must-pick for me. The oranges and beets were light and refreshing. The pesto pasta salad rounded off the trio well and was savory and filling. The portions this time were also much larger than usual.

The salmon lox bagel is also another staple pick. They provide cream cheese, capers, onions, and dill with your choice of bagel. This time there was about half as much smoked salmon as normal which was a minus. Unfortunately this amount of salmon is becoming the norm which frankly is barely enough for a single half bagel. If I’m paying nearly $20 for a bagel and lox I expect more than two thin slices of salmon.

Overall Swedish Hill is still favorite of mine and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a tasty brunch. I would like to see some more consistency on the portion sizes, but otherwise still enjoy their delicious pastries and food items. It has been getting increasingly more difficult to justify their prices for the amount food that you get, but I think it is still worth trying...

I keep trying to love this place, but i just don’t think I can. The menu appeals to me, it’s the kind of food I would like to order for breakfast, but it’s just lacking in so many ways. You order at the counter and then sit down to have your food delivered to your table. I’ll start by saying there are much better bagels and cream cheese in Austin. The menu pricing is also kinda odd/off. For $4.50 you can get a bagel with cream cheese that you must spread on the bagel yourself. For $18 you can get the deconstructed lox and bagel, which adds some smoked salmon, capers, and a stack of fresh tomato, red onion, cucumber, sprouts, and dill. The price jump is a little much for what it is. I gave up on the dessert case a year ago, and don’t try anything from that anymore, but every once in a while I think “oh I like the outdoor seating, the bagels are alright, I’ll go for a bagel.” Then I just feel let down and leave unsatisfied. My boyfriend said he felt like he was eating a grocery store bagel today.

I also noticed today how ridiculous the order at the counter tipping system is- 20, 25 or 30% are the three standard percentages on the screen. I’m a pretty standard 20% tipper at sit down restaurants, but this just feels like a bit of a stretch for the services that are given here.

Parking can be difficult when busy, but not always. Today we got a parking spot on the first try through the lot.

The outdoor seating is pleasant, shaded, and has a variety of table size options. It’s dog friendly as well. our table was pretty dirty today.

It’s in a good location downtown, so if you’re in downtown, there’s that!

Overall I give this place three out of five stars because it isn’t crummy but it isn’t great. Chances are I’ll end up here...

Update: Since relocating to their temporary space the block over, the pastries have shrunk, and I don’t think the prices reflect that. I would say all their pastries are at least a third the size they were when I originally wrote this review. Very disappointing.

My husband and I frequent Swedish Hill about once a week for coffee and pastries, and having samples pastries from several places both local and abroad, here are my thoughts:

What’s Good: By far the best thing about Swedish Hill is their staff. They’re super friendly and very accommodating, and a couple even know our order by memory. I also think they serve up some of the best lattes in Austin. And their Nutella morning bun is—in my opinion—their best pastry (only available on the weekends).

What Could be Better: We regularly order their almond croissant and cinnamon role, and both range from ok to not so good. The almond croissant, while having a great taste, is consistently over baked (sometimes slightly burnt), giving it slightly crunchy texture and causing it to quickly crumble apart. Perhaps this is their take on almond croissant, but I much prefer the softer, chewier texture of a traditional croissant. The texture of their cinnamon role also seems off and is akin to a loaf of white bread. It could also benefit from a little more frosting and filling. My last critique, and this especially is especially subjective, is the noise level. The acoustics are not great and once it gets to half capacity, the talking and music can become deafening and overwhelming; thus we tend to get there right when they open and leave once it becomes busier.

Would I recommend visiting Swedish Hill? Yes! You’ll definitely find something to love, and it has nice vibe...