Texas French Bread — Restaurant in Austin

There is a lot that is positive about this place. But just once when I'm looking for a good place to get a pastry and a coffee with a cute atmosphere I'd like to not feel like I have to sacrifice something to get it. (Not to compare too strongly cause they are in completely different leagues) Mozart's Coffee on the river has beautiful ambiance and pretty good pastries and the espresso drinks are terrible, so there the sacrifice is the quality of the coffee. Here the sacrifice was the service. When we entered we went to the front counter, there is apparently a hostess and so the four people at the front counter said she would be coming soon. She told us there was a 20 minute wait. We said okay, could we just get something to go? We only wanted pastries and coffee. She quickly responds with "Actually we can't do any of our menu items to go. Sorry" So we clarify "Sorry, we just wanted to get a pastry and coffee is that possible to-go?" she said yes, let us order from the front counter (something that could have been offered ahead of time) and we order. The drip coffee was broken so they were only serving espresso drinks, but all their to go mugs were missing tops so they were only serving open espresso drinks. We noticed a community table that had some people at it but it was never offered so we assumed they were using it for seating so we stood awkwardly in the center of the restaurant, we weren't the only ones, it seemed that other families who were happy to wait for their table (nothing wrong with that) Were waiting by the bathrooms,at first I thought they were waiting for the restroom but the longer we were there the more we realized there just wasn't any place to properly wait in the restaurant.

A nice couple behind us ordered pastries and a coffee as well and the lady behind the counter said they could sit at the community table and eat and drink them there while they wait for a table. So back to the counter I go to ask about that and yeah the community table is open seating.

This sounds petty but for some place so attemptedly upscale there were too many missed moments to offer something that would have made us less intrusive guests. Instead of letting us stand in the middle of the restaurant awkwardly maybe suggest the community table. Instead of telling us that we can't order certain things to go maybe don't instantly assume people came to the restaurant only for the full meals. This would be a normal expectation if you had a hostess stand and not a large coffee shop style counter that looks as if you expect people to order a pastry and coffee.

We walked in confused about where to go, with no direction and stayed confused the whole time. We ended up eating our pastries and drinking our coffee's on the patio that was closed due to rain because it just felt so unwelcoming inside, it would have been one thing if this place had the grittiness of a real french bistro, it doesn't have to cater to your every need but the lack of direction made no sense, every time we tried to adjust our expectations a new curveball was thrown and it was odd.

This place makes lovely butter croissants and I'm thrilled that I get to enjoy them as they are catered to my office sometimes and it feels like that is their niche, they do well with wholesale and catering but they didn't feel prepared to handle people in their actual restaurant. I don't think I'll be venturing back, instead I'll keep looking for a cozy and more organized cafe/bistro in the city, they don't have to be the most polite but their layout/system for dealing with customers during waits or short trips needs...

To start off, I love this place. We used to come for breakfast often, because the basic breakfast is another level. From the eggs to the toast, everything was consistently extra delicious. Today’s visit tarnished that love. We (partner and I) haven’t been in at least 6 months since we moved across town, but we were craving it and decided to make the drive. We were seated pretty quickly, ordered our drinks and food at the same time. What we ordered: 2 sides of eggs, 1 side of bacon, 1 side of toast, 1 side of potatoes, and 1 croissant (the actual plates are too big for us to finish). She read the order back quickly, then she was off. Our food was taking awhile, we heard our server tell the table next to us that the kitchen was ambushed with orders and offered them pastries. She still hadn’t come up to us since our drinks. 35 minutes after we ordered, someone else dropped our food off. We received: 1 side of eggs, 2 sides of toast, and 1 side of bacon. With that many plates missing I assumed the rest would be coming out, so we began eating our sides. Our server never came to check in after the food got dropped off, we finished our sides pretty quickly and were looking around lost and confused. Our server came to grab our plates, I was waiting for her to tell the rest would be out soon, instead she said she’d grab the check. I was speechless, I had just then realized she never put in the rest of our order. I seethed in my seat quietly, too annoyed to talk to her and too annoyed to wait for our missing food. We checked out, left, and ended up stopping for tacos. This isn’t the restaurant we knew and loved, probably could’ve gone through a drive thru for better service. Call us when the old Texas French...

Even before their 2022 fire, it had been many years since I visited TFB, a place I frequented in my days as UT. We decided to try it for brunch on a gorgeous weather day to sit outside and were bitterly disappointed with the value. The photo is of my $14 (before tip) meal! I took the pic about 1/3 way thru the avocado toast bec I was still reeling at the price and thought it best to give some feedback. The thin slice of bread with some well seasoned mashed avocado was delicious, but that was literally all we got! The cappuccino was horrid, like it came out of an instant pod, bec it had a weird after taste. I would love to continue supporting a local staple. But TFB, you gotta do a little better for the price point and can’t just call it avocado tartine so it sounds fancy but not deliver. At least a small side of fruit or breakfast potatoes or perhaps 2 slices of avocado toast, if that’s all that’s being served, so we don’t have to drive away from brunch and literally go shell out more money for lunch and better coffee elsewhere! The outdoor seating was dog friendly and lovely under trees but the uneven footing may be a little tough for those with...