The Guest House Austin — Restaurant in Austin

I had high hopes for celebrating my birthday here, as I had dined at The Guest House a couple of times before and have really enjoyed the service and food in the past, but unfortunately this time the experience was extremely disappointing. The worst of it was that it was my birthday meal with friends.

First of all, we had to wait to be seated until our whole party arrived, which I know some restaurants do, but it felt unnecessary and definitely set the tone for the rest of the evening. Whilst I was making the reservation a while ago, I specifically requested a table near the DJ and confirmed it multiple times on the phone and via text, yet we were seated as far away as possible at a table in a corner where it was uncomfortably hot. When I asked about the seating and whether we could be sat in the area that I requested and confirmed by the reservation team, the hostess gave excuses that didn’t make sense saying that those tables are reserved for bigger parties and barely offered an apology. I don’t think they knew that I had dined there a couple of times already so I know what the layout of the seating is like. We were a table of four and I saw that there were a few tables of four totally open and available. They told me that people had those tables reserved- well so did I and they knew it was my birthday meal!

Once we got seated, the waitress was friendly-ish, although a little off and didn’t seem to care to make it extra special for my birthday. On the menu, I noticed that a cocktail that used to be $40 (the tea party) which was already a steep price to begin with, now costs $60!!! That is outrageous pricing! I mentioned this to the waitress hoping she would side with me on this and instead I felt gaslighted - at first she even lied and said that the cocktail only went up in price ‘a few dollars’ but later I showed her a photo of menu online that was posted just a few months ago and then she said ‘oh yes the price has gone up because there are ‘more oz’ in the cocktail now.’ I don’t buy that at all since I saw the size of the teapot last night and it was the exact same as before.

The food that we were served was delicious so no complaints there. However, my birthday dessert was totally mishandled. We were given the spoons before the dessert arrived, and I was told by the waitress ‘your birthday dessert is coming’- I thought that was such a weird way to handle a birthday dessert, as usually it is supposed to be a ‘surprise’. We waited a long time for the dessert to come and we were just left to stare at an empty plate of spoons. We had requested more bread earlier during the dinner but the bread arrived after we finished our mains and whilst we were waiting for our dessert. Once the dessert arrived the excitement of the whole thing had worn off and the dessert was just placed in front of me with not much care. The dessert was nice but also very weirdly handled in a way that I’ve never experienced before. It’s as if they didn’t care at all that it’s meant to be a special occasion for me.

After dinner, there was an F1 event at the bar, so we decided to stay for a drink. And what a mistake that was! We waited for 30 minutes to be served and were blatantly ignored. I understand it was busy but the bartender was serving everyone else around us apart from my friend and I. When the bartender finally came to ask for our order, she took a long time to make our drinks, then accidentally gave them to another party. That party had already taken a few sips before realizing the drinks weren’t theirs and at first she wanted to give them back to us but I asked for a replacement because I didn’t want to drink after some strangers had potentially drank from them understandably— this added unnecessary stress and delay.

Overall, it felt like the staff did not prioritize my celebration or take my requests seriously. What should have been a special birthday was frustrating, awkward, and poorly managed from start to finish. I’m not sure I...

An EDIT to my review: my half of the bill last night was $35. That is how much I was charged at the time. Today I see my card has now been charged $83, which I find really disappointing and completely taints the positive experience I had for my birthday last night. I don’t know if I’ll be returning despite my initially positive experience; this is simply negligence on the part of the restaurant and I do not want to risk being charged over double of my bill again. It’s really too bad, it seemed like a good place at the time but is unfortunately poorly managed. A shame, I was quite excited about the restaurant at the time.

Original review: I wanted to take the time to leave a review after my first time at The Guest House last night. I did not receive anything in exchange for this review, for the record:) After reading the reviews, the general assumption going in was that the atmosphere was excellent but the food and service not as great. This was not my experience. Firstly, our server was so sweet and friendly, gave us her recs on the menu, and did not suggest only the most expensive items. She was very attentive and kind the whole night despite the restaurant being extremely busy. It was my 21st birthday, so I was given a glass of the house bubbles and a dessert for me and my friend to share on the house. For the food, we had the house bread, spicy rigatoni, mushroom pizza, and creamed spinach, and split everything family style. It was more than enough food for two people, and we loved everything. The house bread (complimentary) was fantastic and some of the best bread I’ve had at a restaurant. The spicy rigatoni was really good; I had read some reviews saying it was pretty lightly sauced to begin with so I asked if it could be made with a little more sauce than normal, and it was the perfect amount when it arrived. The creamed spinach was also good and we ordered it per the server’s recommendation; it would have been better if it served with bread or crackers but it was still good by itself. The mushroom pizza was probably my favorite this we tried, just really good overall. We chose the sticky toffee pudding with a date cake, espresso mousse, and vanilla bean gelato as a dessert and they added a lit birthday candle. I enjoyed the dessert a lot, too. The atmosphere was of course beautiful and the inside of the restaurant is very upscale. Everyone was dressed very well, which I appreciate. The music was definitely slightly too loud, but I could still speak to my friend across the table. Overall, it was a really great experience and what we paid for the amount of food we ordered was honestly pretty reasonable given this type of restaurant. I’d for sure recommend choosing this place for a birthday; they’ll take great...

I made a reservation at this wonderful establishment for my birthday and I was absolutely blown away by the unbelievable experience I had there. As I entered The Guest House I was greeted warmly by the host who confirmed about my reservation for two and inquired if I am celebrating a special occasion with my guest. After confirming her inquiry she proceeded to take us to a wonderful table situated among the opulence of the restaurant. The atmosphere is very cozy and breathtakingly stunning with the elegant chandeliers and other refined touches among the extravagant interior. Once properly seated, a complimentary bread was brought to our table that I can best describe as having the texture and flavor of a savory croissant.A very special thank you to Julia our waitress, who greeted us with a warm smile and attentive service. We ordered the Spicy Rigatoni as our "starter" that was prepared perfectly to Al Dente with a slight hint of spiciness to it. For our "main course" I ordered the Parmesan Truffle Crusted Filet with roasted allium and a veal reduction. My guest ordered the Free Range Berkshire Pork Chop with heirloom apple butter, braised kale and bbq lentils. Along with our main courses, that words cannot even describe how delectable they were. We ordered Parmesan Truffle Fries to share and Julia recommended a wine to pair with each dish (sadly I cannot remember exactly the name of the wines) but her recommendation did indeed go perfectly with our meal. Julia also attentively refilled our glasses with sparkling water so that we did not have too and would frequently inquire if everything is satisfactory to our expectations. And admittedly that is something I have not come across in countless restaurants I have visited across the world in my travels. After our main course we were surprised with a complimentary birthday dessert that had a candle in the centerpiece and was lit table side for me. Once we finished the dessert that again is undescribable besides phenomenal flavor and creamy delicacy, Julia again made the perfect recommendation to complete the fantastic evening with their Theatrical: Tulgey Woods seasonal margarita with hibiscus & orange blossom fog served at the foot of a tree accompanied by an orange blossom fog I cannot even fathom or describe how breathtaking the presentation was let alone the taste of the drinks and edible cotton candy that formed the tree tops as part of the presentation. In conclusion, this was one of the most memorable and unforgettable birthdays and dinners that I have ever had and it is all thanks to our wonderful waitress Julia and The Guest House! I will be frequenting this establishment often in the foreseeable future as it is unlike...