TLC Austin — Restaurant in Austin

Your first problem is that there are far too many options. Customization is arguably a good thing, but for an indecisive old cuss like me, this is a serious food-pressure problem. If you pick "The Boil" and not any of the many other options on the menu, then you still gotta pick your protein, then your flavor, and then your side sauce. Then, if you want a beer, you have to pick one from thirty different brews on tap. And just when you think you're done picking things, they bring your big tray of food out to you and you set about picking everything clean because the portions are so gosh darn tiny. This is the biggest problem: there's just not nearly as much as food as you were anticipating, and it's delivered in an oversized tray as if to make a mockery of your very real hunger. The "Texas corn and red potatoes" that they promise as sides are so small they weren't even worth mentioning on the menu. I'm talking about three tiny potatoes and a quarter ear of corn. You're beginning to feel like a malnourished castaway marooned on some deserted island, picking every morsel clean as best you can, overheating and unsure as to whether you're sweating over all the spice or just the unsatisfying portions at hand. You look over at your dear companion with whom you're sharing this half-meal and you momentarily consider cannibalism. Alas, you don't have the stomach for it. The serious, unsatisfied hunger is very real, yes, but, for better or worse, love trumps hunger. Your final problem is the bill, which, like the tray, makes a mockery of your hunger by being outrageously large compared to the quantity of food you've just consumed. Sure, seafood is typically pricey, but generally you get more than a few measly morsels for that there pricey price. Anyway, suffice it to say you are totally justified in taking some tools with you when you go, so go ahead and be a pirate—stuff those crab crackers in your pocket and put that wooden mallet in your bag. You deserve it. Now, TLC has a lot of positives, too. The food, albeit severely lacking in quantity, was of a fairly scrumptious quality. The location is also good: it's not far from the river, within walking distance of the springs on a nice, hot summer day. I also enjoyed the aesthetic and atmosphere of the place, including the chalk drawing-wall inside and the outdoor patio that has games for your entertainment and mist-makers for your summertime comfort. I reckon I remember the waitress was quite nice, too. Finally, I like the name of the place because it's open to interpretation. Whatever TLC stands for in your own mind is exactly what TLC stands for in reality, whether that's Time Lapse Conquistador, True Lie Commission, Traveling Lobotomy Company, Total Lamb Collapse, or Tiny Little...

My spouse found TLC through Google reviews and I went to TikTok to see what reviews I could find. This place looks fantastic and she made a reservation yesterday for 8:45pm . We were excited to try a new place for a date night. When we got there, the atmosphere was great. We were seated immediately. When the hostess sat us down at a table there was a waiter with a carafe of water and glasses. The hostess had said this was our waiter and she left. The waiter said he was NOT in fact our waiter but said he served us the water anyway and walked away. I didn’t think too much about it but thought it was odd that the couple who came after us who sat at the next table was being talked to by the waiter. I brushed it off because he did state we weren’t his table. So my spouse and I waited for our actual waitress/waiter to come. That person never came and we were ignored. My spouse and I thought about going to the bar ourselves to get ourselves drinks but it was just weird that we saw these other tables getting served and we were just sitting there. Eventually the waiter who somehow wasn’t our waiter came by took our order because no one had come to wait on us. We got our food and it had very generous portions but it was hard to enjoy the food because we were ignored and that felt like we were just kind of there while we saw other people being waited on. Idk if it was how we were dressed or idk why we were ignored to be quite honest. I tried to rationalize it. I mean despite all that we were hoping to get more drinks and dessert but when no one came to check to see if we needed more water, if our food was good, if we were okay, our desire to try other things passed and we just wanted to leave and we lost our appetites. Then eventually I got the attention of the hostess who turned out to be the GM I believe. She did take the time to listen to me about our experience and I did appreciate that. She did take care of the majority of the meal and we just paid for the alcoholic drinks. I know that’s all she could do after the fact. I just want to tell TLC Austin that I would much rather have had GREAT service and paid full price then to get ignored and have our food...

The atmosphere, whether indoors or outdoors, was delightful. However, the dining experience fell short of expectations. While the seafood boil was okay, it didn't quite justify the price, especially considering that nearly half of the seafood options were unavailable.

The real issue, though, was the service. It took an unusually long time for a waitress to attend to us, and when she finally did, she seemed a bit impatient and uninterested in providing any recommendations or detailed explanations. For instance, when I attempted to order bacon-wrapped shrimp, I was informed that they were out of bacon. This trend continued as I tried to order various seafood items, only to be told that they were unavailable. It was frustrating that this information wasn't communicated earlier. Below was an excerpt of the conversation:

Me: "Can I have the bacon wrapped shrimp" Waitress: " Sorry we are out of bacon." ... (Started to order seafood boil) Me: "Can I have 1 lbs of shrimp, 1lbs of short neck clams..." Waitress: "Sorry we are out of clams" Me: "How about mussels" Waitress: "All kinds of clams are out" Me: "What about lobster?" Waitress: "That's out too" Me: "then what do you have?" Waitress: "Everything on the menu" ... (It turned out only shrimp and crabs were available)

Regarding the flavor, we selected roasted garlic assuming it would be mild, as indicated on the menu and I even confirmed this with the waitress. However, it turned out to be spicy with clear sparse red pepper in it, which was disappointing, especially since we had a child with us who couldn't handle spicy food. While I understand the kitchen may not always control the spiciness, a heads-up would have been appreciated.

Overall, this experience took place on Mother's Day, and while we didn't have high expectations, it did put a damper on our...