Culture Club — Restaurant in Buda

Cool spot, here’s my best shot at an honest first impression review and the reason for the five stars:

I’m going to start with the great, that’s the buildout. It’s very easy to see that there was a lot of attention paid to the design and accents in Culture Club. The lighting is unique and the retro pinball machines are a very nice touch. It’s also got quite a classy and modern feel with a tip of the hat to old school rock vibe that they were going for with the theme. I’m not a huge fan of the indoor basketball game machine, I feel like it takes a bit away from the ambiance but that’s a personal thing. I can also see the basketball machine indoors creating a lot of noise inside when used that could be a bit of a turn off.

The also great - Justin, Brian, and the rest of the crew (apologies if there’s a misspelled name in here, I went for the most common spellings). Everyone made sure to say hi and make a little small talk which is absolutely crucial for a new business. Everyone was very friendly and kind.

The food - we ordered six traditional wings buffalo and asked for them extra crispy as well as a pepperoni pizza. The wings came out and I’m not entirely sure whether they were cooked extra crispy or if that’s the normal way they would be cooked. Regardless, the crunch on the skin was about as perfect as it comes. The meat was juicy and the wings were not overly greasy, consistency-wise I was very happy. The only dig on the wings is that the buffalo flavor was an after thought, it was there, but I would have liked a little more buffalo flavor. If I have to sacrifice a little flavor for the consistency of the wings I got, I can live with that 7 days a week.

The pizza was good and a value for the price point. I honestly look at the pizza as a bar pie and not an artisan pizza so I was not disappointed. More akin to going to a cool local spot to enjoy some drinks that has the bonus of having pizza as its star offering. That’s a win in my book.

The primary reason I’m giving a 5 star review here is because I believe all of the pieces are there to make this a great addition to south Austin. Before I left my review, I could not help but notice that there was a sole review that fell short of what Culture Club is looking for and based solely on the response, I can see that they are open to suggestions in order to win the continued business of everyone that walks through the door.

Huge props to the graphic designed that did your logo, that’s a top notch job.

Culture Club deserves your visit to see what they’re up to and I am looking forward to seeing the place grow and thrive. Well done folks,...

Really wanted to give a 3 but the pizza was good and has potential. Very slow night… maybe 5 couples plus us and one group. If you’re not drinking, I was not, options are limited. I asked for Coke Zero… just told “no.” Like, please follow that up with what you do have then? Stuck with water. Ordered pepperoni rolls at the suggestion of the bartender and tator tots with a meat combo pizza. Tator tots tasted like Sonic, no biggie, pepperoni rolls had maybe 1.5 pepperonis and a few sprinkles of cheese. Definitely not something I’d get again unless they can put in extra cheese which I think is a no because they tasted like they were frozen from a food delivery service and not made on site. The pizza was good though! Really good. Everything on it tasted fresh, pepperoni was crisp but not burnt, plenty of cheese without it drowning, and excellent crust. Don't taste your time in apps and just get a pizza each. You’ll have a slice or two to take home but really good. Vibe is relaxed, good mixture of younger (20’s) and older (30’s-40’s) folks, and several things to do - ping pong, cornhole, pinball, and a couple of TVs. What I wish they had…. More TV’s - 2 is not enough; topo chico or Diet Coke or Coke Zero would be awesome! ; clean tables - we had to wipe ours down and get something stuck all over it off so we could sit there . It was the only table in the yard not being used; better lighting by the pinball machines- dark and creepy since the actuarial is well lit; better appetizers or stop allowing people to waste their money on frozen stuff; friendlier more helpful staff - after the drink conversation I had walked in for a water refill and was pointed back to the water station. Ok, cool. Thanks. But you have 2 people at the bar so, why don’t you create a welcoming environment and perhaps say “sure . there’s a water station right there where you came in for your convenience as well.”

Little things. Which made it just an ok experience. We wanted to like it. They do have potential or perhaps it was an off night. We will try it once more just in case. And to...

I have been here twice so far and this spot is virtually in my backyard. I wanted so badly for this place to be a new ' go to' spot but I can confidently say it's completely missed the mark on both visits. With the amount of competition in Austin and even on Menchacha alone, I don't see this spot lasting for more than a year.

Food- Went with a group the first time and tried most of the menu. Two types of pizza, caesar salad, fries, 2 types of wings and garlic knots. At best, everything tasted like concession stand food. They would be better off operating a ghost kitchen with the space they have. If you have to pick something, the garlic knots and fries were probably the best of the bunch. Genuinely shocked by any positive reviews on the food here other then the price being reasonable.

Drinks- Had some mixed drinks but mostly stuck with cans and draft beer. Prices are fine and they seem to run decent drink specials on weekends or for games.

Atmosphere- I actually like the vibe/theme, they play great music and the outside section is really nice. Inside- I found the tables and chairs were pretty uncomfortable and not somewhere I'd want to sit for a long time to chill and have some drinks.

While the pinball machines LOOK great, none of them have been functional (seriously not one) in the times we've visited. I'd suggest swapping these out for more built in, booth style seating.

Service- Meh, my partner didn't have a positive experience but I didn't interact as much with the staff and was mostly fine from what I could tell.

TLDR-

If you live nearby and want to grab a few drinks to watch the game in the outside area, then you'll have a fine time.

Skip the food and if the weather is bad where indoor seating is the only option, I'd go to one of the many...