Cousin Louie’s Italian American — Restaurant in Dripping Springs

We went in for our first time with an open mind and truly felt like we ordered a nice amount to get a taste of the menu! Before I get to the food I will say there is plenty of convenient parking which is nice, you don’t necessarily need to make reservations for a weekday dinner, and the atmosphere was a cozy Italian yet slightly upscale feel so those are positives.

We didn’t realize it was a no liquor so keep in mind it’s just wine and beer (it’s not necessarily bad but we went in thinking fun cocktails would be on the menu!)

Our server was kind but unfortunately I think some of our food sat too long in the Que so when we got our mozzarella sticks the cheese was already hardening and there wasn’t any stingy hot gooeyness inside. The flavor was there and the potential was there to be a wonderful app though. Same with our pasta limon, it was not creamy and was just barely warm so it didn’t have the pasta texture I was expecting or used to.

All the pasta items we ordered seemed to be way overcooked from an actual noodle / pasta standpoint. The lasagna was basically mush and there was zero opportunity to twirl the pasta limon noodles on a fork because it was kind of like a dense pasta mountain of barely warm sauce.

Now for the food… some of it was good!

Mozzarella sticks - would be wonderful if they came to your table (every time) right out of the oven or fryer. It will make or break a mozzarella stick app if the cheese has already started to harden. Which was the case :( the marinara sauce was delish though!

Cesar Salad - this was really delicious! 10/10 for this salad. We didn’t get any protein on it but as a standalone dish it was great!

Kids spaghetti and meatballs - I didn’t try it but my daughter devoured.

Lasagna - comes in a skillet so it appears to be delish but this was unfortunately the worst lasagna my husband and I have ever tried. It quite literally does NOT have any firmness, the pasta sheets are so overcooked the whole dish turns into a soup like mush and the flavor is truly like a canned chef boyarDee. We are not hard critics and we can easily enough be pleased but this was a very different type of lasagna that didn’t hit any marks aside from it was served in a skillet. It also has mushrooms in it and my husband can’t eat those so he didn’t even have more than one bite. If you order this don it think of your typical red sauce / cheese / pieces of meat throughout… you can’t even taste the meat or feel the different textures of any layers.

Pasta Limone with Shrimp - the plate looked pretty when delivered but I quickly realized, like the mozzarella sticks, it sat in the Que for far too long. It was just slightly warm and was already a dense mountain of very overcooked pasta that was so mushy I couldn’t “twirl” it with a fork”. I just cut into it like a casserole situation. The shrimp was delicious but I believe you get 4 or 5 smaller / medium size shrimp for an extra $10 but they were cooked well so I didn’t mind paying what might seem to be too much money for what you’re given, protein wise.

We ordered two sides:

butternut squash - this was amazing! Very delicious. Perfect texture and taste. Think slightly caramelized / brûlée butternut squash slices

roasted potatoes - these were also very delicious. Very buttery and not a firm overcooked potato. We loved these as well.

Overall unfortunately my husband said he would never go back. I will give it another try with friends or if the rest of my family was up for it. Based on the other reviews it seems like the food, in the flavor / texture category is missing the mark as well. I know these are family recipes from decades of cooking but it’s just missing the flavor profile when translated from cooking for a family to a larger scale restaurant. I really really wanted to like everything or most of it but will give it another go if I’m with someone else who...

My husband and I were excited about trying this restaurant as there aren't a bunch of non fast-food sit down restaurants in the area, but let me tell you, it was a giant disappointment from the beginning. When we walked in, it looked like the hostess couldn't figure out their tablet and find a table for us to sit in, even though 70% of the restaurant was empty. We finally get seated outside (we weren't even asked if we wanted to sit outside), and we're given our menus, then we're left there for almost 10 minutes with no one coming to our table. The table right near us had a server hanging out with the customers talking about babysitting and their mutual neighborhood. Which is fine, but it went on from before we sat down, for almost 15+ minutes. Finally a female server came to our table to tell us our server is busy and she came over to take our drink order. We gave her the order (a sprite and sparkling water, which she asked if pellegrino was ok, then brought us Ferrarelle) and that also took awhile. Finally, she brought our drinks and said "I guess I'll be your server today". We're not sure why/how, but we've officially been there over 20+ minutes and had just gotten our drinks. She asked if we wanted any appetizers and order calamari. I also asked for bread, as I saw the table next to us had a basket of it. About 10 more minutes later, our calamari arrived and still no bread. And let me tell you, this was the saddest calamari I have ever gotten. The calamari was so thin, it turned dry and dehydrated from frying. I understand trying to save money on what you order, but it was ridiculous. It was obvious how cheap the restaurant was trying to be. So the server girl asked how it was and I told her honestly. Next thing I know a manager comes up and apologizes and says she's taking it off the bill. It was appreciated and nice of them to do it. I didn't ask but they offered and said we shouldn't have to pay for something we didn't enjoy. We thanked her and started eating the bread we finally got from our server. Then our pasta dishes arrived and while my husband said the spicy rigatoni was fine (he said it was nothing special that wowed him and could've gotten the same from a jar) my Chicken Marsala was very bland. It tasted like JUST mushrooms. Yes, the sauce has mushrooms, but it should take like more than just that 1 ingredient. You can tell the chicken is not seasoned prior to breading and there's no seasoning in the breading either. I think they were hoping the sauce would carry the flavor. I told the server but also let her know I didn't want her to tell her manager and have them remove it from our bill like the calamari. We weren't there to get a free meal and I didn't want them removing another item on our bill. I just knew we weren't going to be referring the restaurant to friends and won't be eating there again ourselves. The server was polite enough which is why we didn't give the restaurant 1 star. But the food was sad. The whole experience with dining there was...

This restaurant has turned a former burger joint into a charming Italian-themed spot with a great atmosphere. The space feels upscale and inviting.

Prices are in line with a high-end Italian restaurant, but the food didn’t fully match the cost. The $20 spaghetti was disappointing, tasting like boxed noodles with a sauce similar to Prego. The meatballs were the best part of the dish and did seem homemade. 3/5

The bolognese had good flavor, and the stuffed pasta shells were a nice addition. The fresh cheese on both plates added a quality touch. 5/5

We started with the ricotta and honey bruschetta ($11.99). The flavor pairing was better than expected, with the fresh mint adding a nice layer. It leaned very sweet, almost like a dessert. Probably won’t order again. The portion was too large for two people and would be better shared by four. 3/5

The drink glasses were too small, requiring constant refills. By the third refill, there was no ice left and the soda/tea was room temperature. Larger glasses would be a big improvement.

This place has real potential to become a go-to Italian restaurant in Dripping Springs. We hope to see more homemade pasta and higher quality ingredients that reflect the price. We’ll give it a few months...