Load Off Fannys — Restaurant in Lockhart

We arrived at 5:35 PM, optimistic and hungry, and after a seemingly endless 45-minute wait, we finally got our food. But honestly, the long wait wasn’t the worst part. Oh no, the worst part was the service, which was so bad it felt like we were on an undercover sting to test how poorly a restaurant could treat its customers before they’d walk out. First off, let’s talk about our waitress, if you can call her that. She treated our group of seven (including two kids) like we were the last thing she wanted to deal with. Not a single word of acknowledgment when we sat down, no "Hello," no "How are you guys doing?", just a silent, slightly annoyed nod to take our drink orders. Then came the wait. We had a simple, straightforward order, nothing complicated, and yet it took nearly forty-five minutes to get our food. During that time, we were lucky if our waitress even glanced in our direction. Not once did she apologize for the wait, check if we needed anything, or even ask to refill our drinks. At one point, I seriously wondered if I had mistakenly walked into a "Customer Service Is Optional" establishment. And then, when the food finally arrived, the real fun began. My patty melt was lukewarm, the onion rings were soggy, and the other burgers were barely above room temperature. But here's the kicker, our waitress never once came by to ask if everything was okay. Not a “How’s the meal?” or “Can I get you anything else?” She seemed completely uninterested in whether we were satisfied or just waiting for the check so we could leave in peace. Speaking of the check, once we were finally done, the bill came out as one lump sum. No offer to split it up, no asking if we wanted it broken out by person, just a big ol' “Here, pay up” moment. After $150, I’d expect at least a little courtesy. But nope, just a cold, transactional exchange that made us feel more like a burden than paying customers. At the end of the night, we left feeling like we had been subjected to an unintentional social experiment: How bad can service get before people just walk out without a second thought? Well, we didn’t walk out, but we did leave feeling like we’d been robbed, not just of our money, but of any hope that customer service could be a thing of the past. Next time, I think we’ll go somewhere that remembers the basics: hot food, cold drinks, and a staff who understands that treating customers with basic decency is part of the job...

I so desperately want to give them 5 stars however the service was simply too slow to overlook. I'll start there and end with the positives.

There was only one waitress tending the entire place but it wasn't extremely busy, 4 tables when I first got there and a maximum of 5 the entire time. The waitress was extremely friendly I'll give that to her. She also did everything asked, just very slowly. I could tell every table was having to wait for things and were all slightly annoyed.

Now onto the good. Again the waitress was extremely friendly. The queso wasn't as good as a lot of people say but the fried okra was pretty good and a nice change of pace since it was pickled fried okra. I had the jalapeno cream cheese burger and it's easily one of the best burgers I've had in a very long time. The meat was tender and juicy, the grilled jalapenos and other veggies were fresh and the cream cheese was a very nice touch. The fries were also amazing. My son had the chicken tender sandwich with buffalo sauce and he enjoyed it, but did say it wasn't worth the wait.

Overall I really want to give Load Off Fannys 5 stars because the food was very good but I can't overlook the service. It took over an hour to get a sandwich and a burger, a bit upsetting considering the restaurant wasn't packed. Beyond that I will definitely be back to try some of the other food. I'll revise my review if my next trip results in much better and...

Update 8/2/23 My third visit here and it will not be the last! I had a half Wedge Salad which was awesome and so refreshing in this damn heat we're having. I also got bone-in wings with the Sriracha Pineapple Sauce. They were marvelous! I gnawed the bones like a poverty-stricken child. The best part was the delicious house-made ranch dressing. I will definitely be back for more of that! My server was Hal, the same as last week. She remembered my name and my drink order! That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you create goodwill and loyalty. Anyway, it was another great meal at Fanny's!

Had Barb's Burger which was really good! The server was awesome!

Update 7/26/23 My second visit to Fanny's was just as great as my first. I started with chips and queso (wow, they do NOT skimp on the queso which was really good). Then I had the jalapeño cream cheese burger and OMG that's a helluva good burger! My server Hal was marvelous and she knew what I needed even before I knew it.

While I was there I had time to read all the reviews and all I can say is damn, some of y'all are complete and total holes for the dumb things you said on here, like complaining about the flies and the heat, and complaining about not being served as if you're British royalty....