Bar Louie- Round Rock — Restaurant in Round Rock

Last Visited 12.20.23

Bottom Line Up Front: I would’ve given this place 5 stars if they would be up front about their automatic gratuity.

This place seems trendy with nice vibes. I heard the service was sketchy and the other reviews reflect that. The food was pretty good and aside from the truffle fries, the cost of food was not outside of reason… but the liquor pricing and LACK OF INFORMING of SERVICE CHARGES?!!!

——————

We bought a few rounds of drinks for our party but one guy in our party bought a round of 7, Don Julio 1945 shots at $40/shot.

So that’s about market price but let’s do some math shall we:

• A standard jigger shot: 1.5 fl oz = 44 ml • A standard mini or nip: 50ml (we’ll assume this for easier math) • A fifth: 750ml • 7 shots: 350ml • 7x$40=$280; $280/350ml=$0.80/ml (at this rate a fifth or 750ml would cost $600 a bottle) •A fifth (750ml) of Don Julio 1945 @ Total Wine plus tax: $154.99 @ 8.25%: $167.78 •Mark-up: $600/$167.78≈3.58 or 358%

I get it a bar has to make their money but what really bugged me was the UNANNOUNCED automatic gratuity.

Some of us tip because we feel the service is great or even because we intend to be generous because of holidays. When you don’t announce or advertise the use automatic gratuity (which is technically a service charge and doesn’t necessarily have to go to the service staff) especially in a bar where it’s scientifically proven that people are going to lose their inhibitions and judgement, then compound that with over inflated pricing… at what point does this cease to be just overpriced and not be just predatory? This potentially adversely affects not only the patrons that would become regulars but the service staff as well.

Use a model that rewards customer loyalty and doesn’t just capitalize on the single visit customer. If you ANNOUNCE automatic gratuity and blend it with tips so that customers can better make decisions maybe more patrons would become regulars and not feel like it’s just a money grab - which again doesn’t necessarily benefit the service staff. Having hard times keeping staff on? At least give them all...

I’m genuinely shocked by the rudeness and the lack of common sense of the manager during our visit. I came in on crutches and was just trying to get a feel for the space while waiting for my husband to park. There was no wait (Tuesday night), and we intended to sit at the bar and order food. Unfortunately, the bar was full, and given my limited mobility, we opted for a nearby booth.

My husband politely asked a waitress if we could sit there, and she said yes—she’d even provided us menus. Before we could get settled, the classless blonde hostess came over abruptly and chastised us for not going back to the front to be seated properly. I explained the situation, including the fact that I’m injured and walking is a struggle, but instead of understanding or offering any sort of empathy, she doubled down with an uncalled-for attitude, insisting we had broken "protocol."

We asked to speak with the manager—and to our surprise, it was the same person. Again, instead of apologizing or even acknowledging how unwelcoming her tone had been, she continued to argued with us. The entire situation was unnecessarily confrontational and handled with zero professionalism or compassion.

We decided to leave. It’s a shame, because the waitress who was about to serve us was kind and welcoming, and I truly feel bad she lost out because of this manager's behavior. Hospitality should never feel like a power trip. Extremely...

When we first arrived, there was three hostess at the door. Neither one of them greeted us when I said there was two of us they just looked at us and then we said oh we’ll sit at the bar and then One goes bars there and pointed towards the bar. Got to the bar Bartender was four seats down from us. Not sure what she was doing. She did look up at us didn’t acknowledge us or greet us. We sat there for about a good 10 minutes might’ve been longer we’re at the point where we were thinking of going somewhere else . Bartender finally walked by and said I’ll be with you in a minute We ordered our drinks. She looked at us and said are you going to start a tab and I said sure we were going to eat too. I need a credit card not a problem Bartender Courtney that’s what was on my receipt. She’s just not very personal not very warming. I wouldn’t go to the bar again if she was on the bar. Other Bartender that was on the bar came around a couple times acknowledged us she was very friendly. Got her food there for more than an hour and Courtney started becoming more attention to us. She did recommend the chocolate cake for dessert so we did try that overall foods good dessert was good little. Not sure if if I would go back. But I can’t say I’ve been there and done...