Finley's Round Rock — Restaurant in Round Rock

Finley’s has some positive things going for it, mostly location and real estate. The inside of the restaurant, particularly the bar area, looks pretty nice! They’ve done some cool things with the ceiling and some of the ambient lighting. The outside is a big courtyard with a tree in the middle of it, adorning string lights, with several televisions around for sporting events. Unfortunately, the outdoor bar itself is VERY small and guests tend to be hovering around/cutting in between stools while you’re trying to enjoy your space and conversation with the person you’re sitting at the bar with, so it’s generally difficult to enjoy yourself if you sit at the outdoor bar. They need to implement a system for dividing guests who are ordering drinks from the bar and guests who are sitting at the bar.

Their food is average, but good enough. The menu is all over the map, anywhere from brussell sprouts with asian sweet n sour sauce to deep fried pretzel sticks with sausage. Prices are reasonable.

Their drinks are slightly elevated. I can tell someone who knows mixology created their cocktail list and we enjoy at least one of their cocktails as a go-to. Let’s put an asterisk on that for now...

Unfortunately, there are some glaring issues with this restaurant which make it tough to frequent. The two major issues seem to be consistency of product, and service. Both are non-existent.

My wife and I have been here four times now and sadly, the only two consistencies we’ve witnessed are that the service is almost entirely non-existent, and the drinks and food are wildly different depending on the night of the week/person making them.

Honestly, my wife and I would love to come here once a week. We live close-by and we love to do date night/happy hour regularly. But we don’t know if we’re going to get the good, the bad, or the ugly when we go. We like the bartender Nick, though.

We came back to the restaurant earlier this week and noticed it was entirely empty inside, but busy on the back patio. We went inside because I’ve worked in the bar/restaurant industry for a long time and I assumed we would get better service at an empty bar.

I was wrong.

In 3+ hours, not a single bartender, server, or manager asked us how we were doing, how our drinks or food were, if we would like to order anything additional….nothing. “Service” is non-existent here. There is absolutely no hospitality whatsoever. If you want something, you’re going to have to flag someone down and ask for it. There was even one point where I was light-heartedly yelling over to the group of bartenders, MANAGER, and server who were standing around behind the bar and I STILL couldn’t get their attention. It particularly bothered me when I noticed we had empty waters and empty cocktails (after one round…during happy hour) and our server Olivya was standing behind the bar in the corner on her phone, completely oblivious to us. This was maybe 10-15 minutes after the daytime bartender introduced her to us. We had food menus and drink menus in front of us and said we were going to order more soon. She didn’t make any eye contact with us, didn’t help us at all.

I eventually had to speak up and say “EXCUSE ME” and finally one of the male bartenders came over to help. At this point, there was another couple at the bar who had been receiving attention. I ordered us another round and went to use the restroom. This time, I timed them! After over 5 minutes had passed, I returned and we still had empty drinks and waters on the bartop and I noticed the male bartender was chatting with the other couple at the bar still. Their bathroom is outside and across the courtyard, for perspective on how slow the service is.

Every drink we ordered tasted different from the last. Also came in different glasses and sometimes I’d get about 3oz of liquid and sometimes about 5oz. We ordered the same drink all night from their cocktail list, La Ultima Palabra. We left without eating dinner because nobody once checked on us proactively.

Finley’s is desperate for better management...

Finley's is our preferred bar in Round Rock, Texas, and it has proven to be a standout among the downtown bars in the area. As avid gamers, my best friend and I enjoy coming to bars to play League of Legends, and I wanted to find a similar experience in Round Rock, a place I frequently visit due to my brother residing here. When I'm in town, I always seek a bar where we can gather, engage in gaming, indulge in drinks, and have discussions ranging from schoolwork to work life, in addition to typical bar activities.

After trying several bars in Round Rock over the course of ten months, we struggled to find our ideal go-to spot. I want to emphasize the timeline to provide a comprehensive understanding of our search.

While some bars offered friendly service, their atmosphere didn't resonate with us, especially as gamers. We needed an environment that made us feel like we belonged, catering specifically to gamers. Unfortunately, not all bars grasp the nuances of what gamers desire. Some establishments were amicable but lacked outside smoking areas, which was a dealbreaker for us. Smoking is an essential part of our gaming experience.

Fortunately, we eventually discovered a bar that ticked all the right boxes. It boasts the perfect atmosphere, catering extensively to gamers. Moreover, the adjacent open space with a small bar counter provided an added convenience. We can comfortably sit in the back, smoke, converse, and immerse ourselves in gaming. The staff's friendliness towards gamers is evident in their willingness to accommodate our needs, allowing us to plug in our laptops using their outlets.

Overall, Finley's has successfully met our expectations as the go-to bar in Round Rock, offering a fantastic ambiance, gamer-friendly environment, and thoughtful amenities. It has truly become our preferred destination for gaming and...

First time going. I had no clue Finley's has been there for roughly 7yrs because it is located on a street in the back. Love the 2 large size patios. We sat on the patio with the shady trees. I love the outside seating area. Very relaxed and you can comfortably watch whatever games are playing. We arrived for happy hour around 4pm on a Thursday. There were 3 to 4 large parties with one waitress but she did her best to keep up with everyone. The waitress was pleasant and we were understanding about the delays we experienced. It was not her fault. On to what we ordered.

Happy hour house margaritas for $5 - very bland and tastes water down Our waitress recommended the lavender Haze which was awesome. Hubby and I both ordered 2. Food- I ordered the wings with Korean BBQ sauce well done, hubby ordered the peach habanero wings, well done, we also ordered a side of sweet potato fries and I ordered regular fries.

Wings - The sauce on both Wing orders were really good. The downside was that we both asked for extra crispy, well done wings and they weren't cooked based on our request. A little too moist for me.

The sweet potato fries were really good. It seems as if they had a little bit of vinegar on them to cut some of the sweetness. My husband and I both were trying to figure out what was on the fries. They were seasoned well.

My regular fries at first the waitress forgot to put them in and when they were finally brought to the table I could have passed on them. Just Fry's. I wish they would have seasoned them a little more like they did the sweet potato fries.

Because of the outdoor patios I can see us going back again for that lavender Haze drink alone. I'm thinking maybe it was a one off with the wings and I'll give them another chance because the flavor was there, they just weren't cooked how I prefer them.

Total without...