Leona Botanical Cafe & Bar — Restaurant in Sunset Valley

Soft opening, and there's still work to be done, but this is an amazing venue already. We didn't get food, but the pastries looked delicious. Apparently they'll change providers every 3 months. We ordered a cortado and a hojicha banana milk latte. The drinks are okay. They are using beans from Proud Mary. The espresso is pulled using Eversys Cameo super automatics, which have a lot more processing than previous supers, so YMMV. As I said, my drink was okay.

I was really surprised to see hojicha outside of Japan or a specialty tea shop. It's a roasted tea with a unique flavor. Props for bringing in something new and unique. My wife ordered the banana milk hojicha latte. She said that it was novel and not bad. I tasted it and agree, but it tasted like a matcha base, and not like a hojicha base - no roast notes typical of hojicha, and definite green tea notes.

Parking - it's gonna be a problem. The lot looks big, but much of it is landscaping. We arrived in the morning, and the lot was 3/4 full - if you removed the landscapers that are still working. The venue was maybe 20% full. On a busy night, it will definitely be a problem. It was almost full when we left, and the venue could still hold multiples off the people there.

The staff was really friendly, and on the ball.

The venue - wow. Botanical sums it up in a word. Water features, fire pits, tons of outdoor seating in beautiful teak Adirondack chairs. Veracruz tacos and Dee Dee Thai. The food vendors are in independent buildings around the perimeter that blend in. There's a third building that looks like it will hold another food vendor. All of these in addition to the main coffee and drinks building.

Definitely worth a trip, but mind...

We were so excited for this new spot and what a let down. So disappointed.

The parking was horrible. The line for drinks was 30-45 min long. The drinks were not great... $14 for a tiny margarita that claimed to be green papaya but tasted like basic margarita mix.

The tacos from Veracruz were really great but did take 25 min for 2 tacos after waiting 25 min in line.

I totally understand it just opened but you would think with as long as it took to open this place, they would have thought through some of these scenarios.

The playground is nice but smaller, better for small kids. There are not enough bathrooms. The mosquitoes were horrible. And most of the tables didn’t have good shade so you’re in direct sunlight. There are no trash cans anywhere either so there was trash at any empty table. The Wi-Fi was super slow too.

Yes we all know it’s new and they are working out things but maybe wait to open then? They were just not ready for any number of guests and it was obvious. It is a pretty landscape - kudos for that, but overall it was just a weird, disappointing experience…And the vibe is not true South Austin it’s what they want SA to be…

Ended up leaving there and going to Nomadic down the street and it was lovely - better drinks and service, could find a seat and they had a...

I’ve visited both mid-week and on a weekend morning. I love the space. It’s a new place, so there are things that need to be tweaked but service has been great both times - which is one of the main things I look out for when picking a spot.

I was able to find parking on both occasions in under 5 minutes.

I think the main concern is the double lines. Having to stand in line for coffee and then in another line for tacos is not the best use of time. It would be nice if they could have some basic tacos (bean and cheese, bacon and egg, potato and egg, etc.) ready-made at the bar and/or at the taco counter to speed things up a bit. They do this at other breakfast taco spots in ATX, and it gives people with less time on their hands or people coming in hungry a faster option than having to waiting 30 minutes to order and then 30 minutes before food is ready. I love Veracruz, but no matter the location - they tend to take some time before food is ready. When/If online orders open up, the line may not be an issue, so hoping that...