Threadgill's

In the early eighties and seventies, this place had good down home cooking. Burgers, fries, onion rings, meatloaf and mashed potatos, fried livers and veggies. \r \r The past two times we have been. Wow...Awful food. I think they use frozen vegatables and burger patties. I hate not being able to go to one of our old favorite places. more

Great job bringing Threadgill's back to where it was; an icon for Southern Cooking. I stopped coming a few years ago and decided to give it another try. Stellar...In fact STELLAR!! I was greeted at the door with alot of smiles (something other restaurants should take notes on.) I was sat and greeted quickly and my overall experience was great. I had the chicken fried chicken which was plump, golden brown, delicious, and hot. The beer was cold and it says they now have a happy hour all day with $1 Lone Stars. The remodel looks great without losing the original feel. I highly recommend Threadgill's. Pros: Hot, fresh food. fast, efficent service Cons: Parking more

We were recommended by several people to go to Threadgills so we were a but disappointed. No major complaints it just doesn't live up to all the hype. Service was kind of pokey but friendly... food just average. Pros: Downtown location, friendly service Cons: No real cons, just an average experience more

The vegetables were decent, fried shrimp were okay, steak was nothing special and the rolls were pretty good. The service was good, even though one of our orders wasn't placed. Nobody at our table really enjoyed their meal. more

I saw the sign about Home Cooking and knew nothing of Threadgill's history. I saw ""world-famous chicken fried-steak"" on the menu and knew I'd made the right choice. WRONG! This place was should be ""World-Famous"" for being just AWFUL. As previous reviews have mentioned, the food is not the only thing that's bad about this place. The service is slow as molasses, and mediocre at best. My waitress did have a friendly smile;-) That's about the only good thing about this place. They don't even have real sweet tea. Just some organice wanna be in a bottle. C'mon, really? I'm a Texas girl through and through, and if there's anything I know it's Southern food: sweet tea, chicken fried steak, barbeque, pecan pie, etc. This place is a misrepresentation of such cuisine.\r \r I will never go back. If I'm ever with a group of people who want to grab a bite to eat here, I will wait in the car outside or just walk across the street to Whataburger which is always satisfying. Pros: Smiling waitress, location Cons: Everything else more

I used to work down N. Lamar from this place while in college. I always liked it and would have recommended to anyone visiting the area. I always thought the CFS at the Stallion down the street was better. They are now closed. While in Austin on a recent visit with my family, we decided to check out one of my old haunts from 20 yrs ago. We were very disappointed with Threadgill's on N. Lamar. The service was not up to MickeyD's standards no less a restaurant of such lore. We waited for everything. Very slow service. The waiter even filled my wifes Dr.Pepper with tea and took 5 minutes to replace it. We then watched as two tables next to us were served their meals. One seated and ordered 5 minutes after us and on seated and ordered m minutes after us. When our food finally arrives, my wifes meal is missing. Another 5 minutes and it arrives. I, of course, ordered the CFS for nostalgia. It was lousy. It was tough, full of gristle, and overcooked. When our food arrived I inquired as to why it had taken so long and was told there was a party fo thirty or some drivel. When I explained that the other tables next to us had been served in a timely manner, I was told a manager would be by to explain. Our server returned with the bill. We waited another five minutes to see the manager but gave up. The waiter never even returned for the bill. I have now doubled my record of not leaving a tip. I left the exact amount of the bill and not a penny more. I OVERPAID!!! They say you can't go home. I guess they are right. Very sad. Pros: Memories Cons: Mediocre food, Service??? more

Enjoyed Threadgill's quite a bit. Have eaten there three times, never had a bad meal. Especially recommend the catfish. Chicken is good as well. Re... more

World famous for bland........\r To the person who made my Chicken Fried Steak at Threadgill's, could you please use some salt or pepper something???????\r went there for the first time Tues night, took a while to get our water .\r they brought us rolls and didn't bring us butter.\r my Chicken Fried Steak was tough and had no flavor.\r got pecan pie for desert it was just as bad, so dry... i think it was old or something.\r i know this place gets by because of its name but come on!!!!! stop stealing peoples money.....\r wish i could get a refund . i would rather eat dirt than go back to that place....\r its a great location,, they should get their sh*t together,or close, or let someone who cares about their name and the good people of Austin put their restaurant there..\r i will never go back..........\r Pros: the location Cons: the food.....no flavor more

I cant believe this place has let the food quality come down to this. It's like they don't even care!\r Come on people. This was a LANDMARK restaurant. Are yankees running this place these days?\r \r Boo to the service, Boo to the quality. Sorry guys, this aint workin'\r \r Dont wanna go home to the armadillo. Pros: It's a landmark Cons: Food, service. more

Call me a fool or a helpless dreamer. I have just had my fifth meal from Threadgills on Riverside and I guess I should have known after the second or third time, that it wasn't for me. First time I was there, we had just arrived in Austin, ate at the restaurant and I was pleasantly surprised. Thinking, "" I can really get used to Southern home cooking"": The food was hot, the server attentive and the atmosphere great. These last four times that I have had take out, it has been more pitifull every time. Every time I have gotten the food home (a five minute walk) it has barely been lukewarm, the sides have been haphazardly thrown in and no utensiles. Last time the female bartender gave me a hard time because I did not tip. On a pick-up! \r I will definitely not put my money or recommendations with Threadgills anymore, opting instead for Hoover's or another one of Austin's many great restaurants. more

So, after mixed reviews from friends, I finally tested Threadgill's for myself. My review will mirror many of those below. I was completely unimpressed. The atmosphere is lively- it's in an old gas station with nice Art Deco details and Texas memorabilia. However, the food and service were awful. The Chicken Fried Steak was cold, with cold gravy. The steak was tough and greasy, the breading unremarkable, and the gravy was... sweet? The service was worse. We were mostly ignored by the waitress, who let my tea glass go completely empty twice, and left us waiting at least 15 minutes before taking our order and before providing our check. I guess on the positive side, at least she didn't rush us out the door! Given that this is a ""Texas Institution,"" I'm just going to say ""Been there, done that"" and never return. Pros: Lively Texas atmosphere, reasonable prices Cons: Cold food, absent service more

I've been three times. First two experiences my food was very undercooked to the point of being frigid. The third time was for a holiday employee lunch. Not only was staff severly underprepared to receive my party (despite repeated calls to confirm), again, one of my co-workers steak was raw, not rare, but raw. \r \r I can't understand how this is number one in the voter poll unless they have every employee and family member voting. more

Threadgills came highly recommended to me as a newcomer to Austin. However, I am not a newcomer to Southern food. This restaurant's entrees are standard at best, some being sub-standard. We ordered macaroni and cheese for the kids and it was made with jalapeno in the cheese. Okra was extremely greasy and the entrees took forever to arrive! Wait staff was very lazy and it took about 10 minutes just for our waiter to take our order. It was insanely slow, and it made my first and second experiences at Threadgills average. I probably won't head back anytime soon. Pros: Good for those that are not familiar with traditional Southern cuisine. Cons: Slow service more

Threadgill's is a hoot! The best CFS in Austin and unlimited seconds on veggy sides. The help (mostly young college types) wear gas station uniforms with names over shirt pocket, blue jeans and either boots or sneakers. Plenty of conversation stimulating stuff to look at on the walls.. and not in the vain of Fuddrucker's or Ruby Tuesday's... I'm talkin' real Texana. This is the diner of old that you long for while travelling elsewhere. When single it was my very favorite place to take a first date because it is a very comfortable, homey atmospere. I have never had a bad meal, menu choice or experience here. Pros: good food, affordable, wholesome Cons: noisey at times, busy on weekends more

Every time I have been to Threadgill's, BOTH LOCATIONS, I have been very very pleased with the service, quality of food, and the atmosphere. I used to work on North Lamar, very close to their Lamar location, and would go fo lunch some times. Wow. What a lunch! They give you such hearty helpings! I would usually end up eating the left overs for dinner that night! All in all, I love Threadgill's, and now that I am stuck up here in cold, windy Chicago, I miss it soooo much!!!! more

This place won an award for something to do with food? There just isn't anything remarkable here. Yes, it is ""comfort"" food but to call it the best in the city is a stretch. My wife and I ate dinner there in late July (28th) . My pecan-crusted cream sauce was underneath the breast of chicken (zero presentation points) and my vegetables had been initially cooked MUCH earlier in the day. My wife has allergies triggered by onions, and the waitress assured us that the chicken and dumplings had none. Wrong. The dish was whisked away before my wife could reorder. When the waitress returned five minutes later, sans menu, we guessed at safe choices, and the waitress forgot to check for onions in the rice. It was clear our waitress did not know the menu. Put it this way. If you subtract the history here, what do you have? Pros: pictures on the wall, parking Cons: waitstaff, over-rated food more

I've come back to Threadgills (on Barton Springs) a few times, because I keep thinking I must be missing something. Why all the hype? The food is mediocre. The selection of veggies is nice, but most sides I've had here are the kind of things your mom would have had to force you to eat. Fried green tomatoes are delicious but leave a weird film on your teeth (is it the lard?). Go to Hoover's instead, Austin!!! more

Perhaps when a restaurant has been treated as an institution for as long as Threadgill's, its patrons stop demanding top quality and its management starts coasting. All the down-home dishes at Threadgill's are perfectly okay, but none of them are special. The ""famous"" chicken fried steak isn't notably better than you'd get at Luby's. They'd do well to spend less time hanging old photos of Janis Joplin and more time working on the menu. more

there were only two foods here that i enjoyed....the chicken fried steak and the fried green tomatoes (VERY excellent). my party also ordered a plate of 5 different kinds of vegetables....only ONE of the vegetables tasted decent. the others tasted old or something like they had been sitting in a pot all day and had been reheated in a microwave. i thought this restaurant could have persuaded me to like 'home-cooking'...it didn't and i am disappointed. Pros: cheap, good fried tomatoes, easy parking Cons: bland vegetables more

If your looking for the best side dishes for lunch, then this is the place. The food is average but you'll love the homestyle cooking. Get the vegtable plate, you can't go wrong. Pros: Side Dishes more