Blue Star Cafeteria

Happy hour and brunch are my favorite times to visit this upscale diner with a lovely wine list. more

hardly a cafeteria, but a mod diner with an upscale vibe that pairs well with a creamy, cheese-twinged plate of Airline Chicken. Save room for pie, ya'll. more

This is my second time there. The staff is SUPER friendly and helpful. We got prompt service and our waiter was very attentive. When I was unsure about ordering the cheese grits, he even surprised me by bringing out a free sample saying that he thought I might like to try them before I committed. Wow! How nice! The food has been excellent both times (breakfast once and meatloaf another time) and the atmosphere is clean and trendy. My only complaint is the price. $11.95 for Eggs Benedict seems kind of steep to me and they charge you $3 extra if you split a meal. Other than the prices, this is a five star restaurant for sure! I will be back! more

I ordered the Blue Star House Salad and explained to the waitress about my SEVERE allergy to tree nuts. I asked her if it was safe to order that without nuts or should I order something that isn't supposed to come with nuts at all. She reassured me I would be fine. Well, my salad came out and right on top of the cranberries and yummy gorgonzola cheese was an ALMOND SLIVER. I couldn't believe it. When I showed it to her, she never apologized, was very rude and condescending to me. I will never go there again and I wanted to warn all the millions of people out there with food allergies to not trust them to take care of you and your health.? Pros: pretty inside Cons: rude waitress, can't trust they will meet your needs more

I really can't for the life of me wrap my head around the unreasonable amount of negative reviews this place has gotten. One could certainly argue that a restaurant with only two high chairs is guilty of poor planning, but that does NOT mean the establishment is out to get you and your children. Jesus Christ people - I've been here several times with younger relatives ages 2-14 and have never been treated with any kind of hostility. There is no malevolent conspiracy to destroy your dining experience because you have a kid. Get over yourselves. Moving on, the food is very very good but a little expensive for what it is. That being said, the atmosphere is fantastic and the service is very prompt. I've never had to wait more than ten minutes to receive my food after ordering (I can't believe I actually saw a review complaining that their food arrived to quickly. What a joke), and the servers are always attentive and helpful. One girl did have a little trouble recalling one of the specials, but it took all of 30 seconds for her to confirm with her manager. 30 seconds of my time will never merit a one star review. Definitely skip the desert. It's not bad by any means, but I'll burn in hell before I pay another $8.00 for a slice of pie that doesn't change my life. Pros: Very good food, fast service, outstanding atmosphere Cons: A bit pricey, desert isn't all it could be more

We have visited Blue Star several times, I think because we really want it to be better, and keep hoping maybe they'll figure it out. This last time was for brunch. They put out the vibes of a place that cares about food, but the ingredients are no better than the other hash-slingers in town. Eleven dollars for ham and eggs, people. For that, I want Neiman Ranch ham, not the sickly, dried thing on my plate. I was looking forward to the hash brown potatoes listed on the menu. Instead, there were homefries on the plate. When I said ""hey, these aren't hashbrowns"", the waitress said ""yes they are"". Okay, let's just assume for a minute that she has been taught that those chunky potatoes are called hashbrowns. Her response could have been, ""Oh, I'm sorry, what was it you were expecting?"" or something customer-service related like that. I have to assume no one has trained her. Which really makes me wonder if the owner has a hands-off attitude with this particular venture. I'm really disappointed in this place, mostly because it has such potential. Really not there yet. Pros: No wait Cons: high-cost, below-average more

This place was NOT worth it. Pretentious as all get out. Food was pretty good, but so not worth it. I can bake a cake that is much better than theirs for the price of one slice. Who the #@&! charges $8.00 for a mediocre-at-best piece of cake? Pros: convenient central location, nice atmosphere Cons: pricey, mediocre, pretentious, they don't like parties with children more

After living in Portland I am a harsh judge of breakfast places (sorry but those grey skies equate to awesome breakfast joints) - Blue skies is clean, hip, usually have a spot open and the wait staff is very good. Not to mention we enjoy their food, quite a bit. Good selection of breakfast items and some unique twists too. I've never managed to save room after any meal to try one of their desserts but they look amazing. Very good spot and fun people watching too. more

This place is not a cafeteria, don't let the name fool you. Great spot for brunch, but it does get crowded. They will do call ahead seating. Pros: FOOD is Great! Service is consistently very nice. Good value. Cons: It gets very loud. Seats at tables are not particularly comfortable. Kitchen is partially open to the restaurtant. more

I went to Blue Star for Sunday Brunch. I was prepared to wait... it's Sunday Brunch after all but there is no where to wait and waited about 30 minutes. When we were seated the host told us they only had two highchairs (in the whole restaurant) and we'd have to wait for one. 30 minutes later and after holding my 19 month old they brought us a highchair. To make it worse, our waiter was not friendly, it took him 15 minutes to take our drink order and 30 minutes to get our food. When the waiter brought my son his side of french toast he said they were out of syrup and did not apologize. It would have been nice to know they were out of syrup before we ordered. Bottom line, poor service and they place just isn't kid friendly. If they were, they'd have more than two highchairs and have choices on the menu for kids. Pros: The food was decent Cons: NOT kid friendly, POOR service. more

Blue Star is a charming restaurant with a good concept, but only fair, forgettable food. Our waitress was extremely friendly, very helpful and professional...even being sure to advise my husband that the pork chop he was ordering took around 20 minutes to cook. After about 15 minutes she came out to inform us that there was a problem with the chop which would delay its arrival, apologized, and placed on our table a free appetizer. It's a miracle -- a restaurant that admits to a mistake up front and does something to make it right without being asked! The appetizer, fried artichokes, was very tasty. My husband, a notorious artichoke loather, said, ""wow, if artichokes always tasted like this, I'd eat them more often!"" Sadly, however, our entrees were simply uninspiring. My husbands chop was perfectly cooked, but pretty bland (I'm going to guess that the restaurant did not brine the chop, something that definitely improves the flavor). Not even the glaze did much to help the flavor beyond, ""eh."" I ordered the chicken pizza and found it to be a confusing mish-mash of flavors: barely any chicken, let alone herb, sour tomatoes, and WAY too much parmesan that simply took over the entire pizza. Like the chop, it wasn't bad, it was just...dunno, tasted like something I would eat at a national chain ""grill."" We ordered the Mexican Vanilla cake as dessert, and it was, again, something that simply tasted like nothing special...reminiscent of something I'd get from the grocery store, in both texture and taste (though it looked beautiful, with lovely multiple layers). I think this restaurant concept is fun and interesting, following restaurants like Moonshine and Lamberts in upping ""comfort/down home"" food to a modern level . However, they simply need to rise to the possibilities through more innovative recipes. more

Some of these people need to get a life. The stories are ridiculous. My family and I live in the neighborhood and we eat there quite regularly. We've never had any problems with our kids, and rarely have problems with the service (they can't be perfect 100% of the time). We love that they support local pervayors, and the seasonal/holiday menus are always good and fun to try. Pros: good food, easy environment Cons: parking more

I've eaten at the Blue Star several times, and I have enjoyed every single dish I have ordered. I highly recommend the crispy chicken breast and honey-glazed pork chops. The crunchy cod is also quite amazing. The pie is great, and I love their selection of tea. Not to mention, the decor of this place is contemporary and classical. more

The restaurant name is Blue Star Cafeteria. The Home Depot thing is a major error evidently...the restaurant should be very annoyed. more

What a fantastic place. We have been in there three days in a row, either for lunch/dinner and then brunch today. The manager on duty even recognized that we had been in three days in a row and came over and talked to us. The staff here is great and very attentive to everything. The food wonderful, if not we would not be there. In response to the other review that we read, It is call Blue Star Cafeteria. And all I can say is that when we were in there, there were plenty of kids and the staff and manager on duty were talking away to the kids. I just don't understand why anyone would think that this wasn't a kid friendly place. Thanks, Blue Star for being in our neighborhood. more

What is the name of this great restaurant? I did a search on best meatloaf Austin and found a review on this restaurant that is apparently called THE HOME DEPOT. But I called the number and reached the hardware store. There is a picture of a restaurant but the number doesn't correspond. I want to try the meatloaf! Can someone please tell me what the name of the restaurant with all these reviews written about it is! THANKS! Pros: dunno Cons: dunno more

What an amazing restaurant to eat at...I don't know what people are complaining about when it comes to food or service. I've been there on three separate occasions-a lunch, Valentine's Day special dinner, as well as brunch and I've been wowed everytime. Quick efficient service-in fact, some of the best I've ever had. And the food is always great- clever, innovative, while being tasty and coming in filling quantities. There is only one thing I did notice-the place can get very loud even with a moderate amount of people. The acoustics are kind of odd in the place. That's my only complaint; well worth your time and money for a simple date or dinner with friends (I don't know about the whole kid thing, but it's really not that kind of place). Well-priced again with great service and food!! Pros: Great food/Great Service/Great Prices/Convenience of a modern restaurant in the neighborhood Cons: Can get very loud more

Enough with the reviews knocking this place down. It's really not fair. Before dining I started reading all the unfortunate negative reviews of this restaurant and worried. It's a shame that a couple of people who may have had a less-than-desirable experience here tarnished the reputation of a truly fantastic place. Pros: Great service, nice wine selection, T*A*S*T*Y food Cons: Loud more

We went this Saturday for an early family dinner. At 5:30, only a few tables were occupied, but we were shocked to find that there were no high chairs available. They later told us that they only have 2 high chairs. Any restaurant of that size with only 2 high chairs is CLEARLY trying to send a message that kids aren't welcome. We got the message and won't be coming back! We don't feel like we'll be missing anything, either. The food was only okay. Cons: Don't like kids! more

What can I say. I tried this restaurant a while back and thought, what a great concept?high end cafeteria food. The service was great and the decor very modern. Unfortunately, when I ordered my food I found a hair in it!!! The funny thing was, I tried a few months later and I still had great service. I ordered the meatloaf and 'lo and behold, I found another hair! At this point, I spoke with the manager and said what had happened. They offered me a dessert but I wasn't really hungry. It's a shame that a restaurant like this with high dollar cafeteria food is ruined by poor kitchen sanitary practices. You would think that once was enough to ensure that these types of incidents would never happen again but twice??? I would suggest their folks wear hairnets and don't order the meatloaf. Pros: Amibence, Service Cons: Parking, Hair in my Food more