Magnolia Cafe

Got turned around near mopac (at rush hour -- heaven forbid). Ended up in stand-still traffic for so long that we decided to exit the highway. Saw The Magnolia Cafe and wanted to spend some time there while waiting for traffic to die down. I got the Greek Salad and it was excellent! I think my boyfriend had a hamburger but can't remember which specifically, only that he really enjoyed it. Portions were much bigger than I was expecting. Waitstaff wasn't very friendly (and was somewhat neglectful) but the food was so good that I'll definitely be back. more

After a long night drinking suds in Austin, I always stop at The Magnolia Cafe for an order of Magnolia Mud... more

After a long night drinking suds in Austin, I always stop at The Magnolia Cafe for an order of Magnolia Mud Queso! Black beans, avacado, cheese and... more

We went to Magnolia's on Sunday around 12:30ish. My boyfriend and I were seated at the counter, and we ordered pancakes and oj to go at 1:00 pm. We received a bill and paid at 1:10. We waited 20 more minutes and still no pancakes. Our waitress had disappeared after we paid and tipped her (I don't think we made her mad since we usually tip 30% or more). At 1:30 we asked another waiter if they forgot our order. We actually had to point out the order we saw in the kitchen that had been waiting for quite some time. We eventually received our food to go 35 minutes after ordering and left without seeing our waitress again. Pros: food was delicious as always Cons: never sit at the counter more

I've been here a dozen times. The food is good as usual. This is the place I usually take out of town friends, which the always agree that it's the best breakfast place in Texas. On occasions, the waitress at the south location seems a bit worn out, lazy, and perhaps slow. She may just be new, but that doesn't stop me from eating there. Pros: excellent food! Cons: old and dumb waitress more

First time to the So. Congress location. Read one review about poor service. Boy did they get that right. I always feel good about tipping fairly. Not with this service. A fair tip would have been for our waitress to tip me!!! Probably some of the worst service I have gotten in many years. Will try the other location next time. Pros: real good food Cons: TERRIBLE service more

So I'm 35ish and went to the Magnolia cafe on Saturday night around 11:30. We had been drinking a little down the street. I got one gingerbread pancake and we shared the Mag mud. Both were awesome. The entire time we were there we listened to the Beastie boys. I can't think of a place anywhere else where you can get pancakes at that time while also listening to the best music ever. Made me want to pack up my entire life and move to Austin. Good job. Pros: Atmosphere more

Solid food, good selection, kicks the **** out of Kirbey Lane/Denny's/IHop. Pros: Migas, Portabello Melt Cons: Can be busy more

This is a solid 4 star breakfast/lunch place. The food is good and the service good but nothing here is great. I mean the subpar wiat room next to the sometimes stinky bathroom - not to mention the limited parking and the wait...well you expect more. more

I have eaten here around 10 times and have never been disappointed. The food is great, reasonably priced and they are always open. I enjoy the way the staff remembers what I like and that they are so friendly. I have been working my way around the menu and can recommend the following dishes: love migas, huevos rancheros, corn pancakes (I have had them throw in jalepenos and also blueberries, ginger pancake (I added bananas). I also have tried the specials and had a great stuffed pepper the other night. I also like their sense of humor (the t-shirts read ""sorry, we're closed' and also that they sponsor NPR. more

This is one of my favorite restaurants in Austin! The Caspian is the best dish and so is everything on the breakfast menu (breakfast is served 24 hours a day)! If you're going to go for dinner or for breakfast on the weekends, be prepared to wait..but it's worth it! more

Don't spend your money at places like denny's. Go to magnolia cafe. Good service, great food, reasonable prices. more

Magnolia's pancake recipe: sugar and spice and everything nice. No, not really. But they must put about a pound of butter and gallon of sugar in each stack. They're absolutely divine. Enough to send you into a comatose state, but, in my opinion, totally worth it. Pros: Amazing food, Good prices, Several locations to get your fix Cons: Too far from me!, Inadequate parking more

I love this place. Simply put. more

All I have to say is- red potatoes for the home fries! They are delicious. I was afraid of the service from reading previous reviews. But my experience was very nice. I ordered an omelet not on the menu-avocado, bacon, cheddar, portabella- and they prepared it great to order with no hassles. I suppose if I had one thing to gripe about it would be thier coffee. Only because I like good gourmet coffee. Theirs is standard diner variety. Not bad, but considering the good food and great atmospere, they should have top notch coffee. They have a cool mural painted around the walls and a rotating art show, of local artists. Now that's cool!! Pros: home fries, atmosphere, flexibility, Cons: coffee not the best more

I have never knocked a resteraunt online, ecspecially one catering to the sixth street go-ers afterhours, but I cannot let my experience at Magnolia Lake Austin go. After work, two of my coworkers and I went there for food. We were having a conversation and were'nt ready to order when the waiter came to our table, he aggressively told us that we needed to hurry and order because they were getting slammed (which never actually happened, the room was only 2/4 full). Then, he avoided our table , walking past us and averting his eyes, we had to wait another 15 minutes to order. When we finally ordered he told us we were getting too much food, that it was going to take a long time. I tried to place a to-go order with him so he could put the order in all at once, but he said we could worry about that later. He brought our food and the check at the same time so I never even got to order my to go food. And worst of all, some actual rude customers who WERE drunk, came and sat at our table. The waiter told the guy to move his chair out of the aisle, and when my friend told the waiter they were'nt in our party, the waiter yelled at her and said "" I don't care he still can't sit in the aisle"".He should have asked THEM to leave , but instead WE were treated rudely. Being in the service industry myself I know what it is like to deal with jerks, but I can differentiate between jerks and nice people and the waitstaff at Magnolia obviously no longer takes the time to do that. If you want late night snacks, go to Star seeds, they may have rude waiters too, but at least the musics better and they refill your coffee. Pros: The woman who sat us was nice Cons: Unfortunately , we did not get seated in her section more

I have been eating at the Magnolia for 15 years now. I love going there at all times of day, and have tried items from every part of the menu. Of course some things are a lot better than others. The pancakes are the best in town and you can never go wrong with the Love Veggies. The service can be random but I always feel that at least the staff are trying. This is the kind of restaurant that appears to employ people who actually care about their customer's experience, but at times they seem to be run a little ragged. One of my favorite things about going there is the fact that the restaurant has really managed to maintain that ""old Austin"" feel. The clientelle spans all age groups and the atmosphere is eclectic. I've noticed a marked change in the past few years in the quality of items on their dinner menu, and highly recommend trying one of the daily board specials. It seems a little weird ordering something here that costs more than ten dollars, but I've been pleasantly surprised by the quality. Pros: cheap tasty food in a casual environment Cons: parking can be a problem and sometimes the music is too loud for me more

Your immune system maybe up to the task, but why risk it. Pros: Open whenever you want it Cons: Not clean more

if you must come here, stick to stuff that you know is easy to make: nachos, pasta, breakfast tacos, omelettes. don't be tempted by the fancier sounding stuff. good coffee. Pros: coffee, eggs Cons: all around a little on the blah side more

Lived in Austin 13+ years and don't get the popularityof this place? It's OK, just OK. Food has some good dishes and others that seem like they just lack a certain something--flavor perhaps? Service is my biggest complaint. Wait staff is the typical Austin slackers in those one size too small, proletariat brown t-shirts that always seem too cool to really care about good service. more