Elizabeth Street Cafe

Reviews 3

A

A Private User

I live in the neighborhood near Elizabeth St. Cafe and was incredibly excited when I heard about it... A Vietnamese/French restaurant from the Perlas/Lamberts folks? Sounds great! My wife and I had lunch there a couple of weeks after it first opened and it was decent. Yes, the wait was long, yes, parking was bad, and yes, it was WAY overpriced, but the food and atmosphere were acceptable enough for us to want to give it another shot. So we went there with a friend for dinner tonight... We showed up around 8pm and were told the wait was 30 minutes. Living in Austin, were pretty used to waiting, so this wasnt a problem. It was a little confusing, however, as 75% of the tables outside were completely empty. We happily waited nonetheless, giving them the benefit of the doubt. It was a little chilly tonight, so all of the outside heaters were on. After we placed our orders and received our drinks our server turned off all of the heaters. I asked him if it would be possible to turn them back on as we were now getting cold. He responded by telling us that a couple (the only other people seated in our area -- who also happened to show up after us) had asked for them to be turned off and they were regulars at the restaurant, so they took precedence. He literally told us that we werent as important as the patrons at the table next to us. Honestly, we should have just walked out at that point. Instead, we asked if it would be possible to move to another section with heaters, and he begrudgingly moved us near the front door without any kind of apology. We even overheard our waiter openly complaining about us moving to another waitress. Onto the food... My wife and our friend both received their correct orders, but I received the chicken bun instead of the chicken pho. An honest mistake, but no apologies were made for the mix-up. After waiting a few minutes I ate one of my wifes spring rolls, which was decent, but not anything special. My food came out about 15 minutes later. I have to agree with many of the other reviewers -- the broth was bland, the meat was tasteless, and the bowl itself was comprised of broth and little else. In no way worth $12. I had a beer with the meal, which was fine, but my wife and our friend both had waters which were never once refilled. When we got the bill, we noticed that they had charged us for both the chicken bun AND the chicken pho. I asked if they could remove the chicken bun, which they did, but again no apology. I felt like the staff was aloof and acted put out any time we asked for something -- ie. the correct order, to not be charged for food we didnt get. We were in no way demanding or confrontational, just completely dumbfounded at the complete lack of care in the waitstaff. I always tip at least 20% even if the service is mediocre, but tonight, for the first time in my life, I left without tipping. I can honestly say that I will never go back to Elizabeth St. The decor is pleasing, but the food is lackluster and incredibly overpriced, and the service is completely atrocious. To be treated with such disrespect and what felt to be outright disdain at times was appalling. I still cannot believe we were told to our faces that we were less important than another patron. We love our neighborhood. We love this city. We love trying new food. We wanted to love Elizabeth St. Cafe. Austin has so many amazing restaurants. Elizabeth St. Cafe is just not anywhere close to being one of them.

LI

Lindsey D

I can understand the observation that the menu prices seem high when considering comparisons to the wide variety of Vietnamese restaurants in Austin that typically advertise bargain prices for tasty and simple dishes. However, after perusing the menu, it was immediately evident that the Elizabeth Street Café is fun and creative with the traditional fare, which made my friend and I want to sample from several sections; the experience was far from disappointing. We started with drinks from the alcoholic Punch menu (seriously, who does punch?) and the yam & shrimp fritters. The drinks were sparkling, refreshing, and not overly sweet, which complimented the sweet yam fritters with chunks of shrimp that arrived crispy on the outside and steamy-soft on the inside. It was even better when you wrapped the fritters in cool, crisp butter lettuce, added fresh mint or basil, and plunged it into spicy fish sauce. Both of us ordered a Bun (vermicelli bowl with the fixuns) and it was then that I realized what it was that made Elizabeth Street Café different. I have eaten my fair share of vermicelli bowls and many have been delicious; but the quality and freshness of ingredients, combined with the skill of the kitchen staff, became increasingly evident with each dish. Yes, the waiters suggested (not forced) up-sale options when we ordered, and my friend and I were inclined to test the recommendations. I chose the vermicelli with broiled pork belly and I added a perfectly cooked, soft-boiled egg. When broken, the yolk added a creaminess that did not mute the flavors or crispness of the ingredients. The adventure continued with dessert and I was thrilled to discover that the Café offered cannelles, while my friend was distracted by the assorted éclair flavors. As a rule, Ive learned to keep my expectations low when ordering cannelles because too often they arrive dry and burnt. But after a thoroughly enjoyable meal, I decided to further test the skills of the kitchen. In addition to my cannelle, I also ordered one of the Vietnamese coffees (iced or hot) that were noticeably popular with other diners. The cannelle arrived and was soft in the center with a crispy caramelized outside. It would have been even better if it had arrived fresh and warm from the oven, but I certainly will order it again (and the coffee) when I return; that is if Im not distracted by other options.

SA

Samantha Berg

Really cute (slightly overpriced) cafe with awesome banh mi. This place is so stinkin cute. A little house-style cafe with a patio and outdoor seating, perfect on a sunny autumn day. I came here on a Monday for lunch around 1:30pm with a girlfriend. We were seated immediately and attended to well throughout our meal. Vietnamese ice coffee: 3 stars. A large coffee, but not as sweet as I expected and the coffee itself tasted burnt. Not my favorite. Shrimp spring roll: 4 stars. Two fresh, large spring rolls served with a few different sauces - a cilantro, a peanut, and a vinegar. The sauces were outstanding and the rolls were great. Red curry dan dan noodles: 3 stars. Tasted super fishy, much more strongly curry flavored than anything. I wouldnt even call it dan dan noodles, Id just call it straight curry noodles. The dish had chunks of chicken instead of your traditional ground pork and it was lacking the garlic and chili flavors I typically attribute to dan dan. It was a huge portion, but taste-wise, it was just ok. House specialty banh mi: 5 stars. Like ten stars. Absolutely fabulous. Actually, might be the best banh mi Ive ever had. Fresh ingredients, crunchy cucumber, fatty meat, soft bread. The perfect mix of textures, surprisingly light for such a rich sandwich. Would hands down order again. Overall, I enjoyed my experience here. It was pricy - $60 for all of the above, so maybe not an everyday kind of place, but definitely a place Ill return to.