Lamberts

Reviews 3

A

A Private User

It mostly definitely lives up to its claim of fancy Barbecue. First it is a beautiful building and very elegant, but still very much Texas and a backyard feel. Services was great, and other than being in there for over an hour for lunch, everything ran smoothly. We had both the queso and deviled eggs appetizers. The deviled eggs could be the bets I ever had. Too many times I try deviled eggs that taste more like pickles than eggs, people just dont make them correctly. They were perfect here, eggs were great, and they added caviar to the top which gave a great saltiness without having to add actual salt. I ordered the three meat plate so I could try my standard brisket and sausage and get something else, of which I picked ribs. Start with the ribs, which were cooked perfectly (something that many barbecue places cant do correctly, leaving them either dry or soft and stringy). The rub on them was great and they had an explosive flavor, my only negative thing was they were not very meaty. I have gotten use to the thick ribs, and these seemed kind of thin on the meat. The brisket was very good. The fat in them were delicious, and I was glad to see that they did not cut all of it off, which I was afraid a restaurant trying to be fancy may do. The rub on these were fantastic, great sweetness and strong flavors. Only problem with these was I could not taste any real smokiness, although it did have a nice smoke ring around the crust. The sausage was fantastic. It had a great sweet flavor to it, and was perfectly packed in the casing yet still very moist and soft to eat. Sausage was the highlight. The sauce was also a sweet flavor, and the little I tried was good, but didnt mix well with the already sweet rubs on the meats. My sides were macaroni and cheese, which was good but nothing special, and waffle fries. These were some great fries, the batter on it was some of the best I have every had, crunchy and soft. Nice spices on them also. I also tried my fathers sides, beans and cole slaw. Both were good. This was much different than the hole in the walls and family barbecue places of Texas, but amazing none the less. Prices are very high, especially for barbecue, which already can run moderate to high at some places. It was a different way to eat barbecue, and succeeds with flying colors at being "fancy barbecue?" I will most defiantly be back many times (especially if my parents are paying again). It is in the same mold as Jaspers Backyard or Lonesome Dove Western Bistro.

JI

Jimmy Ho

Fancy Barbecue? I would consider Lamberts Downtown Barbecue as fancy barbecue. Freedmens Bar and them. This is where you look for quality service with a sophisticated cocktail in hand. There is nothing wrong with that by any means. Good barbecue is good barbecue no matter where you eat it. My wife and I have gone here before to celebrate an anniversary so it is not an everyday restaurant for us. Lamberts is located in the historical Schneider Brothers building downtown. Their barbecue is good enough to make it on the Texas Monthly Top 50 list. Some people believe they do no belong because they use a gas smoker. I cannot fault them for that because of the space they have. I have not had good bbq in a month so I was excited for this visit. We went to brunch this time. I am an all you can eat brunch type of guy on the weekend. Just eat one big meal and make it through the rest of the day without eating. I can put away a lot of food. Surprised? Lamberts used to have all you can eat brunch on the weekend, but that has stopped recently. Sad face. I ordered the three meat plate with two sides. The meats I got were the brown sugar & coffee rubbed natural brisket, the maple and coriander crusted natural pork ribs, and the homemade jalapeño hot link. Yeah that is a mouthful. Although the moist brisket was cut with the grain, it was fantastic. It was tender and smoky, and the fat was well rendered. The bark was a little sweet so it was like meat candy. I wish got a bigger portion of brisket because I could have eaten a couple of pounds. No joke. The pork ribs were good and tender. It was not as smoky as I would like it to be. The glaze was sweet, but the flavor was a little off. The homemade sausage was decent. It had a heavy grit and good fat ratio. It was spicy and had a nice snap from the casing, but the flavor was a little boring. Instead of two sides, I got a large order of baked macaroni and cheese. It was really good, but it might be too cheesy. Is it that possible? My wife got the brisket hash. It was pretty tasty. Lamberts Downtown Barbecue is great plain and simple. Sure it is fancy and on the pricier side, but sometimes I feel they are a little underrated. I want to try the beef rib and pulled pork next time I go. Lamberts also serves more than just barbecue which is good for my wife. Burgers, sandwiches and steaks. The menu does vary by the time of the day. They also have a live music space located upstairs. Is everything worth it? Yes.

EM

Emily Smith

Our experience here was unlike any other experience that weve experienced. On a Saturday afternoon, my group of friends and I decided to get a bite to eat at one of Austins highly rated BBQ spots. We were especially excited to embark on this quest for nourishment because we ourselves had a "Lambert" in the group. So off we went to Lamberts Downtown BBQ. When we got inside the restaurant, the host immediately asked us if we had reservations, and since we didnt, he told us it would be a 60 second wait. We were impressed with the precision in which the host spoke. Once seated, we looked over the menu, and were brought adorable little muffins to snack on before eating our meal. Our waitress, whom I believe was named Chey, came to our table and gave her little shpeal about the menu and whatnot, then asked for our drink order. The last member of my group ordered a coke, but she has a soft voice and so the waitress Chey asked my friend to repeat her order of "coke," which well later find out directly translates to "iced tea." While waiting for our drinks, my friend asks Chey for her attention, to which Chey responds with "hold on" and one finger response. We were taken aback and actually laughed because it was so out of character for a waitress to blatantly disregard her customer. But anyways. When Chey brought us our drinks, she handed my friend with the coke an iced tea instead. My friend says, "maam, I actually ordered a Coke." Chey responds with, ".... Im sorry" in a very indifferent tone and proceeds to ask us for our meal order. We give her our orders, and at the end of my friend with the cokes order, she says, "and the coke please." Chey says, "yeah I got that." We were completely unprepared for that kind of response that my friends and I made awkward eye contact and started busting up laughing because it was so unreal. There were several other incidents that occurred with our waitress Chey that totally turned us off coming here again. We told the manager about Chey and he said they were short one person so everyone was very stressed, so that obviously gives Chey the reason to treat us like she doesnt work for tips. However, the manager gave us a discount on our ridiculously priced meal so that was nice. But as someone else had stated in their review, the mac and cheese was the best thing on the menu. We are thankful for our experience though, because we were really able to bond as friends, and have a movie-like experience.