Lucky Robot
| Address: | 1303 S Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78704, USA |
| Phone: | +1 512-444-8081 |
| Site: | luckyrobotrestaurant.com |
| Rating: | 4.3 |
| Working: | 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 10AM–10PM 10AM–10PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 7
AM
Amanda Retallack
Lucky Robot - a new restaurant (yay!) with a cute name (double yay!) Located on South Congress, this place is at a great location right next to Amys Ice Cream and across the street from Jos Coffee. Im not going to spend time detailing the bright and colorful decor, the fun atmosphere, the totally awesome iPad order-it-yourself system, or the waitstaff dressed up as Harajuku girls. Ill just delve into what really matters: the food. It was brunchtime, and my friend and I ordered three rolls: The California (a staple), The Austin (because I love anything with the word "Austin" in it), and The Bender (chicken in a roll - why not?) and all three of the rolls left us more than satisfied. The favorite of the three was the Austin roll, but the Bender is definitely one to try out if youre into baked chicken topped with albacore tuna. ;) We had all three rolls with a side of one of their signature sakis, The Devils Tail. This is a spicy little concoction served in hollowed out cucumber halves. But dont let the pretty presentation fool you. This drink has a bite. Yikes! I probably wouldnt order it again, but it was fun to try. I guess I should have known a drink called "Devils Tail" would have some kind of kick to it, right?
KA
Kathryn Haynes
I used to love this place when it was Zen, great food at a great price. When it became Lucky Robot I saw most of the menu stayed the same so I was happy to give it a try. I always used the get the bowl with salmon and veggies, no rice, sub extra veggies. Zen has alway happily accommodated this request. At Lucy Robot I was told that "there wasnt a button for it in the computer" therefor they could not make that happen. I have worked in the service industry for years. When a customer asks for something within reason, make it happen. Is a robot cooking my food and thats why you need a button? No it is still a human, so even if you have to do it the old fashioned way and walk back into the kitchen and ask the chef then make it happen, its just food. This place is trying to be all high tech and advanced as a I guess they imagine the Japanese might be. Well I lived in Japan for years and I can tell you that the hospitality of those people is unmatched. Even if they had to bend of backwards (literally!) to please a guest they would. The Japanese are about efficiency, not fancy computer gimmicks. Get rid of the Ipads youre using to advertise to me while Im trying to enjoy my meal, Ill take my dinner robot-free, thanks.
AR
arielle mahon
When we first walked in the staff seemed very disheveled and confused. The entrance space is really tiny and in the way of runners bringing food. We were seated in one of the swing benches and immediately regretted it. As a petite person I was too low and far away from the table. Taking out the fixture would probably allow for 6 stools rather than only seating 4. Our server did the bare minimum. Long, infrequent pauses of us waiting. It was also difficult to talk with us sitting in that stupid bench. She couldnt pour water between us or clear our area easily. We were constantly pushing things to the side to accommodate our awkward arrangement. Now the food. I ordered miso soup and some sushi. My boyfriend ordered the chicken Karaage. Nothing was terrible, but nothing was amazing. The chicken was dry and minimal sauce. The rice also seemed undercooked. The sushi was ok. The rolls seemed really overpriced compared to higher quality restaurants in town. Its clear that the mark up in price is from their high rent rather than quality. If the rolls were less expensive I would consider going back. The service was a 3.5, ambiance a 1, food a 3, and price a 2.
PR
Prashant Verma
A new spot in town! They have excellent decor and the staff is dressed up in stereotypical Japanese schoolgirl outfits (just the ladies... no weird stuff here :-P ). They have ordering via iPads which are kept on the tables. The serving staff patiently explain how to use the app. The pictures of plates on the app aid the decision-making process. The app could use a few improvements since the server doesnt know who ordered what and if you forget what you ordered (like I did), then its a wild chase. The cuisine is Japanese-american. They have sushi, sake and mimosas. I didnt find too many Japanese entrees; that section was predominated by american cuisine. I had Robot Scramble and a mimosa. They were fairly good, to say the least. The decor is (what I guess) hello-kitty themed. The alarms on the emergency door do work and they are loud (we tested them. Trust us, they do. No need to go and try them again unless you are bored, in which case it is perfectly acceptable).
KA
Karla Njathi
This place has gone down in quality over the past couple of years. Its still beautiful and has a nice setting (especially if youre able to snag the porch swing seats near the window). I visited Lucky Robot on the first of the year and was met by a waiter who didnt really seem to want to connect with me or make much eye contact. I was ok with this, as the Crunchy Atomic Salmon rolls I got were tasty. However, the third roll, the Mr. Roboto, a seared escolar roll was extremely bland. I thought to send it back to get something else, but I didnt want to be a difficult customer. Within 24 hours I started having stomach irritation and a mild headache. I wrote it off. After the following morning, I had all the typical symptoms of food poisoning. I wont go into details, but it was bad and I could barely function for two days. I thought to call the restaurant up to let them know what happened, but since I didnt keep receipt, I figured it would be a moot point.
CO
Colin Sullender
Lucky Robot has a beautiful iPad-based ordering system that seems constantly plagued by performance issues. While its extremely awesome to select and order foods without interacting with a waiter/waitress, the system was sluggish at best and completely timed out while ordering custom-made bowls. Fortunately the waitstaff was well-practiced at recovering lost orders and were friendly and accommodating unlike their touch-screen replacements. The brussel sprouts were probably the most memorable dish and one of the better brussel sprout offerings Ive had in Austin. The sushi wasnt particularly impressive (I cant even remember which one I had), especially compared to the likes of Uchi or Kome. The BYOB (build-your-own-bowl) was very filling but rather flavorless compared to other similar dishes Ive had elsewhere (Koriente). Maybe I just needed to add some soy sauce myself to make up for the lack of seasoning beyond the chicken marinade.
GA
Gary Hwu
Ive been wanting to try this place for a while now and decided to go with my brother. The restaurant has a unique fun atmosphere with colorful chair swings and a modern Japanese look. The food however, is not as good as the environment. The staff was very unorganized and you can either order with the waitress or with their iPad thingy. Took a while for the waitress to come and take our orders since we were having issues with the iPad. If this restaurants goal is to replace the staff with technology, then dont expect a decent tip from us. I ordered the brussels sprouts and the pork belly sliders. The brussels sprouts were dry and flavorless. The pork belly slider was ok, no complaints about it. My brother got a tofu rice bowl, and it was bland, no salt or flavor. I do not recommend this restaurant as it is way overpriced, unorganized, and low quality food.
