Annies Cafe & Bar

I love this café! If you like grits, and I do, Annie’s are the best I’ve had. Asked for cheese and a poached egg on top; perfect! My husband had the Fried Egg Sandwich, he said it was very good as well, but he would have liked his yolk cooked a little bit more. Just a hint

Awesome service and delicious breakfast! My wife had the tomato soup and I had the Garden omelette. We also had a carafe of champagne with cranberry juice. Still enjoying a glass as I type!

Upon entering I wasn’t sure what to expect, but then I saw THE PANCAKES! The size, the fluffiness and overall quality of these ‘cakes was undeniable… I had to have them! We were seated after a minimal wait and decided to try the mochas-​this was a fantastic decision that was plentiful enough to last through my meal. I ordered Eggs Benedict, she ordered French Toast, we ordered an extra short stack between us both. The food showed up only after a few short sips of our mochas and was the stuff dreams are made of. I have no idea what why this place only has three stars. The service was A+, the food was A+, the atmosphere couldn’t have been better because I was going to brunch at a nearby neighboring restaurant only to find that they were closed. It was cold out and Annie opened her warm doors to me saving the day, filling my stomach, and leaving me a very satisfied customer in the end!

Just came back from my first experience at Annie’s Café & Bar. I would advise anyone downtown to seek any of the plethora of other restaurants than to eat at Annie’s.
My coworker and I decided to stop by for lunch. The line to order was fairly short, roughly 8 or so people in front of us. We placed our order and went down the line to pay. No big deal, other than you’re having to tip the staff before your food comes out unless you order something from the display (salad, soup, some side items, etc.). My poor coworker who ordered a lunch salad was given the display salad (which looked as if it had sat out for some time). He wasn’t too pleased. I ordered a chicken sandwich so they gave me a number and we sat down. Easy enough.
A total of 45 minutes later my sandwich finally comes out. I understand that we arrived at the restaurant at the end of lunch rush hour, but it’s poor service when a handful of tables after us received their food first. My coworker was kind enough to inquire on my meal, to which the wait staff stated «it would be right out». 20 minutes later and it was finally out (for a total of a 45 minute wait for a sandwich). I asked for a to-​go box since my coworker had already finished eating and we left. I came back to the office to finally eat my chicken sandwich, only to find out the chicken wasn’t fully cooked. ARE YOU KIDDING ME.
There should never be any excuse to serve undercooked meat. EVER. I would never visit this establishment again as there are far too many good options to choose from in Austin.

If I lived in Austin I would come here often. Great brunch and awesome service ! Keep up the good work Annie’s !

Applied for a job 5 days ago called them after being put on hold twice was told «yes we got the application we will look at it and give you a call back» hahhahahahah don’t be surprised if you go eat there and your food comes late or it’s cold or you get food poisoning that’s what happens when people’s head is in their ass ^_​^ god bless America…

A little surprised to hop on here and see the lower ratings. We came in for breakfast and hot beverages on a rather chilly start to an Austin morning. We were greeted and I ordered a cappuccino while my friend got a hot chocolate.
We perused the menu and both decided on similar breakfasts — the full English breakfast. I enjoyed two scrambled eggs with a piece of toast, homemade strawberry jam, 3 massive slices of bacon, a sauteed tomato slice, and some potatoes. Everything was amazing, especially the bacon which, admittedly I hadn’t had bacon in a while, made my heart pump a little harder and makes me think twice on trying to eat healthier. Luckily it was balanced out by a slice of each melon and pineapple… right?
The cappuccino was strong and woke me right up and my friend seemed to also enjoy her breakfast and hot chocolate. So why only the 4 stars? Our waitress seemed supah annoyed with us. Maybe it was because we were waiting outside for them to open or the fact it was «early» but girl gave us more than enough eye rolls to last us a while.
I’d come back for sure and suggest it to anyone going there. Good, «upscale» diner food with a touch of old times. Good stuff.

Great place for breakfast. Great service great food. A little to much food in the bakery selection but they are happy enough to bag up what you can’t eat for later. Friendly staff.

Haven’t been here in a couple of years since I was in town but it seems the food has gone down hill. The service is friendly and professional but the food lacks great flavor. Kind of like a Denny’s or typical café which is fine if that’s all your looking for. We had the egg sandwich, garden omelet and the short stack pancakes. The worst was the pancakes. Zero flavor like the mix came out of a bisquick box and when we asked for true maple syrup they said they «don’t carry it probably because it’s too expensive.» Again, if you are looking for Denny’s go here. We should have done more searching before we let our hunger influence an impulsive stop here.

It’s a bit of an Austin institution and I come here semi regularly for coffee when I’m in town and for food when someone insists (normally former UT students who always insist that it used to be better when they came).
I love the coffee (they were one of the first normal places that started decent vegan lattes — I’m not vegan but no one needs that much milk) and I was truly delighted by the Brussels.
I find the rest of the food pretty un-​memorable. The burger was fine, the truffle fries were fine, and the chicken dish I had last time was also fine. While the service is always polite and the space is nice there’s really nothing that excites me about it enough to choose here over the million truly excellent places close by.
That being said when I’m at the airport that salad bar is my first port of call!

Came here cause… Well it was open and nothing else was!!!
2 hours later, we are still here and haven’t eaten… Well future! Hope the food is good.
Latte not good.
I’m sure the staff is awesome just weird business plan. They have pizza???

Great food and friendly service. Pancakes are huge, enough to share. Waitress was overwhelmed and service was slow. Overall great experience. Don’t know why it is rated so low.

Great food and atmosphere, but management has bad judgement. Just witnessed how they refused service to 2 customers. One nicely dressed man wanted to sit and buy breakfast for another man down on his luck. This lack of compassion can ruin an otherwise good morning.
Annie’s needs to re think their policy.

One of the oldest restaurants in Austin. Their commitment remains to local, simple, house-​made, scratch-​kitchen classics, and they utilize local and organic items when they can.

Think of my 3 star rating today as a restaurant who’s manager YELLED at the host in front of us for trying to accommodate our party of 15. Then causes a scene by raising her voice at us, saying things like, «we just accommodate you, amongst other bs.» I was in shock, jaw dropping shock.
Not to mention the 25 minute wait to have our order taken, and another hour before our food actually came out. The experience was beyond exhausting. We wanted to sit together and their awesome host was doing her best to make it happen. There was plenty of room for us. Scooting our tables closer together did not call for all that Miss M.
Bottom line, we felt unwelcome and like the scum of the earth. We were treated poorly. Our waiter, Trenton, was fantastic. He’s was definitely over worked, but took great care of us. The host was fantastic. A very sweet young lady and hard worker.
If I was that host I would have quite on the spot. No one deserves to be treated and talked down to like she was. We will be happy to give you a recommendation for a new job where you will be appreciated and respected. Treated with kindness.
The old me would have given this woman the middle finger, but we didn’t let the experience take away from our celebration and happiness. I mean, we all did drive around for 15 to find parking.
First the bitter, now the sweet… the food was excellent!!! Try it, but it’s best to come in a small party and reserve 3 hours of your day to do so. Come during the week when it’s less busy.
Try a side of bacon, side of potatoes and full stack of pancakes. That will feed a party of two easily. The egg sandwich was to die for and can also be shared. That cheese melted right in your mouth making you forget the grief you just went through. Nom nom

Should have listened to the other reviews. Friend and i walked by it and looked very cute, «NYC-​ish» so we gave it a try.
Seating outside was nice and waitress was very nice.
Now for the bad parts — we waited for atleast 45 mins for brunch so if you have anywhere to go, choose a different place. When we did get our food, my toast was very cold and pancakes tasted horrid. Friend had decent eggs benedict she says.
Overall, i’ll never come back to this place

Annies Café & Bar is a downtown restaurant that is ideal for a quick (or slow) business lunch. It has multiple daily specials that you can get to-​go in a quick take out line, or a bar and a nice dining area if you have time to sit down. The food is fresh and local, but the major down side to this restaurant is that it’s fairly overpriced.
Wish list: Bring back the breakfast tacos, they’re the best downtown.
Tip: Thursdays meatloaf is the truth, I’m not a fan of meatloaf and it’s tasty! My second favorite dish is their Swedish meatballs 10000X better than Ikea.

I want to love this place! The outside is so cute and reminds me of a European café. But that’s usually where my love affair ends. I’ve been several times for both lunch and dinner and still, it’s just okay.
Is the food bad, no. But it’s not great and it IS pricey for not being great. The service has never been bad, but again, it’s never been great.
Annie’s please do better. You are in such a good location and I want to love you!

Alright, Annie’s. All. Right. I’m going to tell you what the problem is with this place. My colleagues know it. My neighbor knows it. All the people downtown who have few choices now that the food trucks have gone know it. It’s your general manager, Jeremy, who is destined to go down in history as the most condescendingly rude manager to ever manage a food establishment in Austin.
We got in line today all knowing what we wanted to order. Some of us had been here for lunch before, even. With menus in hand, we wanted to order what we saw on the menu. Which we had read. With our own literacy and eyes. But without heeding our assurance that we were ready to order, Jeremy took the podium and guided us through an overly-​complicated run down of the menu: all of the things above this line here are made to order, like pizzas (which: obviously). The salads are over there in the case — someone still has to take the salad out to put it on your tray, mind you, but they’re over there, all the salads are. Yes Jeremy, we can see them, also with our eyes. It’s pretty much a system like La Madeline has, minus the patronizing, needlessly lengthy spiel.
We were finally granted the right to order, each opting for exactly what we would have ordered without the epic monologue. When my colleague said she wanted the grilled chicken with her salad — forget it. Deputy Jeremy said it was another type of chicken that came with her salad. She indicated she understood, but wanted the grilled chicken instead. This went back and forth before he let out a flustered «I don’t think you’re understanding how this works.»
How does it work, Jeremy? Because this is a kitchen. It has food. You make food. We order food. We pay for food. We eat food. We don’t have to eat the grilled chicken only in the way that you have documented in your Dining Decree, unable to include it with a certain salad of our choosing. How does Subway have more leeway in how you can customize your food, and for less than half the price? Give the woman the grilled chicken with her salad. She wants it. She’s going to pay for it.
It was so awful that another, actually excellent employee, Jackie (give her a BONUS, Annie’s) apologized for Jeremy’s obtuse behavior. She must be a saint because if this is a common occurrence — watching him be terse and hardheaded with customers — I would quit immediately.
We felt like micromanaged 60s wives thought to be too under-​informed to figure out how to obtain food. This I can never forgive.**
**I had no intention of going back following that lackluster lunch fiasco a few years back, but someone else chose this place and I secretly hoped my opinion might change. The food was actually great (Thai chicken salad ftw) but Jeremy is unbearable. Good luck with that, Annie’s.

This is a great place for Sunday brunch ! The atmosphere is a bit old world charm and a bit of new world convenience.
Started off with a bellini and bloody mary — both done well.
I had the shrimp and grits — YUM! My only suggestion would be to get a English muffin as a side — you will need it to sop up the bowl — leave nothing behind on this great dish. My husband had the short stack and they were wonderful. We got a side of fruit, which is enough for two.
Get there early, because the lines will start to form around 10am.

Thought I’d try Annie’s for Sunday brunch since it had pretty good reviews here on Unilocal.It is a pretty big space inside, which surprised me and they also have 3 outdoor tables. For 2 people on Sunday at around 10:30am the wait was only 10 minutes, so that was great!
The online menu differs slightly from the menu offered in the restaurant, so definitely look at the hard menu when you sit down to order. I got the eggs benedict, which came with 2 eggs and ham on an english muffin and some potatoes on the side. I found the hollandaise sauce to be pretty vinegar tasting, a little too much so for my liking. I was trying to determine if maybe it was the poached egg that had been cooked in vinegar water, but it seemed to be in the hollandaise. I’m not 100% sure if it was the sauce or the egg, but it was not my favorite. If you like very tangy tasting eggs benedict then you may like their version.
The potatoes were tasty — well cooked and seasoned. I saw some other items people had ordered which looked pretty good. I’m not sure I’d come back to Annie’s for brunch, as I was a bit disappointed with what I ordered and the menu wasn’t overly exciting.

3.5 for me
I’ve been here a couple times, and something about the place just seems to be missing and I can’t quite put my finger on it. It’s in a nice location downtown, has some outside seating that’s great for people watching, and a decent menu, but not one that really excites me.
We came for brunch today, and I had a cup of coffee and the grilled salmon with vegetables and the food was actually quite good. The salmon was a substantial portion, was perfectly cooked with nice charred flavor and grilled marks and tasted great as did the veggies with the light lemony oil and caper sauce drizzled over the top. Prices are ok. Service was ok. Coffee was a bit thin tasting to me, but not bad.
9 times out of 10 a meal like mine today would warrant 4 stars but something about the fact that I’m just not itching to come back makes me give it a more average rating. Really not a bad spot at all, but just lacking that special dish or something that makes me really want to return.

Tired of tacos?
Annie’s is an unassuming 30-​year landmark and one of the best breakfast/​brunch choices you can make in downtown Austin.
From the simple farmer’s omelet to the full English breakfast, Annies serve’s up the classics using local organic ingredients. Plus, they have a great pastry counter!

Es preeety good