Kerbey Lane Cafe

Solid café/​quick bite to eat spot. Had the bacon burger and sweet potatoes fries, they are rocking. My girl had the Migas. Both big servings, hot, fresh and tasty. This one is new and clean previously I went to the one on Guadeloupe and that one is dirt! Literally it’s dirty and when you walk out the door you have bums asking for money. Yuck, UT strip is dirty I avoid that like the plague. Anyways it’s decent, I’d go again only 3 stars because I know the ingredients aren’t superior. Stay thirsty Austin!

Kerbey is the next best thing to end in Lane after Nathan.
Its pretty tough to go wrong with the food here since it is traditional diner food with some Tex-​Mex spin to it. I started off with the crowd-​pleasing Kerbey Queso that is a blend of white cheese and guacamole served with a basket of warm tortilla chips. I swear, the delight I feel for warm tortilla chips is the same feeling I have when holding a bunch of kittens.
Then I had the chicken fried chicken with green chile mac which was very good as well. The breading on the chicken is thick and crunchy while the chicken was tender and moist. I wished the breading stuck to the chicken so I could get a perfect chicken to breading ratio but maybe in a perfect world. The green chile mac was on fleek since it was artery-​cloggingly rich and the concept was unique.
The service was courteous and I almost forgot to mention, this location was racist free. SOLID.

As with all Kerbey Lanes… This is a story of fantastic food, and horrible service. I’m only giving two stars because the food is so good, other than that, I’d give them a zero if it was available.
I can remember a time when Kerbey Lane hadn’t sold out to become corporate, and it was one restaurant on South Lamar, and every time my folks would take me there was a sense of nostalgia because it was the real deal.
Now, it’s commercialized, and for some odd reason, the staff think of it as a status symbol or something, as if they can use it as a badge to display proudly to the grungy hipster crowd.
They are almost ALL rude as can be, as if we’re in New York, not Austin.
It’s become a miserable place to get great food at, and quite frankly, with Magnolia Café and some of the other breakfast joints around town, it’s not worth dealing with the snobby hippy/​hipster grunge waiters/​waitresses at Kerbey Lane. So many other places to get great breakfast foods that won’t treat you like you’re not worth their time and effort.

I had the French toast and migas and the meal was very good the food was hot the flavor was perfect. I had the cheese sauce on the migas and would definitely eat here again. It was Friday night and we were seated within 10 minutes and served very quickly.
My wife had the eggs Francisco and it was the perfect combination of flavors.
Well done!

My husband and I showed up at about 10pm and ordered some quest which was delicious.
The server was tall and wearing what looked to be swim shorts on a cold night which didn’t bother us. It was quite entertaining and he was enjoyful and friendly.
Good food, good service.
I gave 4 stars just because the cappuccino I ordered was yuck. My husband said it tasted like car wash water. Not sure how he knows that?

I can’t believe I haven’t written a review before! The service is always good and the coffee is bottomless. Standard diner food but super allergy conscious. I like that they have vegan options which makes my life easier. Service and food as good during busy times as it is at 2am.

This review is long overdue, but I’ve been a little busy, ok? I’ve been to this Kerbey Lane only once, although it’s closest to where I live. It was a Saturday morning and of course the place was packed. We had a 30 minute wait which we decided to accept, since we were hungry and didn’t want torchy’s from across the street.
Not sure why pumpkin flavored items weren’t being served yet, considering it was late October (that’s how late this review is). Ordered the Godfather Benedict off the Tomato menu. Comes with ham, prosciutto, basil pesto, tomato slices, sundried tomato pesto, and standard hollandaise on an English muffin. I honestly didn’t expect it to be as good as it was, but the ham, prosciutto, and pestos really put it over the edge for me. I’d definitely get it again. I love how Kerbey Lane has the rotating menu, so by the time the tomato menu comes back around, I’ll be craving that Godfather Benedict.
The service was fine. Nothing spectacular, but just fine.

The food was very good. I had the weekly special pancakes, they were delicious. However, the service was exceptionally terrible. It took forever to get everything; the drinks, the food, the stuff they forgot to bring with our meal, the check, everything. After they did take our payment we got less than exact change back. Our waitress was hard to hear and understand and she shorted us on our change.
In the future, I would get food to go. I wouldn’t risk having that kind of service again.

We had the strangest experience here tonight!
I have actually been here a few times (and to the other Kerbey Lane locations) and generally find them to be a great spot for some tasty local food in a low-​key setting. They can be hectic during peak hours sometimes, but you can’t hate on a spot too much for being good and drawing customers, especially when you are one of them!
Tonight they seemed to be understaffed, maybe. The host was also waiting tables so we had to wait about 10 minutes just to check in to wait for a table. We were given a 10-​minute wait time and had to wait more like 20, but no biggie.
We sat down and ordered drinks and queso. Our server seemed rushed but polite. All was well.
Server came back with drinks and queso (the Kerbey queso — it’s great) right when my sister was asking me if I was ready to order. «I don’t have time to take your order right now,» the server snapped, even though no one had asked her to – she just caught part of our conversation. OK… no biggie, she’s probably just wanting us to understand she’s busy. I did notice though that she spent plenty of time being chatty with the table next to us. But really, not a big deal. She was back in just a couple minutes and we put in our order, though she didn’t let me even finish my full order before rushing off.
At this point I just figured, OK, fine, they’re understaffed. Not a big deal.
Food got brought out without much delay at all and it all tasted really great. Part of my husband’s order was wrong and there was a dipping sauce with my sweet potato fries that was sweet. I’m not sure if their sweet potato fries even come with anything standard, but I had my husband try it, and he agreed it was an odd pairing. We asked for a correction on his order and asked if I could get some chipotle aioli — my fave with sweet potato fries.
«That is chipotle aioli,» she said.
I laughed a little. «No, it’s really sweet, I’m pretty sure it’s salad dressing of some kind.» I figured she would think it was funny too. We weren’t upset. Everything else tasted great.
«I don’t know what to tell you then,» she said, and left. No «let me double check,» or anything.
When my husband got around to trying his salad, he realized the stuff with my fries was his salad dressing. We had a laugh. When the server came by he started to tell her about it – really, in a totally low-​key, isn’t-this-funny way… at which point we were chewed out.
«That is NOT SALAD DRESSING. It’s chipotle aioli,» she insisted, arms crossed.
«Well, no, I think the chipotle aioli is on the sandwich, and it’s super tasty, it’s just that – » my husband began.
«No, it’s garlic aioli on the sandwich, and this is chipotle aioli.» She was fuming. It was really awkward.
«Oh. OK. Sorry.» We stared at our plates, totally uncomfortable.
Later, she offered to have the order remade… but we never even wanted that. It was all fine! We were just making conversation (and OK, hoping just a tiny bit maybe she’d bring out some chipotle aioli, because that would have perfectly completed the meal… but not a huge deal).
It was just so strange! We really are sophisticated enough diners to know the difference between sweet dressing, chipotle, and garlic. Please provide adequate staffing so that it’s not a horrible place to eat. I’m still going to give the server the benefit of the doubt that she was just tired due to being overworked and whatever. Bizarre. I’ve had some OK experiences here, but after that awkwardness of being scolded over dressings/​aiolis/​dips… can’t really give this place more than a 1.

I just love Kerbey. I had such a good experience that I just have to let my Unilocal folks know.
I was alone so I sat at the bar, no wait at all., that’s a nice change.
I ordered the Eggs Francisco. It’s delicious. This time I asked for the eggs to be poached instead of scrambled. This is tricky, poached eggs seem to be a challenge for Austin cooks. Well, it was fabulous. Eggs were perfect, bacon just right, avocado ripe and tasty. Service was great even though it was busy (Sunday afternoon).
The one thing I really hate, that’s right hate, about this KLC is the bathroom. Ugh, disgusting. This building had been a lot of different restaurants but the bathroom has never been updated.

First, if the rating was on the pancakes alone it would be a 5-​star rating all the way. They have amazing pancakes!
I consider myself to blame every time I choose something other than the pancakes… I am usually disappointed. Notable exceptions: most breakfast items… the soysage (veggie sausage) is really good! And the Kerbey Queso is excellent.
Service is usually decent to good… ambiance is fine for a 24 hour breakfast place… and the price is what you’d expect.
For the love of all that is good and decent… DO NOT get a hamburger or anything with hamburger meat in it at a Kerbey Lane… BY FAR the WORST burger you will ever eat! It was like a frozen, pre-​burnt patty was soaked in water and cooked in a microwave on high until it came out a piece of rubber. It has been 3 hours and I still feel sick from eating ²⁄₃ of it… I had to quit! I should have quit after the first bite.
Just stick to the pancakes and you will be on cloud 9!

I just don’t understand the hype.
I want to love kirby… SO BAD. I just cant. The wait is ALWAYS long, even at «off peak hours» our family of 5 waits for about 20 mins for a table. Does kirby not like dining parties over 4?
Also the food at th his location is just always sub par. Not even close to the other location.
Luckily for this location they are the ONLY larger American breakfast place in far south Austin.

Pretty good swirl pancake. The little crispy eves and crevasses formed by the crystallized icing are delectable.
I didn’t really favor the fried chicken eggs Benedict, they had almost no flavor– which is hard to believe… normally, this place kicks butt-that’s why I can’t knock their stars for this review

Great service and food.
I had the Kerbey queso which was very good. I also had the fried avocado tacos. Everything was so filling that I didn’t need to eat anything for the rest of the day.
Look forward to coming back and having breakfast food.

Review is like a 3.3
PROS
The girls at this location are really pretty and they are all tatted if you’re into that.
The bathrooms are decent and clean.
They have some really good things on the menu like the french toast, the cheap mimosas, mostly everything from the summer menu.
Plenty of seating and the music is OK
CONS
Soooo many kids on the weekend
Everything that’s not GOOD on the menu is just OK nothing to write home about
It’s starting to get a little pricey. I mean $ 3 for bacon?!
Kerbey Queso changed or I just got a bad batch.
Loud

Kerbey Queso is my new obsession… it’s so good!
Smoked Salmon Benedict and Crispy Chicken Benedict are both delicious and come with excellent home fries. They’re a little pricey, but the portions are huge.
We’ve been here a few times at really random times and never had a problem with service.

Absolutely the kindest waitstaff ever! On a Sunday morning at 3:30 with off work chefs and musicians, a wonderful feeding and a young lady who was the utmost professional. Work at night? Musician? If you are not wasted, go here for your infrequent balanced meal.
This place is very popular, so if you are going to go at peak times, expect a wait.

My friends in Austin have been recommending Kerbey for brunch for a while so I finally got around to making my way over last week with a friend visiting from Cali.
We are brunch spoiled, hence 3 stars. Nothing personal Kerbey.
I was definitely happy with the breakfast menu.
I picked the french toast with bacon and eggs. Totally delicious and huge portion that I couldnt finish. My friend and I loved the cranberry mimosas! :) The server was cute and helpful with food and drink selection and knowledgeable in the restaurant and Austin.
I regret not eating on the patio, but it was terribly hot and the patio isnt very cute.
I’ll definitely make my way back bc the food and mimosas are great and the prices are decent. It just doesnt have the flare deserving 4 or 5 stars.

The food was delicious but the service was meh.
After telling our waitress we needed more time to view the menu, she disappeared for 20 minutes before coming to our table again. After we finished eating she didn’t come to our table til 20 minutes after. Maybe the 20 minute gap is just her way of doing things…
I ordered a chicken verde omelette with fruit and wheat toast as sides. The egg was overcooked on the edges in my opinion. It was a bit chewy and dry, but I guess it helps hold up the chicken… The chicken inside was shredded chicken, well seasoned and moist. The sauce on top was green chili sauce, not too spicy or flavorful but was still a good complement.
The toast was arranged carefully, with each end overlapping the end of another toast. Besides the nice presentation nothing was special about the toast.

So while the wait was short, it took longer to get drinks than it did to be seated. 20 mins for coffee and hot cocoa. We aren’t in any hurry, so this bothers me minimally. But I can see how it would agitate someone on a time crunch.
The menu is expansive enough to appease anyone you bring. My kid is thrilled with the multiple pancake selection, and myself with the Benedict choices. She is also thrilled that we are sitting in the screened porch with numerous dogs for her to say «how cuteeeeee!»!
The chicken Benedict was pretty when it arrived to my table, but I was let down when cutting into the egg. Completely cooked through. It was more hard boiled than poached. To be fair, I asked the waitress if this was the standard, and she promptly offered to make some new ones.
Once they fixed the eggs, the dish was yummy. I would certainly try them again, as they cater to all ages and that’s hard to find some days.
And they comp’d my meal! Good service there. :)