The Rooftop Over Lake Travis

Today I read that Uncle Billy’s Rooftop is closing, and possibly reopening as a House of Blues.
This is a good thing for anyone who ever considered eating at this bar/​restaurant/​jbbq joint.
Loved the setting, though some of the music (Jimmy LaFave) was lost in the open air and as a result of the equipment.
But beyond that…
Service was absolutely non-​existent. Had to order at the bar — not because there were no waiters, but they never veered in our direction.
The beers (Hop Zombie?) were good.
We were saved, in one respect, because they were out of chicken wings. However, they had plenty of mac ‘n cheese. Plenty of cold, glommy mac ‘n cheese. Semi-​warmed, cold as chilled granite inside. Add that accent of unmelted shredded cheese on top and man, oh man, do you ever have a remarkably awful dish.
Barbecue plates did not look appealing.
Also, they did not offer any bottled water, which seemed an odd oversight.

Last night I headed into Austin to see Bob Schneider perform out on Lake Travis. I’ll start with what I liked about the place– GREAT BEER, nice view, and I love me some BOB S. I met a friend from the internet out here. He’d gotten tickets for the show so I was up for the drive.
Overall I had just a fair experience. Maybe it’d have been GOOD if anyone at the place appeared to know what they were doing. Or maybe if we’d been in the VIP area it’d have been a better experience.
After our server went MIA for quite some time, I went outside and smoked a couple cigarettes b/​c the chances of me getting another beer were slim.-which I really would have liked another beer b/​c the beer at this place is DELICIOUS. It’s why I“m giving it an extra star.
Bob S was great as always but we couldn’t really see him (not VIP’s). Something about the night seemed off. Maybe it was the old MC guy that gave me the creeps from the very beginning. JAYSUS what was with that guy?

Limited review, since we weren’t eating… We went out to the Rooftop Over Lake Travis to see a band on Sunday evening — this restaurant/​bar has a bit of an identity/​branding crisis with it’s name (Rooftop? Billy’s? Uncle Billy’s Rooftop?) and it’s genre (Bar? BBQ joint? Music joint? Brew pub?). But with nice, high ceilings, plenty of air movement, great views, and a good range of seating options, it’s a nice-​looking, casual joint.
This is one of the many venues that make up the huge new Oasis cluster of shopping, eating, touristy things-​to-​do, and unlike the Oasis, the prices seemed quite reasonable and the food looked better than «meh», which is usually my complaint about lakeside joints. The menu had food to please carnivores and vegetarians, alike, with hearty salads and sides alongside the BBQ meat by quarter, half and pound.
The beers we tried weren’t bad, but we weren’t there long enough to do a full tasting. But $ 2.50 pints on a Sunday night — Yeah!
The crowd on this evening (for a bluegrass band performance) was a mix of Steiner ranch suburbanites and Austin hillbilly hippies — all of whom seemed to co-​exist fairly comfortably. We’d definitely go back, especially with out-​of-​town guests!

The Rooftop Over Lake Travis features a variety of musical talent on an outdoor deck overlooking a gorgeous view of Lake Travis and The Texas Hill Country! Not only is the music awesome, but they offer local craft beer and barbeque as well!