Austin Grill

Austin Grill is sadly now closed… it is now the American Tap Room.

I just love this place :) Service was excellent and friendly. Never had their burger until today, tried the Hangover Burger, friend and I split that and the chorizo burrito. Burger was EXCELLENT, I was surprised just how much flavor it had.
Have been a fan since their original Wisconsin Ave. location, used to walk up weekly from Georgetown to do laundry and have lunch. Now they only need to open one in Portland, if only I had the money, I could to open one myself :)

This has been my favorite location in the chain and luckily for me, it is in my hometown, Bethesda. I have always had friendly and efficient service, the décor is a little nicer than some of the others. The floor to ceiling windows add more light and the food quality has been consistently good.
One of my favorites here is Bevo’s salad with chicken, which has a nice amount of spice with fresh, hot grilled chicken on top. Chicken or mixed fajitas are also always good — as well as even the — chicken sandwich. Too bad they don’t offer their key lime pie for $ 2 special any longer — as it was actually pretty good and a nice size for the $ 2 price.
They just discontinued their e-​club and migrated everyone over to their Rewards club. It’s a card you give them each time you go and it gives you a $ 10 credit as a welcome gift and a $ 20 additional credit for your birthday. Rewards add up quickly as — making it easy to get all kinds of future discounts.

Wow. I’ve lived in Bethesda all my life. I remember when Bethesda Row and the rest of downtown Bethesda was becoming what it is today. Austin Grill opened; my family used to go all the time. It was, and still is, one of our favorite places in downtown Bethesda.
Now, I realize I’m in an extremely small minority here, so I’ll go into as much detail as I can. First off, the food. I’m a total sucker for Tex-​Mex, Mexican, basically anything with the three letters «MEX» in the name. Authenticity is important with some cuisines, but not Mexican, at least to me. I also happen to be a total sucker for enchiladas, which I always get here. They are always delicious, they let you pick the sauce that you want, with varying degrees of spiciness, and they are covered in melted cheese. YUM! Oh, and did I mention that they give FREE chips and salsa? Don’t take this for granted, people, srsly: there are some restaurants that charge up to $ 3 for each basket. Anyways, the enchiladas have always been good.
Service has always been good, except with one waitress who is a serious B*#%$. But, I haven’t seen her there in a while. Gone, perhaps?
Bottom line: stop hating on Austin Grill. Hey, I’m from Bethesda, lived here all my life. I love to be just as snobby as the next person. But it’s not THAT bad; in fact, it’s quite tasty.

Shoooooot partn’r, this here saloon is practically robbin’ y’all like Billy the Kid!
I have visited Austin Grill many times. Mostly when I was young and didn’t have a care in the world. I didn’t have to pay for food or anything like that. Then today, my girlfriend and I were walking in the unforgiving frost and needed some place to eat. Austin Grill was the closest place and so we went.
To start, the service was pretty slow. Friendly nonetheless, but slow, especially surprising since it wasn’t packed. The chips are tasty and hold up well to dipping.
My girlfriend got this steak burrito that she said was pretty good… and by the looks of it it seemed good… but it was also expensive. Eleven bucks. My chicken tacos were not much cheaper, I think around 9 bucks. The tacos were somewhat filling, but I think I would have starved had it not been for the pre-​meal chips.
So we paid around $ 30 (including tip) for that meal. That’s not good. For that price we should have gotten a much bigger and tastier meal. If you’re looking for a sit-​down tex mex restaurant, go a bit further and do business at Rio Grande Café. And if your’e strapped for cash go to Chipotle… it’ll be a hell of a lot cheaper for the same amount of food and arguably tastier.

I guess if you want Tex-​Mex, this place is decent.
I was out and about with the in-​laws in Bethesda. They’re all Cali natives and were jonsing for Mexican food. I warned them that the Mexican food is basically non-​existent around here. Back and for the debate went about food. Hunger struck. No decisions were reached. Somehow we ended up deciding on Tex-​Mex.
Décor/​ambiance = Diner-​ish
Service = Our waitress was a sweetie pie. Our food came out fast. I: t was easy to fit our double stroller in the restaurant.
I ordered the huevos rancheros. My waitress was awesome, she honored my low-​fat/​healthy requests (egg white substitutes, corn tortilla over white flour tortillas — I’m such a pain, my corn tortillas were drenched in oil and she exchanged them for non-​greasy tortillas). My eggs were sucky. I’m generally a sucker for huevos rancheros, just not at Austin Grill.
The boys (bro-​in-​law and hubby) like their burritos. But they’re cool with any form of meat and cheese. Plus, they were starving and hunger is the best sauce.
The only delish item on the menu was the Texas size margaritas. The margarita was huge and we all got tipsy early afternoon. Hubster and I ordered our margarita with high end liquor — nice and smooth.
The food is pricey for what it is. It’s hard paying a ridic amount for basic and mostly bland huevos rancheros or Tex-​Mex style burritos after eating at taquerias in SoCal.

This is far from the best Tex-​Mex I’ve had, but it is definitely the best of the few Mexican choices in Bethesda. One reason I keep going back is the salsa — you can taste the fresh cilantro, and it’s blended to a perfect consistency. Their chili is always tasty, made with steak instead of ground beef, and just spicy enough. Also good are the enchiladas, and some of the brunch items like the huevos rancheros or Migas plate. I was disappointed by the wings (salty, grilled taste but lacking in flavor), and the tacos al carbon (steak was too tough).

So my girlfriend and I had the rare opportunity to put the nachos and margaritas of two tex-​mex restaurants head to head: Austin Grill and Uncle Julio’s.
Walking past Austin Grill we were lured in by these huge margaritas the size of my head. Couldn’t pass up that opportunity.
Asked the bartender, and she said they were basically 3 margies for about the price of 2. Sweet… or maybe not.
After polishing one off I felt as though I had finished a single beer. not worth the $ 15.50
Got the nachos. They literally give you 12 tortilla chips with cheese and a small pile of lettuce and sour cream. W. T. F. Seriously austin grill, I thought you were all about texas sized. When I order nachos, I want a freakin’ foot high pile.
So we left Austin Grill (to her credit, the bartender hooked us up cause I think she saw our reaction to this tiny plate of food. I gave her a huge tip)
On to Uncle Julio’s. Fantastic Margaritas! Oh my god. Really really tasty. Came in glass ¼ the size of the «Texas» margarita at Austin Grill, but about the same amount of kick.
Nachos…WTF!!! we got like 10 chips again. Bethesda is weird. Regardless, these nachos were way tastier, mostly cause they had cumin in the beans, and it came with guacamole, and jalapenos. Austin’s Grill’s nachos are supposed to come with jalapenos but I couldn’t see or taste them.
Uncle Julio’s is without a doubt the winner. Don’t even bother with Austin Grill.

With all the wonderful eateries in downtown Bethesda we ended up here after the AT&T National Sunday night. Don’t ask.
Anyway haven’t been to one of their restaurants in a while as there are other favorites of mine for tex/​mex type of fare.
That being said it was not bad and hit the spot in our tummies. Started with the Austin wings and I could have made a meal out of them.
Ribs were very good and would order them again. Nicely cooked and the BBQ sauce was not overwhelmingly sweet. Nice contrast between the spice rub and the sauce. So would recommend this.
I had the Asada, which was really strange tasting. I only had 2 bites and really did not like the flavor. It may have been the cut. However the mashed sweet potatoes and corn/​lima bean succatash was very good. The sweet potatoes had some spice to it and not a lot of added sugar that a lot of other places add.
Think this might make a better lunch than dinner option.
EXCELLENT Patron Marguritas! HAPPY HOUR!

Pros: The corn soup or chilli I tried was surprisingly tasty. It had a nice kick to it and was fairly cheesy. The salsa is blended, which I like. Key lime pie is under $ 3! Who can beat that?
Cons: I ordered carne asada once and I think they brought me out a grilled whoopie cushion. I sent it back and couldn’t return for a few months.
Overall, I would avoid any steaks there, but I would definitely eat here for lunch.

We had just landed at Dulles from Boston. The boyfriend’s parents picked us up, and we headed into Bethesda for brunch at the Austin Grill. It was Saturday around 11 AM, and we were seated promptly at the booth we requested. We were given a generous serving of warm, tasty chips and cool, medium-​spiced salsa (excellent salsa, by the way), and the server promptly brought us water and the orange juice we requested. (She also greeted us with a friendly «y’all.»)
All four of us got the huevos rancheros, which doesn’t make for much variety in terms of reviewing, but I’ll do the best I can. We each got a plate with two fried eggs covered in cheese and ranchera sauce, beans, Mexican rice, and two folded tortillas. My boyfriend and I both opted to fill our tortillas with a variety of the tasty Tex-​Mex goodness in front of us; the first one worked well, but the second was pretty soggy by the time I got to it (since it was sitting on the eggs and ranchera sauce) and it fell apart on me, so I used my knife and fork to eat the rest. My boyfriend’s parents each used their tortillas for dipping. The food was filling, tasty, and all-​around relatively good Tex-​Mex. No one in our party had any complaints.
Service was prompt and friendly, but the restaurant was pretty empty at that time of morning – I’ve noticed that others have had service issues during peak times. Brunch, at least, was moderately-​priced. I definitely recommend the huevos rancheros, and I wouldn’t hesitate to go to the Austin Grill again.

I’m a Chicago native, and have grown up on really tasty Mexican food. Upon moving to Maryland, I realized that finding even okay Mexican would be fine with me, but that’s been crazy difficult. (Why? How the hell should I know…)
That being said, Austin Grill covers the okay Mexican (well, Tex Mex…) well enough. The food is a bit more expensive than I would like (comparable to Applebee’s and the like), but the food was pretty good. I didn’t experience the extremely crappy customer service others noticed, but I did go on a busy evening, so the waiter was a bit slow. (Which I find totally understandable on a Friday night.)
What really made me happy was the delicious chips and salsa. I’m a picky salsa eater. I don’t like big chunks of things, so the salsa at Austin Grill really did it for me. It was a little too mild for my tastes, but so is most salsa.
My meal was a shrimp enchilada with rice and beans. The rice and beans were pretty meh, but the enchilada was very crave-​satisfying.
While not perfect, the food was good, and the service was pretty quick. I would have liked a faster chip refill, but in all fairness, we did polish the chips off pretty quick.

Average, all-​around.
I definitely recommend trying the carnitas pork (I asked for it in a burrito, which they were happy to accommodate) and the green chile sauce. My friend had the carnitas fajitas and was only able to put back about half of the generous portion — but she enjoyed it, and was also grateful for the gluten-​free menu! The tortilla chips were not the best, and the salsa was nothing special either.
Service was so-​so. We waited about 15 minutes to get a table on a Friday night, despite there being a handful of empty two-​person tables visible the entire time we were waiting. The restaurant itself seems like it is in need of some TLC — the bathroom is old, paint is chipped, etc. Also, the menus were SO greasy! Ew! Between the greasy menus and the sticky booths, I got a really dirty vibe from the place. I much prefer the downtown location.
There are enough other options within a few blocks of this place that I doubt I’ll be back.

Not bad, but go to Rio Grande instead.
Food is okay. Typical Mexican. The best thing on the menu IMO is the pork BBQ sandwich. I do like the weed killer hot sauce, a legitimately hot, hot sauce for a chain restaurant like this.
Margaritas are bland, with typical over-​sweet margarita mix. They apparently haven’t caught on to the high-​end tequila trend, as ordering patron is a total waste as their mix would hide the taste of turpentine, much less a nice tequila like Patron.
The one in Silver Spring has interesting performers at night, but no such thing here.
–John

I was tired
(okay, lazy)
and you were close.
Close as Natalie Portman is
in my dreams.
So I entered
(the resturant-​pervs!)
thinking the second time would
be better.
No, Nada. Nyet, Alas.
My last waitress
apparently has
an equally indifferent
cousin
The dish was
bland, blander, blandest
–baby.
No more laziness.
No more next time.

Nothing special — after all, it’s a chain restaurant. Lunch specials available on weekends. Came with the family last Saturday for lunch b/​c my parents like Tex-​Mex. We ordered the Marinated Chicken & Steak fajitas, the Migas Huevos, the Chicken Tacos plate, and the Chicken Enchiladas plate. Nothing to Unilocal home about — food was ok. Portions generous. Service good. Best part was the location — Bethesda Row is a great little area for strolling, shopping, & eating. I won’t be coming back to Austin Grill but I’m definitely interested in trying some of the cooler-​looking restaurants the next time I’m in the area.

I must confess I was a good bit hungover when we ate here, but I don’t think that would have changed much of the outcome. It’s a typical Tex-​Mex style bar, with all the tacky shit on the walls you would expect to let you know that it’s the real deal, right. I will admit though, that it does usually smell good from the outside.
When I feel like a little rough the day after drinking I usually look for some kind of grease-​laden catastrophe to cure what’s ailing me, so I decided to go with the aptly named «Hangover Burger Plate.» I feel like crap, and they want to serve me crap, how could this go wrong? This thing comes with chili, smoked bacon, onions, roasted jalapenos, queso and a fried egg on top. I think my veins stopped working from just reading about it on the menu.
When it came out I thought they might be on to something, I had never had an egg on a burger, although I had seen it often on tv, and have heard that eggs are great for curing that still-​drunk feeling. It was so poorly executed however I was just left with a giant mess and a bun that could hardly support it all. Even worse was the sad excuse for mashed potatoes or grits or whatever they hell they put on the plate beside it, just way too clumpy and not even really warm. To make matters worse, I actually felt less likely to puke before eating there than after, pretty much the opposite of my goal.

Apparently I’m in the minority on this one, but I thought that Bethesda’s Austin Grill had pretty darn good Tex Mex food. In fact, my friend from Arizona, the one who’s always griping about «real» Mexican — said this was the «closest-​to-​Mexican Tex Mex» she’s ever had.
I went with a group of more than a dozen, sans reservation, and they were able to seat us fairly quickly & efficiently in our own little nook of the restaurant. Chips & salsa were waiting for us, refills came quickly (& free!), & extra plates & napkins were made abundant upon request. Although the queso-​made-​with-​beer sort of tasted like it’d been made with cigarette ashes, too, the salsa (the one on the table) was, hands down, some of the best salsa I’ve had in a long while (& also quickly refilled). The restaurant was super-​clean & bright, very welcoming — & totally handicap-​accessible!
Our meals came out relatively quickly, & we all left happy & extremely full. My Longhorn Nachos were individually topped, which is great news for someone as messy as me (i.e. no melty cheese sliding down my chin or my elbows), & they were delish — I asked for extra corn to give them some extra oomph, & that was delivered speedily & free. What’s more, all of our portions were HUGE for relatively little money, so we all took leftovers home for lunch the next day.
I mean, Tex Mex is Tex Mex — & it gets a bad rap for being «fake Mexican.» But if you look at Tex Mex as a genre in its own right, Austin Grill is pretty darn good.

The food was not so good — and the service was worse. We waited for everything — utensils came a few minutes after the food (which took a while) — and we never managed to get napkins. Seemed like the manager’s main task was going to half of the tables to apologize for this and or that.
Someone at our table ordered the chicken burrito — he swore it wasn’t chicken, someone at our table thought it was, he wasn’t convinced. I know the saying «tastes like chicken» — but chicken that doesn’t taste like chicken?
I had a cup of chili and it was good, but I didn’t care for anything else — not even the chips and salsa.
The whole experience was like an episode of Fawlty Towers — I kept expecting Manuel to show up.
Will not return.

Oh how it pains me to give Austin Grill two stars, but this location is by far the least appealing out of the ones I’ve been to. Everything about it is just off.
I’ve been to this location before, and it’s always the same, so I finally need to write it down. This location really brings down it’s counterparts in DC and Alexandria.
To start off, we get there. TONS of open tables around, but we’re told that the wait would be about 15 minutes and given a buzzer. REALLY? I think there were more open tables than tables with customers at them. Even more curious is the fact that the host found time to use the crayons to color one of the kiddie placemats while 4 other parties (and us too) waited to be seated. Finally, after the host decided that he had done a fine work of art, he sat us. We probably should have left as this was all occurring, but at that point, we were more like «bring it on!»
Now, as I’ve mentioned in reviews of the other Austin Grill locations I’ve been to, I really like their shrimp tacos. In fact, it’s basically the only thing I get and I REALLY like them. So I got the shrimp tacos. I was really taken aback when I got my platter — shrimp tacos, minus the good pesto and spicy mayo sauce I get at other locations, not to mention two measly shrimp on each taco (for $ 12.99 by the way) and a schload of cabbage. Shrimp and cabbage that’s it. Not even CLOSE to the qualtiy or taste of what I’m used to. I don’t think we’ll even go into the BEVO’s special salad that the GVBF had. It was rather pathetic and that lime cilantro dressing was, well, I don’t have any words to describe its weirdness.
Now, I will give props to our server. He was a nice kid, very polite and attentive. Definitely the bright spot in the meal.
I think the folks that own the Austin Grill chain really need to pay some attention to this location. The other locations are pretty high quality, with good service and good food. This location only serves to bring a bad name to those other locations. I don’t think there will be a next time for this location. We’ll simply choose to go somewhere else when we’re looking to dine in Bethesda.