Blue Oak Grill

We came here to watch a football game. i had called ahead once before and was told that they had 4 tvs and whoever got there first got volume. so… we got there early and we still did not get volume. The poor guy in the back was having so much trouble with setting up the tvs. Not sure if this was his first Sunday working morning shift or what? but I really felt bad for the guy.
Some other patrons in the bar were being kinda rude but they were ordering EVERYTHING apps, entrees, drinks, desserts, and even more apps. and it was just 2 guys! I think they were on a date but I was cringing to hear the lashing our bartender was going to get.
Not too bad but the bill for about 5beers and one app was get this… $ 45!!!
NEVER AGAIN blue oak grill. NEVER AGAIN.
I think my drink sat unrefilled for a good 30 min. but I didnt make a big deal bc it was so freaking cold in there anyway. wasnt much for drinking. THe place was empty except for a few tables (like one an hour) was really wondering how the place stays in business. i hope they make it up durinkg the week but I think its probably due to the hotels nearby. This place must make up all the revenue from unsuspecting diners who dont know how expensive it is just to have a few drinks.
If you’re ready to dine: try it. (I havent.) but if you’re out to have a few drinks you’re better off trying some place else. especially if you’re going to watch the game.

It’s been over a year since our first and only visit to the Blue Oak Grill. We had some friends in from out of town and wanted to go to a non-​chain restaurant.
We were seated and our waiter stopped at the table within seconds. We hadn’t even had time to open the menu. He asked for our order. We asked him to come back after we had some time to look.
We ordered a couple appetizers, the queso and the onion rings ($ 6.95 each). They came out warm. Not hot, but warm.
Two of us ordered the chicken fried steak ($ 11.50 each). They come with predetermined sides, but you can mix things up if you ask. I stuck with the mashed potatoes and broccoli rice casserole. They potatoes were good, but I did not eat the casserole as it was way too cheesy.
A third person had the Cobb salad ($ 9.95), and the final person in the group had a stuffed burger.
The burger ($ 10.95) was the really bad part. It was stuffed with mushrooms and cheese. The burger was served with chili. When asked how he wanted the burger, he said well done. The burger came out and looked well done on the outside. I think it looked a little too well done myself. When he bit into it, it was blood red throughout. Not pink in the middle, but red throughout except for the surface. It was sent back.
So, we all work on our dinners, he eats his chili, while we wait for the burger. The burger comes out as we finishing up. He takes it to go. Nothing like spending $ 11 on a burger and taking it to go.
After we pay for the meal, we are approached by the manager on duty, and he offers us ½ off the burger. We mention that we have already paid full price for the meal and are taking it home to eat another time. He then offers us a desert, which we take home with us.
Also, while I do like the idea that they are trying to be green by using LED lighting, it was really hard to see the menu in such dim lighting.
Overall, I don’t think we will ever return to the Blue Oak Grill.

I’m giving this 4 stars even though in our several trips to this restaurant, we’ve tried more things we didn’t like than liked. However, the things we liked were SO good that they keep us coming back. So, the key to eating at the Blue Oak Grill is to order carefully.
First of all, the cornbread is fantastic. Really and truly the best cornbread I ever had (and thank goodness, because it’s the only thing that brought me back a second time! But more on that in a minute…). I am very picky about cornbread — I don’t like it if it’s dry and crumbly — and this cornbread lives up to its stellar reputation. The honey flavor really comes through and it’s nicely crispy on the top. Delish!
Now, to start with the bad so that we can end on a positive note:
The first time I came to Blue Oak, I tried the vegetable plate so I could sample some of their sides, which sounded delectable: «fancy» mac and cheese, red-​skinned mashed potatoes, and rosemary carrots. They were all terrible. Really, really bad. The mac and cheese was probably the worst I’ve ever had in a restaurant. I can’t imagine anyone over the age of 3 liking it, unless you grew up on Kraft mac and cheese from a box and think that’s the last word in mac and cheese. If so, you’ll love this bland, dry, boring, utterly flavorless concoction. I have no idea what qualifies it as «fancy». The rosemary carrots were utterly baffling. Nothing rosemary about them at all. They were just carrots in some kind of yellow liquid (carrot juice?). The mashed potatoes were dry and bland, just like the mac and cheese.
The blueberry lemonade was also disappointing. Just lemonade with some blueberries floating in it. So the lemonade itself was just, well, lemonade flavor.
But that cornbread brought me back, and on my second visit, I struck gold. I tried the veggie burger on the Tejas bun and it was one of the BEST veggie burgers I’ve ever had. And I’ve had a lot. The veggie patty itself was very yummy; not bland or oaty like a lot of places (I did have to pick out the pieces of corn, but they’re few and far between and easy to spot). The Tejas bun was my favorite part, though. It was so fresh, it tasted like they just baked it moments ago. And I loved the combination of sweet and spicy. More restaurants need to serve their sandwiches on buns like this! Nothing «grocery store» about it. It was scrumptious! I ordered the sandwich with shredded cheese and grilled onions and a side of honey mustard. It was fantastic! I also tried their chef’s special potatoes, which were some kind of yummy, warm, sour creamy, bacony concoction which should seriously replace their yucky regular mashed potatoes. On a subsequent trip I tried the twice baked potato, which is on the regular menu, and it is YUMMY. Definitely that will become my staple (since it’s also the only side dish on the regular menu that I like).
To sum it up… if this place paid attention to their Unilocal reviews and took suitable action on the recommendations, they have the potential to be GREAT. As it is, I will stick with the one yummy dish I’ve found. But it’s so good it will keep me coming back. (And that cornbread! That alone will do the trick!).

We try to visit the local/​non-​chain restaurants that are in our region of Austin, so we thought we should give Blue Oak Grill a shot. After this visit, I am reminded why we go to central and south Austin for good food. Something about the suburbs breeds mediocrity.
Corn bread, the highlight of our visit. Maybe I should have had this for dinner? Likely the best part of this establishment. The service was friendly. And I mean, REALLY friendly — my 30 year husband was called ‘buddy-​boy’ the whole time by a server ²⁄₃ his age. But really, you can’t complain too much about an over-​eager server.
You can see that the place used to be a Bennigan’s or something — they did a decent job in the remodel — the bench seats are recovered, the color scheme is good, nice photos in frames but it still looks like a remodeled Bennigan’s.
I asked for some crayons and a kids menu and all they had to offer was this weird laminated kids menu that was already marked up and a couple of half used crayons that the hostess was using. So much for a family restaurant?
Ok, so the food. I ordered their version of a BLT that had a fried egg and avocado. But the egg was over hard. Kinda disappointing. A delicious runny yolk can solve a multitude of food problems. It would have solved the dry texture of this dish. Sweet potato fries were good. Husband got the burger with the cheese in the middle. Sounds good in concept, but he scorched his mouth when he bit into the burger because of the molten cheese. I think I understand why cheese is usually on the top of the burger.
I really wish we had had a better experience — I don’t like giving less than three stars to a local business, but if I am honest with myself we will probably not return or recommend to friends.. .

I really don’t get what all the hype was about.
The food was meh and overpriced.
The atmosphere was humid/​sticky.

After making my parents their anniversary dinner, my sister and I (along with my niece) went to Blue Oak Grill since it was close and we had heard good things about it.
When we got there, it was surprisingly not busy, considering it was a Saturday night (7 pm). And they must have been short-​staffed because there was a 10 – 15 minute wait but many empty tables.
After being seated we went ahead and ordered the fried calamari which we got free from the check-​in offer on the Unilocal app. First time I’ve had calamari, but it was delicious. The cornbread was amazing too, and I love that it uses local honey.
I ordered the chicken fried steak with a side salad and fancy mac and cheese, while my sister ordered the Blue Oak Grill burger. It took quite some time to get our food, apparently the kitchen was behind (which is understandable, they had a pretty big party going on in one of the side rooms).
The chicken fried steak was amazing. Probably the best I’ve had. The mac and cheese was good too, it wasn’t made with american cheese or regular cheddar, I think maybe it was white cheddar or swiss or something. My sister said her burger was alright, it was bigger than she thought but it didn’t look like there was much blue cheese stuffed inside it, mostly onions. She also ordered the blueberry lemonade and said it was great.
We wanted to try their buttermilk chess pie, but my niece was getting antsy so we left. But the server mistakenly charged us for the fried calamari even though it was mentioned twice (and I showed the «coupon» to him).
Overall, it was great food, but the service was lacking, especially for a Saturday night.

UGH! I really wanted to like Blue Oak but I just wasn’t all that impressed.
Well let me start off by saying that when I arrived with my party of 6, the hostess said that «It’s going to be a bit of a hassle to seat you guys». Umm… Hardly anyone was in the restaurant. Ok fine, I’m not the hostess anyways.
So then there were no menus, the menus that they did have we already torn and we were waiting for another table so we could have a drink menu.
The food was ok, I had a «BaLeT» and i asked to not have the fried egg and they went ahead and still put it in.
The drinks were ok. A little on the pricey side, except for the draft.
It was very much a miss.

When I tried Blue Oak Grill it was a saturday afternoon. When I was there, there was only 1 other table of people eating there, so my waiter was attentive without being intrusive.
We started with a couple of ritas and an order of fried pickles and the complimentary corn bread. Neither me nor my guest cared for the ritas, the taste was off. too much mixer or something.
The pickles on the other hand were great. The used the «stacker» style pickle slices, so you got a good ratio of yummy fried crust with each bite.
I thought the corn bread was probably the best I have had. The inside was moist and the top had a slight crust from the honey. its almost worth going just for the corn bread.
For the entrée we decided to split the chicken fried steak. It was huge! I was glad we didn’t order 2 entrees because they certainly weren’t needed. I thought the chicken fried steak was pretty good, but certainly not the best. For the sides we got mashed potatoes and broccoli casserole. The sides were both good. The broccoli was particularly good, I would definitely order it again.
We didn’t try desert. All in all I enjoyed my experience and will be back again.

Came to the Blue Oak Grill on a Saturday afternoon. The place was practically deserted. We were on our way to Chuys when Rabia suggested we give it a try. I’m glad we did. The food here is pretty good. The service is a little hit and miss.
The complimentary corn bread certainly meets the hype. I often find corn bread to be dry and boring, but not here. The honey is sweet and the bread is soft. Great way to start the meal.
Unilocalers if they check in can get 1 free blueberry lemonade. Even if its not free, I recommend you get it. Its outstanding.
Rabia got the chicken fried steak and I got the New Orleans shrimp po boy. Rabia hated her meal, but I think it was more because she didn’t make the right choice for her. I thought her meal was pretty good. My po boy was certainly excellent.
So the food was good, but what about the service? We had two waitresses. Our first was a sweet friendly chatterbox. She talked and talked and talked. But it was never annoying and she took care of us. Quickly got us everything we asked for and did it with a smile. She noticed Rabia didn’t like the Chicken Fried Steak and offered to take it away and replace with another dish which was a nice surprise. Our second waitress however wasn’t as good and took too long with everything. By the end of the meal, I was so frustrated with how long it was taking to get the check that I took the kids to the car and strapped them in while Rabia waited for her to come back. The place was practically empty so i’m not sure what took so long.
Overall, we had a great experience and I’m sure we’ll be back for another round some time soon.

Really had high hopes for this place. Visited twice and it seemed like two different places. First visit went well. The service was great, the food was pretty good although they were out of the «bean of the day» black-​eyed peas, which I really wanted.
Second visit was a let down. Went on a Sunday evening with the family for a total party of 5. We were seated in a hidden corner, far away from the other diners. Our server had a large table at the opposite end of the same room but she didn’t pay enough attention to us. We waited long periods of time between her visits to our table.
When I checked in with Unilocal,the waitress happened to be dropping off our drink orders. I noticed there was a great coupon to get a free Cheese Pie just for checking in. I held up my phone so that she could see it. Her response was, «we’re out.» What? That’s it? That’s all you have to say about that? No, «I’m sorry, perhaps I can offer you an alternative»? Wow, way to impress the Unilocaler, lady.
On the food level, we ordered the fried pickle app which my girls and I enjoyed quite a bit. Tasty, crunchy breading on the outside. The meals were ordered did not impress any of us. The chicken fried steak was as large as a serving platter but the meat inside was not. One daughter ordered a basic burger, adding bacon and cheese. She ate only a couple of small bites. The bun was a sweet, jalapeño bun which turned her off. The mayonnaise content looked like a spot of it had dripped onto the bun from the ceiling. The Shrimp Etouffe that I ordered was only okay. I can take some heat from my food but I still want to be able to enjoy it. I just didn’t especially like the flavor.
On the property level, the décor in there is dry, as in no flavor. The walls are bare and the brown paint they used just sucks the life. I went to the lady’s room to wash my hands before dinner. So glad I didn’t have to spend any more time in there than that. It smelled like the inside of a diaper pail. Yuck! For goodness sake, there are some things you should spend a little remodeling money on.

Disappointed. I left shaking my head, and wondering if the good food and service I had once before was an aberration.
Décor — On my first trip I found it odd. A mélange of grey and baby blue it provides a subdued atmosphere… of the institutional variety. I expected to see mental patients shuffling around in robes.
Food — the institutional theme carried through to my overly greasy chicken fried steak and mac-​n-​cheese. I know this is a greasy dish, but it should be allowed to drain a bit before hitting the plate. The puddle of grease was unappetizing. The mac-​n-​cheese seemed like an afterthought side dish, and an opportunity to make a good baked mac-​n-​cheese was missed. The southern green beans served in a small bowl with a giant potato wedge was… odd. I understand the green bean /​red potato /​southern thing, however, I ordered green beans and half of the bowl was a potato wedge.
Service — Friendly-​ish when she was there, virtually non-​existant most of the time. We seemed to be a nuisance she had to endure between smoke breaks. Some training is definitely needed. Time delay between visits was too long. Reaching across the patrons because you didn’t want to step to the other side is annoying. Don’t ask if someone wants a refill — if you see the drink is low, bring another, particularly when we are only half way through the meal.
Unilocaliness — When we checked in we noticed that there was an offer for a free slice of Napoleon Cheese Pie for Unilocalers. When my wife showed her iPhone to the waitress she said, «yeah, we are out of that» and then walked away. AND. THEN. WALKED. AWAY. Horrible customer service. (see note above about waitress needing training) Someone who had been on the ball might have said, «oooh, I’m so sorry. We are out of that right now. Let me go talk to the manager and see what we can do.» Then a good manager would have substituted another dessert or offered a half-​price appetizer. But «yeah, we are out of that» isn’t the right answer.
Next thing you might be out of are customers.
I’d recommend you address the waitstaff training, address the consistency of the food, and repaint. If you don’t this might be the restaurant that used to be a Bennigan’s, and then something else, before it closed, too.

I was about to walk out the door to go to Tenderland last evening when hubby called and said he wanted us to go out for dinner, somewhere new, up north and that had live music. That’s a really tall order up here. So I got on my nifty Unilocalsearch and between that and the Chronicle, I discovered Blue Oak Grill, which has good food reviews and was due to have a rock/​soul cover band at 8.
We made the trek over to Round Rock and found the place pretty easily (look for the blue lights). But, when we walked in, my first thought was, where in the world would they put a band??? The place apparently used to be a Bennigans and has kept the basic layout of that despite a new color scheme, with the big circular bar in the middle of the restaurant. I asked the hostess about it and first she said the band cancelled (boooo! not the restaurants fault, but very disappointing) and that they play under the specials chalkboard behind the bar (looked like just a walkway, no stage that I could see). Made me wonder. If I was just an old folk lookin for some good chicken fried steak to gum on a Sat nite and some band started blaring «Sweet Child of Mine» in the middle of my meal, I’d be pretty put out. As it was, we’re old married folks and were looking for some entertainment, and we were pretty put out too.
Well, we thought we’d go ahead and eat since we were there. In a fairly empty restaurant they sat us literally right behind the waiter computer where we could hear all there conversations and complaints about their work schedules. And still it took a good ten minutes before one of them acknowledged us. In the meantime we perused the menu and I discovered there was very little there that appealed to me. The menu was on par with a Marie Calendars or Black Eyed Pea, and while I know this place is locally owned, the bright lights, bland décor made us feel like we’d made the trip just to eat at a generic chain restaurant.
We placed our drink orders and 10 minutes later the waitress brought our waters and cornbread, saying the driinks would be right out. The cornbread, as stated many times was phenomenal! Light and sweet, almost a dessert and I wished they’d brought little plates for us as it would crumble all over the table with every bite, but I guess that’s just more mess for them.
Then our waitress returned saying they were out of the wine I’d ordered. Srsly, it took you guys almost 20 minutes to figure that out and tell me? And let me just say right here, that our waitress, while nice enough, was as generic as our surroundings. Hubby did a great impersonation last nite. Very Stepford Waitress. «How ya’ll doin? Can I get you something? M’kay I’ll be right back!» was all we heard every 15 minutes or so.
Onto the food. Hubby talked me out of the fish, saying it probably wasn’t fresh in a place like this. Just Sysco frozen so I got the Ranch Chicken which was described as a breast with Italian seasoning, with ham and mozarella over a wine sauce. No description about it being battered and fried and while it tasted good, it was so rich and heavy as to give me immediate eater’s remorse. On the other hand, the fried okra was outstanding with a very light, very crunchy exterior. Not overly breaded like some places. And the green beans were alright. Hubby of course ordered fish, after his schpiel earlier he deserved what he got. A bland piece of sauceless fish. And his mac and cheese was very wet and to me had little flavor. On a high note, he had to order the buttermilk pie. NOBODY makes buttermilk pie like my hubby and he always likes to compare so I can stroke his ego and tell him he’s the best. Well, this one came dangerously close to being as good as his. The right consistency, not too sweet and the crust was outstanding. Men are so cute tho. We raved about the pie and it wasn’t until we were in bed last nite (which is immediately where we had to go afterward due to food coma), drifting off, when he whispered, «But it wasn’t as good as mine, right?» «No honey. Of course not. NOBODY makes it like you.» Yawn.
Final conclusions? Shoulda made the trip down south to eat at a trailer instead. bummers.

The wife and I tried Blue Oak Grill last night for the first time in our 3+ years here in Round Rock, and I have to say that it was one of the most bizarre mediocre dining experiences I have had here. This restaurant seems truly conflicted in terms of its menu offerings, décor, etc.
First the good: Round Rock Honey Corn Bread… holy crap it was good! They bring it out to every table and we devoured it. It can’t be very good for you, but that’s probably why it was so good.
The vibe in the restaurant is very 30’s/40’s décor which contradicts the, shall we say average menu offerings. My wife and I both agreed that the huge bar in the middle of the restaurant would be a great place to hang out after work and have a beer to relax… but I have to say that the rest of the restaurant is a bit uncomfortable. Not sure if it’s the lighting… or what but it was just… uncomfortable.
Now, the food: I had the roared chicken, which unfortunately was Mohave desert dry. In retrospect, that was probably the wrong thing to order… but I thought it would be safe. My wife got the ranch chicken, which was actually very good. Our sides of Mac and cheese and Rosemary carrots (yes, we got the same sides) were ok, although the carrots had nothing Rosemary about them.
Overall, I wouldn’t really recommend this place… but they could have been having an off night. I might go back to sit at the bar… but probably not for a dinner.

We finally got a chance to try out Blue Oak, and will DEFINITELY be coming back!
To start, the complimentary corn bread made with Round Rock honey was very nice… not too dense, and very delicious. The pepper grinders at each table was a nice touch, like being at home. The cloth napkins were nice too.
We decided to skip the appetizers, with our eyes on the desserts. I chose the Chicken Fried Steak, which was huge. You could tell it was cooked from scratch (as is everything at this restaurant) and was seasoned perfectly without too much breading. My wife had the Fried Shrimp, which were also well seasoned & the shrimp themselves were perfect. For sides we both had the broccoli casserole, which was super cheesy & smooth. I also had the French Fried Sweet Potatoes (not cut too thin or dried out from overbooking as is so often the case at other places), and my wife had the Fried Okra (which was crispy on the outside while remaining fresh & flavorful inside, and easily beat the Fried Okra at Bush’s Chicken).
For dessert we had the Pineapple Pie. I’ve never seen this offered on any other restaurant’s menu, and I could’ve sworn they had my grandma making it back in the kitchen! It had a nice flaky crust, a smooth pineapple custard inside, and a nicely browned coconut topping. Yum!
Throughout the meal, Kathi provide great attentive service. Carl (the manager) also stopped by, and it is evident that they were both passionate about the food and their restaurant. Next time I’m gonna try their blue cheese & bacon stuffed burger and the Cube Pie (their version of the traditionally southern buttermilk pie!

I love this place. Fried chicken with a cornflake crust, awesome chicken fried steak (see Chris S’ review), cheap drinks, super-​friendly staff, local business, cheap desserts ($ 3 – 4), fresh seafood — it makes me want to start a USA chant and a slow clap every time I’m there.
If you’ve never been, then you should know that the portion sizes are pretty big, so you can probably split whatever you’re going to get. Also, if you’re into drinks, then you might want to visit during happy hour.
I’ll be there for my New Year’s Eve dinner.

I reckon my Grampy knows just about all there is to know about chicken fried steak. He’s traveled up and down the rambling freeways of this great state, and he’s eaten chicken fried steak in more grimy truck-​stops, diners, and small town cafes than any man ever should.
When Grampy cuts himself, he bleeds white cream gravy. He can and will bend your ear for hours at a time, carefully explaining the crucial differences between chicken fried steak and the lesser country fried steak.
Some might say that there are better culinary items to obsess about. We should be focused on stuff like stinky cheeses and the nether-​regions of unfortunate chickens served on sticks from Chinese food carts. Some say that chicken fried steak is a coarse and unworthy entrée. After all, it’s just a cheap cut of steak that is battered and cooked in hot oil. HA HA! Grampy and I pity those misguided souls.
Grampy will tell you (eyes wistfully misting with what looks suspiciously like gravy) that a great chicken fried steak has a soul. A tender, salty, crunchy soul. It’s so much more than a vehicle for soaking up gravy. The ingredients interact in a delicate symphony: the tempestuous hot oil, the yin and yang of the salt and pepper, the rearthy steak, and the soggy/​crispy duet sung by gravy and batter.
A chicken fried steak can be a joy forever, but, like pizza, mediocrity is all too common. We’ve all seen the dark side of this noble dish. Plucked from a greasy pile in some cafeteria line warming tray and smothered in gloppy gravy, the mediocre steak is an over-​fried piece of joyless army boot leather only loosely clad in a batter shell that just won’t stay attached. Those steaks are better left for inmates or for gluttonous college students.
Luckily, there’s the Blue Oak Grill. Grampy and I ordered up some chicken fried steaks to go from this new ‘local’ Round Rock enterprise. The carry out order process was seamless, smooth, and impressive. Our food was immaculately packaged in a series of landfill-​wrecking, yet fantastically functional cardboard containers.
When we unveiled the food, Grampy almost wept. The chicken fried steaks were spectacular hand-​battered slabs the size of Luxembourg.
The first course of action was the tenderness test. I expected Grampy to reach for his butter knife, but he surprised me by using his fork. He cut through the steak easily with the fork’s dull edge. Only the crème de la crème, the top 3% of steaks pass this initial test. Grampy grunted his approval and moved on to the taste test.
It was everything that a chicken fried steak should be. This steak had soul. I felt it talking to me of days gone by. Simpler times with swimmin holes, collard greens, and catching fireflies at the edge of the woods.
This dadgum chicken fried steak was so tasty that Grampy and I scuttled our leftover plans. Half of this gargantuan meal was to be carefully saved for dinner later. We just couldn’t stop until every last bite was gone. I got gravy stains on my shirt, and now my good work pants won’t fit any more.
I looked over to Grampy to get his verdict. «Now that is a chicken fried steak! Did I ever tell you about Hamburger Steak? There’s nothing like a great hamburger steak» But that, my friends, is a story for another time.
Two gravy-​soaked thumbs up for the Blue Oak Grill.

Love this place. The stuffed burger is awesome and the service is excellent. Instead of tgi fridays or chilis, i suggest the blue oak grill. They have Blue Moon for $ 2 during happy hour. (As a note, the building used to be the Bennigans in town which had the distinction of being the only place around open on Christmas night.)
In a «catch-​22» for the restaurant, the place never seems remotely busy. As a result, the bartenders, wait staff, managers, and cooks have the time to truly focus on your experience. Perhaps that will change as people find out about Blue Oak Grill (the crowd part, not the great service). I sure hope so.

Locally owned? check
Made from scratch ranch dressing? check
Hand Battered Chicken Fried Steak? check
Homemade Lemonade? check
Fresh baked corn bread? check
Great service? check
Supports local suppliers? check
As you can tell, I was very excited to see Blue Oak open up down the street. In a location flanked by remarkably average chains, this place rises above with a great menu, nice atmosphere and friendly service.
We had a large group and sampled many of the usual suspects. The ranch dressing, corn bread and chicken fingers breaded in corn flakes were memorable.
This was the hook that grabbed by curiosity «Our chefs prepare the entire menu from scratch, using tried and true old-​fashioned recipes. We’re serving up classic American, from the décor and the menu to our signature cocktails. Blue Oak Grill is the perfect place to find homemade creations and home-​style cooking — we’re proud to be a part of your community.»

Understand when you read this, that I like food with lots of flavor. The more spice and seasoning the better as far as I’m concerned. Establishments with food that is less flavorful may get a slightly lower rating from me and all that reflects is my opinion not necessarily the quality of the food.
So, having said that, here’s what I thought about Blue Oak Grill.
First, the service is very good. Its apparent that they really care about their customers and would like them to return. The service seems prompt, and friendly, and knowledgeable. The corn bread that they bring out at the beginning of the meal is to die for. From what I hear that may be due to the honey that glazes it. Round Rock Honey has quite a reputation and this local honey is what Blue Oak uses on their corn bread. I would return here just for the corn bread alone.
I would not return for the rest of the food unfortunately. It was adequate, nothing was bad, it was just super bland in my opinion. The mac and cheese was fairly runny. The chicken sandwich was served on a nice fresh roll but there was nothing spectacular about it. My husband had the ribs, and his comment on them was, «Meh.»
The food matched the atmosphere (its hard to get rid of that Bennigans feel) and is probably perfectly appropriate for the clientele (folks staying at the plethora of cheap motels along that stretch of 35) that are likely to be in the area.
I did appreciate the fact that their parking lot has been landscaped with beautiful, low water use plants so I’ll give them some more business because of that and the INCREDIBLE CORN BREAD!
**Update**
Went back again the other day and had pretty much the same reaction. Service was wonderful. The owners and staff obviously care very much about the business. The food was decent and the cornbread was, of course, INCREDIBLE! I’m adding a star because I think most folks would be satisfied with their meal here. Maybe not raving about it, but certainly satisfied and pleased.

There is a new restaurant in Round Rock that has a number of reviews already. It is called Blue Oak Grill in the old Bennigan’s restaurant. It is run by 2 local chefs. I read the reviews and decided to give it a try at lunch last week.
I arrived at 2pm which is my normal lunch hour and was seated right away. There we only a hand full of tables with customers at this hour of the day. I ordered the hamburger with Mac and cheese. I have learned my lesson and quit ordering fries anywhere. The burger came with a ½ lb Black Angus burger served on a Tejas Special or wheat bun with classic fixin’s & mustard. I asked what the Tejas special bun was. It is a white bun with jalapenos in it.
The order came out quickly cooked correctly; it even had mayo instead of mustard as I ordered. The burger was juicy and I did not notice a hot or spicy flavor in the bun. The Mac and cheese was plain not spicy and it was good. I liked the burger, nothing really special but very good. They had special strawberry shortcake with a heavy whipped cream, I liked it, I will order ice cream next time I get it. The service was fine, the restaurant open and clean.
OK the next night I grabbed the boss and we both went for dinner. I ordered the pan-​fried steak which was a hand-​breaded steak in cracker crumbs & served with scratch cream gravy. The batter was good and just barely covered the steak so it was mostly beef and all batter as in some places; my sides were mashed potatoes and broccoli casserole. I liked my meal.
Oh I forgot we got a free honey cornbread in the pan, I don’t really care for cornbread but liked the sweetness of this one.
My wife ordered the special which was a rib-​eye (prime) steak (12oz) for $ 24.95, the standard cost was $ 28.95. Her sides were the salad and fried squash. She ordered it medium. It came out well done. She sent it back and got another which was cooked medium rare. She did not send it back but took it home and had it later. Her comment was that a 12oz thin cut steak was very difficult to cook and will be over cooked most of the time. She recommends they change the prime cut to a choice cut make it a 16 to 22 oz and charge the $ 13 or $ 14 dollars for it and they will have a better steak to serve and sell a higher volume. Note: my wife and her mother ran a restaurant for many years and she is a great cook. Correct it was a Chinese restaurant but she knows her stuff.
Would we go back? Yes, overall we both liked it and plan to go back and try different items on the menu.