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Austin Grill - CLOSED
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Garage, Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
14 reviews for Austin Grill
14 reviews in English
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Review from Andrew W.
Annapolis, MD
12/16/2011
Stumbled upon Austin Grill one night after visiting family at AAMC. Wanted to try something new and immediately fell in love with the cherry limeade and corn soup. The food is a bit overpriced in my opinion for the portions that you get and can be a bit bland. Typical Southwestern chain cuisine. Do like the grilled wings which have a great smoky flavor to them, as well and the fact that they serve Stella Artois properly. Drinking Stella from the chalice does make a difference in the flavor. Also discovered that they do karaoke. Was on Wednesdays, but now on Thursday nights from 8 pm - 11 pm. Creates a bit of a fun, mixed atmosphere for a place that is usually pretty stale, even in the bar. Another plus for Austin Grill are the drink prices and the fact that the bartenders tend to pour heavy.
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Review from Steven S.
12/1/2011
I ordered a monster burger, touted on the menu as one of their signature dishes ("Honestly Authentic" as it is called). It is called The Hangover Burger and comes complete with a fried egg on top. My wife ordered the grilled chicken salad, my daughter got something that I can't even remember, and my son got a kids burger and was very adamant that it contain no cheese (he hates cheese). The server wrote it all down and came back...about 45 minutes later to tell us the food was almost ready. I'd like to say service was slow, but that's not really the case. Our server was fast, but the food preparation was slow. And by now the restaurant was about half empty so I was stumped. Maybe it was just a slow cook night.
My son's burger came out with - you guessed it - LOADS of cheese. They quickly took it back and came out within five minutes with a new, cheese-less burger. We suddenly realized we had no silverware on the table. Now by this time we'd been sitting there an hour and could have (and should have) ordered some silverware much earlier, but it just slipped our minds. I asked for some and that turned out to be a mistake: another server came over with two fistfuls of silverware and attempted to hand them to our server, so she could place them on our table. But picture this: the utensils are in his hands, sort of dispersed in random directions. Meaning, his hands are touching the business end of some of these forks and knives. He didn't seem to notice, but our server did and made the comment to him: "Ummm...okay...I don't know how to grab these." After reaching her hand over, under, and again over his in an almost odd sort of synchronized sign language display, she finally just gave up and let him hand them directly to me, after which I set the table for us. The napkins arrived sometime later.
My Hangover Burger was mediocre at best. It was only slightly better than a fast-food burger and the fries were way overcooked and under-seasoned. My wife's chicken salad was good, as was the kids burger. With the meal out of the way, we were asked if we would like to try dessert. My daughter had spotted a strawberry shortcake on the menu and asked for that. Our server explained that management was changing the menus and, before removing certain items from the current menu, had already removed them from the restaurant. A few other items were also off limits.
The crowning moment came at the end of the evening when the manager made her rounds to ask how people were doing and if everything was okay. I commented that there were several challenges but we were trying to work through them. Well that was all the manager needed to hear. She curtly wished us a good evening and moved on to the next table, without even asking what they were or giving me a chance to elaborate.
So at the end of the evening, we all decided that was probably our last visit to the Austin Grill, at least for a while. We tipped our sever well because she worked hard in spite of so many obstacles. But if management doesn't change a few things, the Austin Grill Annapolis will likely continue to be the best place in town for immediate seating. -
Review from Krista O.
Pasadena, MD
4/2/2011 1 Check-in Here
I actually have been to Austin Grill a few times.. Even to the one in DC. My boyfriend and I started going here because of their advertised happy hours. You can't beat a $3 margarita. I prefer them frozen and have never had a problem with them being weak. The portion is pretty large for the price and yummy. The sangria was alright; it has fruit floating in it which is a plus but wasn't very strong. On the non-alcoholic side, the strawberry limeade is on par with Sonic (and I think theirs is awesome).
I love their taco salad. The shell is 5-star and the salsa vinaigrette dressing is super flavorful. I always ask for extra to pour over again because I don't think the amount they give you is enough. The only problem with the salad is that it's so full of lettuce you don't have much room for anything else in the bowl! I'm not a rabbit.. I like eating lots of things in my salads. But I have to pull out some lettuce to eat the corn, guacamole (which is homemade and yum) and the beans. You can order it with a choice or meat, and I've gotten it with steak and it was great. The salsa and chips are yummy to start off the meal and I think the queso is also dee-lish, but it's expensive ($5/cup I think?) and has to be added on to the chips as an appetizer which is a tad bit annoying.
I always sit in the room facing the mall because the back room is loud and there aren't many places that can fit more than 2 people. I've had service that's been all over the map but the servers have always been friendly! -
Review from Kelly C.
Baltimore, MD
12/18/2011
Looks nice. Staff is friendly. Food is not that great especially for the price and gave me bad stomach issues.
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Review from Michelle F.
Cheverly, MD
3/27/2011
I also purchased the $30 Groupon for Austin Grill... I was planning to use this for a solo lunch shopping trip, but noticed too late that it couldn't be used towards alcohol. So instead I ordered 1 meal for dine in and 1 meal to go.
For dine in I ordered the --Classic Combo*
A chicken enchilada with mild green chile sauce and a grilled steak
taco. -- The enchilada was a little dry .. . but the taco was A+++++
I ordered an iced tea ... but it was never brought. So in order to drive the tab up to $30 - I ordered the Fried Ice Cream (I wanted the Flan... but they were out of it).
To go I ordered the - Shrimp and Avocado Salad
House greens, bacon, green onions, Pico de Gallo, tomatoes, avocado and crispy tortilla chips tossed in honey-lime vinaigrette. -- They put the dressing on the side! I ended up eating the salad for dinner that night. It was AWESOME! Shrimp was large and flavorful, avocado was yummy. Rest of the salad was also good.... honey-lime vinaigrette rocked.
If your shopping at the Annapolis Mall and want a Shrimp and Avocado salad go to Austin Grill.... otherwise hit the Red Robin :) -
Review from Rob B.
10/18/2010
I keep trying this place and I want to like it, but there has been little reason. The first time the $10 margarita was less than 2 ounces total and I felt ripped off. The food was OK. The total cost was high.
My second trip was an alone lunch at the bar and I was more impressed. My third trip was two of us. I tried the chili the bevo salad and the shrimp appetizer. I wanted some heat and asked the server for some jalapenos. What I got was some mild diced poblanos. The hot sauces were even more mild. So if you want some spice, this is not the place. Very fair at best, after 3 times. I am done. -
Review from Milo R.
Aquia Harbour, VA
10/9/2011 1 Check-in Here
Tex-Mex type of place, Fish tacos were pretty good. Burritos are huge.
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Review from Patrick H.
Melrose, MA
9/2/2008
The new Austin Grill has just opened in the Annapolis Mall, as part of the new expansion Westfields has been rolling out. The entrance to this latest edition of the local chain is stunning. With its stacked stone and bright copper finishes, it is truly inviting and enticing.
Unfortunately, that's where good news ends.
The dining space is akward and choppy. The front room is brash, bright and TOO LOUD. It feels like you're in a Romper Room. Their is a side section near the kitchen and wait station and then the back room, which opens into the mall. The back room has the look and feel of a Subway Sandwich shop with Tex-Mex tendencies.
Chips and Salsa are good. The chips are extra salty, (which I love) and the salsa is snappy and garlickly. Yum.
The Grilled Rockfish I ordered was drier than the Mojave Dessert. My dining partner in crime had the Sizzling Shrimp Fajitas. This is a personal pet peeve, but if you are going to serve sizzling shrimp fajitas, then please remove the tails from the shrimp. It's very difficult to pull the tails off without burning your fingers when the shrimp is sizzling.
The fajitas were decent, but not spectacular. The flour tortillas must have come from the same area as my Rockfish. Really dry.
Service was spotty at best, (not to mention that our server had all the personality of Lurch on the Adams Family). We ordered salads to start. It would have been great if they had actually come BEFORE the meal. Instead they were delivered promptly after our entrees had been placed. Again, they were decent but nothing to Yelp about.
I know they just opened, and I should give them a chance. I will probably go back again in a while to see if they've worked the bugs out, but Austin Grill has been around long enough to know how to open a restaurant, and they certainly had no problem taking my money. -
Review from Rebecca F.
Salisbury, MD
8/14/2011
Nothing special, but decent Tex-Mex for satisfactory prices. Decor is very casual. Waitress was nice, but checked in on us way too often -- it seemed like every 5 minutes. The manager also checked in on us. All the food tasted good. Large drink and dessert selection for this kind of place -- unfortunately did not try either, so cannot comment.
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Review from Tim M.
Edgewater, MD
3/17/2010
Wife and I popped in here on Valentines Day finding over 2 hour waits at nearly every other place in the mall that day (our bad we knew we'd have a tough time on that day without reservations). The ONLY reason we went is we were hungry and were out of options other than (shiver) the food court.
I agree with the other reviewers (and I rarely EVER agree with Patrick H on anything lol) that the ambience is more than lacking in this place. I felt like I was in a child-care cafeteria given how many very small children surrounded us.
HOWEVER the food was above our expectations. We both got a grill entree and I ordered the chips and guacamole. Now the guac and chips was weak - but I had low expectations. Our entrees however were cooked perfectly to our requests and the sides were even darn good.
It's a decent value and we must have lucked out because our server was (yes young) friendly and attentive.
I can't say I'll be back because we WANT to go back but I will give this 3 stars as it was 'A OK' on our first visit.
The hostess asked us on the way out how everything was and I told her flat out that we only came in because we had no choice and expected the equivalent of an airport bar all around but were very pleasantly surprised. The manager overheard this and asked who our server was and suggested we hit the Austin Grill website as the servers have an incentive program that gives them cash for positive reviews. I sent mine in for the guy - he was far better than we were expecting.
I won't 'recommend' this place to a couple looking for a romantic evening but I'm not going to slam it either - our visit was great all around other than the clearly lame 'ambience'. You never know - D Foodsnob might give it another spin for carry out lunch some time. I'll update this review as always if I do!
Less than humbly yours, D. FoodSnob, PhD. -
Review from Beth K.
Alexandria, VA
3/8/2010
I questioned myself for even taking the time to write a review. I suppose, looking back, that Austin Grill is exactly what I would expect it to be. Blah food and a waitstaff with the average age of around 17. Try not to go here if you have a choice. The nice entrance really sucks people in, the second you get passed the entrance it feels like a hospital cafeteria . . . but the food is (seriously) worse.
My partner wants me to add that there is no wheat bread option when you order a sandwich. -
Review from Chica B.
Gambrills, MD
11/10/2010
I went for the first time and probably the last to this restaurant. A lot of young people (-21) working in the place, they need a lot of more experience. The food was a ok, nothing impressive to be honest, (Chipotle or On the Border can do BETTER)
I had the carnitas tacos and the rice and beans came out COLD. Another in my group asked for the grilled skirt steak served with mashed potato and the potato I guess they were made with whipped cream but still again frozen cold, maybe the cook was waiting for another victim to serve someone else leftover. Well we asked for another side of mashed potato, I don't know if the cook was mad, in a hurry or what, the mashed potato came hot burning this time, less than the portion served in the original plate and just a basic mashed potato, (I can do better at home) I guess he forgot to at least add the whipped cream.
The most impresive was the alcohol, please DO NOT ORDER any type of alcohol unless is beer or a simply drink and it has to be during happy hour. We were charged $14.95 for a darn watery cuervo margarita! just because it has cuervo tequila in the name of the drink they charge you, and I say watery because I didn't feel the tequila flavor in the drink it was more ice than alcohol. -
Review from E P.
Bowie, MD
10/19/2011
Nothing special, either as a sports bar to watch a game or a tex-mex place. There are only 3 small TVs. Service was slow and not particularly friendly in the bar area. Food was ok, nothing to write home about.
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Review from Kevin C.
Washington, DC
6/6/2010
Way overpriced, cheaply decorated with nothing really standing out on the menu. Save your money and head downtown to El Toro Bravo or even Chevys!
