Louie's 106
Categories: Middle Eastern, Tapas Bars [Edit]
Neighborhood: Downtown106 E 6th St
Ste 35
Austin, TX 78701 (512) 476-1997
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street, Valet
- Attire: Dressy
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: No
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: No
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Full Bar
22 Reviews for Louie's 106
I love Louie's 106 and have been here several times. When you step into the place you really feel like you've left Texas and you're in a major city such as Manhattan or Boston. The ambience is different than most typical restaurants w/ the dark wood and their food is spectacular. I love the Sea Bass and Seafood offerings, as well as their steaks are always well prepared.
They have an extensive wine list and the dessert offerings are very good. They only get 4 out of 5 stars because on my last 2 visits we waited way too long for our main course after getting our appetizers on time. The waitress said several times "it's on it's way" and 20 min later it finally came around. Oh well, overall this place is great and I would love to check out their happy hour (since I hear they have specials going on).
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Louie's 106 is my favorite lunch spot for a nice business lunch. The service is good, it's a great professional setting without being too haughty, and the food is excellent.
They have a HUGE lunch menu for the style of food they serve at lunch. It is not tapas at all as noted by some people here -- it is more like traditional american-italian fusion type dishes.
My favorite lunch dish by far is the blackened tilapia, mostly because it is served with a great risotto which is a perfect complement. Everything I've had here is good.
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Oh, no, I will never, ever, EVER, eat at this establishment again.
The husband made reservations at Louie's 106 a month prior to Valentine's Day. We called 15 minutes before the reservations to say we were running a few minutes late because of traffic.
When we get there to check in, a girl immediately starts to walk us to our table. We passed the piano that wasn't being played yet. Passed the empty booths and tables; maybe a fourth of the restaurant was full. Maybe, we didn't need reservations at all, OR we just eat too early at 6:15 pm, lol.
I noticed we walked out of the restaurant and were heading towards stairs. Hmm. We kept following. Down the stairs we went, around a banquet room that had lots of people, through a desolate hallway lined with chairs to an itty bitty room.
This wasn't your typical room, it was a wine cellar. It had six tables crammed into with two chairs at each table. Each table was maybe 2 feet from each other. The temperature hit you hard. It couldn't have been more than 62 degrees in this room. I was completely numb by the time we left. Then I heard it, upbeat Motown music being piped in.
I was upset. Why did we get placed into a freezing cellar with fake music? Our waitress was completely slow. Our drinks went unfilled, from the time we finished our dessert until we physically got the check was 40 minutes and that's because we never saw her.
We had finished dessert at 7:08 pm and had ballet tickets for 8 pm. We didn't get out of there till 7:42 pm and since we were on a time crunch I didn't have time to do anything. As we walked back out of the restaurant, there was the lovely piano music playing in a warm nicely lit restaurant.
I called the restaurant three times the next day to ask to speak with the manager. Each time I was told to call back in 15 minutes that he was out. Finally on the third call back I talked with another person, gave my grievances, he took my name and phone number and said he'd pass it onto the owner/manager and for me to e-mail the owner what I had told him.
I wrote the following:
"I wanted to discuss with you my experience last night at Louie's.
I visited your restaurant around Christmas with my friends and absolutely adored everything. The decorations, live piano music and crunchy trout with rice made my evening magical. That night was so wonderful for me I could not wait to take my husband for Valentine's Day so that he could experience the same atmosphere and the live music that I had enjoyed with my friends.
My husband called and made us reservations for 2 people at 6:00 pm one month before yesterday. When we arrived I noticed there was no one playing the piano and that the restaurant was only a fourth of the way full. The minute we walked in, a girl in a red dress quickly escorted us through the restaurant, out of it and down the stairs. I was about to tell her, oh, we're not a part of that big group in the banquet room until we passed it. We were then led to your cellar. A tiny room that had six tables squeezed into it.
The frigid air hit me hard. I then noticed the Motown music. I wasn't irritated with the music until I realized upon leaving that someone was playing at your piano and we did not get to hear it.
Marah, was our server. Our drinks went unfilled for a very long time. After we received our dessert, it took her 30 minutes to bring us our check to which we immediately gave her our credit card because we had tickets for a show downtown; we had no time to wait anymore.
I left your restaurant numb with cold and then very upset as I heard the piano music playing. I know I should have brought this up last night but we were trying to enjoy a special evening together. I do not know what to think the norm is at your restaurant. Is it the evening I had around Christmas or my evening last night on Valentine's? I would hate to think it's the latter as I want to return but I am reluctant to risk another negative experience at your restaurant. Joe, I really am disappointed. I have never been so upset with a restaurant before that I felt the need to talk to management. I talked with Denman on the phone and relayed what I have talked about with you in this e-mail. He said he would pass it on to you and for me to e-mail this as well.
Is there some sort of assurance you can give to me that I will not leave disappointed again?"
I never received a response. A local restaurant who doesn't even give their clientele any respect or follow-up. They lost my money. I would have loved to go there for my goodbye Austin dinner, but no thank you.
Spare yourself. There are MUCH better places in town.
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I came here for lunch with a couple people recently while we were in town and wandering down 6th St, trying to find a place to eat that wasn't a bar & grill. Louie's billed itself as a tapas spot, but the menu didn't look all that tapas-y to me. Maybe the lunch menu is significantly different from their dinner menu, or they just don't do tapas at lunch? Simply having a gazpacho soup on the menu does not a tapas restaurant make. Although that gazpacho soup was damn good - I tasted my mom's and it had a nice smoky flavor with a smooth consistency. I had a caesar salad, and while the lettuce was mostly yellow-looking, it still tasted good and came topped with plenty of parmesan cheese - bonus for this cheese lover. Louie's 106 seems like a solid place for a business lunch or dinner.
First time yelper here! I have been relying on yelper reviews for a while now and thought I'd put in my two cents. I had lunch today at Louie's 106. Been going there for downtown lunch for years and it was solid as always. I've only once had a meal there that wasn't great (overcooked fish) but today's salmon was cooked perfectly as were its accomniments. My dining buddy had the pasta dish and asked for no onions or garlic, and that request was gladly granted. He enjoyed his food as well. Service was attentive, but not hovering. Bonus for the dude hollering at everyone on the corner of Congress and 6th.
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We literally ran into Louie's to get out of the rain, having been thwarted in our attempt to find a mythical Schlotzsky's Deli at this intersection. Why we set our original sights so low isn't relevant; what is that Louie's is a terrific Mediterranean lunch spot and this was probably our best meal of a long weekend in Austin.
Interior: two levels, open floor space and a kitchen out in front, lots of wood and simple wrought iron fixtures, and informal tables, chairs, and a line of booths. Bar on a raised upper level has only 6 or 8 stools but it looks like a good place to wait for your table.
Highlights: a tapenade of parmesan, sliced basil, red pepper flakes, and roasted garlic that turns crusty Pugliese bread into a round trip from Barcelona to Bari; a tortilla soup with a wedge of avocado and a savory, not-too-salty finish; and my penne with shrimp, scallops, broccolini, and porcini mushrooms that was a touch briny, but a perfect combination of comforting, rich textures in a tomato cream sauce. Hard to image a better entree on a drenching late winter day.
Lunch seems like a very good value at $10-12 for nearly every entre. Service was indeed relaxed, taking over an hour. We weren't in a hurry, so this, perhaps, is the most Mediterranean part of the experience.
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So, we get to Congress and 6th and it's pouring rain and the restaurant we were looking for isn't there. To get out of the storm, we jumped into Louie's 106. What a great accidental find that was. The food was delicious and the wait staff was on the ball and really funny. I had the tomato basil soup and the crab cake served on potato, spinach, peppers and onion hash with lobster cioppino and roasted poblano Bearnaise. Justin, Matt & John all loved their entrees too and said that the chicken tortilla soup was fabulous. Even the bread they served was delicious. Great place. Recommend it to anyone in Austin. I bet they do dinner well too.
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Amazing! This place has the best paella I have ever had. I had the seafood risotto and my bf got the paella, but I pretty much not only ate my food, but finished his off too. After an appetizer, 2 entrees, 2 bottles of wine, dessert, several cups of coffee, 4 pellegrinos, and 4 hours later, we had the best meal that we've had in weeks. Know how sometimes you go out to eat and even though the food is good, there is something missing? Louie's was truly satisfying and was exactly what I needed, the service was excellent, and we will definitely be back.
I'm salivating just thinking about that paella. . . . hmm yummyyyyy.
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Louie's 106 is one of my favorite restaurants in Austin. The service is almost always great, the food is amazing, and the price is not too bad. If going for tapas, make sure you ask for the tapas menu, as it is not automatically offered. This has apparently caused confusion based on prior reviews. The portabello mushroom is outstanding, as are the fried olives, calamari, carpaccio (both tuna and beef), and just about everything else. Fried brie sounds like manna from heaven, but in reality is far too rich for most mere mortals. My last time at this restaurant was during SXSW (I can just hear you asking why in the world I would go downtown during such a time), but that's where the valet service was worth it. We started with tapas and a bottle of pink champagne. Then most of my party of visiting Norwegians had the Bouillabaisse, and I decided to have the shrimp and scallops over risotto. Of course I was jealous as they all raved about their meals, but my selection was also delicious. We ordered a white Bordeaux with our main course, and espresso and brandy in lieu of dessert. My guests enjoyed it so much, they went back the following night for a duplicate of the meal, introducing some of their friends to the place as well. I have been here a number of times, and have never once been disappointed. It's a place that is sure to impress the parents when they are in town (or anyone else for that matter), and the food is solid. This service is very gracious, and regardless of being dressed or casual (have been here in dresses and in jeans, and once with a group of punk rockers), you will be treated exquisitely.
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Very underwhelming, particularly for the exorbitant prices. Wine is about $9 per glass for bottom-shelf varieties. I ordered the $27 new york strip steak and it tasted like HEB top sirloin - thin, tough, and not at all "prime." The atmosphere is pretentious and stuffy, teeming with overweight businessmen and blue hairs, which would be fine if the food lived up to this exaggerated sense of worth. It doesn't.
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OMG- a superb birthday experience! My friend, Tonia, wanted to take me out to dinner last night for my birthday, so I chose Louie's. I didn't want her to spend too much, so I told her to go to Restaurant.com to buy a gift certificate. (She bought two $25 certs for $10 each)
I started with a Blueberry Stoli martini up. It was double or almost triple the size of other bars. We skipped the appetizers to take advantage of dessert. Tonia had a great Chardonnay and I switched to a Pinot Grigio from Napa with my dinner. The wine list by the glass was full of excellent selections.
Tonia ordered the 8 oz Filet Mignon which was served with two large shrimp, crab meat, potato pancake and veggies. The sauce was excellent (Green Peppercorn Cognac Demiglace, and Poblano Bearnaise) and the steak was cooked to perfection (she had ordered medium). She could not stop raving about the steak saying that it was the best she had ever had in her life (even into the wee hours of the morning). She has been to all of the great steakhouses in Texas, Chicago and Colorado.
I chose the Sambal and Honey Marinated Chilean Sea Bass with an Orange Carrot Ginger Sauce served with Basmati Rice & Stir fried Baby Bok Choy. The two and 1/2 inch thick piece bass was moist and flaked off melting in your mouth. The sauce was outstanding!
For dessert, the waitress brought out a piece of chocolate cake (I can't remember what it was called) but it was topped with a scoop of ice cream and sat atop a berry compote with fresh strawberries. The waitress lit a candle and proceeded to sing happy birthday to me.
I had forgotten how wonderful this restaurant is and will be back soon for the Mediterranean Seafood Soup, crab cakes, oyster Rockefeller, Bouillabaisse, Veal Scallopini, and every other delicious dish on the menu.
The service was outstanding and even Joe (the owner) came by to wish me a Happy Birthday.
You can only use one certificate per table but it is just another reason to go back very soon!
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First time I went to Louie's it was tapas and lots of wine to the tune of about $1500 among 15 people. Was it worth it, oh very much so. Second time was for our anniversary which was real food, wine, and dessert. That was $150 for two. Was it worth it, oh very much so. Yes, Louie's is expensive, have I ever regretted the bill, no. The food, wine, staff, and service have been excellent both times I've gone. It's definitely a special occasion restaurant and tapas bar and well worth the price.
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I could have sworn I wrote a review on this place when I actually went to Austin, but it either disappeared or I never wrote it.
Anyway, this place is nice and has a cool menu. I went becuase I thought they had tapas, but I felt like I really couldn't figure out what was tapas and there didn't seem to be many choices so we all just ordered food. The smart girls shared meals and the not so smart ordered alone and had too much food. It's expensive and yes they will charge you for splitting it, but I felt it was worth it.
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Oh Louie's 106, how I love thee, this is my modest and non-rhyming ode to thee:
Your Gazpacho with Crab and Avocado bring back sweet memories of a carefree Spanish summer. Your Salad Nicoise has a delightful twist from the classic one strewn along the entire French Riviera but never fully ventures away too far from it's roots. And your Bouillabaisse, is a bowlful of seafood bliss sans pareil, some fisherman's wife in Marseille may be put to shame, n'est ce pas? I have yet to try your Paella however, as I am afraid I will short-circuit and collapse from culinary ecstasy.
Thank you for bringing back wonderful aromas and honoring Mediterranean classics from all over! Thank you for flawless service, excellent wine recommendations and many, many happy memories!
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Not bad, but for the price I didn't think it was mind-blowing. Gazpacho was really good and for five buck, well worth it. We had the New Zealand Lamb for $27 and it was good, but not as good as the lamb chops at Fonda San Miguel. Also we had the pork chop.. Sauce was good, but the pork chop wasn't that special. Nothing wrong with the service at all and probably the best thing I liked was the interior decoration and location of the restaurant..
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We went here for work, and the food and wine were very good. We started with an appetizer sampler- I loved the bruschetta:
-Garlic French bread Bruschetta With Texas Goat cheese, Farmer's Market Beets, Pine Nuts, Raisins And House Cured Bacon Dressing- a delicious take on the classic.
The other items included calamari, italian nachos (which were soggy), sausages, fried ravioli, etc- nothing else was that exciting.
I ordered the Gazpacho for my soup which was very refreshing- I completely finished it. My entree was the "Original Baby Louie's Hot & Crunchy Trout w/ a mango chutney sambal sauce & pecan rice." This fish came out completely covered in kellogs corn flakes- we all started laughing b/c our fish was covered in cereal, but it was delicious and well seasoned. For dessert, I chose the cheesecake which was just cheesecake.
Overall, not bad, just not worthy of 5 stars.
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I like the menu. Some dishes are like what I had in Spain. Like Seafood Paella.
Didn't like Gapacho soup because I don't like cold soup. My pork chop is sweet and tasty. New Zealand lamb chops just taste like regular lamb chops.
Had Escargots, Mussels and other seafood there too before. Nothing special.
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I came here after a long day of traveling and it was just what the doctor ordered. There was no wait, the place was only half full (or half empty?) but this could be due to the fact that locals were trying to stay away from us SxSWers.
One of the specials that night was venison and I thought I would try it because I was thinking "It's my first time in Texas and I'm going to be adventureous." Unfortunately, I was later informed that they were out of venison, so much for trying new things, huh?
So instead I had the roast duck on top of mushroom risotto per the suggestion of our waitress. Once my plate arrived, my dissappointment in missing the venison was no longer. The rissotto was delicious and the duck was excellent as well. My friends' steaks were great as were these little wonton things filled with potato that the steaks came with.
I felt a little misled because I could have sworn the sign outside said "tapas." Maybe the Texan definition of tapas is different from the Californian definition because to me this seemed more like fine dining than plates of food that can be shared among those at the table. Nevertheless, it was still great food. Nice, quiet atmosphere with dim lighting, and friendly waitstaff. Definitely a good date place.
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An Austin original and a not to be missed establishment. Great menu dishes and even better specials. I have never had any dish that was ordinary or mediocre. I have never tried the tapas so I can't recommend them but all the other dishes are to die for. The one item that most sticks out in my memory is a blackberry sorbet that I have tried many times to catch again but have had no luck timing it right to get it again. If you are there and they have this dessert item, don't pass on it.
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Just wanna add a note on the "tapas" thing that Mitzy Y. mentioned: I have not been to Louie's in about a year, but they do have tapas. Their Web site (http://www.louies106.net/) shows a "Tapa Bar" menu. I don't know if that's up-to-date or not...
Anyway, wife & I discovered that many of the items in the "Appetizers" section of the menu are also on the tapas menu at a cheaper price (even considering the smaller tapa portion), so we ordered "appetizers" from the tapas menu instead! :-) It's more fun/enjoyable to eat smaller portions of a bigger variety of dishes anyway.
I'm giving Louie's 106 only three stars because of the dozen times or so that we've been there, the cuisine's quality has been spotty: usually good, but sometimes only average.
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Stopped here before heading out to a show at the Paramount Theater. Great service. Come here early for dinner or expect to wait or have reservations.
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The food and service here are always great. Lunch defintely gtes you more bang for your buck though. I highly recommend the mussels as an appetizer, or maybe even an entree. If you have it as an entree you get more of the delicious broth. Yum. However, take your boss if you go for lunch, or choose a day when s/he is out of town. They don't like to rush, so lunch may take 2 hours- unless you skip appetizers and coffee afterwards. Try not to rush it though- it will taste better.
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