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Categories: Breakfast & Brunch, American (Traditional) [Edit]
Neighborhood: 78704 (South Austin)Mon-Sun. 6:00 a.m. - 5:30 a.m.
"My favorite restaurant in Austin. Classy, but not over the top by any means. Live jazz on wed evenings. Real romantic, but also great for a…" read more »
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Sure, everyone in Austin knows about Magnolia.
I honestly don't know where the reputation comes from-whether it's just amazing word of mouth or maybe the choices for non-IHOP/Denny's breakfast comes down to here or Kerbey Lane. Either way, Magnolia is always packed to the brim.
The food is good, but the coffee-the coffee is fantastic. Unfortunately, I don't ever see myself going here unless I wake up nearby AND the wait is not more than 15 minutes. I'm impatient, and I don't like people.
Ahhh... Magnolia Café.
In my early 20s I decided to move to Austin. I packed two suitcases, emptied my bank account of all of $300, bought a one way ticket and notified friends that were gracious enough to offer their couches while I settled in. After a few months I found digs to take up residence in as well as landing a job down the street at a vintage shop, both of which were in stumbling distance to Magnolia. During my short-lived (ie. exciting & rebellious) stay in Austin - all of which lasted less than 2 yrs, because shit damn, why pay the electric bill if there's a happy hour 'round every corner? - I spent more time IN Magnolia Café than out.
Unpretentious, artsy, filling, and cheap - words that easily described me (ahem no shame, we were all young once) as well as the vibe at Mags. If the streets froze over, we'd even close up early at the vintage shop and head down the street for beers (Shiner Bock, please...and keep 'em comin') and not one but two orders of Mag Mud.
The Mag Mud is worth a visit alone. Gooey, hot queso, chunks of avocado, black beans (y'all), and pico de gallo. Sounds like it would be easy to recreate at home, right? Not a chance. I think they line the bowl with pixie dust and unicorn tears.
Every time a friend ventures to Austin, I always remind them to go to Magnolia and order the Mag Mud. Ahhh... so many memories here...and some I'll never share in a review or online, period. Ha. Just go.
Now.
I came here after flying into Austin after major airline "issues" and delays due to weather and was starving. Given that it was SO late and everyone waiting on us had already eaten I was afraid nothing would be open so late on a Wednesday evening. We were staying at the Austin "Motel" on South Congress and I remembered seeing a sign that read something along the lines of: "Sorry, we're Open". I thought it was a typo but after doubling back, sure enough - the darn place WAS open!
I was eager to get inside and had a craving for tacos but wasn't sure what they served at the Magnolia Cafe. We quickly ordered Lone Stars (just because I have have way too many Shiners lately) and browsed the menu. I saw the words "breakfast" and "tacos" and was sold on the breakfast tacos.
The server came back with our beers took our orders and when my friend ordered the gingerbread pancakes with pecans, that cringe of "oh God I should have ordered that" crept in and at once I knew I had made a mistake. However, I'm not one to ever change my order so I sucked down my beer and thought about relaxing away the horrid flight experience (side note: American Airlines sucks).
My breakfast tacos arrived and they were WAY larger than the price tag would have suggested. I should have ordered one but I "somehow" managed to take care of business. I occasionally looked up in envy at the heap of gingerbread pancakes across the table. I must not have been very subtle as my co-diner hacked off a huge mound (short stack consists of two VERY large and thick and fluffy cakes) and placed it on the corner of my plate and heavy handed some syrup on top. Gleefully I dug into the pancakes and without a doubt, they are the all time best pancakes I've ever had!
Service was very relaxed and the other diners in the restaurant looked like they were somewhere in between "been there, done that" and "where the hell am I". The bill was little and my tummy was big and happy so I have to say I'm not Sorry the Magnolia Cafe was open.
When I'm choosing between Magnolia or Kerbey, it's never about which one is better, it's about where I am. Downtown at 2:30am, it's a pretty straight line to the Congress Mag, but at 2:30 in the afternoon, I'm closer to the 183 Kerbey. On coffee-day at Anderson's, I do Kerbey on Kerbey. (No, I don't leave my car parked at Jefferson Square.)
On a damp and dreary Sunday afternoon, when we assumed Austin was staying home making soup or something while cheering the men in spandex, we were surprised to find most of Austin had instead signed-up for a table ahead of us at the Lake Austin Magnolia. We headed over to South Congress, where there was only a fifteen-minute wait, and far more comfy and people-watching pleasing. The most parking lot hugs-and-goodbyes I've ever seen. Made me want to join in and just start hugging and waving away until someone objected.
It's all about the omelets and migas and pancakes for me, and that's why I come here. I'm usually skeptical when waitstaff don't write down my substitutions, especially when they're working a full house, but our person not only proved eidetic, she had the acumen to split our shared side of blueberry buttermilks into two plates. This is how you merit a big tip from me. Plus, she had cool art.
It occurs to me that in the Darwinian chain of restaurant evolution, trendy places will always come and go, but the Mags and Kerbeys will outlast all of them. Yay.
Magnolia is on my list of places I can't get enough of. Everything on the menu is delicious and it's a rule of mine to order something different every time I go. My boyfriend on the other hand always orders the Magnolia Enchiladas, sub queso for the sauce. He dreams of these enchiladas.
Some menu items of note: Tropical Turkey Tacos, Veggie Tacos with Hummus, Mag Queso, Magnolia Omelette
Service: Hey, it's a 24-hour diner; you come for the food, not the service. It can be good, but not always. Just brush your shoulders off.
If it's your first visit, time your arrival so you don't have to wait for an hour for a table. Weekends at lunch time can be brutal.
Yes, I know..I know, what a horrible Austinite! I JUST now checked out Magnolia Cafe, S. Congress. *sigh* NO, I don't know what took me so long, but I do know...that it's a pretty good place! :)
I wasn't in the mood for a huge plate of food. So I went with something simple. A Quesadilla..the Sonora Quesadilla to be precise! It was VERY good. One thing I found that was pretty odd was the beef in this quesadilla was ground beef. I was bummed when I first saw it, my fault for not reading the menu and seeing the details. I thought, ''eew, it's gonna fall apart and get messy when I'm eating.''
To my surprise, it held together very well. lol, and it was super yum! Flavor like no other quesadilla I've ever had.
This is also just a cool place to visit as it's right in the middle of SOCO. Lunch or an early dinner then touring down SOCO is an option for out of town guests. Cheers!
We are from fort worth, needed good late night good food hit yelp austin and found it . We had a little wait but well worth it , I had gingerbread pancakes with bananas , WOW .
The man had migas ordered without peppers and he said they are the best he had ever had . service was dead on good even with a full house late friday night crowd . Can not wait to come back and try more of the veggie stuff on the menu , so nice to see vegetarian options on the menu .
Magnolia's was good but not great. We waited about 40 minutes for a table, and honestly it was not worth the wait.
The waitstaff was friendly, the decor was bohemian, and the menu had plenty of options.
The I ordered bacon, eggs and a Belgium waffle. it was all decent, but not anything special. if I ever went again, I would try the gingerbread pancakes or something else.
So Laura M. and I went to Magnolia this past weekend. Its a very popular place to eat so the crowdedness and slight noisiness of it was not surprising or bothersome. If you don't like crowds or noise I recommend you don't eat around soco cuz every eatery is packed. Whether they have good or not so good reviews. But Magnolia will in fact stand the test of time.
We wanted to get there for breakfast but since the Cap Metro takes us from Wells Branch to SoCo it took a while to get there so it was lunch time and then I wasn't in such a breakfast mood even though they serve breakfast all day 24/7.
But I HAD to get the Gingerbread Pancakes no matter what.
I did order the chicken taco. It was freakin delicious! It had shredded seasoned chicken with black beans, guacamole, sour cream, sprouts and I believe pico de gallo, I can't remember that much. All I remember was it was FREAKIN DELICIOUS!
All I have to remember is the name of the item CHICKEN TACO. that's not to difficult to remember.
I recommend that if you are going out to eat do not order eggs and bacon. They will either suck, or be just eggs and bacon. I can get eggs in the job corps cafeteria that taste like I made them at home. If you want eggs and bacon MAKE IT AT HOME.
Unless you just can't cook eggs and bacon. and if that is the case then don't down the eggs and bacon.
If you don't order anything fancy or crazy then it won't be anything special.
So I am now officially ready to move on from Gingerbread Pancakes and obsess over the Chicken Tacos. I only had one taco this past visit to keep room for some of the gingerbread pancakes and to also keep some bread in my pocket, but that didn't help much.
Next time I will have two chicken tacos and maybe a glass of wine.
OH!
and when we first went to sit at the table, there was 21 dollars sitting on the table with the receipts that the last person had left behind. A waiter had just wiped the table as we went to sit and left it on the table.
Now with me being broke most of the time and knowing that at the end of the meal i would be broke and needing cash to shop for the rest of the day; That was really testing my integrity. But I let our waitress know that it was there and she took it away and I almost cried. So I left broke, but I still had left over Gingerbread Pancakes and my stomach was happy.
And that is a good thing.
I Love the Gingerbread Pancakes. I don't remember if I put anything on them other than the butter… Read more »
Me and the bf came here to get some late night dessert. I ordered the brownie a la mode, a simple classic. When it arrived, the brownie was lukewarm and rock hard. Everyone knows, you can't microwave a dead brownie back to life. Even attempts to soften the rock by mashing ice cream into it were totally futile.
We eat out all the time, and maybe complain once a year about bad food. I just hate doing it! But when the food is literally inedible, then I see no other option. When the waiter brought our check, we demonstrated the indestructibility of the brownie. He took it away and brought our check, and explained that brownies get made twice a week, and we happened to show up right before the new batch. No sorry, no can I offer you another dessert?, no reduced check.
Obviously the people at Magnolia are aware of this issue and don't care. Special thanks to the host who suggested the brownie for dessert that night! Hmmm, push food about to be thrown out on unsuspecting patrons much?
I was in Austin Texas for vacation. I woke up early my first morning there and went for a long walk on South Congress, and saw this funky place. When I got back to my hotel room I suggested to my girlfriend that we check it out. We ended up having breakfast there both days we were in Austin. The place is funky, but it is not funky in phony way. I had the breakfast tacos- SO GOOD! My girlfriend had the whole wheat pancakes, they were surprisingly good for whole wheat. I loved this place and the South Congress area.
If you're looking for a 24 hour joint with a variety of things to eat, I think you'd be hard pressed to find a spot better than Magnolia. After being gone several years, I came on a late Friday night since nothing else would be open.
I got an order of migas and they lived up to their expectations. A good portion and cheap at only about $6, perfect for a late night snack. Overall this is a great late night or brunch spot.
I went to the Magnolia Cafe on Saturday morning with my good friend and coworker. The place was currently full so she put us on the waiting list. We went next door to look around and within five to ten minutes they called us in. The place was slightly noisey, but that's because it was packed with people.
I ordered the turkey melt, and let me tell ya, it was good and it filled me up for the majority of the day. I don't even remeber feeling hungry until late that night. The turkey melt was cooked just right, it had cheese, so much cheese, and onions, a slice of tomatoe, and some lettuce. It also had mushrooms in it. I ate the entire thing, and felt like i was going to burst. It came with potatoe wedges, not fries, but they were even cooked wonderfully.
There was art all throughout the cafe, the walls, the celing, and even the tables were seperatly decorated. They have a chalk board displaying the alcohol beverages that they serve. The waiters and waitresses held good customer service as well.
My coworker ordered a chicken taco (I believe it was chicken) and it looked good and she ate it all so it must have. She also ordered the famous gingerbread pancakes, she did not finish them so she put them in a to-go box in which she nibbled on the pancakes all day.
I would love to go there again sometime, and I erally enjoyed my experience at the Magnolia Cafe.
Eggs Zapatino.
Seriously, that could be my whole review of Magnolia. Scrambled eggs, sitting on top of delicious grilled ham on top of English muffins all smothered in that glorious queso. Wow. Just wow.
I love this place, and so does my pregnant girlfriend. I often get other things on the menu as well, because the Eggs Zapatino is so damn filling. I have yet to be disappointed with the food, and I've ordered a lot of different menu items over the years. I thoroughly enjoy the T-Rex omelette (especially topped with queso) -- turkey, tomatoes, onions and always fresh avocado. The French Toast platter is awesome as well, though I have to say I much prefer their sausage to their bacon, but that's just personal preference. Lunch and dinner menu items are always amazing as well. Now I will admit that I'm not too much of a fan of their migas -- it's not that they're bad, it's just that they're nothing special, IMO. I've had far better migas around town. But really, that's my only gripe with Magnolia.
I used to be a fan of Kerbey Lane, but the last few times I've been there, I've had bad service, wrong orders and overcooked food. Magnolia has yet to disappoint.
As others have said, it's a 24-hour diner, so don't go expecting five star service. And the wait can be pretty long sometimes depending on what time of day you go, as well as if it's a weekday versus a weekend. I'm not going to bother reviewing the Lake Austin Blvd. location, as they have mostly the exact same items though I will say that parking is bad at the SoCo location, but 10x worse at the Lake Austin Blvd. location.
We loved everything about Magnolia Cafe. We went on a Saturday early afternoon and only waited about 25 minutes for a table. It was well worth it. We split a gingerbread pancake for an appetizer, which was delicious. It was so good, I'm still thinking about it--wondering how to make it. My boyfriend had flamingo quesadillas and I had a lemon and artichoke shrimp pasta. My dish came with garlic bread and a side salad. The delicious homemade lime cilantro dressing was amazing--another item I want to make at home. All in all, we loved the bohemian, quaint decor, the friendly staff and the delicious, but no frills feel of the cafe. We''ll definitely return.
One time while waiting here, someone drove by and yelled out the window, "IT'S NOT WORTH IT!!" I laughed and while some may think that statement is true, sometimes you just really want some good pancakes or good love migas. And Magnolia fills the bill.
Service and food is better during non-peak times, but man those pancakes are good. And so is the Neptunium Landscape. And the Mag Mud. And the Love Migas. And the lunch items I have had.
While some may tell you the wait is not worth it, I say it is.
Now THIS has been a long time coming. I can say with all honesty that this is one of my favorite spots in Austin!
My favorite thing to get here is a short stack of pancakes: one gingerbread and the other buttermilk -- both with chocolate chips. Trust me. It's to die for. Perhaps substitute for blueberries if you're feeling healthy, or add in some pecans if the mood calls for extra indulgence.
Other things I have ordered, in straying from my usual, as follows. The French toast is nice and thick. Guys, we're gonna need pita chips, please, not tortillas with that side of hummus. And the portobello omelette? IS SO GOOD, GET IT WITH SPINACH AND TELL EM GO EASY ON THE CHEESE. The vegetarian omelette is perfect with a side of black beans. The migas are amazing, and the LOVE migas (a sooped up version, replete with spicy, garlicky butter) is a perfect remedy for that hangover.
Environment is super chill. I wouldn't go with a party bigger than four, unless you're game for waiting 30mins+
I hadn't been to Magnolia in years and we decided to go for breakfast last weekend. The wait wasn't too bad, the weather was nice, and we ate outside.
I got the Love migas and my husband, the pancakes. Basically, i found my migas pretty disappointing, watery and lacking flavor. the cheese was a cold blob on top-so i just removed it. My husband gave his pancakes props for the quantity of fruit, but otherwise, nothing special. Moreover, Magnolia is more expensive for the same type of food available at other local establishments.
it's too bad because we can walk here, but it's not really worth it.
I have been coming here for over 10 years I think. Good times happen here. Home of the world's BEST queso! Ask for the one with the works, which includes avocado slices and ground beef. You can't go wrong with this place-always open ("Sorry we're open!"), always busy and always good. Never had a bad meal here, but I usually order the same thing every time.
Avoid coming at 2am or 11am on the weekends and you shouldn't have to wait too long. Shop next door for the flamingo shirts at Prima Dora if you get bored with your wait during the day, they'll page you.
Any place that makes as much from scratch as Magnolia gets three stars by default. The fact that there's televised evidence to this point doesn't hurt, either.
I managed to grab a table right away when I visited at about 5:30 on a Sunday, though it would have been a different situation had I arrived an hour later. I can't imagine what would have happened had I come for Sunday breakfast.
My meal was a wild mushroom ravioli, lightly sautéed with sundried tomatoes, big slices of portoblello mushrooms, and topped with a healthy helping of parmesan. It was a mighty fine meal, but that was to be expected.
I enjoyed watching the cast of characters walk through the door as I ate. Austin is truly a sight to behold, and got a warm fuzzy feeling thinking that physical appearances prove to be no boundary to getting some good food.
I think everyone's pretty much covered this place pretty well. I just want to highlight a couple things:
1. Yes, they are famous for the pancakes and breakfast tacos but, this time we also ordered the fruit parfait which was so nice and refreshing in the summer time. Basically it's a bowl of fruit with plain yogurt on top.
2. Dog friendly restaurant!! They have plenty of outdoor seating so your pooch can dine with you and they'll even provide them with a bowl of water. I know there are tons of dog-friendly restaurants in Austin but I like to point them out so other dog owners can benefit from this information.
That's all!
By updating the review with a 2 I can average them out to 3, right? (If not, don't tell me.) Anyway, last time I ate here it was one of the worst meals I've ever had. Not just bad, but offensive. It was a thumb in the eye to universally-held ideals of how chicken should be cooked and what constitutes a decent enchilada.
Full disclosure: I was in a rotten mood. Even adjusting for that, the BBQ Chicken Enchiladas I had on this trip were almost but not quite edible. Choke them down I did, however, and with a venom chaser, a little taste of which I've put into this review.
I'll keep this short and sweet. I like the place. The food is not fantastic, but it's pretty… Read more »
Another stop on my DDD tour. Austin has a very unique vibe and Magnolia fits right in. The servers are decked out with tattoos, the decor is what I would call "funky-junky," and the prices are cheap enough for any hippy who just spent their last 10 bucks on weed and had to bum some money on the street corner.
The food is decent all around. Nothing too spectacular from what I have tried, but a solid breakfast nonetheless. I had the T-Rex Omelette stuffed full of pico, cheese, avocado, and smoked turkey. Even better were the Gingerbread pancakes. The flavors were spot on, but the cakes were not nearly as big and fluffy as I would have liked.
It's open anytime so I'm sure it's even better when you are starving at 3 am, but I would better there is better in Austin.
I am biased. I prefer to eat at Magnolia cafe over any other place in Austin. When I am hungry, I go there because i know the food will always taste just as it should. When I have had a problem with my food, they have always accommodate me and brought an alternative, quickly, without any hassles. My favorites there are always the cornmeal pancakes with pecans, spinach artichoke dip, the vegetarian popeye, and the martian landscape! Other diners and cafes should get on the ball with offering cornmeal pancakes. Try Magnolia if you have never been. My guess is, you will return. My friends who visited Austin always asked to go back there. I do wish they served turkey sausage :-(
What kind of sorry excuse for a cafe doesn't have chocolate milk?!
Me: I want some chocolate milk!
Waitress: We don't have chocolate milk.
Me: You don't have chocolate milk?! Fine. Water.
Me: I want to go.
Friend: Seriously?
Me: I want some damn chocolate milk!
Don't stand in between a drunk girl and some chocolate milk. Bitch.
Good atmosphere and people watching. I also dig the variety of menu items as there were many appetizing choices. I ordered the voodoo chicken breast a la carte. It pretty much fell flat. I expected it to have much more flavor and seasoning if not spices (there were none). I had a bite of my friend's breakfast taco and it too was bland (she agreed). My other friend seemed pleased with her home fries which looked good. I will return and order something completely different.
I really don't care for the parking or the waiting. Even so, this place has the best spinach artichoke dip in Austin. Hands Down. That's the only reason I eat here. The rest of the food is pretty decent. However, I live way north so this place is a special treat!
I was craving pancakes like a mofo!!
I have a friend in Austin who is a chef, she lets me know all the good breakfast spots. So glad she suggested Magnolia Cafe South, YUMMY!
The wait was about an hour, that's really long when your starving, but it was worth the wait. The inside of this place is really realxed and very rustic/artsy. A really cool hand painted border around the inside of the building, makes it feel colorful & happy =) There are paintings everywhere and for sale if the mood strikes you, ranging from 50.00 to 300.00, from local artist.(support your local artist!!)
The food: I ordered a veggie omlett, SOOO good! mushrooms, bell pepper, tomatos, garlic, onion, cheese all melted together, by the time I finished it, I didnt feel full and stuffed, it was really light actually, so I went ahead and ordered a short stack of pancakes to share with my peeps, they were delicious! Fluffy & light, not at all like bricks in your stomach. I tend to be a coffee snob, coffee was decent, flavorful, and gave me that jolt that I needed after a night of a few drinks.....
The service was outstanding, our waiter looked like a hipie from the sixties / the lead singer of the Black Crows, kinda cute, and he really was flirting/hustling for his tip, yea I left him a big fat one ;)
I will for sure go back to Magnolia! You should go there too.....
The spinach artichoke dip is delightful, and is only made better with the included toasted and buttered french bread. My wife and I were both hungry, and we walked away from the table sated. What else is there to say other than, I can vouch for the dip;)
My first time eating here was five years ago. I came back on a house-hunting trip a while back and decided to go back for old time's sake. The host must've had a bad day as he didn't even crack a smile or say hello before he said "Follow me". The he lead us to our table and walked away without saying another word. Our waitress never once made eye contact with us throughout the entire 40 minutes we were there, and when she brought back our credit card slip, she didn't even thank us before walking away.
The food was average. We ordered an egg-white, veggie omelet that I could've easily made myself. It was bland and the veggies were unevenly cooked; some were nearly raw while others were soggy.
The short stack of gingerbread pancakes that could've been above-average if they weren't so thick.
The floor was sticky, used napkins were on the ground, there were flies and gnats, the condiments were filthy, our table was dirty and my water glass had FRESH lipstick smeared on it.
Uh, definitely not worth a repeat.
It is hard to find any good, local, 24 hour places...unless maybe you are in LA. Magnolias is a cool place, with a laid back vibe. It's open 24 hours, the prices are good (like the same you'll pay at dennys!) and the food is actually good.
The chicken sandwich is yummy! And my very, very, very, very favorite is the mag queso. It is the most incredible queso that has guacamole chunks inside...so go ahead and dig for the guaco!!!
My husband and I eat breakfast here almost every weekend. We always get their giant fluffy pancakes with real maple syrup. Their over-easy eggs aren't tough, like I have had at some other breakfast places.
My only complaints are the inconsistencies I've had (and the reason for the -1 star). Sometimes the whole wheat pancakes (I get them with bananas) are not cooked completely, however they have made them again when this happens. Once my omelet was cold on the inside and the cheese was all cold and nasty, but again they fixed it. So they at least fix it , or give you something else, if you ask.
Service usually isn't great, but it's a diner and if you go when they're busy don't expect 5-star service.
Outside of breakfast I've tried several items and I haven't had a complaint yet. Probably my favorite non-breakfast item is the enchiladas with the chipotle sauce. That sauce is great. Oh don't forget the veggie reuben or the mag-mud.
It's just all really tasty.
Good place to go for some late night grub. Yes, there are always people waiting, but every time I have gone the wait was far less than the host estimated. (Yes, this may be due to others getting fed up at the wait time and leaving, but still.) For the amount of food and taste of the breakfast tacos, they are my dish of choice. If you travel down this route, ask for whole wheat tortillas... mmm. The potatoes are spiced well and the sausage is delicious as well. I wouldn't call them amazing, but far more memorable than any of the other breakfast tacos I have had at 3am. For less than $4, I have trouble finishing 2, and usually bring some back for breakfast. The service has been adequate when I have gone, nothing special. They say they do not split the bill, but like most places they let you write down the amount to charge each card.
After leaving the office close to 10:30pm tonight, not too much was open around the hotel, so we stopped in here. Mag Mud, you bested us again. After working on you, we could barely finish the food we had ordered. I would say it's a conspiracy to get me to eat less, but this isn't an AYCE, so there goes that idea.
Hmm, looks like I forgot to post this the night we went (7/2/09).
Just got back from my first time here tonight. The black bean queso was awesome, and the rib eye… Read more »
This place has personality!! I like Magnolia and everytime I visit Austin I go and have breakfast there. The majority of the staff is absolutley great, they are extremely nice and make you feel welcome. The rest of the staff is a little rude.. but they are the exception rather than the rule.
I always seat outside and order the pancakes, which are fantastic! They have all kinds of wonderful flavor pancakes. I've had a few but the original pancakes are my personal favorite, But Try Them all!! Orange juice is very good, and I believe it is freshly squeezed (my favorite!). Magnolia's is A-OK and I would recommend you try it.
**note**
They have a little store next door where you can go and purchase all kinds of cutesie things while you wait to be called for a table! that's definitely a plus!
For over 2 years, I've told my wife there is an easy way to beat the line at Magnolia on South Congress. She didn't really care for my suggestion cause that meant she had to get out of bed...early.
It drove me nuts to get there around 9AM and then sit there for an hour or so with little Rooster. My official stance is I HATE WAIT TIMES! Within the last two days, we've walked in to Kerby Lane and Magnolia with no crowd! I'm not knocking Jenny out of bed at 4 or anything; just be there around the 7 - 8 window and you get right in.
Our T-Rex and Voodoo fish tacos hit the spot this morning. Rooster benefited from the wifes low carb diet and got the pancakes. Have yall ever had to take the kids clothes off due to syrup overload? We had to peel his sticky shirt off so we could carry him back to the car.
We paid our tab and preceded to the jungle that was now the main entrance. We had to wait for 3 people to scribble their name on the list before we could even exit. Hey dude, if you let us out that table just might clear a little faster? I hit the door to what seems like a line at a stadium bathroom. I turned back and grinned; enjoy your hour wait suckers!
Three Words: Rosemary Bacon Butter. Paula Dean is getting all flustered as I type.
Jen and I visited…
Read more »
I constantly flip back and forth between whether Kerbey or Magnolia is the better 24-hr breakfast place. Since I ate at Magnolia this morning, I will crown it the winner. Amazingly, Magnolia Cafe earns this rating from me based almost exclusively on the Love Migas. It improves on already-fantastic migas through the addition of a garlic and serrano butter in the eggs. The black beans served with it are also tasty, not just a plate filler like they can be at other restaurants. In addition to the Love Migas, I've also enjoyed the Eggs Zapatino (eggs and queso on an English muffin) and pancakes. The latter rival Kerbey Lane's famous flapjacks in deliciousness, but are richer and more cakey. I have no comment on the non-breakfast food - even when I've gone at night, I can't bring myself to cheat on the Love Migas.
Magnolia Cafe is also notable for its South Congress ambiance, from the "Sorry We're Open" signs, to the '50s-style fabric prints on the table, to the hippie-hipster waiters. My one complaint is that the food isn't always super-hot when you get it, especially when you have a few people at the table. Expect a long wait, particularly mid-morning on a Sunday. (Even just showing up at 7:30 or 8 gives you a huge advantage over the 9am influx.) Today's breakfast was at 10am on Friday, and our wait was less than five minutes. PS - the hot tea is actually pretty good here: high quality, nice selection of flavors and the hot water is brought to you in an insulated container so your second cup is still hot.
Has been a worthy Austin staple for years. After an 8 year hiatus my return here was very pleasant. Great place, great menu, great staff. Worth it every time.
I'm not going to lie - I'm a queso connoisseur, and I judge most restaurants by the deliciousness of their queso, which gives Magnolia it's four star rating. The queso is delish, but it doesn't compare to Kerby (the gold standard which i consider to be the holy grail of quesos)
As far as the other food, I love their pancakes, and, I'm not sure they do this anymore - but it used to be that if you wanted a certain kind of pancakes (say chocolate chip) that they didn't have, you could bring your own chocolate chips and they'd add them in. yuuuuumy!
eh... meh... ughh... maybe it was built up too much? My sister and her friend wouldn't shut up about this place for a while after returning from Austin. They like, really, really, ridiculously, liked it.
I ate there 3 times, each time hoping for something extraordinary. It was just... eh. But see, I don't really have a point of comparison so far as Austin breakfast joints go. I was just a visitor there.
The best thing I had was the granola, fruit and yogurt plate... which isn't really fair. They didn't have to cook any of it. Pancakes were alright.
It was just... so... eh...
Austin, TX
Category: American (New)
Austin, TX
Category: Diners
Neighborhood: 78704 (South Austin)
Category: American (Traditional)
Neighborhood: 78704 (South Austin)
Category: Breakfast & Brunch
Austin, TX
Category: Greek
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