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Mon-Thu. 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
3 Courses, 2 People, $20. Juicy Burgers & Tender Ribs. You Choose!
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Decent spot for a meal if you don't want to fight crowds on Sixth Street but want to eat nearby on a weekend evening. They have a parking lot across the street that had plenty of space at 7:45 pm on a Friday evening.
I had some taco plate whose name I can't remember now, but it was one chicken and one beef soft taco totally stuffed with toppings. I mean, those things were massive. I think it was only about $8, so nice deal for a very filling dinner (came with rice and beans too). That said, I've definitely had better Tex-Mex...but if you're not feeling picky, it'll certainly do in a pinch.
Watch out for their interpretation of "spicy," however. The salsa is painful, and although the waiter assured my dining companion that the sauce on her halibut would be much less spicy, it wasn't. Ouch.
On a warmer night, their pretty patio would be a lovely spot for a dinner. Also, we sat next to a table with several members of the UT women's track team...if you're groupies, might wanna check it out. Not that I advocate stalking.
Dear Greg the Awkward Waiter,
While I appreciate your earnest, yet fickle, attentiveness, I think I'm going to have to call you out on your lingering. That's right, you are a lingerer. You ask a question, an answer is provided and you stand there, blinking, as if the answer is in some strange alien language.
If we are still looking at the menu's it probably means we aren't ready to order. Asking three times won't make us any more ready to order. It isn't as if the place was crazy busy and we were being table commandos. So, lay off, blondie. Go linger over someone else!
Love,
Me
P.S. I love this old building with it's wood floors, high ceilings and rambling rock patio. The food was average and the chips and salsa were delicious.
The women's bathroom here was absolutely unacceptable! I was appalled when I walked in to find one toilet plugged with toliet paper and the other one with throw up in. Sick!
Other than that, the rest of the experience was mediocre. The salsa was okay. The food was decent, and the server was mildly inattentive.
The outdoor area was cool, but it's not enough to bring me back anytime soon.
I may be a stupid gringa girl, but does Serrano mean accommodating in Spanish?? I mean I know it's a pepper, but is it a gracious, welcoming pepper? Well this Serranos is for sure! I showed up here at 3:30 yesterday and told them I would have a large group from Brack coming for happy hour. How large they asked?? I guestimated about 15 people. They did not even blink. They didn't demand that I wait for most of my party to show up. They didn't insist that we sit outside. Nope, they put two long tables together in the side room and invited me to have a seat. Thanks welcoming pepper!
So there I sat for awhile by myself. Since I get up at the crack of ass to start my shift, I get off work at 2:30. That's another reason for me to love this place. They start happy hour with $2.50 margs at 3 o'clock. The mango and amaretto margs are really good and strong! And as I sat there by myself for about 30 minutes, I was checked on many times by different people. Thanks gracious pepper!
And finally, my group of 15 medical professionals ended up to be about 35 rowdy, loud, tipsy hooligans. Who knew? *Actually we've done this before and I think that's why they put us in the side room when I mentioned Brack.* Then I was Uhmazed to look up and our poor stressed, solitary waiter was handing out individual bills. He was not asked to divvie up, he just did it automatically and did it correctly! This was quite the feat! It meant that hubby and I were charged separately but that was a small thing of no consequence. Thanks accommodating pepper! That's good service in any language! Grassy ass!!
Yesterday, me and my grrl went on something of a bar crawl. Can't believe I am up already doing… Read more »
Only came here for their happy hour. Why you ask?? Well for their $2.50 margaritas!!!!! If you are from Los Angeles like I am then this price is just loco! And if you are staying at the Sheraton like we were this place is around the corner and definitely beats the prices of the hotel bar there!
If you don't have a table when you come here it is definitely a pain to get a margarita here--the line at the bar is really long and they only had one bar tender to serve everyone! We barely made the cut off for the happy hour price it took so long! But once we had our margaritas which are of course available in different flavors we found ourselves a spot outside in the outdoor symphony area that connects to this place! It is probably one of the coolest outdoor seating options I've ever seen! And we even managed to get ourselves a basket of chips and salsa for free and we had live entertainment too! Our live entertainment was actually a wedding rehearsal taking place on the stage of the outdoor symphony!!! It was so cute to watch especially with a basket of chips and margaritas in our hands!
Everytime I drive home I see people sitting out and relaxing. It makes me jealous. The food is okay, as is the service, but it's nice and convenient to where I live.
Margaritas on the patio this summer? Anyone?
I came here for lunch. I was pleased. Let me count the ways:
1. Friendly staff. Nice waiter. *Attentive* waiter.
2. Delicious salsa. The one thing I don't like about my favorite restaurant, Magnolia, is that their salsa is just kinda eh. Serranos salsa, however, was quite tasty.
3. Lunch specials are $5.99. Hearty portions, good variety of food, your choice of beans (and if you ask nicely, you can also have different rice too!).
4. Pretty view. Nice outdoor seating area.
5. Sitting down, eating, gabbing, grabbing the check, all in a little under an hour. Perfect, since I work nearby and can skeedaddle back to my office.
The only drawbacks:
The chairs were a little uncomfortable (metal with no padding whatsoever), and the chicken for my fajitas was a little on the tough side.
Great location and atmosphere, so two stars because that's all that is good about this restaurant. About once every couple years I need to be reminded what bad Tex Mex tastes like in Austin. Serranos is it. Under cooked, over salted food prepared with absolutely no care whatsoever. But a great location!
I came here for a lunch with a large group of coworkers. I had never been to Serrano's and had heard from various native Austinites on its excellent Tex Mex. Service was acceptable and the food on the low side of average. It took 45 minutes to have our server figure out the checks and no drink refills the 2 hours we were there. Kinda reminded me of an El Patio TV dinner to be honest. It didn't help that I was sick later and barfed up my plate of chorizo and eggs. Let's just say that I won't be eating here again anytime soon.
Since our first meeting, we have sustained heavy casualties. Our arch nemesis, real life, has taken a toll. The future looked grim for a 2nd meeting.
Suddenly from out of the darkness, came a beacon of hope. Agent L put forth the call for a meet. Those not knee deep in the thick of things agreed to meet up at Serannos on Red River for some much needed Queso refueling.
It would turn out to be a somber affair. Agent L was stuck down, her head preventing her from reaching the life saving Queso. In this war, you don't have time to mourn those lost, you must solder on, and eat even MORE Queso in their honor.
Agent Lady J, Agent D, and myself made it to the rendezvous point. A Queso Perfecto was ordered. Agent D was sticking solely to the cheese, amid threats of disappointment with the other items. I again ordered chicken flautas, hard pressed to get out of my groove. I should of heeded the words of Agent D and stuck with the cheese. Foolhardiness will cost you everything if you are not careful.
The Queso Perfecto was pretty good, if a little bland. The salsa helps spice it up. I also wish there was a bigger serving, especially for the price. Gas in all forms is becoming steep price wise.
The Flautas were horrid. I didn't even finish one. The corn tortillas were burnt and dry. The chicken, dry and bland. The rice had seen better days. The black beans were decent though. I ate them.
For what they charge, it's definitely not worth it entree wise. However, the location is great, the service was very good and if you find yourself around, you might want to stop in, take in the view, and get some Queso boost.
Agent B out.
Serrano's made a pretty good first impression on me. The outdoor seating was pleasantly designed, so we enjoyed the nice weather. We got good chips and salsa and decent entrees served by an efficient, friendly waiter. The food is nothing special though. My crispy beef taco was extremely beefy, but the meat looked pink, like it wasn't cooked all the way. I sent it back and got another one that was still pink. I eat medium steaks and burgers, so I decided eating that taco wasn't going to kill me. It didn't. The meat tasted undercooked, but I suffered no ill effects. The chicken enchilada verde also seemed pretty standard: not unpleasant, but not noteworthy.
I was impressed by the prices at Serrano's. At lunch, you can get an entree and 2 sides for $6, 2 entrees and 2 sides for $7, or 3 entrees and 2 sides for $8. There's plenty to choose from, too.
Though it might not be my first choice, I would not hesitate to eat here again.
How many times does one patronize an establishment before saying enough is enough? Ok, I will go back again, but it will be for dinner.
A friend called and asked if she could take me to lunch. Of course I accepted. She recommended this Serrano's, as it was convenient for both of us and it was a good deal. Monday's are a great deal at this place - buy one lunch entree and you get one free. Since she was paying, I thought I could try going there again.
Our "waiter" was prompt to greet us and take our order. after 20 minutes, our food was delivered, by someone else. I did not care for the dishwater that was called soup I was given. On the side were two cheese-stuffed jalapenos that were to have been deep fried. I cut into one of them, the cheese was still cold in the middle. I REALLY wanted to get something else to eat. The only thing was, no one came to our table to ask if the food was OK, or even to refill our drinks. So, i ate the (gasp) soup and the queso. Those of you that like the queso here, must also like potted meat, because the queso tastes like it come from a can.
We were able to literally grab our 'waiter' as he went to greet a new table in the room. Good luck to them. When he brought us the bill, he didn't ask, I let him know of the poor quality food, and showed him the jalapeno that had not been properly prepared. He asked if I wanted the meal taken off the bill. I told him that i wanted a new meal, but had not been given the opportunity. And was it my responsibility to go get another waiter of manager? he said that he had 25 to-go meals to prepare, and he couldn't get back to us. WTF??? He offered again to remove the food from the bill, the bill that was buy one get one free. No, I said, just know that this was THE WORST SERVICE THAT I HAVE EVER HAD! He agreed with me and apologized. again WTF??
Now, I realize that I should have spoken to the manager. But I felt that telling this person to his face was the thing to do.
I think this place made me sick but it's only been a couple hours, time will tell.
Really, I don't think you're supposed to eat here, it's clearly all about happy hour. Our waitress was rude, probably because we were dressed casually. She didn't ask if we wanted to be outside or inside and just plopped us down. She didn't ask if we would like the drink menu, I had to steal that off another table.
My boyfriend got seafood enchiladas and the shrimp tasted horrible, I'm hoping that we won't be sick from the small amount we ate. My stomach is upset right this moment. They weren't even decent shrimp to begin with and for the price I anticipated something a little larger than salad shrimp.
So we basically split the fish tacos I ordered, which were okay. The rice, however, reminded me of minute rice.
As if disgusting enchiladas wasn't bad enough, we were covered in flies. When people entered the restaurant I wanted to warn them about the bad food but I was also relieved to have the flies more evenly dispersed and not all congregated at our table.
Finally, the enchiladas were served with a skewer of grilled veggies but they tasted old and dried out. It's unbelievable that a restaurant can ruin grilled mushrooms, unbelievable.
I'm pretty much not sure how much I like this place yet... maybe I need another visit!
The chips and salsa they gave were extremely good, I thought. Chips were seasoned with just the right amount of salt (usually it's either too salty or not salty enough) and a hint of lime. Yummy! And the salsa was spicy -- just the way I like it! So the beginning was good.
But as the night wore on, I had my reservations.
I ordered an iced tea and the chicken fajitas. My fajitas were pretty good -- the chicken was cooked well (although I didn't really taste the seasoning on it), there was plenty of guac and pico and the rice and beans were tasty as well.
But the waitress was oddly stingy about the tortillas. In fact, I asked her for more and she hesitated (ended up not bringing out any at all) and then said there were more in the other containers on the table. Well, that's nice ... but it was a long table and I wasn't going to get up and grab someone else's tortillas! What's up with being stingy with the tortillas?!
And then the waitress told me they ran out of iced tea... which did not make me happy at all. :( She told me I could get soda, but I wasn't too keen on drinking something sugary at that point. Sigh.
Then when we all asked for boxes at the end of the meal, she told me she'd bring me one then skipped me... I had to call after her (and a nice customer at the bar helped me get her attention!) to get my box...
Overall, the food was good but I'd say the service was sub-par.
I've lunched here several times over the past few months and here is the scoop:
Great lunch specials:
One entree for 5.99
2 for 6.99
3 for 7.99
The entrees range from a generous bowl of tortilla soup, chicken enchilladas with verde, cheese enchilladas, tacos, etc.. You can choose one or two or three of these and then they come with 2 sides (salad, 2 different types of beans, several types of rice). The salsa they serve with their chips is fresh, spicy and very nice. I love it. A great lunch and pretty easy on the pocketbook.
I've been her several times over several years.
The location is nice for activities at UT or the Erwin Center or even shows at Stubb's to get a bite to eat before. The last time I went was before a burlesque show at The Mohawk. (BTW, Kitty Kitty Bang Bang are awesome!)
I went for some pre-show drinks & grub. It was a beautiful night so we sat outside on their beautiful patio. The location is nice with a very historical looking building. They have several private rooms that you can rent as well. They also have a stadium seating-type area overlooking Waller Creek which should be utilized more for shows b/c it is lovely if the water was cleaner.
Drinks: We had margaritas on the rocks. Tasty with a good bit of liquor. Raspberry on the rocks was a bit too sweet.
Food: The food is decent. Nothing special but their tortillas are quite good. We had Jalapeno Poppers - too much breading but nicely spiced. I had a cup of tortilla soup which needed some spiciness but had a nice chunk of avocado in it. The chicken quesadillas would have just ordinary if not for the great tasting tortillas. Food is nothing to write home about.
Overall, the location is convenient for downtown shows and they usually have lost of street parking around & a small lot as well. Drinks are good. Food is mediocre.
Alright - here's the deal...
Single mom of three looking for a cheap/good place to have Happy Hour with some other single mommies.
*we aren't getting sloshed then driving our babies! Mommies deserve a brief moment of liquored up happiness from time to time, too! ;o) *
Lo and behold! Serrano's HH has great deals and kids eat free Tuesday through Thursday and the happy hour food specials are so awesome we can go any night and feed the kids, have a drink and walk out spending under $10.
You can't beat that.
I wish they would utilize the "river stage" more, though. It's really a pretty place.
The food is not so great, but based on the great deal, I give it three stars!
It's allright. I guess I've never really been to an authentic Tex-Mex place before so I don't have anything to compare this one to.
I got the fish taco salad. Yeah I know, how can something with that name possibly be good? I like tacos, I like fish and I like salad so I figured "what have I got to lose?" It was allright. A little flavorless with a salad that had no dressing on it but the fish was good and I love me some fried flour tortillas.
Everything was pretty average. Reasonable prices. The service was okay. One thing that stuck out was the look and feel. We sat on the outdoor patio that faced Red River St. It was a beautiful day and it was just perfect. I wouldn't know where you would park though. It looks like they just have street parking, which may be a problem if they ever got really busy.
Somehow I always forget about poor Serrano's in favor of Trudy's or El Mercado, or a million other places. Their food is pretty reliable. Nothing out-of-this-world, but when you're hungry for tex-mex it delivers. Their queso is quite good and has nice slices of jalapeno for me to dig out.
They have BOGO enchilada plates on Monday, which is great for the couple on a budget. This location is actually the cutest one, I think. The patio area is really old and cobblestone-y. It's way too hot these days but good in the non-summer months.
We also get their take-out in large quantities for our monthly work meetings pretty often and it is a really good deal with mixed fajitas and veggie fajitas. They stuff the bags full of rice, assorted beans, queso, tortillas, chips, etc.
I am pretty surprised to realize that I can't recall ever having their margaritas... Me? Really? Maybe we should get THOSE for our work meetings....
This is my go-to happy hour place. It's close to downtown, but before you get into all the traffic and a free parking space is guaranteed. The large outdoor seating has a cozy atmosphere with shaded umbrellas and Mexican music playing in the background. The wait staff is the best and know me by name, which is great service. The happy hour specials are the best, $2.50 for margs frozen or rocks. And they serve a small selection of appetizer plates for a buck, yummy!
I went to Serrano's Red River today and I must say it was rather average. The chips were too salty. The frozen Margarita's melted quick, and the meal was average. I had the Mushroom Enchiladas with white wine Pablano cream sauce. The cream sause was really bland as was the rice. Not what I expected. Was really disappointed.
The waiter couldn't get our orders straight, and had to ask me three times what flavor Margarita I'd ordered(the Mango). Then it took 15 minutes to get it, and it wasn't very good. We were only a party of 7 and they weren't very busy.
Not impressed.
Awesome choice of margaritas, including the legendary frozen mango.
As for food, two words: 'parilla mista'. If you're two people and you like your meats varied and abundant, this is a winner.
Guac, salsa and chips are also all spot on...
Two stars for its historic landmark status and convenient location for those who work in the MLK / Red River area. It seems to be a favorite of my office mates, because they don't like to walk more than a walk to eat lunch.
One day, I was invited to come along for lunch, and the whole time I kept wishing it would be okay to drink a margarita during work hours. The menu consisted of the generic Tex-Mex fare: enchiladas and tacos. In an effort to be healthy, I ordered the mushroom enchiladas with white wine poblano cream sauce, served with black beans and "pacifico" rice on the side. The mushrooms had a canned taste, the cream sauce might have been Alfredo, and the rice and beans were dry as sand.
They are open 'til 11 PM on Fridays and Saturdays, so it's a good place to grab a margarita or a Mexican martini on the way down to the Red River clubs. I'll give it a third star for that.
great happy hour, nice outdoor patio. good place to unwind.
Have been enjoying the best Queso in Austin for the last 19 years. I have always had a great meal at Serranos. The staff is friendly and helpful and the food is as good as it get for Tex Mex in Austin Texas. The chicken or beef fajitas are my favorite.. of course you can't go wrong with the talapia. There are several locations around town and I have eaten at just about all of them.. treat yourself to some excellent Tex Mex.. I highly reccommend it.
I'm certainly no expert on good Tex-Mex food, but I'm pretty sure Serranos isn't it. My Chalupas were bland. Really bland. The salsa was good, but the tortilla chips were stale. My girlfriend was similarly unimpressed with her flautas. Also, I haven't felt so hot (gastrointestinally speaking) since dinner there last night...
The good news is the service was pretty good and the ambiance was nice. It looks like a good place to get a drink, but I won't be eating there again.
food was absolutely amazing. went on a really busy night and still managed to be seated within 20 minutes. after being seated, we had food within 10 minutes.
Austin, TX
Category: Tex-Mex
Austin, TX
Category: Tex-Mex
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: Italian
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: Mexican
Neighborhood: East Austin
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