The Ozona Grill & Bar
Categories: Breakfast & Brunch, American (Traditional) [Edit]
4615 Greenville AveDallas, TX 75206 (214) 265-9105
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Private Lot
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: No
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
22 Reviews for The Ozona Grill & Bar
wow, i didn't realize Ozona got such low ratings. i don't know about anyone else's experience, but I've always enjoyed coming here. When I lived the the Phoenix on Mockingbird, we used to get hammered and walk home. The Chicken fried steak isn't as good as everyone says it is. But I do like the burgers and draft. I like sitting outside when it's hot and drinking. The squid ran around the deck (we were the only people there) and the servers loved her. I also liked the jalapeo fries. Plus really cheap.
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1 star.
1 star for the $1 beers on wednesday nights, the only night worth going. Maybe. If you can't afford $2 beers elsewhere.
1 star for the 1 time you'll see your server in the 1 hour since you were seated.
1 star because of the crawling thing my friend found in her food.
1 star - well, because unless you're still on Daddy's SMU tab, there are hundreds of better places to go to (yes, even on a sunny day when you think the patio is awesome, there are better patios).
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Unlike everyone else that has reviewed Ozona, I really like it. Maybe because I grew up on the place...I've been going since 7th grade, before it was the "best brunch" in Dallas.
Yes, I agree, sometime the service can be spotty. But most of the time I can't complain. Especially since the remodel, the restaurant has a great atmosphere. Half the seating is outdoors, which, in Dallas is a good idea. On a cold day you have the choice of sitting by a fireplace. There is an outside bar, as well.
The food is solid. I stand by the Salmon Salad, Spinach salad, chicken fingers, and french onion soup. Their fries and deliciously seasoned. The salsa is one of my favorites at any restaurant (it is served warm! Yum!). I don't have much experience with the drinks, since I usually go here with my parents, but my mom loves the Margaritas (on the rocks, no salt).
Even though Ozona has gotten bad reviews from other Yelpers, it remains one of my favorite restaurants in my hometown.
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Unfortunately, I went to brunch at Ozona this weekend without checking Yelp first. I'd seen Ozona rated as one of the top 10 brunches in Dallas on another site, so we thought we'd try it. BIG MISTAKE. The place was nearly empty, but it took almost 10 minutes for a host to come to the host stand (in fact, several people before us got fed up and left) so we could be seated. Weird. The food was not exceptional by any means (I've never met a pancake I didn't like, until these pancakes--completely flavorless), and the coffee was HORRIBLE. It was so weak that it looked like iced tea. How do you serve brunch but then mess up the coffee, arguably one of the most important aspects of breakfast? Yes, the patio is nice, but not worth it in my book.
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Bloody Marys and patio seating alone make this place worthy of three stars, in my humble opinion, anyway.
I just happened to noticed the low rating this popular place has gotten across the board, and I have to disagree. Granted, I haven't had a hellacious service experience there ... yet, anyway.
I've been here at least six times, and it's always been fine. Now, I wouldn't call the service exceptional (we've been waited on by a space cadet or two), but the food has always been good, and the drinks, even better.
The make-your-own bloody mary bar on Saturday and Sunday mornings makes it alllll worthwhile. They have all the fixins, at least 6 different bloody mary mixes, as well as celery, olives, horseradish ... even shrimp! I mean, when you get to concoct that extra-spicy, extra-horseradish, celery-laden drink that only you know how to make, life is good. ;)
Otherwise, I've had the turkey wrap and the choose-your-taco plate (among some other things I can't remember). The food is average, non-memorable. But heck, on a nice day, the patio alone makes it worth the trip. They also have drink specials several nights a week, and a comedy showcase. Good spot for drinks, or a hair-of-the-dog on a weekend morning.
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I went last night cuz a group I'm in wanted $1 margaritas. Even though I know Joe said that the CFS isn't that good, I wanted it anyway. Luckily I went in with low expectations and was in a good mood which helped. The CFS was ok..it only tastes good right away, don't wait to eat it otherwise it will be rubbery. The mashed potatoes were tasty.
Anyway, I was happy when my bill was only $10..that is awesome!! Plus I still had enough food for the next day!
Everyone is right about the service, I don't know what it is. The servers are nice enough, just really slow. The patio was huge and looked really nice..I may just be dumb enough to come back if the weather is nice!!
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I'm not sure why I keep eating here. The food isn't very good, the service is barely acceptable, and honestly, how often is it comfortable to eat outside in Texas? The patio is designed well; however, it's still hot and mosquito-ridden a lot of the time (Ozona really can't be blamed for that though).
No matter what the magazines say, the chicken fried steak isn't that great. (Humperdink's is actually better and they have a special on Tuesdays) The breading comes off too easily and there's a serious overload of gravy. The breakfast items I've had were odd--either totally bland or so spicy I couldn't finish it. I do recommend the migas enchiladas at brunch.
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I concur with most of the crowd here. The food is substandard. I would pay $3 NOT to drink the margarita offered on Monday nights. A well-respected local food blog recently named theirs the best chicken fried steak in town. It's the first time that blog has steered me so wrong. I'll confess that I haven't tried the brunch buffet, but after the chicken fried steak fiasco, I'm skeptical.
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Ozona's patio is the coolest patio on Greenville Avenue. This, in fact, has the best patio of all the brunch spots in Dallas. The build your own Bloody Mary bar is also, hands down, the best in Dallas. Best vodka selection, best atmosphere, no question. And now for the food... This is certainly one of those places that is all about atmosphere... The food is nothing to write home about, and it's a shame I have to write about it at all. The food is not bad; the food is just average. It's a Dallas brunch staple, but maybe that's just because no one knows about the places with good food AND good patios. Oh and they do have beer specials, which is... uh... great with bacon?
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This place is exactly why Yelp exists.
Fine. Everyone knows they have a decent patio. But It's a slab of cement on top of another slab of cement. You just don't see it because you are in constant search of a server.
Server. It's a contradiction. You have to order 2 drinks at a time to make sure your second Rita doesn't melt.
The hostesses will seat you in bad un-seeable places if you don't do Pilates or don't have a Daddy card.
Stop feeding this beast of snobbery and go somewhere else.
The food is something I would equate to, if I came back as a Grackle at White Rock Lake and some poor schmuck threw tortilla chips at me onto the gravel top.
And there is zero parking.
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After I read from D magazine a couple of months ago that they had the "Best Chicken Fried Steak in Dallas" I finally had the time to come by and try it out for myself. It's alright quite frankly, but not all that awesome. I think there are some other places that do so much better. The CFS was a bit too thick and to chewy for me and the fries that came with seemed as if they were in the back of the freezer for about a year or so and over fried.
Since the weather has been nice lately, the patio seating is pretty cool.
They have $1 beers on Wednesdays!
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Ozona is over-rated. Whoever gave high ratings to their Chicken Fried Steak is way off the mark. Quite frankly, their food is horrific. The only thing that's worse is the service.
What does hit the mark are their $1 pints from 5-7pm, but they promptly switch to sippy cups at 7:01. During this time, parking is atrocious; be prepared to hike it from down the street. And I don't get the big deal about the patio. Okay, it's outside seating, but it's surrounded by concrete and city street. Where's the big deal?
Dude, this doesn't feel anything like Austin. There were far too many SMU Pastel Douchebag Parties going on. Besides, it's a College Station export. That says it all.
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I am not sure if you can give zero stars, but I am trying to. This place makes up for its terrible food with even worse service. The only redeeming quality is its outdoor seating area. I cannot believe the other people who think that the food is any good. Don't get suckered in to eating here, but if you want a drink and do not mind bad service, this is your place. Apparently 1 star is as low as you can go. Congrats to Ozona for earning one star.
I went back, and am reiterating my low rating. The service is bad and the food is not that great.
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Is it a Sunday morning? Are you in absolutely no hurry to be anywhere for a few hours? Do you feel like relaxing with some yummy migas and the best Bloody Mary ever? If so, head to Ozona. If not, go somewhere else.
The Bloody Mary bar is fantastic, and their breakfast food is all quite good. The service? Yes, it sucks. But if you're kicking back on their patio on a warm, hungover Sunday morning, who cares?
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Erik B is very wrong about Ozona being "very Austin." Ozona is a bad bar at which various ages of SMU students and perhaps some underage children with ID's patronize because they have "awesome" drink specials. I was there on Monday, which is dollar margarita night. The margaritas are so bad they aren't worth a dollar. However, I only drink top shelf margaritas so I may be a little biased in my star rating. I didn't bother to order food. Is there actually table service? Somehow I didn't see any waiters.
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went with my mom on a sunday evening and it was really nice sitting on the patio. This place has probably one of the best patios in dallas. if I am wrong then i would love to know a better one. The three stars goes to the outdoor patio and that is it. Our waiter was on the fence of being scary high. I am guessing two bat hits minimum before he got to our table. Oh it was great having to slow down our words to make sure that he understood the order. forgot our salad. tacos al carbon were okay but not great. i was home to see my parents and i will have to say it was nice to sit outside and chat.
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TOTALLY DISGUSTING STAFF. HORRIBLE MANNERS. VERY UNPROFESSIONAL. FOOD IS JUNK. "CASUAL" SHOULD NOT BE CONFUSED WITH "DISGUSTING/LAZY" Easily the worst experience myself and my girlfriend have ever had at a restaurant. We were "greeted" at the door by a person wearing saggy blue jeans and a plain white baggy shirt. After sitting, a dirty looking man(our waiter, we thought), popped out of nowhere, failed to say anything to greet us, and simply said "What do ya'll want to drink?" My girlfriend ordered a Skyy Vodka and 7. After waiting for too long only for drinks, the Skyy and 7 that my gf ordered was served in a huge glass, and she couldn't taste vodka, obviously not what she ordered. Then, a disgusting looking woman(our waitress) shows up smelling from a DIRTY wineglass that she had picked up from another table...WEIRD. My first impression was that she was on something, not all "there". We discuss the drink further, she finally said she would replace it with another one. She then shows up with the drink(now wearing sun glasses, though it was raining, and after the sun went down). Time to order food (which she did not write down). I ordered a burger and fries, with a side of BBQ sauce. The food was brought by yet another "dirty" looking man, and I asked him for napkins, he said "okay"(and he never returned). The BBQ sauce was not given to me. Our random waitress finally brought it...it was KETCHUP!..NOT BBQ SAUCE?! The burger was too big to eat, soggy bun, burned though I was never asked how I wanted it cooked. The fries were undercooked and nasty. All the while, watching as the host walk by showing his underwear from his sagging jeans as we ate. And after much wait(And there's no way she was busy, because the place was dead) the bill was wrong. She double charged us for vodka, and SHE became annoyed! We then did not receive a voided ticket that showed that the credit card trans. from the first one had been taken off. And the waitress became an even bigger WITCH WITH "B". I then ask for a manager. The manager looked like an adult film star and showed ZERO managerial skills when talking to a customer. Place has potential, but fails miserably. Dirty Staff. Expect a lot....GET NOTHING IN RETURN. DO NOT GO HERE. My father owned many restaurants pretty much just like this one. He would fire(or never hire) a single employee that we saw at this place. Every male there needs to SHAVE and/or SHOWER. DRUG TESTING would do wonders for this place. The "manager" we spoke to, was a ridiculous excuse for a person in charge. He spoke without making eye contact, he failed to introduce himself, he talked down to us, etc. This place needs help. So for the entire meal..including chips and salsa, burger and fries, a grilled chicken plate, and a Skyy and 7....the meal was 29 dollars(not including tip). So after tip...the meal totalled 29 dollars.
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Great prices on Happy Hour specials (drinks and appetizers). Big and fun outdoor patio (with heaters in the winter). Two thumbs down on the service!
This place is pretty cool. I really like the vibe...very "Austin". Large patio which is great for happy hour and brunch when the weather is nice. The few times that I have had dinner here I haven't been impressed, the food was mediocre, and the service was HORRIBLE. Now, how funny is it that the two times I have been there for brunch, the food was GREAT and the service was better as well??? Maybe they like Sundays? Anyway, their brunch rocks. They have an extensive build your own bloody mary bar. As for the food, great banana pancakes, and Eggs Florentine-O (English Muffin, Spinach, mushrooms, Egg, and topped with Hollandaise sauce) The breakfasts come with fresh fruit and great roasted potatoes. So my advice is to skip the dinner and defiantly make this a place to go on those Sunday mornings!
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This place sorta kinda reminds me of Frontierland at Disneyland... Weird huh!? Maybe its the huge wooden walls covered in some lovely fauna. I don't know how plants survive in this Texas heat... I just dont understand.
Anywho, I came here with Erik B and Ben D for Sunday Brunch... I discovered that they offer complimentary valet parking. Oh Lovely! -But what's the point? The parking lot was about half empty. We parked our pimp-mobile literally 10 feet from the Valet Stand. ha.
Ok right, so we walk into this place and it's neat, lotsa multi-level outdoor seating... plenty of indoor seating as well. I chose indoor. It was hot. The heat is bad for my complexion and that means sitting outside would just be completely unacceptable.
Our waiter was wearing Oakleys and a Trucker Cap. This place was most definitely casual.
The food was awesome... but i think I like Cafe Brazil better. We'll use their potatos as an example. Both Cafe Brazil and Ozona have rosemary potatos... the ones at CB way surpass the ones in Ozona in both quality AND quanity. Ozona still pulls it off, but barely... it's just not as good... you heard?
Okay and the service? UNUSUAL. My Tabasco Sauce took FOREVER to get to me. I think eating an egg product without Tabasco sauce is just atrocious. They probably would have received another star if I didn't have to wait about 5 minutes get my freakin sauce. And the waiter was generally never around when we needed him, Boooo... and whats with giving us our credit card receipts with no pen? w-t-f man?!!
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I've never been for breakfast, but I have come for happy hour/appetizers. Their happy hour specials are dirt cheap, but its a little disconcerting to have it served in plastic cups. The service is consistently slow, but at least it's friendly. The food is good, not great, but they have a really good honey mustard dip.
I have to agree with most of what my fellow yelpers have to say about Ozona. I think their breakfast is the bomb-digity. It is so darn good and the atmosphere is not your typical Dallas haunt near SMU. It is very casual and laidback. I have never been for anything other than breakfast so that is where my judgment lies.
The service is too laidback and extremely slow, which does not make for the best experience sometimes. We have not returned since we were left outside freezing our asses off while our waiter forgot about us. Apparently, the heaters stopped working, so the waitstaff decided to stop as well. Anyway, if you want some good b-fast and don't care about crappy service, this is a good place. Sorry Richard...but I like the b-fast tacos and potatoes better than Cafe Brazil!
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