I had high hopes for this place after seeing the episode of "Chef Wanted" but it fell flat. After finding two decent menus online we arrived to find they had changed the menu again and there wasn't really anything that sounded appetizing (They took all the good items off and they trick you into staying by making you order a drink before they bring you the food menu).Despite there only being two other tables of patrons it took the wait staff about 10 mins to greet us. Waiter did make sure we always had a drink but we waited about 20 mins for two sandwiches. I got the Gulf Catch sandwich which was very bland. Added salt but still didn't do anything. I would not recommend this place. Go to the Hula Hut next door. It was packed and looked like fun.
Review Source:This was my second time going to Abel's on the Lake and I went for the 50c oysters happy hour from 4-6 Mon-Fri.
3 stars for the great scenery and good food. I ordered queso and chips for an appetizer and oysters and sweet potato fries for the entree. The queso was excellent and our waiter gave us a lot of chips. The oysters were inconsistent in size, but overall good. Sweet potato fries were fantastic and well seasoned.
Cons would have to include the wait time for food. There was hardly anyone there when we went and the food took forever to come out.
However, I would definitely recommend making a trip to eat here for your birthday because you get a free drink or free t-shirt!
Went on father's day, this place was pretty busy, but we were seated promptly in the billiard room and had a nice view of the lake. Â Our waitress was great, very helpful. Â They have a nice selection of beer on tap, also the mexican martinis are the bomb! Â Had fried pickles, jalapeno bombers, and their chips and guacamole (spicy!). Â It was all good. Â Had the Cali chicken sandwich with onions rings, they were both great as well... Â A nice place to check out if your in the area
Review Source:Great views and excellent beer selection. Indoor outdoor dining with lake views were nice. Its right beside the Hula Hut, which looked cool but didn't make it there. Â Music outside wasn't great, would have enjoyed some newer rock better than the old stuff that was on. Overall, its a great spot to have a drink and relax at sunset. Didn't have any dinner but, the food looked alright. It was like being in a lake house.
Review Source:Austin's beautiful lakefront setting, great beers on tap (Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat!), tex-mex food, game-watching, people-meeting, and rehearsal dinners. Those topics pretty much sum-up what you can enjoy at Ables on the Lake.
My better half and I visit this on-the-water-spot every time we travel back to our favorite city, Austin. We were actually the first couple to have a rehearsal dinner here in January 2010.
At the time, the upstairs/outdoor balcony was being built. Therefore, we held the rehearsal in the downstairs bar area. The TV screens were set-up for showing our slideshow, and the buffet was extremely delicious and surprisingly affordable. My husband's aunt dressed up the tables with lights and center pieces......the whole setting was really special and the staff was VERY accommodating.
I'd book this spot all over again if I could. But I'll be revisiting it regardless.
Although quite a few people have panned this place, I want to tell you we had a wonderful time here. Best salmon [of the Blackened Salmon Salad] ever! The service was excellent-thank you for being so personable and professional Samantha. AND the specialty drink for HH, Deep Eddy Vodka Grapefruit mix, fresh grapefruit and lemon very tasty. Perfect. A great experience. [no I'm not related to or friends with anyone who works there-I'm just sayin'-it was good!] :o)
Review Source:Abel's on the Lake exists as a venue to:
1. have a drawn out brunch, chock full of mimosas and the like.
2. host a large party in the upstairs room, overlooking Lake Austin
3. meet over lunch in West Austin over decent bar and grill grub
The beer selection definitely provides more craft brews than you would expect, and the food surprisingly surprises. The Cali Chicken boasts grilled chicken, guac, and not-real Swiss from Switzerland--the sandwich still gets my vote, though.
Fries, chips and guac, assorted appetizers, and other plates all satisfy without asking for too much dough and not sitting heavy like some of the more hefty burgers around town.
Service is definitely hit or miss, but my most recent experience evidenced their care for customers, despite external difficulties. They attempted to feed roughly 100 folks the signature Cali Chicken sammiches but fell flat in timing and quantity. A good conversation rectified the situation, and we showed grace.
I would consider Abel's for any sort of party, dinner, or small gathering. Though the whole package rides on the fantastic view and convenience of pricing and space, I can attest that you place it above other "bar and grills"
I've been to Abel's once and will never be back.
Our server (Charles?) was terrible. He forgot our queso, never refilled our waters, had to be asked twice for to-go containers even after we told him we were in a hurry, and was generally inattentive for the entire meal. Also, people at the table next to us talked to a manager to complain about the service and were basically told they were crazy and that the staff had done everything correctly. The food was bland, and the drinks were incredibly weak and overpriced. And, to top it off, it looked like the bathroom hadn't been cleaned/restocked in days. I'm sorry, but I expect a bit more when I pay almost twenty-five bucks for fish tacos and ONE cocktail.
Next time I go to Hula Hut, and they say there's an hour and forty-five minute wait, I'll wait.
This is good because I can make a pretty fair comparison. I actually visited this location when it first opened up. Loud construction, slow service, meh food. These were all descriptions I would have used then.
It's a lot better now. They have flat screens everywhere to catch the game. Good beer selection. The food covers a lot of different areas. Appetizers, salads, burgers, fish.
You can build your own burger and make a tasty little concoction. Example: Sweet Bun, Bacon, Bleu Cheese, Mushrooms. Choice of fries or chips. Oh yeah. So good.
Do yourself a favor.. If it's not too hot outside, sit by the water. It's a nice view and a great place to relax after a long day of work.
It's Cain and Abels. Don't expect royal world class service. It's a place for drinking and sitting back. The happy hour ends pretty quickly here which is a negative in my book. (Ends at 6.. I'd have to rush out of work to make it.)
We had our wedding and reception at Abel's upper deck patio last weekend, and it was FABULOUS!!!! Â From the beginning, Evan (Abel's special event coordinator) was the most knowledgeable, helpful, organized, available and professional person. Â He was also excited about the whole thing, which made me feel comfortable and I could tell that he loves what he does. Â The food was awesome: Â chicken, veggie, beef fajita buffet with rice and beans; the space was gorgeous (that VIEW)! Â I couldn't have pictured a more fantastic wedding night. Â If you're looking for a venue for your event that is reasonably priced, totally Austin, and pretty much all-inclusive (we only contracted out for flowers, cake, and DJ), I wouldn't look further than Abel's! Â Thank you, Evan!!!!
Review Source:Might be the best onion rings I have ever eaten. Crisp, light, yet hearty. How do they do that? Â Burger was so-so. Â In a town of great burgers, hard to stand out. Â Surprised they didn't have any Dijon mustard. Â Points off too for the limp lettuce. Â Heat lamp victim waiting on the rings?
Review Source:The only thing this place has going for it is a nice view.
The queso was worse than melted Velveeta. Â The lettuce seemed to have more flavor than my burger did, and the sweet potato fries were almost black from being over cooked.
The worst part about eating here was seeing Hula Hut right next door. Â Knowing you could be eating good food but you're stuck at Abel's was almost unbearable.
Abel's on the Lake is one of our new favorites in Austin. Not only is their food wonderful and reasonably priced, the view is unmatched. The atmosphere is that of a cool breeze on a sunny day, after you pulled up on your ski boat even if you didn't really pull up on a boat. And their service is friendly and helpful. We placed a call ahead for Easter that we ended up changing three times before cancelling to join our extended family elsewhere, and each time we made a change Abel's on the Lake was courteous, kind, and quick in changing the call ahead, and just as kind and courteous when we had to cancel. I apologized, and let them know how much I appreciated their courtesy. Definitely solidified their status as one of my new favorites in Austin!
Review Source:I really wanted to like this place because i heard good things about it on the food network, but I was a bit disappointed. I talked into my friends into going with me to this place and first off the service was VERY disorganized! We were sat but wasn't asked what we wanted to eat until 20 minutes later. When we ordered our food it didn't come until another 30 mins and no one remembered who ordered what. We had to trade food to each other to get it right. We were really disappointed with the food and the serves. If you're just looking for a place to hang out with friends with a good settling, then this is the right spot.
Review Source:What a terrible experience. My wife and I decided to enjoy the amazing Austin weather with a little lunch on an outdoor patio yesterday. Having never tried Abel's we figured we'd give it a shot.
We sat ourselves at the outdoor bar and even though there were not many patrons there, it took several minutes to even be acknowledged. We generally like to sit at the bar and eat since most bartenders are pretty attentive. Not at this place. After we were served our drinks I noticed one of the bartenders begin making a drink for another customer. I saw him pull not only the ice scooper out of the ice but also a piece of trash, a menu that had blown in there, and several bottles of booze. Anyone who knows anything about food prep knows this is very unsanitary. Â Remember this is the ice that is going into your drink. Â
Next after sitting there for at least 15 more minutes while other customers came, ordered, and received their food, I had to flag the guy down and kindly ask if we could order food and a second round of drinks. We watched as a girl made my wife's bloody mary with barely a splash of vodka. Compared to her first one, this was all mix.
Finally ordered and when the food came out the real fun began. The food was delivered and then we had to wait several more minutes to flag someone down for silverware. My wife ordered the salmon Benedict and I ordered a sandwich. One of her eggs was so runny that just moving it with her fork made it break open and even the white of the egg ran everywhere. The second egg was literally hard boiled. Neither egg was anywhere near the unctuous nature of a properly cooked egg for Benedict. Â Several times I attempted to flag down someone to express our dissatisfaction. At one point someone looked right at me, turned and began working on something else. Finally someone came over and we requested to see a manager.
Manager came over and offered something as a replacement but at this point we were through with the place. I told him we would pay for our drinks, even though the second Bloody Mary was not touched and we would call it a day. So the final irksome issue was when they delivered the bill it was not itemized. This is one of my biggest pet peeves as I want to know what each item costs.
So in summary...terrible service, unsanitary practices, inconsistent food and beverage prep equals never stepping foot in there again.
Wow. Â Bad service. Â Showed up and about half the tables were open. Â Was told there would be a 45 minute wait, because they had to stage the seating so the kitchen wouldn't get overrun. Â Despite the fact that we were just there to drink, we couldn't sit at any of the open tables by the bar. Â 1 hour and 30 minutes later, I went to inquire about our table, and they finally seated us a couple minutes later... Not sure if they had forgotten there was a wait list, because of so many open tables, or they just didn't care. Â Since we had been waiting for so long, we decided to actually order. Â Food was bland and cold. Â You would think with all that capacity, the kitchen would be able to get it right. Â Figure out your kitchen situation or at least try to be accommodating. Â Not impressed.
Review Source:This is by far the most underwhelming culinary experience I have had in Austin. Nothing was good and I suspect that the GI distress I experienced several hours later was the result of bad prep. More importantly the wait staff seemed unresponsive to a lethal strawberry allergy when mentioned. This had to be reiterated twice. Mixed drinks (bloody mary) seemed very weak, lacking "zap" or flavor and spice. Blah... For the location and slightly better food and drinks, go to Hula Hut.
Review Source:The view is nice.
I was there for a corporate event so we had some of their food catered. The chicken wraps we had were good and so was the baked mac n cheese.
Maybe one day i'll try it for real but for now it's on the bottom of my list sitting down there with their neighbor Hula Hut.
This place offers a fantastic double decker patio with great views of Lake Austin. Â The only thing to do here is to go to happy hour and it can be fun to bar hop back and forth between here and Hula Hut. Â They typically have a great crowd with lots of folks having a good time. Â I would only drink beer here as the mixed drinks are weak. Â The food is all very disappointing and I wouldn't ever recommend eating here.
Review Source:Such a gorgeous location for this event!! The sunset was amazing...such a treat to get to be up there on such a nice, breezy evening.
Kelly did it again...but I mean really, we all expect greatness at this point. She always delivers!!
I wasn't very hungry for some reason, but the stuffed jalapenos were so very delicious. I wanted to try the oysters, but I can't have food touching so I skipped them. After all of the comments about how delicious they were I'm kicking myself for not gorging on them!!
Great company...man, you guys clean up nice! Can't wait for the next one!!
Let me start by saying that you do not come to Abel's for food. Â The food is mediocre at best. Â Lacks creativity and flavor. Â Luckily, most things are served with bacon and ranch which makes everything better. Â Sadly, even the waiters know that the food sucks.
Even the drinks aren't that great. Â Weak and expensive.
The only reason I can think of going to Abel's is for the view. Â Beautiful view of lake Austin.
Any place that moves in next to Hula Hut is already fighting an uphill battle. It's amazing how many concepts have come and gone in Abel's spot while Hula Hut continues to flourish.
I attended a business function at this place a couple weeks ago. We had their upstairs meeting facility rented out. Great view of the lake, but the AC in the converted patio had a hard time keeping the room cool. Not surprising since it was at least 100 degrees outside, but ya know.
We only had drinks and appetizers. Queso, guacamole and sliders were all good, but nothing to write home about. Â They have a wide selection of beers on tap, which I always welcome. Overall, it's a good place in a great location. If Hula Hut's on one of their famous 2 hour waits you may want to give Abel's on the Lake a try, otherwise I would not make a special trip.
Wow, I have never been so frustrated with a restaurant. It was my younger sister's birthday, and she wanted to sit by the water to enjoy the night with her friends. I called ahead and placed a reservation several hours before. They seemed polite on the phone and verified the time and table. Â When we showed up, the place seemed a little...off. Â It had a pretentious vibe and sold Ray Bans at the front desk. As if we're going to go out for burgers and invest in an $80 pair of shades. Please.
Anyways, they didn't seat us for a full 30 minutes after claiming they don't take reservations. Yet, they acknowledged that they did remember me calling. Needless to say, I was miffed. And rightly so! After they did seat us, it was in the bar area, in the back corner of the restaurant. Nowhere near the outdoor table I called ahead for. What was worse, was they pushed two circular tables together, making communication impossible.
Ive eaten at Abel's before and received similar treatment. Its a shame, the restaurant is in a great location. Ah well, fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. Never again.
We were here for a graduation party and the part was upstairs in a private room with a view, it was a GREAT please for having an event. Â You can have rehersal dinners, birthday party, graudation party, baby shower, wedding shower, etc....
The view is excellent! Â I really like this location in Austin, you feel like you're on vacation!
My husband and I have come here regularly over the past 3-ish years. The food wasn't ever great, but it was passable (and there are a couple of pretty yummy options like the chicken nachos); the service was uneven - sometimes really good and efficient, sometimes downright awful); the drinks are expensive, except at happy hour; but the views and lack of a wait generally trumped all else.
That was until our last two visits. About a month ago, we went in on a Saturday afternoon for a beer and a snack. We sat at the inside bar, got beers immediately, and put in an order for nachos. About 30 minutes later, we caught one of the bartenders as he whipped by and asked about our order; he promised to check on it and disappeared. 10 minutes later we caught another bartender and asked him - he said he'd check, but I never saw him leave the bar. 10 minutes after that (now 50 minutes in), the first bartender reappeared, glanced at the empty bar in front of us, rolled his eyes, and disappeared. Just as we were about to leave money for our beers and take off, a manager came over and told us the kitchen had burned our nachos twice, he was having them make them again, and he was comp'ing them from our bill.
Ok. Fast forward to this past weekend. We arrived around 7:30pm for a light dinner and to meet a friend for a couple of beers. We'd been there for a couple of hours (again at the inside bar) when my husband caught a movement out of the corner of his eye. He told our friend and me that he was sure he'd seen a rat running down a pole behind the bar. We laughed at him. About 30 minutes later, he and I both saw a. Rat. Run. Up. The. Pole. And. Into. The. Rafters.
And here's the kicker: the bartender not only wasn't surprised, he told us about all the critters (raccoons, possums, and, yes, rats) who crawl around on the rafters over the outdoor deck and kick. Stuff. Into. People's. Food. And. Drink. Below. He seemed to think this was funny.
We won't be going back.
With such a gorgeous view of the lake, does it really matter how the food & drinks are?
Okay okay I'll go ahead & tell you why I love this place so much (besides the fact that I had my 21st birthday party here & it went off without a hitch).
1. AMAZING views & located right on the lake between Motzart's & Hula Hut
2. Delicious alcoholic bevs
2. Great appetizers - my favorites are the fried pickles, queso and ranch-style jalepenos. Let me tell you, those jalepenos they're spicy, smokey & full of flavor stuffed with chicken & cheese then wrapped in bacon. How can you not want to order them?
3. Spinach salad is one of my favorite menu items with the candied pecans, goat cheese & balsamic/honey vinaigrette. Don't hate on me that I eat salads at a burger joint because after all the appetizers, that's all my body can take!
I cannot say more about their private deck upstairs for an event space. After visiting plenty of places throughout Austin (downtown & along the lake) and decided on this place after seeing the space, meeting the event coordinator and evaluating prices. The walls are windowed garage doors and the air conditioner can blow as hard or soft as you'd like so you can use the space year round!
Whether it's bringing an out of towner here for the views, getting together with friends for drinks or having a birthday party, work meeting or wedding on the private deck, don't hesitate heading to Abel's on the Lake! Just make note that you either have to be lucky & find a close parking spot or snag a space across the street/up the hill. OUCH.
After reading the reviews I had very low expectations of this place. Nonetheless, we checked it out since we had out of towners visiting who wanted to see the lake.
They don't take reservations but do allow "call ahead" RSVPs, basically you say "I'll be there at 8pm with a party of 4, please put me on the list"...that way when you do arrive your name is on top of the wait list. Hey, it's better than nothing. So that's exactly what I did, and even then the wait was 45mins (on a Sat night), eff.
The food....
Mussels - 3/5 stars, the sauce was good but the mussels itself was a bit fishy.
Chicken fried steak - 2/5, too much batter with not enough seasoning. The cut of meat was pretty dry, ick forgettable. But I can't forget b/c it was $15 and sucked.
Oysters on the 1/2 shell - 3/5, pretty fresh but very small.
Fries - 4/5, sadly it was the tastiest item we had that night.
Drinks - 3/5, good beer on tap selection. The bloody mary mix is from a bottle but it actually tasted Ok.
Ambiance - 3/5, TVs everywhere, semi-loud but the lake view was nice. Good for groups and the kiddos. If you like food, bring your own and eat it when the servers aren't looking. Come for the cheap booze and view.
...Speaking of service, it was just OK.
Ps, parking can be a bitch so leave early if you plan on meeting people there.
Move over Hula Hut, you might be getting replaced by Abel's. Â Hula Hut is always our last spot to go to before we head back to Dallas. Â But seeing the bigger more open space on the lake we had to go have a drink.
The bartender on the day we went started off good, but it went downhill fast. Â We ended up staying so long we ordered dinner. Â The bartender forgot my sandwich, and when it got to me you could tell it had been sitting out for a while, and it was not that great. Â But my friend enjoyed his oysters.
The layout of the open aired bar is fantastic, though. Â Great view of the lake, and sad little Hula Hut in the distance. Â We will definitely hit this place up again next time we're in Austin.
Overpriced and completely overrated.
I ordered the veggie sandwich. Â What a waste of my life. Â $9 for a few pieces of lettuce and red pepper, and a laughably tiny amount of goat cheese and guacamole. Â So I spent $9 for maybe $1.50 of product. Â Really, Abel's? Â I didn't go out to lunch to get insulted....
If you work at a restaurant, you should know the prices of your menu items. Â Especially if the prices is $10 for a house margarita! Â It's one thing if the drinks are strong, but even before we knew the price we were complaining that we couldn't taste any alcohol. Â REALLY, ABEL'S?? Â We complained to the waiter, who admitted himself that he didn't know the price of the drinks and that they weren't worth that amount of money. Â They ended up taking half off the drinks, which is what they should be charging anyway. Â
Ugh, they just don't care here. Â Everyone in my party was extremely disappointed. Â Don't go here. Â Don't ruin a beautiful day in ATX by giving your business to a place that doesn't respect their patrons.
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