Good food. Friendly service. Nice patio. Lots of fun when they do quizzes (and that goes for all of Opal's locations).
Just steer clear of their bunch specials.
We noticed they've been plugging their brunch menu, so we decided to try it out. Brunch here is super disappointing, given how good their lunch and dinner menus are.  This place does not know how to do breakfast food. The brunch stuff was priced the same as their regular menu items, but was prepared terribly (with the exception of the french toast, which was pretty good). Hopefully they'll work  the kinks out and bring their brunch on par with their regular menu.
You can't go wrong with their burgers and sweet potato fries, though (so good!).
We were near here and decided to give Opal a try., lots of our yelp buddies have reviewed different ones of this small chain, some were mixed.  The lunch two step express looked good so both of went for that, and it was the cheapest thing on the menu.  My wife went with the half of a pulled pork sandwich, a cup of chilli and for a dollar more added some cracked pepper french fries....all of hers was good.  I enjoyed a ham and swiss Panini with a cup of tortilla soup, kicked in a buck for a Caesar salad...all good....finished the order  with 2 iced teas.  Really good food for a reasonable price, and good service.  Posted a few pics. And I put a music video w/photos of Opals on Youtube . We will eat here again!
Review Source:3.5 stars
Came to eat here today for lunch. Liked the atmosphere, people who work here are friendly as well
I ordered the fried pickle chips for appetizer. Â Ranch was good, pickles were good too and really crunchy/crispy but they had alot of black pepper in the crust, almost mouth numbing amount of black pepper.
For lunch I ordered the southwest burger with the jalepenos cheese bun. Burger was super juicy but not to the point it makes the bun soggy, LOVED that. My only critique on the burger would be I couldn't taste the pico on it. And that is extremely forgivable.
Little pricey though for casual American dining.
Will definitely eat there again and recommend a burger if you go!
Fish tacos were bland my sides were still frozen! Margarita was okay. Our waitress seemed too busy flirting with her co-worker. The fan above our table had at least 2 inches of dust on the blades! I heard good things about this place but I sure was not impressed. Will not go back or recommend.
Review Source:Good happy hour spot. Grab your favorite beer and get some bar apps: spinach/artichoke dip, fried green beans, pulled pork sliders, pickle chips, chips and gueso -- all good.
Oh, cracked pepper fries and ranch. Do it.
They have a pretty big selection of drinks too. From beer to wine to margaritas and scotch.
It's a pretty large venue. Lots of seating inside and on the patio. I've never had to wait for a seat, even with our usual 10~15 people groups.
Ahh! We LOVE this place!!
My husband and I have been living in Austin for about four months now and made a rule "Since there are so many good and new places to eat in Austin we will only eat at a place once and then look for something new..."
Well, Opals debunked that. We have been there at least 5 times and each time we loved it!
My favorite is the Urban Bubba hamburger, with jalapenos. I am a ketchup-smothering-my-hamburger type of person, and I was halfway through my Bubba when I realized I had forgotten the ketchup! It was so good. I tried a little ketchup and it made it taste worse so I totally forgo-ed the ketchup. (This never happens. Ever. Until now.) Oh so good.
The sweet potato fries are so excellent as well! Lightly crispy on the outside, soft and sweet on the inside. I wasn't thrilled when I tried the pepper fries but maybe because I was spoiled by the sweet potato ones?
We also bring our German Shepherd Dog with us and sit on the patio outside, so it is very pet friendly. They always bring out a dog bowl with some water in it without us even asking! She loves going with us.
The staff couldn't be better. We have had excellent waiters/esses. Miss Molly has to be our favorite though, she's just totally on top of it with a GREAT attitude and makes us laugh. Lovely atmosphere.
Thinking about going to Opals? Go.
Went here on a Monday night - predictably dead. I thought they'd have more on special, but just a couple beers were a dollar off to finish off the keg. Pretty good service and good food, the vegetarian sandwich I got was a little bland but tasted fine. Cracked pepper fries were the bomb. They have a bunch of semi-rotating taps, and it's close to my house - it's a winner, overall.
Review Source:This review is for happy hour with your colleagues.
Pros:
-Free wifi (do you have work to complete before you get your drink on? Â Bring it with you!)
-Cheap drinks
-Super cheap appetizers, which also seem fresh
-Gracious about splitting checks
Cons:
-It can get loud at times (concrete, concrete everywhere)
-Outdoor seating can get crowded and hard to manuever - stick with indoors where possible
-Long tables inside are difficult to put together without squishing people in one side of the restaurant. Â Split up or stand outside if you need to mingle.
I think this place is #1 on my list for after-work happy hour, just due to the ease of parking and the free wifi.
Love this place! Â Well, first of all it's really close by me and super easy to get to but I love the outdoor patio, wooden tables, and the happy hour beer was only $2.50 and sooo good! Â Got to sit under the misters with a friend and our dogs which made for a great night! Â Can't wait to go back and try their veggie tacos and more beer!
Review Source:Overall I was impressed with this place. Definitely keeps Austin weird because this is the first restaurant I been to where you can bing your dogs. The brunch was awesome! I liked the fajita omelet! The kids pancakes was delicious as well. This establishment was very clean and nicely setup. Bathrooms are clean well at least the mens restroom was clean. Only thing that sucked about it was I am a single father and they didnt have a diaper changing table in there! WTH this is the 21st century! I hope they get one in there. Because i will definitely come back again.
Review Source:Due to my wife's prior experience at another Opal Divine's we avoided this place for many years and one day she out of the blue stated that she wanted to go there. Â I thought it was odd because she always avoided this place when I brought it up as an option but we decided to give it one more shot at this new location for us. Â First off, their food is nothing like I pictured it, it was actually really damn good! Â The fried fish was probably, and this is saying a lot, the best I have had in Austin to date. Â Hell, I liked it so much we went back again. Â All the food was excellent as if my wife liked her food than we are golden. Â The customer service was ok, but the food made up for any lack in that area. Â As a matter of fact I liked it so much I went back two more times and to no disappointment. Â Consistently great fish fry. Â So I felt it fair to give it a good review here. Â
  Best Fish fry so far.
Typically, I have a good experience at Opal's......the down-town location on 6th has always been a great experience. Â That said, I usually the Marina is good too.......it's on the way home and I meet friends there often because the selection of brews on tap is second to none in this part of town. Â There are some pretty decent happy hour deals during the week as well. Â Speaking of happy hour deals....today is Wednesday so I stopped by for Texas made taps @ $2.50 a pint all day. Â Can't beat it......unless you can't get one! Â Yep......left high and dry! Â Apparently, and I can't be sure because I walked out after sitting (read...being ignored) for 10 minutes after I was seated. Â Unfortunately, the host and hostess were more interested in playing patty-cake than they were in being sure their guests were being looked after. Â I was seated and left....
This has happened here before....I stood for it the last time, because we were a larger group and I didn't want to spoil the party. Â Today I was alone so was at liberty to handle things as I saw fit. Â Before I left, however; I went back by the host/ hostess stand to let Ken and Barbie know no one had been by to take my order.....and that's when I really got annoyed. Â They gave me "attitude".......wow! Â "OK...bye". Â There are some great servers working there...I know many by name but these two greeting customers.......might want to double check who put them out front as the face of this Opal's location. Â They didn't strike me as the Opal Dinine's type!
Give 'em a try and see for yourself.....Wednesday happy hour is really tough to beat....and if there's a seat at the bar, you won't have the same problem I had today!
Cheers!
I don't go out too often lately, and it's a huge compliment to Opal Divine's that I've been here twice in one month.
So, I had resisted going here for 6 years because I heard it was just bar food. Â I can get fried pickles and a burger 100 closer places, so I passed whenever people would suggest it. Â Finally, we were in the area and hungry, so we popped in.
Totally not what I expected. Â I expected a funky place with an awesome-looking bar menu (though slightly hungover on a Friday at lunch, I did not partake). Â I expected a very "Austin" laid back casual vibe. Â What I didn't expect is good quality meat (hormone and antibiotic free) and a significant vegetarian selection, depending on what I felt like that day. Â
Visit #1, I got half a delicious veggie sandwich + a salad. Â Their garden salads are just amazing. Â You never know what you're going to get, so the first time I expected just some iceberg and dressing, but they give you a huge bowl with onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, cheese, and croutons. Â Total yum! Â
Visit #2, I got that same salad and a cup of chili. Â The chili was pretty good, but what was just amazing was sharing an appetizer of green bean fries! Â The spicy sauce that comes with is amazing.
Getting hungry just remembering my food, and there are so many things on the menu I want to try. Â I'll be back!
OK - I contacted Corporate about an issue not related to the food. The GM contacted me a week ago for direct information which was provided. A week later, no response from either - that's OK.
As a result, I will never set foot in an Opal Divine's again and I will communicate my thoughts about their food and their non-traditional values as supported by Management to as many people as I can either personally or via social media.
Been here many a time and I really can't find anything wrong with my food here. I like the fact that you can can get a sampler tray of beers here. They come four 4 oz glasses for only 5.00. The Sunday Brunch is a good option for when you want to go out Sunday and the prices are reasonable.
Review Source:I'm new to the area and a local told me to check this place out. I came here to watch a NBA playoff game and noticed very quickly that they didn't have a lot of screens. I looked around and found one at the bar where I took a seat. The bartender was friendly and I asked him about the differently local liquors and he served me a local rum which I really enjoyed. I can't remember the name of the burger I had but it was a really messy burgers with grilled onions and blue cheese which tasted really good. I also struck up a few conversations with a few people sitting at the bar as well and they were friendly and offered a lot of insight to what it was like to live in Austin. There was a pub trivia happening when I left for the night which looked like a lot of fun to go to in the future.
Review Source:Nine of us had come for Geeks Who Drink. We made two teams and the night began! The drinks were good, I enjoyed mine. Trivia was nice and more challenging than I had expected. The boyfriend and I ordered desert which was delicious! I would go again from this experience alone. The waiter didn't pay too much attention to us. Trivia was over and we seemed to be the only table who hadn't received our checks when we had been done ordering for awhile. I do wish to go again and actually order some food.
Update: I have been there since and had ordered food. The boyfriend and I split an order of Fish and Chips. I was impressed with the fries, they were very tasty. Fish was decent. We also enjoyed their Caesar salad. The service was better this time around as well!
Still 3 stars. The stars are for having a dog friendly patio and the awesome music they were playing. The nachos are pretty awful. The chips are verrry greasy, the menu mentioned nothing about onions or pico, but out they came, covered in diced raw red onion. I hate raw onion and would have asked for those to be taken off if the menu had mentioned them. Order was messed up, and the food runner was a bit sassy when we mentioned it. Our waiter was adorable but we had to remind him to refill drinks and whatnot.
Review Source:Went there and had their queso...small and warm instead of big and hot. Tasty, just should have been heated up better. Â Had their spinach dip too. Â Same thing: small portion, not heated up enough, or sat too long before being delivered to us. Â Beer was expensive....Dos Equis for $5....come on....ordered Tacos too. Â Meh.....
Review Source:Went here a few months ago with the then BF. I had the turkey Ruben with some adequate fries. Didn't care for the sandwich. The sauce was weird. It was nice sitting outside on the patio, though.
Think date had the burger. Said it was "okay". The meal was forgettable. The server did know an awful lot about the beers. But he kept calling my date "Bro" and "Man". I'm surmising this was because he has super long, rocker hair? He's old enough to be the kid's Dad, so it seemed a bit overly friendly. I dunno what kind of tip the guy got, since Date paid. But, I'm thinkin' it was not 20%.
Pretty good all around, but falling short of great. Outdoor seating is nice, covered and with (somewhat inadequate) heaters mounted along the outside wall/ceiling.
Very glad to see the 512 whiskey barrel limited edition beer show up on tap.
Service has always been somewhat above average.
Food is tasty, but not out of this world.
A good, stable regular drink and eat. I keep coming back, so that should say something.
I love Opal Divine's for their fresh squeezed drinks and the great patio spaces.
I regularly order the Susan's Salad with their house made balsamic instead of the prickly pear dressing that is listed as the dressing for this salad.  I really appreciate that they serve the dressing on the side, so that I can add as little or as much as I want to. It also gives  you the chance to order an alternative dressing if you don't like the one that comes with the salad.  The ingredients are always fresh and crisp.  This salad always provides a nice mix of flavors and textures, and if you need a bit of protein you can add any meat or a grilled veggie patty.
I really enjoy the pet friendly patio. Â Staff is always willing to bring a bowl of water for the four-legged friends.
I do have one fairly consistent complaint that a little more than half of my visits I'm waiting longer than seems necessary for service. Â But usually when I go to Opal's, I'm not in a hurry and so it hasn't been a big problem for me.
This place is a great hang out spot (especially for large groups of people).
The patio is dog friendly and the Austin Boxer Rescue just happened to be there that day with lots of cute doggies to pet.
The fried pickles were delicious and the Mexican martinis were strong and plentiful. :) The service was wonderful and even though our waitress had tons of tables she got everything right with us and was super attentive. I will definitely be back to hang out with friends on the patio again!
While Opals is very vegetarian friendly, nearly everything on their menu includes dairy (making vegan options painfully limited). Their staff is also extremely ill informed about their ingredients, serving me multiple dishes as being "safe" when they weren't. Thanks, guys! Â Glad it wasn't a serious allergy issue.
The food tastes good, the people are generally nice, I just don't enjoy feeling lied to.
So...How hard is it to burn a burger patty beyond recognition on one side and have the other side raw and cold? Â Probably harder than getting it right. Â
Managment told the server to tell me that it was probably a lopsided burger. Â Hmmm...
The flavor of licking an ashtray when biting into my burger left what can best be described as a bad taste in my mouth. Â
Good beer selection but bad food and bad service. Â Nice patio.
Update:
right after writing this, a manager contacted me. Â This shows that they really do care and will hopefully make some changes to improve the kitchen. Â Although it wasn't taken care of at the table as it should have been, I apprecate the effort. Â
I think we will go back for appetizers and beer.
I meet my guy here for lunch and sometimes we stop for dinner on our way to a movie. Â Nice selection of beers and scotch. Â I've had just about everything on the menu and it's all good.
It is not diet food by any stretch of the imagination, but it's good and the wait staff is usually pleasant and very competent.
I wanted to update my review of Opal's. I still prefer the south location for it's scotch selection but recently I've made visits to the Marina for a late snack and a beer.
What I've found is the food selection has improved, the menu has changed, the servers are nice And it's a clean location to grab a decent beer in the evening. Thanks for continuing to do good work, it's noticed.
Congrats.
My favorite thing is the staff. Everyone is incredible. It starts when Beverly or Marina greeting me at the door. I often sit at the bar since Jack/ Josh/ Eric/ Lulu will treat me right and have a beverage for me before I'm fully in my seat.
It's true this place can get hoping. Everyone I've met there has always been friendly and cool (low hipster sighting). The rest of the staff always has a smile and warm greetings.
Have you tried brunch?? Yum. It's my second favorite thing about Opals. Since I can't always order from the brunch menu, I'm a big fan of the Mac and Cheese along side some sliders, and when I'm being a little healthier I choose the salad with grilled chicken. I'm rarely disappointed.
So hop on over to enjoy a good meal with some great folks.
Atmosphere: It's bar like. Â In general it's pretty loud, not loud enough where you can't hear the person your eating with, but it's loud. Â There is a full bar as well as darts and about half a dozen tv's with sports on.
Service: The service at this location is pretty solid. Â I've yet to have a bad or neglectful server. They've always been nice, prompt, and in general leave me alone when I'm eating, which is all I ask :)
Food: The food is pretty good. I've been here about 6 times now. The veggie burger is good, the fried egg sandwich is AMAZING, the Turkey and Havarti panini [add bacon] is fantastic! Â The only thing I didn't really care for here were the Fish and Chips. Â They were still good, just not as good as the above mentioned foods.
oh and their fries are to die for! They were over cooked once and I asked for some new fries and within 10 seconds I had some new fries, no huffing or puffing about it either.
Overall: Â I'm surprised at how much I've grown to like this place. I've lived near it about 2 years now and I plan on going a lot more often!
*Note: This is one of those locations that hovers inbetween the $ and $$ price ranges. Â They have a fair amount of stuff under $10 and a fair amount of stuff $11+.
I've been to Opal Divines a couple times since writing my last review, and I've been very pleased. Their burgers are very good - I'd recommend the Southwest Burger (can't beat bacon and guacamole). Their sweet potato fries aren't bad, but they're not quite as good as their normal potato friends, which are great. The fish and chips are awesome. When they first brought it out I thought it was a little small, but I was surprised at literally how heavy each piece was. Each piece is very meaty and thick. Fried fish at a lot of places is just too airy and battery, but not at Opal Divines.
The service, similar to my other experience here, was still fantastic. I've sat outside at a few other restaurants recently and many of them have had really bad fly problems. We didn't see a single one sitting outside at Opal Divines though. Their beer selection is also very solid.
Prices are in the average range. Not great but not bad. Definitely check this place out if you're nearby and are looking for solid food and good drinks.
Opal Divine's has definitely upped their game regarding food in recent months. Their previously sub-par food now has more flavor and quality. I specifically enjoy their shrimp quesadillas and baja tacos.
The service is always very friendly and outgoing. At times when they are slow (which is rare), their servers frequently let me "create my own" dish, such as throwing fajita meat in queso, etc. They are always so willing to accommodate whether you have special needs or just an antsy child and puppy.
Speaking of dogs, Opal Divine's is VERY dog friendly. They have ample seating outside for you and your pups and will even bring your dog a bowl of water. The deck also has some hooks built in which make it easy to tie your dog's leash up. The servers always seem to make it a point to not only introduce themselves to you, but also your dog. I know that may not seem like a big deal to some people, but it makes me feel more comfortable and welcome.
I'm not a big drinker, but I am very impressed with their wide selection of alcohol ranging from standard beers to high end liquors. I love their selection of local/Texas liquor and was very impressed when I saw Balcones Blue Whiskey (Waco, TX), which is an amazingly delicious whiskey but seems to be a white unicorn in North Austin bars/eateries.
Opal Divine's has definitely won my heart. My experiences started off bad but have only seemed to get better with patience and just giving them another try. The only thing I could suggest they do better is if perhaps on Saturday nights, when they are doing trivia, they could have a section set aside for people who do not want to participate or listen to the blaring microphone screaming questions and random facts.
LOL! Picture this...
Mrs. Vanushka suffering from a Red Wine Hangingover...I'd say "hangover", but this was much, MUCH worse...After inflating her with a few cups of Wake-TF-Up juice, we ran over to Opal's Mareeeeeenah for the Sunday brunch with a couple of close friends friend including fellow non-elite yelper, Catherine T aka Hilarious Pussy. Â How I love you puss! Hilarious Pussy is the American answer to Hello Kitty, btw ftw wtf? LOL!
Anyhoo, Mrs V and I split an odor I mean order of Eggs Benedict with Coffee, fruit and home-fries. Â By the end of the meal, Mrs. V's eyes were still bloodshot, but when her mouth moved, vaguely intelligible sounds were heard...
So, had a chance to look the drink menu over, and the brunch features hot alcoholic drinks like Irish Coffee and Kahlua and Cold Mimosa's...You know... "lady" drinks LOL...The one's that guys will drink and act like they like....
So, go for it! It wasn't bad at all, and the offerings on the brunch menu looked really great, beyond what we had...Ummm....I probably should add that all 4 of us had Eggs Benedict btw wtf ftw lol
;-)
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