416 Bar & Grille

The first thing you notice when you enter for lunch is that there is no one at the bar or at the FOH. Suddenly a young man who works in the back, the chef? the dish washer? the sous chef? appears in an apron yelling to the waitress you’ve got someone up front. The sing songy shut your mouth you talk too much waitress (she’s doing her best for sure :-)) saunters to your table pushing bottles of wine and mixed drinks at 11:45am. Wait what? This is the GRILLE part of the namesake ‘bar and grille’.
35 minutes later…
Me and my friend both ordered the same item: grilled cheddar cheese with tomato and a side of fries. Out comes the most repugnant butter drenched sandwich not of fresh cheddar oh no, this is packaged garbage white cheddar made at a Kraft factory cheddar that is half melted. One slice per side. The fries are not cooked through. They are factory made out of the bag absolutely not fresh produce still raw on the inside.
We push the plates away and decide to get real food at Noble Sandwich up the road.
Never ever going back. These reviews here make me want to puke at the undiscerning level of what people will eat. Poor slobs.

I met a friend here for Happy Hour a few weeks back. She suggested it because of their happy hour deals. $ 1 off $ 11 glasses of wine and some appetizers on special too. Truth be told an $ 11 glass of wine is a little out of my price range but I know her and she’s good about footing the bill. She knows I’ve been struggling the past year or so, ever since I got my DWI (late 2014). We got the nachos deconstructed to go with the wine. With UBER recently dropping my pay rate, I needed to deconstruct. They hit the spot! LOL!
This place has a nice bar where we could sit and catch up. I enjoyed hearing about what’s been going on in her life. She has one of those «office jobs» which sounds like a nightmare to me. Her old boss (who she loved) is leaving the company so she’s a little on edge about the replacement. Even with my pay cut her work stories give me a a real sense of relief that I don’t have a desk job-​unless you call being in the drivers seat of my 2014 Nissan Altima a desk. LOL!
I enjoyed the atmosphere at this bar very much. Most the time I go out, places have the music so loud you can’t hear one another talk. It was nice and quiet in here so I could tell her how things are getting better in my life with my DWI dismissed (boo-​ya) and Über hiring me.
A funny thing did happen though. My friend, she’s so inquisitive, asked the bartender why the place was named «416». He explained to her that they owners are from California (San Francisco to be more specific) which made sense to me. But my friend she’s very well traveled and just tends to know more than most folks. She said the area code in San Fran is actually 415. I googled it and sure enough she was right. 416 is Ontrario. LOL!
Irregardless this place was a fun happy hour meet up as long as I’m not paying. LOL!

The décor is warehouse eclectic, but somehow works well. The restaurant was not crowded during our late evening adventure. Our waitress was helpful and attentive. We ordered the wine she suggested, it was not the most expensive on the menu, yet it was quite good. My wife ordered the chicken pot pie (which I tasted too). She liked it, so did I. Flaky pastry crust, smooth rich broth, and tasty still crunchy veggies. Perfection. I ordered the cioppino (seafood medley stew). It was reasonably good, but relatively small in size (traditionally cioppinos are served in large, sometimes frightening large portions — as in the two Sans (Francisco and Diego) or Sorrento, Italy). Of course, Austin has no seacoast, thus no fresh catch at the docks. So the comparison may be unfair, but nonetheless I was disappointed. The flavor was fine and I
enjoyed it, but not a five star bowl. Dessert time was fun. The waitress brought an impressive display platter with an assortment of desserts from the surprisingly large number of nearby bakeries/​sweet shops on Burnet Road. (BTW & FYI, David Burnet was the first President of the Republic of Texas.) We shared the cheesecake — which was a generous slice and quite tasty. But dessert #2, from Tiny Pies, was a truly amazing brownie pecan pie. The Tiny Pie was the best part of the meal. I’d definitely go back for the chicken pot pie entrée and the Tiny Pie dessert.

The two gentlemen running this place feel like family. I always go with the specials because the cook is excited to bring smiles to the faces of all his patrons. The regulars are friendly and the overall vibe of the establishment makes your meal comfortable and begs for your return visit.
*A must dine in Austin, TX*

Two words: Wildly Mediocre. Whoever said «best Benedict EVER» has not, in fact, had great Benedict. Because this is. Not. It.
Museum restaurant ambiance, which is to say it has none. Food was just… meh. Bloody Mary’s? Meh. If you’re hungry, you’ll be fed and can order a drink too. In the market for deliciousness? Too many other amazing joints in Austin to hit up this one.

My friend and I thought we’d try 416 tonight before attending a concert nearby. We had seen the menu online and the prices led me to expect a much more sophisticated level of service than we experienced. Our server was friendly, but it felt like we were in a cheap diner, not a place where the entrees are over $ 25.
We ordered the Parmesan drops, which are funny little crumbly crackers served over mixed greens and random slivers of prosciutto. We also got a half order of wings which were tasty, but served with bottled ranch dressing which was a disappointment.
My friend ordered the shrimp skewers which were under-​seasoned and served with a pile of nachos and an ear of corn… a combo which really didn’t work.
I had the $ 30 ribeye which turned out to be a crappy thin cut piece of meat with absolutely no seasoning. I substituted asparagus for the pasta it comes with, and got four soggy pieces completely blanketed in Parmesan cheese. Nothing on my plate had been seasoned well at all.
Over-​priced, under-​seasoned and a bit confused about its identity as a restaurant.

I want to like this place. I’ve been here 3 times now. The staff is great for the most part. My moms favorite bartender has moved on, so doubtful we will return. It pisses me off when chefs don’t give a crap about the food and what comes out of their kitchen. $ 26 for 8 frozen farm raised shrimp and a cold piece of half-​assly grilled corn? Cmon man. Also, how you gunna serve bottled ranch with your under seasoned chicken wings? Make your own ranch! It takes 2 minutes! The biggest upset was the brown ass avocado on my tomato salad. Wtf. This kitchen needs a slap in the face. Fix your bs or your not going to be around much longer.

This the best restaurant in 200 miles. Outstanding combination of cuisines from New Orleans shrimp and grits to the best BLT I’ve ever had, literally. Great selection of local artisan beers, notably Thirsty Goat Lager. Try the burger or for variety the Philly Cheesesteak. Chicken Pot Pie with vodka crust was awesome. All nine of us were delighted with the array of dishes one better than the next.
HOORAY

The three dollar mimosas are generously sized and tasty, and the corn beefed hash and pork roll eggs Benedict were both just the right amount of salty. This place earned points by taking reservations, and our server Richard was friendly and funny. Tremendous potential of they step their coffee game up a notch by offering French Press and by making their sweeter brunch options more localized or enticing. Recommended!

I was really excited to get in on the ground floor of a great new brunch spot, but definitely left feeling underwhelmed.
Our waitress was obviously brand new and instead of training her thorougly on the menu or having her shadow someone more experienced, they just pushed that kid into the pool and hoped she figured out how to swim. I felt so bad for her because she was so obviously struggling to keep up even though our orders were relatively easy.
I can’t speak for the food everyone else in my party ordered, but my date and I got parmesan drops, a braised pork sandwich, and a salmon burger. His salmon burger was truly just a relatively dry piece of fish between two extremely large pieces of bread. The bread was good, but the fish was boring and really could’ve used condiments of some sort. My braised pork sandwich was decent, but the pork was primarily fat and I’m not a fan of that at all. The parmesan drops were very good, though they could’ve used more of the balsamic drizzled on them nearby because they were pretty dry (understandably).
They need to work on getting the food out more quickly (our brunch took two hours from sit down to check with nearly a 30 minute wait for food) and step up the dishes just a bit, at which point they’ll be a GREAT brunch option. Until then, I’ll try other spots instead.

Monday night: we were one of two tables. Very quiet restaurant, so if you’re looking for a lively atmosphere this may not be your best bet.
Salmon burger: Salmon was perfectly cooked and delicious, but there wasn’t anything else special about the burger. Bread, two tomato slices, leaf lettuce, bun, salmon… $ 2 extra for cheese. Side salad was not worth the extra $ 5. Wish you could sub a salad for the chips for free or $ 1 extra… but $ 5 for lettuce and a few bacon bits?

Saturday and Sunday brunches in Austin can be brutal; usually facing an abnormally long wait to be seated, your food cannot come soon enough, service is rushed… Soon you find yourself searching for places that you wouldn’t normally go, or haven’t even heard of. Cue 416.
We must be some of the first people to find this place because it was pretty quiet for a Saturday brunch, but that meant we had extra attention and the food was spot on!
Order a cinnamon roll for the table — it comes from nearby Upper Crust (where there is always a wait and nowhere to sit). Two of us had sandwiches and two of had breakfast. The seasoning on the tomatoes was awesome, eggs were perfectly done and the mimosas were strong. The sandwiches were toasty goodness (cheesesteak was highly recommended).
Will definitely be going back for another low-​key, awesome brunch!

Great place for a quick happy hour. Also very pleased with the brunch! I will definitely be back for more.

I visited 416 with my partner and a couple of friends for an early dinner one Sunday. We started off with a few drinks and an Onion Tangle. One friend got the Thyme in a Bottle, which was just fruity enough. I had the tart and fragrant Basil Gin Rickey. The onion was exactly what you’d expect: a fancier version of that giant friend onion monstrosity from that chain steak restaurant. It was good, and it was also a reasonably sized portion so you can actually still eat the rest of your meal!
For entrees we were all over the board, trying a couple salads, the pot pie, and the burger, plus a potato pancake on the side. Everything we had was pretty solid, though the pricing seemed a little high for what you were getting. I think that the best value is in their small plates, so it might be a good place for a light, sharing-​style dinner.

Pleasantly surprised by this place. It’s waaaay off the beat and path and chances are you’ve driven by it on Lamar without noticing it was there.
We came by on an evening where they weren’t very busy and sat at the bar. The bartender was friendly and attentive. We were also helped by who I think was one of the owners. He asked a lot of questions about how we enjoyed everything and what we thought of the food.
Good — the food here was really good and we enjoyed everything we are. The drinks were awesome. Get something with the apple cinnamon infused whiskey — it’s amazing. Service was great.
Bad — prices were kind of high for a place that’s four miles out of downtown. Like I mentioned, it’s not in a great location so I wonder how long it’ll survive where it’s at.

*Brunch* review only: came here for brunch on Sunday and it was relatively empty. Took a date here based on location and wished I had chosen something less convenient but better tasting.
The huevos rancheros I got were subpar. The Mac and cheese was odd — I think it was the texture of the sauce that was placed on the Mac (not mixed with). Eggs Benny were alright. The Parmesan asparagus were pretty good, though.
I only give this place 3 stars because the drinks were good and our server was very attending (which makes sense considering we were the only ones there).

Super cute chic place. The staff was friendly, most importantly the food was great. This was my first time here but will be back.

I love this place! I’ve been a few times now, and tried different things each time. Everything I’ve had was delicious! It’s a great location, and I’m stoked they’re open for lunch now since it’s so close to my work! They had a pork hero lunch special last week that was outrageously good! I also love that all their desserts are local to the burnet area. I live and work off burnet road and it’s great to see them keeping things local.
I would highly recommend 416 for a nice evening out. It’s quiet and cozy, with lots of variety on the menu. Really, I can’t say enough good things!

I have to give these guys a pretty solid 4-​star rating for brunch.
My wife simply loves their egg benedict with ham — the eggs are
perfectly cooked and the hollandaise sauce is not too lemony.
I go for the 2 eggs, potato pancake and bacon — all nicely cooked.
I could do without the tomato. When we first went here, I thought the
portions were a little small and the price was high, but now the portions
are good. The coffee is good as well.
The service is a little distracted, but all the staff are pleasant and easy
to get along with.

Let’s start off with the good. There is ample parking which is rare on Burnet Rd. They have a fine selection of beer, wine and liquor and a nice cocktail menu. They do a wonderful job supporting local with a impressive list of desserts from Austin businesses, tortillas sourced from a bakery in South Austin and serving Texas spirits. We sat at the bar and received exceptional service. We met one of the owners and she was an absolute pleasure to chat with. They stay open late (until midnight) and they offer a happy hour Monday-​Friday from 3pm-​7pm.
I started off with a glass of pinot noir and Jesse ordered a local draft. It was happy hour so both of our drinks were $ 1 off. Everything on the menu looked wonderful and I noticed they have some vegetarian options. I decided on the salmon roast with the wasabi mayo and the lemon garlic soy on the side. Jesse ordered the braised pork sliders and a side of mac n cheese. The salmon was a healthy 10 ounce portion and was perfectly cooked. It tasted great with both the soy and the wasabi mayo. What I wasn’t so excited about was the sauteed veggies it came with. It contained lots of corn (filler). The dish was good but not the «wow» I was expecting for $ 26. I liked Jesse’s sliders but he thought the sauce was too sweet. And while I liked his mac n cheese, he was underwhelmed.
One of the owners has lived in the San Fran area and in Philly. Next visit I would consider sticking to the happy hour or go for either the Philly cheesesteak or the grilled pork roll that they have shipped from Philly.