County Line On The Lake

The homemade bread is really good however I think after spending almost $ 50 for two brisket plates that was piled high with coleslaw, potato salad and bean and about three slices of brisket it really ought to be included in the price. But no it’s five dollars more for four slices. Yes the view is picturesque and it seems like one of the Austin must sees you pretty much risk your life getting there because of all the winding roads you take to get there. Rudy’s is just as good and it’s cheaper. They may not have homemade bread but they have really good peach cobbler AND no cliffs!

Soooo. Flipping… Good! My first real Texas BBQ place that I ever went to! And the BBQ against all will be measured! Their food is scrumptious and so plentiful! The racks of ribs are massive! And they start every meal with their amazing fresh baked bread! For a little more $ you can get a full loaf and that always leaves plenty to take home! The brisket is tender and tasty! They always have Shiner on tap! The ONLY Texas beer, in my opinion! But not only is the food great! The atmosphere is so delightful! This is REAL Texas! They have a big covered patio, an uncovered patio and an indoor seating area as well as a bar! We always eat under the covered patio! The restaurant is right next to a river and there are lots of turtles and carp in the water to watch! It’s just a taste of true Texas in the gorgeous Texas hill country! Gotta go!

Great traditional BBQ and country setting. Patio over looking the water where you can feed the fish and ducks. Try the brisket and the home baked what loaf served with sweet butter. Perfect for families or to bring visitors from out of town. I only wish I had a boat to get me there!

Went with a gift card and even when it was free to me it was just (barely) OK. In short there is very little to recommend County Line over the other BBQ places in Austin.
On the meat side of things we had pretty blah lean brisket, OK moist brisket, entirely flavorless turkey, OK but not great sausage, and a beef rib which tasted OK but had a distinctly rubbery feel when you bit into it. No crunchy crust on anything to speak of, and it seemed that most of the flavor was coming from the sauce.
The sides were similarly a mixed bag. The potato salad was good and the cole slaw OK but the beans were just plain bland. The bread on the other hand was great and I think it is a must-​order item if you come here. You can fill yourself up pretty easily on the huge slices but after tasting the meat I don’t think that’s too big of a shame.
One thing that sets County Line apart from other Austin BBQ spots is the décor. Most places now are pretty spartan but here things are of the «random stuff on the wall» variety. If you’ve got kids it should keep them busy looking at everything, and if they get bored send them over to look at the turtles and ducks in the lake. Or you could get them a sitter and a pizza and go somewhere actually good.

My family and I had take out from here last night, the food is fantastic but the homemade bread stole the show!!! That bread was unbelievable and I may or may not have dreams about that heavenly loaf for the next few nights! Everything we ordered which was basically everything tastes fabulous!

I think the BBQ at County Line on the Lake is good, if not special, but the restaurant is awesome, with an old time feel and great location on the river. We especially like to sit on the back deck and enjoy a drink before dinner.
I’ve been there many times and have tried everything. Lately, I’ve settled in on the baby back ribs. They’re not really ‘traditional’ Texas BBQ but they are good. A half rack is plenty for me, about 5 – 6 ribs. My wife really likes the chicken. The sides are average though I do like the cole slaw, which has very big chunks of cabbage. The homemade bread is awesome. We always do half white, half whole wheat.
The service is great, friendly and fast. The restaurant is really close timeout house in NW Hills so it’s a regular BBQ joint for us. You’ll be happy with a dinner at County Line.

The ambiance is very nice, and the views are great, but this place is overhyped and underwhelming. The food is just OK for BBQ in my opinion. For the price, I expected it to be a little better. A lot of the meat was dry. They don’t have sides to choose from either. They only offer beans, cole slaw and potato salad, which was kind of surprising to me.

This place is incredible! Food is excellent, huge, affordably priced, and the people are really nice.
The river out back really tops everything off. I took my little puppy some left over ribs and he also gave it thumbs up.
I recommend their brisket sandwich. Man, I gotta cut this short, mouth is watering.

This was very good cue at a reasonable price. It’s a cool casual setting to pig-​out with friends. The portion sizes are huge. I can really eat, but I could only handle the 3-​Meat Combo (brisket, sausage & ribs with slaw & fried okra sides) instead of the 5-​Meat or the all you can eat family style Country BBQ. (That looked good but we were not hungry enough to do justice to that.)
Get the 2^nd-​Tier marbled brisket, because the lean brisket (not meant to be) was a bit dry, but still good. The ribs were solid, not incredible… but quite good. But the sausage was unbelievable! (I am not usually a big sausage fan, but in Texas… sausage is always on a different level, and this one nailed it.)
And it is almost impossible, but save some room for the home-​made ice cream or cobbler ala mode. We had the peach and blackberry cobbler. Both rocked it.

This place is my neighborhood stop for BBQ and in my opinion more than holds its own with the local BBQ competition in the area. It delivers a very nice atmosphere for an evening out. A «nice» BBQ place, not a hole. Lots of locals. Best beef ribs I’ve had anywhere and the brisket is good as well. A can’t-miss spot for a family outing or to take out-​of-​town company.
As the name implies, it is actually next to the water and you can even arrive by boat at the back deck if the water’s high enough, or just sit out there for drinks and conversation. I’ve tried just about everything on the menu and I am always impressed. The bread is excellent, the sides are good and they really do have a tasty BBQ sauce. The staff has always been friendly and helpful and have done a really good job so far at being attentive. Give it a try!

I like County Line, it’s rarely crowded, and they have amazing bread. I also like the beans! The BBQ is not mind blowing, steer clear of the brisket if you don’t want to be disappointed. I would definitely recommend trying the salmon. You can also get a 30oz margarita, so it’s not the end of the world amiright?
I’ve been here twice, and I definitely think going family style is the most bang for your buck. Come with more than four people! It’s a family restaurant, they’re set up to handle it. Also, ask for the area by the windows if there is still daylight left when you come. It’s like Disneyland, but without creepy animatronics.

Great palace. Not life altering bbq like Salt Lick or Franklins, but the service is good, the portions are ENORMOUS, and it’s good food.
They do have the FRESHEST, WARMEST, ALL AROUND BEST white bread in town. Highly recommended.

This place has been a mainstay in Austin since I was young. Now that I live far away, I stop in here at least once every time I’m in town. Maybe it’s nostalgia, maybe it’s the view of the water and turtles. Mostly it’s Barbecue.
The ambiance is decidedly exactly what it should be, right down to the soundtrack that plays in the restrooms. The view of the water is great, and watching the turtles is a neat feature.
The bread is very good, and the honey-​butter that comes with it is quite tasty.
There are different types of Texas Barbecue. The really old-​school type where you get meat on butcher paper with white bread and hot sauce. This is the full-​service restaurant type with their own sauce and many different sides, deserts, etc.
I’ve always had great service here. I’ve always enjoyed the atmosphere. Is it the best Barbecue in Texas? No. Is it high on the list? Yes. Is that all subjective? Absolutely.
What more can be said? Well, the atmosphere alone is worth the trip. The food is tasty. The beer selection is great. I had a 512 Pecan Porter on my last visit, and it was super tasty. Give it a whirl.

Cool restaurants that sits right by the river off a country side road, so slow down or else you will miss this wonder bbq place, very nice Texas style seating with amazing homemade bread that can be purchased half a loaf for $ 3 with their honey butter spread, my parents shared the full rack and I got the 3 meat with beef, brisket and pork, all was very good especially the fall off the bone ribs, everything I had was great and we had so much leftovers after

Really? I’ve been to this place SO MANY times and I’ve never reviewed it?
So this is a great staple in town for graduation dinners, workplace functions, and bulk take-​out when you’re not a grill master. You can get a good portion of baby back ribs as an «appetizer» for $ 10. You can get 7 huge, disgustingly delicious beef ribs for $ 20. There is some form of all-​you-​can-​eat options for a family of 4 under $ 100. Most meats here are pretty good, particularly the ribs and sausage, the brisket and sides are just OK. The homemade bread is worth the upcharge.
So, why 3 stars? Their waitstaff just needs training. They’re too young, or too untrained, or both. Once I waited around for a take-​out order for 10 – 20 minutes on a mostly empty restaurant because they didn’t listen to both my first and last name and lacked the deduction skills to question me further about my order. Additionally, they refused to communicate with me what the issue was until at least 15 minutes in.
Additionally, one of their servers had an unfortunate accident of dropping an entire tray of barbeque. This is normally not held against them unless they proceed to TELL us we were unaffected, when clearly our shoes were covered in BBQ. We were not offered any apologies, a wet rag to clean up, a visit by the manager, nothing, for our ruined shoes. Thanks. So I typically do not dine in unless it’s on someone else’s dime now. I just can’t handle the immaturity of this waitstaff.

Good sweet bread; leftovers great with ice cream for a second dessert.
Not amazing sausage. Not amazing brisket, not amazing sides.
Good beef ribs. Spendy but good. Maybe visit for a romantic view and a bone full of protein. Servers all look like they attend the same high school.

Date of service: Jan 17, 2015
Meal: Dinner, eat in
All Ratings out of 10:
Quality of food: 8
Food to Spend Value: 7
Quality of Service: 7
Overall Rating: 7
Texas is known for BBQ, and there are a lot of places to get it. Generally certain restaurants are known for specific things, and for the County Line it is both their bread and their beef ribs. I was visiting Austin and was craving beef ribs, so I decided to head there for dinner.
I always start with the bread, as it is baked in the restaurant and is utterly to die for when it comes out hot. I also love the County Line’s BBQ sauce, and I ask for it with the bread so I can dip it while eating. In fact, I like the BBQ sauce so much that I put it on just about everything, including my potato salad. BBQ restaurants always have their own twist to the sauce they serve, and the County Line’s has a very nice tang and rich flavor. It complements the smoked meat in particular quite well.
And speaking of smoked meat, I had to have beef ribs, so I ordered the Big Daddy, which is one mighty rack of beef ribs. They have a smaller version as well which I believe has 3 bones, but the Big Daddy is only a couple bucks more for more than twice the meat, so there really isn’t a reason not to order the Big Daddy. It comes with beans, potato salad, and cole slaw. Admittedly, the sides at County Line are pretty forgettable. The beans are nothing exceptional at all, and though the potato salad is decent, it is still pretty average (though it tastes better slathered with their BBQ sauce!). I am also not much of a cole slaw person, though it tasted ok.
The ribs, on the other hand, are amazing. They are huge, moist, juicy, and bursting with flavor. The BBQ sauce also works really well with them, and I love slathering it on. They are a bit messy, and it takes some doing getting through the rack, but if you aren’t doing much with the sides it is definitely doable. And if you have left overs, beef ribs make for a nice meal the following day!
One of the dessert options is a southern style cobbler which rotates the fruit type. This night it was peach. It was good and came out piping hot, and the vanilla bean ice cream it was served with was also quite delicious. It isn’t the best cobbler I have ever had, but if you like cobbler it is definitely worth trying, assuming you have room of course!
We arrived early for dinner so didn’t have to wait to be seated, but by the time we left the place was packed and had a long wait for tables. The atmosphere is fun and mixes the casual Texas feel with a bit of fancy without feeling or requiring you to be fancy. The restaurant is also on a river, and it is fun to walk on the deck behind the restaurants and feed the turtles when they are around (which they were not in January). The service was attentive, and the food came out quickly. As already mentioned the portions are gigantic, and this goes for other platters as well, not just the Big Daddy. It is a bit more expensive for BBQ than many other BBQ joints, but you get so much food and such a cool atmosphere that it feels worth it. I do wish the sides were a bit better, but then again a lot of BBQ restaurants are not known for their sides. Overall the County Line is a great spot for lunch or dinner, so you should definitely check it out!

Is it the best BBQ in town? Nah. Do their sides make up for it? Nah. Service? I’ve had mediocre to lackluster. So Nah. Is it acceptably yummy. Yeah. Is there a patio with a fan in the heat of summer. Yeah. Are there fat ass fish and turtles that are fun to watch scramble for whatever you feed them. Yes!
So, it’s a fun-​ish place to take family that can’t handle lines and likes the pretty that Austin has to offer (outdoors speaking) and kids dig feeding fish and turtles. So, I like it, but it’s really just okay. The ritas are tasty and the fan pumps.
Just a note: order their house made bread and ask for extra honey butter (they skimp you otherwise) and save the bread that comes with the meal for the kids or grown up kids to feed the fish and turtles. They prolly shouldn’t eat that, but it’s cute to watch them fight for it!

Cute location and decent food. Our waitress, Tracy, was super nice and sweet. The homemade bread was so amazing! Light and soft and warm, and it with the honey butter on them: yummmmmy! The food was pretty good too! I ordered the ribs (lite plate) which was definitely more than enough food.
The atmosphere at this place is great! Very enjoyable experience.

The décor of this place is the epitome of eccentric style. When I tell you there is a row boat hanging on one wall, antique B&B guns hanging near my booth and a taxidermy fish hanging on another wall, I’m not kidding. This place is dimly lit with wood paneling. The carpet is aged and there is a bit of a view of the lake behind the restaurant. I’m told when the weather is warmer you can venture on the back patio and feed the turtles.
There comes a time when only a larger then life serving of meat will do.
I don’t always want to hit a steak house. I don’t always want to drive all the way to Dripping Springs to Salt Lick. Sometimes I want a dark corner of a booth in the back of the restaurant to devour some ribs. This is a place I drive past almost daily to get home in the evenings. If you arrive around 5 on a weekday you will beat the dinner rush. I would suggest you order a platter or one of the all you can eat plates if and ONLY if you can handle a large meal. The platters are huge, the meat is moderately tender. The favor is good but not great. Don’t get me wrong I plan to return it’s just not the best BBQ in town. The lemonade is made in house and the deserts are average at best. The menu says that the deserts are big enough to share. To that I say nay nay they are big enough to make you wish you had a larger serving.
The staff is very friendly and accommodating.