El Sapo

The fries were good and that’s about it.
The entire service our waiter practically ignored us, never gave us napkins or silverware. He was only ‘nice’ to us when we were almost finished with our food and gave us the check.
The food was not worth what it was priced. I ordered the lamburgesa ($ 15) and the only thing I could taste was all the black pepper that was in the burger. In addition to that the burger was overlooked. The ketchup that came with the fries were also spicy and like I stated before, our waiter never checked on us so I couldn’t ask for regular ketchup.
My boyfriend’s burger was also overdone and once again, only the fries were decent.
I will not be coming back. I do not recommend this place.

Really great burgers. Cool location in an old converted garage. I like the San Antonio burger and the onion rings are good (much better than their fries). May seem pricey but portions are huge and I easily get two meals from one order.

John and I came here one night on a whim after putting some work in at Thunderbird. We all know I’m not a burger fan, but El Sapo also has hot dogs, so I was okay with it.
Quick aside — what did this place used to be? I could have sworn this used to be something else. Am I crazy? Or has El Sapo been here forever? No, right? All the building colors just seem so familiar, like this definitely used to be something else.
Anyway, back to El Sapo. The inside is small, so I can imagine at peak times that there is a bit of a wait for a table. We came at an off time, so that was no big deal, but just something to keep in mind if waiting is not your thing.
I ordered the La Güera because I cannot resist anything berry and the drink was pretty gosh darn good. I would happily order it again and I imagine their other cocktails are pretty good, too. If you’re like me and you love all things berry, definitely try the La Güera. Heck, even if you don’t, try it anyway. It’s just a solid cocktail.
For food, I ordered the El Chiledog, my boyfriend ordered a burger with jalapeños on it, and we also got an order of chili con queso fries. Those fries were god damn delicious, I tell you what. If all I had ordered was that awesome cocktail and some chili con queso fries, I’d be a happy camper for sure. I love me some chili cheese fries and these did not disappoint.
The El Chiledog was a pretty standard hot dog. I didn’t even get halfway through before the bun just fell apart on me. This didn’t bother me much because I hate bread and was about ready to just pull it all off anyway, but if bun integrity is something that is important to you, keep that in mind. The bun splits apart faster than your Mom’s legs on Ladies Night. Most people appreciate a good set of buns that can cradle a nice sausage between them, but this bun fell seriously short of holding onto anything. Again, I hate bread so I was all ready to push that shit to the side, but I know other people care about these sorts of things.
My boyfriend really enjoyed his burger and he was nice enough to let me have a bite and it was pretty good. I’m just sad that I can’t remember which one he had. I know it was a spicy one. I think it was the El Chile burger, but I could be wrong.
Come for the chili con queso fries and cocktails, stay for the sloppy sausage fest. El Sapo, you’re alright.
Funny story time: while trying to take a picture of my drink, I didn’t notice that my flash was on until right when I hit the button and, in that moment, I was that asshole who takes pictures of food with accidental flash in a dimly lit restaurant. Everyone hates that person and I was that person. Ugh. I quickly moved my phone underneath the table and got a brilliant picture of the floor, but the damage was done. Sorry, restaurant patrons.

Came in with some friends on a Sat. night for some drinks and burgers. However, we decided to forego the burgs as none of the options (nor price points) seemed palatable.
We did end up getting the queso chili fries, which were awesomely delicious. I just wish there would have been more of that literal awesome sauce since we were splitting it between the 3 of us.
The drinks here seem kinda hit or miss. One friend got the La Llorona and it was literally just smokey mezcal, none of the other flavors came through at all, most disappointingly the grapefruit. I like mezcal and even it was a bit much for me. My drink, the mezcal mule, was also mezcal based, but a bit more balanced. My other friend’s drink, however, was the winner! The Buffalo Stance was tiny, but packed a fantastically wonderful punch! The spiced pecan infused Buffalo Trace bourbon took it from ordinary to extraordinary. If I ever came back (which would have to be for happy hour since our drinks were $ 8/​$ 10, respectively) it will be to bathe my tongue in the glory of the Buffalo Stance!

This place was a big disappointment. I had high hopes based off the great reviews. My sister ordered the queso as an appetizer. The cheese was ok but we all hated the chips they use here. I ordered the Azul Burger and felt it was way too salty.
My sister ordered the San Antonio Burger and really liked it — I should mention she has bad taste in food.
My other sister ordered the Crispy dog. She said it was bland and felt it was something she could have made at home. I’m sorry to say we won’t be returning.

El Sapo has novelty and flavor on its side.
Novelty, because it’s located in a converted garage — the retro/​garage decorations, tables and paintings all add to the fun of this Mexican themed restaurant.
Flavor, because just about everything has spice in it. Thankfully, not too much spice! I ordered the El Azul, a huge, two hander burger that was juicy and tender. Even though it’s not one of their explicitly spicy burgers, it still had a delicious tang to it that kept me coming back for another bite during the pauses in the conversation with my friend.
And the drinks are excellent as well. Margarita is a proper margarita. Not too fancy, not too sweet. Just right.
Service is good — seems they were a little distracted, but my water cup was regularly filled and they came to check on us just at that edge when I’m consciously wondering where they are.
The bad? We hit up El Sapo on one of those days where the weather shifted at dusk. We went from overly hot to freezing cold (from the air conditioning) and had to move outside to find a nice temperature balance. Okay, so not so bad. El Sapo is definitely worth trying out.

We love coming here for drinks, and live right up the road so although the drinks are expensive (like any other hip austin joint) we like it.
We came here for dinner on a Tuesday or Wednesday though and were less than impressed. Our service was very slow, we had two waiters, and the food was NOT worth the price. It was good, don’t get me wrong, but in Austin, you can get a burger at Hop Doddy that trumps and the experience overall will cost less.
We had 3 drinks, 2 burgers, and 2 small salads and our total including tip was about $ 85. The bloody Mary is WAY too spicy, but other than that, there was no specific things that made this a 2 star meal, other than the prices for what we got.
Edit: We do love the bartender here, and the chips and salsa are the bomb. We’ll continue to return for those.

I’m so torn on how to rate. the GLUTEN FREE chalupa burger/​queso/​fries/​wings are the bomb. they also have pretty yummy cocktails too!
but it usually takes foreverrrrr and although it’s super cute and they have a nice PATIO, there’s a weird vibe. customer service bumps rating down to a 3. and I always feel like I spent way too much money here for what it was. at the end of the day, it’s still no hopdoddy! (but sometimes good for a change)

Here for the queso fries again heh. But yo, they have raspberry unsweetened tea! Sooo good.

El Sapo is located on the crowded Manor Rd where a bunch of other well known restaurants reside. The location has been multiple establishments and the original building is a formatted auto shop. The layout of the place gives outdoor seating to enjoy the sun or fully A/​C indoor area with tables and a very large bar. This places focuses really on two things. Unique burgers and unique drinks all served in mason jars. You can get burgers with jalapenos, black beans, fried egg, guacamole and other options.
I ordered an El Azul and my friend got the El Chilie. The burgers are well sized and cooked about well done. It is a flat wide patty cut burger. Buns are toasted, toppings are very fresh. As always a burger place gets judged by the beef. It has an average flavor, no seasoning, and cooked well with decent texture. My friend got the queso fries which are freshly cut fries topped with grilled onions and the queso sauce. I felt the fries could have used some seasoning on them also. The onion rings I got were thin cut, decent amount but very average breading. Dude, whats up with no salt & pepper on the table. I mean shouldn’t that be a standard at a place serving burgers? Drinks are served in the mason jars. They also serve milk shakes and banana splits for dessert.
Now this place would be great if you want to go just for drinks. The alcohol drink menu seemed to have a good variety and you can sit up at the bar or lounge outside out on the bench seating. This place is a good addition to the east side spots and I would go back. I just felt the taste for a $ 10+ burger was a bit average. Its a good cooked burger but it is not amazing and I would probably know several other burger spots I would pick besides El Sapo.

This place was so unexpected! I came here with my friend one evening for dinner and so thoroughly impressed! The staff was all super friendly from the time we were greeted, our waitress, and the person who brought our food.
The chips and guacamole were delicious! My friend ordered the wings and she thought they were great. I had the chalupa burger — a burger on a tostada instead of a bun? Count me in!
It was definitely spicy, but good, next time I think I’ll leave the jalapeños off!
I will come back to this place again without hesitation!
They had good happy hour specials too!

We wanted to try something new and Austinish. El Sapo looked pretty decent. I would say bottom line up front, its a standard hole in the wall, reclaim, with standard service.
After a really hot day of being outside, volunteering, we found El Sapo on Unilocal.The parking is a little confusing but there was plenty of it… we think.
This restaurant was an old, reclaimed mechanic garage/​body shop… with garage doors still intact. Looked pretty cool.
The service wasn’t the best, the waiter was confusing, and took quite a while to serve drinks, and waiting just drew our attention to the large amount of flies all around the restaurant.
We ordered food, and I have to say it came out pretty quick! We got a burger and ordered fried with chili. Everything was very good.
Overall the food made up for the slow service and other issues, but I don’t see myself coming back anytime soon.

Hijo de Madre, Batman! What a great blend of great burgers & cool Austin vibe. It feels local in the proud Austinite sense of the word.
Any place with a burger called Chori Pica deserves respect, WOOT!
A little pricy, though…

El Sapo has been my go-​to burger bar for over a year now. The food has always been delicious and the kitchen has stayed super consistent. I’m sorry to say that the service is slipping in a major way. I used to come in when Gary and Carey (unsure of the spelling) were working the bar. They cared about what they were doing and were excited to explain new and interesting cocktails they were making. People like that create the vibe and make your experience better. They were professionals and it showed.
Here’s my latest experience at El Sapo:
–Wiped down our own spot at the bar. I can excuse that at a busy time. It was not busy.
–We were never offered water.
–After we were served we had to get up and go ask for flatware.
–We asked the girl that dropped our food for an extra plate and she said, «You can use the chip plate, I can take the dip bowl.» Seriously? Have you ever worked at a restaurant or even been in one?
–There is a table by the door where all of the employees sit with their to-​go soda cups and glasses of water (man, wish we would’ve been offered water.) It looks really unprofessional. If they’re not up for whatever their assigned task is, they sit there and chat or look at their phones. It really detracts from the atmosphere.
I loved El Sapo. I truly did. I can choose from a huge selection of restaurants but I choose El Sapo because of the atmosphere and service. I’m shocked and disappointed at how quickly this place has gone downhill. It’s so important for a neighborhood bar to remain consistent for the people in the neighborhood who frequent the establishment. I hope the owner will recognize how it has taken a turn for the worse and rectify it by actually hiring decent management and a professional staff. I’m definitely going to find a new spot in the meantime. Oh — if you’re interested in making one of the usually delicious cocktails, just check out the photo I loaded which was left on the bar like a menu, for anyone to peruse.

I like this place. Don’t love it though.
I stopped here for lunch and was pleasantly surprised at all the different burger options they offered. This made me excited, but then that excitement was quickly deflated when I read the fine print, lol, that stated all burgers are prepared well done. What!!! How is it possible that for absolutely no reason whatsoever can I order my burger even medium well? I asked the bartender to make an exception, even joked that I’d sign a waiver, but my efforts were futile.
So instead I got the chicken sandwich. Yeah, it was good, but I wouldn’t say it was great. And honestly, for $ 12, it seemed a little lack luster. The mushrooms tasted like the kind my mom used to buy in the jar when I was a kid.
I’ll go back for drinks, but that will probably be it. The bar area is cool with its open garage-​like concept yet has potential to be hot in the summer unless they keep the place cool with something more than just the overhead fans.

Called in to El Sapo for happy hour yesterday (Friday). The place was packed! We waited 20 min for a table. We had a great server who let us know the bar was backed up and drinks would take a while. It was clear these guys were struggling to keep up with the volume of guests, and the happy hour run on drinks. The house margaritas were a hit when they finally came (partly for to happy hour prices!) We went to town on half-​off botanas. The guac was very good, the wings were delicious. The loaded Chile fries were disappointing: the fries were a bit cold, and a little burnt. Overall we were happy and Will be back for sure.

This stop was completely spur of the moment where I Unilocaled «burger» in «east austin». Well I couldn’t have been better rewarded for being a good Unilocal steward. We loved it! First off the weather was amazing and they have large covered patios that open to the wide open interior so every table feels al fresco. The décor is on point down the to Ball tumbler that even come frosted for your cerveza.
The food was great. In that surprising way thay when u leave you are satisfied amd are like «Damn, that was good. I love that place.» We got the Charlies Special (most popular) and the El Chilto with side salads and onion rings. The burgers were huge, fresh, and piping hot. I looooved the blistered jalapeños on mine. And the poblano ranch on our salads was so good that we decided we must try to recreate it at home. I’m watering just thinking of it.
Tips the scale on the pricey side. So $ 51 for three of us but I have to say it was absolutely worth it. Will be back early and often.

I actually didn’t know this place had a reputation for amazing burgers when I came here so I ended up getting the pulled pork topped with fried jalepenos sandwich since that looked the most interesting to me. It was good but not amazing. The pulled pork had some spice to it which was nice since I sometimes find pulled pork to be too sweet. The fried jalepenos, however, were a bit soggy and didn’t add much to the sandwich. Fries were good but again nothing special (didn’t get queso though).
The atmosphere was nice — mostly outdoor seating though so I wouldn’t go on a cold day. Our waitress was very friendly and the service was pretty quick give the size of our party. But at $ 15 for an average sandwich and fries I don’t know if I’ll be back. Maybe the burger will blow my mind but the pulled pork definitely didn’t.

My brother is awesome – he bought my me, my significant other and his friend out here to eat. I guess it had been on his bookmarks for sometime.
The restaurant is unique it has an open garage area like it used to be a house or something. It was packed with people when we came on a Wednesday night.
Our waiter seemed like he was living in the era of the 20’s or 30’s because of his attire and glasses. I had to ask him about that.
Now, the only thing I didn’t like was the fact that it was so noisy that I couldn’t even hear the waiter speaking to me nor could I hear anyone at the table. I had to read their lips to make out what they were saying.
I wasn’t fairly hungry at the time, so I ordered the cheesy fries instead with a rum milkshake is what I think it was called.
The fries and milkshake was yummy. I couldn’t even taste the alcohol in the rum milkshake. it was just sweet and reminded me of some type of eggnog or ice cream I was eating.
Next time I come back to Austin I will be sure to try the hamburgers from here.

So much food. We started out with some queso and it was pretty dang amazing. Their homemade chips were the icing on the cake. Great happy hour specials as well!
The burger was delicious. Very filling. The fries were good as well — not too fat, not too skinny, not too seasoned.
Super hipster vibe. Really nice waiters. Good ambiance.