Kerbey Lane Cafe

MSG. Monosodium glutamate. Added to stuff. They don’t tell you it’s added to stuff. So sensitive folks like my friend get violently ill. No bueno. They don’t need that extra «umami.»

It’s close to work, and when my lunch buddy wants Denny’s, I can usually persuade her to go here instead. Each time I come the service and food is worse and worse. I think this last time with the truly awful food and really bad service, I will just relent and go to Denny’s, where at least the ladies are nice and it is a little cheaper.

I am sad to say, that for the first time, I was disappointed by my meal at Kerbey Lane. Last night, I ordered the Steak Arepas, and they were not great. Overall, the flavor of everything was right, but the steak was dry and spread very sparsely within the cornmeal, which there was way too much of. The cornmeal was also very dry and thick, which made it very difficult to eat a lot of.
I will continue to visit Kerbey lane, because it is still my favorite restaurant, but I’ll probably never order this dish again.
However, I did also have a s’mores pancake, which was perfectly delicious!

My boyfriend and I came here for the first time and we were so impressed. First of all everything on the menu sounded good. What we ordered came out super fast and tasted great too! The s’mores pancakes were amazing and our waiter was nice too.

I have been coming to Kerbey Lane since my undergrad years, and it has definitely changed a lot since then. They employ a texting system now to let you know your table is ready, rather than the typical «yell out the door and see who answers» method. We were seated promptly given it was a Saturday around brunch time, and the waitress was great with making suggestions to my girlfriend (who was brand new to Austin).
I got my old go-​to, the cowboy queso, and the fried avocado tacos. Combined, it was a little too much food, but I got a lot of it to go, including a huge bag of chips and iced teas for the road.
The only thing I’ll warn alumni who are heading back for some nostalgia about… Kerbey no longer feels like a neighborhood diner and is now more of a restaurant. Not necessarily a bad thing, but not what I had expected.
Overall, I’ll say KLC should be a go-​to for anyone looking for good brunch or lunch in the Austin area.

If I could give this place 0 stars, I would and here is why:
Back in 2007 – 2011, I attended undergrad at UT and fell in love with the famous Kerbey queso. Service was wonderful, quick, and the food was delicious and affordable. Easily 5 stars. Upon graduation and moving out of the city, I didn’t have the opportunity to eat here until now.
Having made a day trip to Austin, Kerbey Lane and it’s signature Kerbey queso was on the top of my list of to-​go foods to be enjoyed on the ride home. They have changed the interior, making the colors brighter and more updated. I personally miss the old café design. The elderly gentleman at the front greeted me and I was about to be seated until I requested take out. At which point he directed me to the bar, where all my troubles began…
I greeted the cashier with a cheery, «Hello!» as I walked up to the bar and received a mumbled, «hi…» in return. He continued to do his checks and credit cards for the next 5 – 10 minutes while I stood there in silence. There was no «What can I help you with today?» or «Just give me a few minutes to close out these tabs and I’ll be right with you!» Nope, just silence. When he was finally done calculating his current tabs, picking up additional ones, and then closing them out as well, he finally asked what I needed. I placed my order and took my place by the bar.
I wish I took some video footage or pictures because honestly a lot of this feels like a lie but everything that took place was true. The servers (about 7 of them) lollygagged around and took their time with orders. Keep in mind there were only about 15 customers at the time. My queso didn’t take long to come out but despite the waiters being done with their orders and chatting behind the bar, they didn’t bother touching my order. Now it could be that the cashier was responsible for the take outs but if you are a waiter and have enough time to chat, hug each other, and ask about plans for the weekend, then I think you can look at the lone order at the pick up table. Some waiters even reached around my order to get theirs.
After about 15 minutes, one of the waiters started chopping some apples, without gloves or washing her hands before hand, and then proceeded to throw some pieces at her fellow co-​workers in play. Yup, I can hardly believe what I saw either which is a shame I didn’t catch their 5 minute play time on video.
Eventually I had to ask for my order by bringing up my receipt. They scrambled, looking for the lone queso that everyone tried to avoid and sent me on my way. Sad to say, when I got home, it wasn’t even that good. Nothing like I remembered with hardly any of that delicious guac on the bottom.
In conclusion: No, never ever again. This is a tradition I’m going to leave in 2011. There was no reason for me to wait 20 – 30 minutes for an order of lack luster Kerbey queso to go. I certainly should not have seen an excess of waiters throwing food at one another or even handling food prep without practicing proper hygiene. There are plenty of other places on The Drag that are delicious and cost you half the price. Take my advice and go elsewhere.

You BETTER try the Kerbey queso. That is all you need to know about this place. I now have the recipe as I am HOOKED!
We got the amazing blueberry pancakes and a fried avocado eggs francisco. Both hit the spot and I would order both any time or day of the week.
I will keep this one short. If you are hungry for great breakfast and in Austin. Try this. You will be happy. Oh and they have wifi for the little ones pad too.
YUM!

The worst! Super slow service. Tasteless food. Kinda dirty. They seemed really disorganized.
I won’t be back.

Visited last Friday night after the Death in June show at Elysium. The wait is a little long — but that should be expected at 2−3AM when all of the bars are closing. This has always been the go-​to place I suggest for friends and out-​of-​towners after a night of partying.
The food itself is pretty good, but you won’t notice if you have a few drinks in you. The portions are always giant and I’m always taking home a to-​go box. They have a pretty extensive vegan menu for a place that isn’t really marketed as vegan.

Hmmmm. What happened, Kerbey? Looks like this place took a turn for the worse. The food, service and atmosphere isn’t like how it was once before. I honestly liked the place before it was remodeled. It was cozy, hipster, and fun to eat at.

This place has changed tremendously since the last time I visited. They totally re-​did the inside, there used to be a 70’s type bar short stop sitting area, diner-​like and now there is a real bar bar. more tables! Better options on the menu! I used to think this place was great for it’s homey feeling but now it is just so way different.
The dish I had was great, pesto chicken and broccoli, my husband had the lamb burger and it was yucky. Just saying. I would probably in general stick to the breakfast classics. Good for late night grub. Open ²⁴⁄₇
PS Kirby Queso– the bomb***

Great location. Love the remodeling job. Great service. Great food. Get the desserts. It can get crowded but there’s a reason for that. The food and service are great. Adequate parking too… a rarity around campus!

This is literally the worst experience I have ever had with any restaurant, period. Where should I begin? Lets start with the food.
Kerbey Queso — Perfect. Tasted Like Melted Cheese
Tomato Soup — It was diced tomatoes in a cup. Seriously?
Grilled Cheese — Two pieces of barely toasted bread with unmelted cheese.
Chicken Fried Steak — More like chicken fried tasteless unidentifiable meat with no flavor and cold sides.
Egg White Omelet: Seriously barely any vegetables and again, no flavor
Fruit Side — I got two cups of brown apples. Lovely right?
Southwest Chicken Salad — Exactly what it was except it came with NO dressing and the tortillas were awesomely stale.
What was even better was when you go to the bathroom and they have freshly mopped floors… with no wet floor sign… and you fall down and bruise your arm. Whats better than that is when you tell the person who is mopping the floor and they laugh and say «Ha, sorry.»
$ 50 was spent on flavorless, incomplete food and I got a nice bruise to boot. After speaking to the manager all he could offer was an incident report. Cool! Thanks for documenting my horrible experience because I will make sure to share it with everyone I know.
I will say this. I think that all these problems are location specific. I have had great experiences at other locations but this one left me with a sour taste, actually no taste in my mouth.

Oh, Kerbey. Kerbey, Kerbey, Kerbey. What happened to you?
I’ve been here dozens of times. I attended UT — I know what’s up. You go to Kerbey to get some delicious pancakes and have your waiters/​waitresses look down on you.
Usually, when a place remodels, it’s for the better. I don’t know why they would try to fix something that wasn’t broken — I miss the old Kerbey. I miss the cozy, homey feel of which new Kerbey is completely devoid. If I wanted to dine in a sterile atmosphere devoid of charm, I’d eat at a hospital cafeteria. Even the waiters and waitresses are different. Instead of tattooed hipsters who clearly are cooler than you, there’s individuals who seem lifeless. At least before, I could admire all the wonderful artwork on the bodies of former workers, even if they hated me for wanting to eat.
I’m mostly just kidding about the last bit. Kerbey is now boring as shit, but the people who work there aren’t all bad. Service is always slow, but everyone knows that. The night staff seem a little friendlier, too.
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You see that up there? I wrote that over three years ago. Kerbey was so boring that I couldn’t even muster up the energy to finish my review and it’s been sitting in my drafts basically since I started Unilocal.
I went again recently (not my idea) and the sentiment is pretty much the same. I miss old Kerbey. I don’t like new Kerbey. Our waitress, Ruthie, was awesome, so service improved.
The food is still the same, meaning it kind of sucks. I know, everyone and their Mom gets off to how much they loOoOoOove Kerbey, but I’ve always found the food to be bland and kind of awful. Except the pancakes. Those pancakes are the shit and everyone should eat Kerbey pancakes at least once. Other than that… I’ve tried all kinds of stuff off the menu and I haven’t ever really liked any of it. I most recently ate the migas and the chipotle salsa on top was good and spicy, but the migas itself was so bland.
And don’t even get me started on paying $ 8.50 for subpar queso. I know full well that Kerbey queso makes every hipster cream their pants in this city, but no. Had it once and never again.
Three stars because I’m pretty sure I’ll be crucified if I give them any less and because I do love the pancakes. And Ruthie was great. An extra star because I still want to live.
I just really don’t like you, Kerbey. You sold out, dude.

It’s embarrassing to say that I think about queso way more than I should and that I wish wasn’t so readily available in Austin b/​c I kind of have to order it if it’s on the menu.
Bf & I came for breakfast. And we had queso. At 10AM in the morning.
I mean… we also had other regular breakfast food. The blueberry pancakes were really good (but half size is misleading. The portions are HUGE) and the eggs and fruit were fine. I was excited they had black coffee with pumpkin flavoring (and an entire pumpkin menu!!! — that’s on the to do list for next time). Service was great, wait was less than 15 minutes on a Saturday, and the layout of the restaurant is nice! Great for brunch + leftover snacks ;)

This place is just off the UT campus. Shouldn’t be hard to spot or locate.
There is a parking lot that can take maybe 15 – 20 cars. This can’t really be relied on during peak hours. Been here a couple of times where it was just so packed that I couldn’t park anywhere.
The interior decoration is pretty standard. There is a waiting area where you can wait on your party to arrive before being seated. The area comprises of booths and tables. the majority of these seat about 4 – 6 people.
Most of the customers are students and therefore, the peak hours here is later in the evening. Kerbey is 24 hrs, which provides a venue when most other places are closed.
The food is alright. I don’t think it’s the most amazing. Many people have raved to me about the queso, so I guess that may be worth a try. The pancakes are pretty good. Most people come here for the breakfast foods. They also have seasonal menu options that may be worth a try
The service is generally friendly. I wouldn’t call it exceptional, but it does suffice.

WORST SERVICE EVER.
i came here because i was hosting an event for about 20 people. my colleague made reservations on the phone and we were promised a room in the back. when we got there, i was told that they don’t take reservations, even though we called 3 times to confirm. when i told the prick at the front counter, he gave me so much attitude i wanted to slap him right then and there. I told him that we called and we were told we had the back room reserved and his answer was «the back room is taken» with no explanation, no apology.
i dont know what was up his ass, but he seriously needed to check himself.
the food was just as bad. i ordered the fried chicken mac n cheese and it was the worst thing i put in my mouth.
i’m giving this place two stars instead of one because our actual server was actually pretty nice. although he touched my arm/​back one too many times.

Absolute yes. We had a party of 4 at 1−2am. They let us have the kids coloring sheets, and we had great fun while waiting for a table. The waitress let us know what was special about this place — queso and pancakes. Oh god was the queso amazing… we devoured that thing heartily while singing praise. And then my special pancake — the beignet! Sweetness overload, which is how I liked it! No syrup or butter needed (not that I didn’t oblige anyway ;)). Thanks for continuing to impress, Kerbey Lane!

Props for being open 24 hours and tolerating drunk children. Sucks the service suffers because of that though. I honestly don’t blame them.
I have to say, though, dropping a scoop of guacamole into the queso is genius.

So, originally our plan was to eat at Franklin’s. We had friends from out of town staying with us, and since we haven’t been yet either, we figured it would be something fun that we could all experience together.
We got there at 9am on a Friday morning and knew to expect a line, but the one we saw was much more daunting than we planned. We didn’t think we had a chance in hell for brisket to still be available by the time we got inside, so we threw down the white flag and headed here instead.
I have to admit I was a tad relieved as it was warm out and I was absolutely starving. We walked into their sweet air conditioned space and I was surprised to see how modern it is compared to the other two locations I’ve been to. Plenty of parking here as well which I loved, especially being downtown.
Their pancake special of the day was apple pie, and we got two for the table so we could all try it. Their pancakes never disappoint. They also have free wifi and morning drinks such as their $ 2 mimosa. (They are mostly champagne, yay! So proceed with caution)
My husband got the fried chicken eggs benedict and our friends got the breakfast tacos and the Eggs Francisco. Lots of mmmm’s all around. I got the breakfast platter per usual which comes with two half sized pancakes of your choice, eggs, and bacon. Everything was delicious.
As much as we were looking forward to that glorious bbq, I think we were all secretly relieved we didn’t have to wait 5 hours to eat. And this way our friends could still say they ate somewhere you can only find in Austin! Win win.