Ranch 616

Texmex with a creole flair. Good food, fun atmosphere, and friendly service. They just reopened their patio area after construction which is fully equipped with a bar and heating lamps. I’ll definitely be back again.

Love this place. It’s totally a Texas restaurant. Great variety of food for the right price. They don’t split up checks so I suggest you bringing cash if going in a big group.

I have to say… meh
We came to dinner with a bunch of peeps and I understand we had a larger group but we were literally there for hours .
I just took soooo long to get drinks .to get food to get a check …
The food I feel is just very over priced for what I was.
I got a quarter of an ice berg lettuce .a wedge !! Not even bacon!! It was like 8 dollars!!!
Not impressed .I also had a bite of my buddies steak and it was so tough and hard to chew !
.I know everyone has a bad day and maybe it might be better next time. but with so many great places to eat in Austin .ill just give something else a try :/​
Sorry place but it was very very average…

Happy find after a Xmas party next door at the Rattle Inn. Seated promptly, decided on outside even though it was chilly… lots of heaters and they even offered a blanket for my wife (nice touch) plus it was close to a well stocked bar.
Nicely done patio décor and layout. The jam jar water cups and frosted glass water bottle left at the table were a nice touch. People watching opportunities were excellent. «Towers of fire» patio heaters were awesome.
Strong drinks, prompt and attentive but not in-​your-​face service by Andrew, large portions and killer soundtrack to eat dinner by.
We started with the bacon-​wrapped shrimp and the fried jalapeños. Both scrumptious and served quickly. Jalapeños were surprisingly hot and fantastic with my rye whiskey. My wife was drinking some sweet and spicy cocktail. Delicious and reminded us of the pepper martini they used to serve over at Paggi House.
Food was tasty, solid and belly warming. It is not avant-​garde but fresh, well prepared and given love. Wife had the honey-​glazed lamb chops and I had the trout. Both were perfectly prepared and portions were surprising large for Austin.
Overall, a solid and excellent experience. Next time we’ll try inside. Well done Ranch 616.
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This place is a solid go-​to. The food and service is consistently good. Is it going to blow your mind? Nope. Is it going to hit the spot every time? Yep. The portions are a good size. Everything seems fresh and their iced tea actually tastes like iced tea and not brown tap water.
Having said all of that, I have only been here numerous times for lunch.

Food was less than mediocre. I had the fish tacos. The fish was too fishy, tortilla was cold, and topped with mostly iceberg lettuce. I could have made better tacos at home. No flavor, besides fishy. Rice was undercooked and crunchy. Really disappointing. The fried jalapeños were good. Service was worse. Bartender Johnny was rude and inattentive. I loved the décor though!!!

Food was OK but service was terrrrrrible. When its freezing outside and you have open tables for an hr, offer up your tables inside. Basic restaurant logistics and etiquette.
Learn.

The food here was mediocre at best. At first glance, the menu prices should indicate quality. This was not the case. There is a lot of filler on the plates in the iceberg/​cabbage/​tomato/​corn mix.
The plates appear to be sloppily thrown together. Maybe it was an off night. Maybe they weren’t on their A-​Game. Numerous menu items were unavailable and the waiter came back three times on three consecutive orders. Either way, I will not be coming back and wouldn’t recommend it either. The tastes were bland.
The pricing seems purely based on location with no reflection on quality. Austin taxes may be to blame.

After heavy meetings with young Hollywood types In Austin I needed a big steak. The town was jumping even for a weeknight but someone said let’s go to Ranch 616 up the street from downtown. OK, so what to expect from a place that was decorated in early 1960s garage sale? First of all, I almost ordered the divorced trout, having been divorced enough times to be the judge of anything starting with that description. But I returned to my senses and ordered the ribeye. The darn thing must have been at least 24 ounces. Tender, juicy, I can still almost taste it. That and the Caesar salad left me quite sated, and I vowed to return. Order the steak and you will be forever happy. Aloha, Magnum

This review only pertains to the spicy margs because that’s all I’ve had here. But they are really great. I recommend the super spicy one (Pelon’s, maybe?).

So, probably because building renovations scared off some customers, Ranch 616 was issuing a pretty deep-​discount Groupon a while back. We’d never heard of it, and probably wouldn’t have gambled regular price on it, but tonight thought – $ 30 off and day five of my birthday, so what the hey?
So, first impressions: animal trophy heads with hats on the wall and Virgen de Guadalupe candles on the table: points for not taking yourselves too seriously. It’s Austin and nobody needs stuffy.
We are sort of greeted upon entry by a doe-​eyed hostess and a guy who might be a manager. It’s hard to say. They act vaguely as if we are interrupting their conversation, and I start to wonder if this is one of those places staffed by pretty people not hugely interested in their jobs. I am not a fan of this ethos generally, and less so when food costs $ 35-​$ 40 an entrée, a price point in Austin at which, paradoxically, this attitude seems to increase rather than lessen. It ain’t Paris. Knock that off.
This perception is reversed somewhat by out server (Jaycee? J.C. J.Z. I’m old and don’t hear so good). She is super helpful in explaining the rules of our coupon (it doesn’t actually exclude all the best stuff, as it says; it just makes you pay the difference – fair enough) and is nice and likes to talk about the food. However, either she’s a little forgetful (water, anyone?) or someone else is. It’s hard to say.
We are told that the cocktails are made without mixers and tend tart. I’m a fan of the style, and, sure enough, we get, strong and tasty and nice-​looking cocktails, not overly sweet. They’re a little steep, but I switch to beer, which is more reasonable.
The food we order (black mussels, pollo soup, mixed seafood grill, no-​flour chocolate cake) is very good, if also a bit pricey, although portions are huge for fine dining. I’m also not a fan of dropping a c-​note for two and leaving hungry, and there is no danger at all of that here. Some appetizers and a shared plate might not be a bad strategy.
There are some weird menu choices – fried and breaded mussels? Why would you even do that? Deep frying is for cheap things. Some of the presentation needs work as well (tortilla strips over said mussels – wtf, Ranch 616?). But on the whole, it’s easily one of the better meals that I’ve had in town, and Ranch 616 pulls off the quirky-​hipster-​charm thing it’s going for pretty well. Would I come back at regular price? I ain’t got that kinda scratch, man. But if I did, I’d be tempted to drop some of it here once and again. I guess that means I’m a fan.

The food is decent. I had the seafood grill special. The salmon was rare enough. The tuna was also quite good. Nicely done. The shrimp were Ok, not a huge fan of the sauce. The mixed vegetables were blah. Overall, not a bad meal, maybe a little pricey but not too bad.
The ambiance is cool. Inside feels crowded to me. There is a nice outdoor deck as long as you can tolerate the heat.
The service is average. I feel like our server had too many tables. There were fairly long waits for drinks. I do not think it was his fault, but they probably need more people.
Overall, a nice spot for dinner.

Craft cocktails were outstanding, creative and delicious. Had an Eastern and an Ancho Rita. Highly recommended.
Camarones rellenos were crispy bacony goodness surrounding a lovely shrimp and drizzled with something green and creamy, quite delicious and served super hot from the grill.
Quail was served two ways, fried and grilled. Perfectly cooked. The chicken fried steak tenderloin was OK but nothing special. Both sauces for the quail were excellent.
Sides were great, green beans with pico, fresh and bright, creamy rich mashed potatoes with boursain cheese, cheesy stuffed tomato. The tomato filling, full of cheese, was yummy, but the tomato could have been much more flavorful, considering it’s July. Also, the kitchen didn’t clean the blossom end of the fruit, so there was a hard core.
Dessert was fried pie, peach tonight. Creamy rich Mexican vanilla ice cream was wonderful. The flaky crust of the pie was a thing of beauty. The filling was OK but got lost. Overall it was delicious, but I don’t know I could have told you it was peach if my eyes were closed.
Nice patio, OK service. I had a very nice meal here. Not amazing, but solid and delicious. Not real complaints. For the price, I think I’d rather go somewhere else, though. If it were maybe 15−20% less I think it would be more appropriate for the area and menu.

Another great experience at Ranch 616. We had divorced quail, ½ order of onion rings and the beefsteak and mozzarella salad with a side of grilled quail. We ate outside with a super nice breeze. A lovely evening. They had Twisted x Fuego beer too! Nice meal, good service.

Camarone Rellenos, jalapeño maize chicken, honey glazed lamb, and Jacey as your server make for a great evening! Of course ranch water (non sweet margaritas– hard to find bc sugar is cheaper than tequila) and fire in the hole shots are the bomb!

We came here late night for some drinks and sat at the bar.
I had a Bloody Mary and then a spicy Bloody Mary that were really good!
…AND THEN we also had shots that were INSIDE a jalapeño…SO GOOD!!! Who would have thought?! I was nervous about biting a fresh jalapeño after taking a shot, but it was surprisingly awesome! I want to go back JUST for that shot. (Titos Vodka, Paula’s Orange, and lime juice in a jalapeño.)
We ordered a quesadilla just to have something to eat, and it was AMAZINGGGG! Blew me away. Meat, roasted corn, pico de gallo, black beans, and ranch cheese. Tomatillo crema on the side! Yum!
They serve you water in little empty religious candle glasses. Was a nice unique touch. Lol
We didn’t get a chance to try their real food but I look forward to going back to try it.

Wowza this place gets packed during lunch. My co-​workers and I arrived early to avoid crowds. It was empty but the host asked if we had reservations. *Note to self make reservations next time. The décor reminded me of traditional Texas and took me back to my days of college in Lubbock. Our server was pretty attentive, but he got slammed out of nowhere which caused him to be a little absent towards the end. Most of the table ordered a burger which comes with choice of fries or onion rings (you can sub a side salad for about $ 1.50 more). I ordered the Baby Spinach salad with shrimp. The burgers looked great. My salad was perfectly seasoned. They dressed the leaves just right, and the shrimp had a spicy kick. I do wish there was more than just 4 little shrimp, but they add other protein to make up for it including 1 boiled egg and crispy bacon bits. Co-​workers all loved their burgers. If I return I plan to try one.
Be warned, parties of 5 or greater get charged 18% gratuity and they don’t split checks.

Best meal! Best drinks! You’d be a fool not to go here.
Drink: Ranch Water and lots of them!
Eat: framed burger, steak tacos, Vasillo salad, quail,
Dessert: Fried pie! I have gone to ranch 616 just for this

This place get’s the party started with great food and DJ Robert in the house. You don’t know if you need to eat or dance. I had the lamb chops medium and it came out medium plus. There was no pink center. It was season well and the sides were fresh.
The must have for a bachelorette weekend is the :
1. Fire in the Hole shot
2. The banana dessert — our server had to apologize that the banana that she found was a little small in size. HILARIOUS !
I can’t remember much about the dinner, we had too many fire in the hole shots. Look around, it’s a girl group parties eating here with a few old guys at the bar. Definitely a girls night out place.

The Good: Ranch 616 has a great Austin-​vibe feel to it. The décor is extremely unique and so is the menu. My fav is the Divorced Quail (it apparently won awards also). Calamari is a must try here as well! And DON’T leave without taking a Fire in the Hole shot! Tip: Take a small bite of the jalapeño for a complete fire-​in-​the-​hole feel :)
The Bad: Slow Service! I’ve been here a hand full of times, a few have been very very slow and a few just fine.