Royal Jelly

Great selection of drinks, delicious plates of food, and fair service… Definitely blown away by the chicken hearts! This place is very intimate! Nice décor and well kept restrooms. Will definitely be back.

Wow!
Impressive beer selection for the size of the bar. Four on tap, 10 or so available from the cooler. Their wine cocktails were top-​notch as well.
All of the dishes were show-​stoppers. My wife’s favorite was the jerk quail (I don’t know what sort of wizardry the kitchen pulled to make this happen but the jerk sauce is full of scotch bonnet taste without the «burn your face off» spice). I loved the cubano and the chicken hearts but my favorite was the braised short rib on a crispy polenta cake.
I wouldn’t change a thing and this place is now in our date night rotation.

Surprisingly great food for what originally looked like a neighborhood bar

Just AWESOME! They are friendly, have wonderful food, great beer selection, and prices that don’t break the bank. Thank you Royal Jelly for a wonderful evening !

The place is quaint and the food is delicious. The cherry fizz is delicious and we had the short ribs, goat poppet the, Thai lettuce wraps and the pork belly Cubano. Every single dish is to die for! Go to this place!!!

Happy happy happy. That’s how I feel knowing that we now have Royal Jelly, a cool little indy bar slash good food joint that’s actually on the north side of town where I live & breathe. I’m starting to get spoiled!
My running buddy /​co-​worker /​partner-​in-​Yelp-​shenanigans, Joe C., agreed to my impromptu plan to check out this spot early on a Friday night after a week of too much overtime. We didn’t know exactly what we were getting into, but we knew North Lamar to be full of colorful characters and driving up to look for a place to park in Mrs. C’s new model luxury vehicle was a bit comical. The overflow crowd from the smoke shop and hair salon next door had us wondering (1) whether we’d fit in with the Royal Jelly patrons and (2) whether the car would be there when we came back, but all worked out just fine.
No, they don’t serve a honey-​focused menu and there’s nothing to do with bees here. I meant to ask the friendly owner (Dominic, who was also behind the bar /​kitchen counter) what he had in mind with the name, but once I received my gigantic green michelada served in a frozen goblet, I quickly lost focus. We were able to claim a seat in the corner about 10 steps from the bar to sip our beers and wait for the parade of small plates. Here’s what we ate:
churrasco of chicken hearts on fry bread with strawberry chimichurri: delicious
Thai-​spiced pork lettuce wraps with housemade pickles: my favorite, next time all for me
toasted Cubano sandwich with ultra thin plantain chips: hearty & quite tasty, but a repeat of flavors from the lettuce wraps; next time, I’d only order one or the other. Also worth noting: they do not use «real» Cuban bread on this sandwich; it’s more like Mrs. Baird’s toasted. The plantain chips were fantastic!
avocado hummus with ultra-​thick tortilla chips: this was just okay, mostly because we were already stuffed and it came out last due to a kitchen mishap. Dominic kindly took it off our bill (his idea), so no hard feelings. I’d order this again as the starter, or a snack to have with my beers.
I loved that the converted cottage was never overcrowded or too loud, even at 9pm on a Friday. I could envision spending many relaxed evenings here, were I to have the excess free time that I did before I procreated and starting exercising all the time. As it is, I’d definitely bring a date or a few girlfriends here for conversation over bites & bevs.
Check out these sweet happy hour (Tues-​Fri, 4−6pm, all day Sat-​Sun) deals:
$ 4 house wines
$ 2.5 lone star tallboys
$ 4 pearl snap drafts
$ 11 Cubano & Pint
$ 3 – 4 select dishes

Great neighborhood spot with such good food and most important great service. So many special touches… great glassware. It’s the little things.

HAPPY HOUR REVIEW:
Swanky without being pretentious, sexy comfy vintage sofas, beautiful mural, awesome staff, chefs who are on point and a beautiful dog friendly front patio all in my neighborhood? Sounds like a dream but, this place actually exists in my neighborhood! Finally getting the vibe of the elevated corner bar in my neck of the woods without the high prices, lack luster food and rude staff. Great location to hang with friends, bring a date, stop in by yourself or bring out of town guests. The must was surprisingly amazing and a great mix of everything that I love. Also, the bathrooms were pretty cool and extremely clean!
Roasted Beets: I am a sucker for well made and accompanied beets. The candied pecans, fennel and arugula make a nice pairing for dancing on the pallet with the beets. For only $ 6.00 I highly recommend this light but, satisfying plate.
BBQ Pork Buns: (Happy Hour Price) ORDER THESE. I was going back and forth between these and the Jerk Quail but, the gentleman behind the counter told me to order these. I loved how they were dismantled and you could put as much of what you want inside those perfectly baked buns. Those pickles, wow those pickles were so good I could have eaten a whole plate. The port was juicy, flavored to perfection and the spices worked well with the sauce. They don’t skimp on the toppings so load each bun up and don’t be shy because you won’t run out of toppings.
Chips: I wanted something more snacky since we had been sitting there cocktailing for three hours. The gentleman behind the register was kind enough to give me an order of chips which were good. Definitely hit the crunchy salty fix I was craving.
My cocktail was superb even though I can’t recall the name of it. It has bubbly in it and a balsamic reduction with some other stuff.
They do have $ 4.00 house wines, $ 4.00 pearl snap drafts, $ 2.50 Lonestar Tall Boys, $ 11.00 Cubana and pint combo and the Thai Style Lettuce Wraps were also on food special for happy hour.
I kinda hope nobody goes to check this place out so I can keep it my secret and always find a seat but, this is the place you just have to share knowledge of so other people can be as delighted as you were!
This is my new spot!

Thanks to the staff for providing a perfect spot for my roommate’s birthday last night!
We all had a wonderful time!
I always enjoy the changes to the menu.

Dined for happy hour on a Sunday night.
Cozy and chill. Love the open kitchen + bar setup.
Happy hour pricing on the lettuce wraps and the pork belly cubano plus pint are a steal. Both were delicious and I ate all of the plantain chips from my boyfriend’s cubano, haha. But actually, the dish that stood out to me the most that night was the jerk quail. Amazing seasoning and sauce on the side. GET IT!
The beer cheese is served cold– just so you know! Not really my preference, but still fine. Is it weird that I think they would’ve tasted great with the plantain chips? I think they are expanding their menu by trying out items as specials. The 3 other dishes we tried were all good so I look forward to more menu options in the future.
A great place for drinks and plates to share between friends!

What a great little neighborhood spot! I sure wish Royal Jelly was in my neighborhood. Royal Jelly is on a side street off busy Lamar Blvd. The unassuming restaurant/​bar has some surprise menu items, dog friendly patio and chill yet nice ambiance.
We recently found ourselves and in the area and decided to check out Royal Jelly which had been on my to try list for a couple of months now. We dined at the bar to get a view of the open kitchen. The menu reads like a black and white zine (remember those) with space ships and hair bands which I think is pretty cool. While the food menu is small it is well rounded with several vegetarian friendly menu items. I ordered a glass of rose and the roasted beets. Jesse opted for a local tap and the pork belly Cubano. I loved my beets plated with candied pecans, fennel, arugula and an interesting blood orange pudding. Jesse Cubano was pretty darn amazing with ham, some really delicious pickles, spicy mustard, gruyère and sweet brown butter. I may have eaten more than ½ of the addicting plantain chips that was served with his Cubano. They should serve both the pickles and the chips as a snack on their own, so good!
The owners appear to be very hands on which I think is always a good sign. We spoke with one of the owners who was very personable and one of the owners was manning the kitchen. Service was excellent, the food is not only great but reasonably priced, pouring rose wine, purse hooks at the bar and dog friendly patio. definitely my kind of place!
Tip: happy hour is Tuesday-​Friday 4pm-​6pm and all day on Sundays.
HH menu
$ 2.5 lone star tallboys
$ 4 house wines
$ 4 pearl snap draft
$ 11 Cubano & Pint
$ 4 select dishes

The place has a cozy interior and great local neighborhood vibe. The bartender and staff were very friendly and service was spot on. The parking situation isn’t great; if you can’t find a spot in the compact lot, it’s hard to find alternative parking without fear of getting towed.
The bar menu is somewhat limited, but there should be something to please everyone, with four beers on tap (a wider selection of craft beers offered by bottle), wine and a few creative wine/​cider/​beer based cocktails. I was surprised the beer cheese is served cold, but it was tasty. The quail and chorizo dish was savory and delicious!

Place has great potential. Tried the Cubano, spätzle, and ribs, all were superb! Beer cheese was a bit off putting though. Something about the combination of cheese being both liquid and cold feels wrong. Service was prompt and friendly, and the Atmosphere is low key, which is always a plus in my book. Definitely worth checking out. I’ll be eager to see what else they add to the menu.
(If owner is reading, $ 2 is what a happy hour prices lone star should cost)

Good beer selection & creative drink and food menu. I had a great experience and I’ll definitely be back.

I love this relaxed neighborhood spot. Tucked away on an unassuming block of St. Johns just off Lamar, Royal Jelly runs a great happy hour with good drink deals and a few food items offered for $ 4. We tried the Thai lettuce wraps, which were fresh and flavorful with savory pork sausage, crunchy peanuts, tangy pickles, and a hit of fish sauce. The house wine was decent. The crowd was chill. Yup, I’m a fan.

Great food. Cool folks. Right in my hood.
Check it out. They are doing it right.
We had cold beer, goat tongue and jerked quail. Fantastic.
Come here. Dominic will be nice to you.

Delicious food, great drinks and a chill atmosphere. A great place to grab a drink and catch up with friends. So glad this place opened up in the highland neighborhood – hopefully more cool places will follow suit. Definitely going to be hanging out here during the week. Two thumbs up!

A perfect excursion. A drunken adventure. A beer cheese with potato chips that satisfy any palette. Three things that embody a visit to Royal Jelly. How grateful I was when this small bar located in a part of town I don’t typically frequent popped up on my radar. It seemed like the most reasonable destination for a Thursday night drink.
The parking is almost nonexistent. There are a handful of spots, so you may be better off going street side or snagging a slot across the street at the apartments. The drink menu is not vast, but it’s more than functional. Every drink is crafted in front of you and if you’re feeling beer, they have a little of everything. It’s the classic Jack of all trades pub.
My food experience was limited to the beer cheese. It’s flavorful and plentiful. Enough to share among 3. No doubt I’ll order it again next time I’m here.
The service is incredible. It’s not particularly quick due to the single register, so I suggest going elsewhere on a busy night. However, this is the place to be in central Austin on a weekday evening.

My boyfriend said, «what the hell did they put in that sandwich?»
It’s real good folks. Owners running the place. Nice guy. Stop by! The wraps are cheap tasty treats for happy hr, too!

Royal Jelly has mega potential. Great small plates that are hella flavorful, well known selection of IPA and craft beers as well as a primo selection of wines. The service is friendly and eager.
RJ has only been open for a few weeks so there are some areas of growth that I am sure the owners are keeping on the forefront of their business plan. More shade on the quaint patio in the evenings, mimosas on Sunday, and maybe a little more light on the women’s restroom?
All in all, great food, pleasant vibe, and growing character make Royal Jelly a good choice for gastropub enthusiasts in north central as well as any Austinite wanting to support local businesses. I’m looking forward to updating my review as Royal Jelly grows!