South Congress Cafe

20% off for food at the bar (I believe it is Mon — Fri). According to the waiter, «before we had this promotion, everyone sat at the table and the bar was empty, so we have this discount to bring people over.»
It’s worth it — and you get to see the bartender working non-​stop with the orders flooding in.
Bartender recommended cucumber lemonade for a fruity, non-​spicy cocktail. The menu has a lot of spicy drinks (why jalapeño is so many fruity drinks?), so the adult lemonade is a great refresher. Not too strong in alcohol.
We ordered Beef Milanesa and Duck Breast. The beef was tender and tasted great with the whipped potatoes. The duck breast dish was quite special — they sauteed the mushroom with vinegar, and it went well with the slightly bitter vegetable and the chewy, salty wild rice.
They have decent happy hour discounts — $ 3 mojito and half priced appetizers, from what I remember. I’ll come again.

We came for Sunday brunch. Called ahead to put our name on the list (just starts your wait time). We got there at 1145, was told the wait would be 20 minutes. After we waited 30, my husband checked in and the hostess said she thought we had left because they didn’t have our number. So she took us off the list. Therefore our wait had apparently been restarted. We were finally seated at 1pm. Would have been nice to be compensated somehow or communicated with better as we never left the restaurant. It just didn’t feel great and put a damper on our entire experience.
Food: was great! Loved the mimosas and peach bellinis. The food was very fresh and just delicious. Had the special of the day– hash and the migas. Good portion sizes.
Staff: everyone was kind, just felt very rushed and didn’t take time to go the extra mile.
Overall, we enjoyed our brunch, just don’t know if we’d go again.

The food was not bad. The dish I ordered (Migas Dias) was substantial, but my friend who ordered the sea bass said it was pretty good. The bread and tuna tartare was great though!

Amazing place. The lady who served at the bar was a bit odd but very nice lol. We sat at the bar and got 20% off our bill, which was nice.
Food was awesome, my fiancée had the meatloaf and he loved it. He also had a spicy Margarita, which was super fun.
I had fried quail and ceviche, both were extremely tasty, also these two dishes are extremely good to have together since one is really light and the other is a bit intense.

Very laid back vibe with eclectic menu (venison meatloaf and Bake Brie at same place) and great drink menu
Newly graduated professionals sitting shoulder to shoulder with Baby Boomers enjoying a nice peaceful evening with good food and drink– this is your place if that sounds inviting

Based on reviews and recommendations from friends, we were really looking forward to our breakfast here. Happy to report that the restaurant lived up to the hype! We got there just after it opened on a Tuesday morning and there were already a few tables occupied.
I ordered the migas dias, which were sooo good! Definitely kept me full for the better part of that day, but totally worth it. My husband ordered the steak and migas benedict, which was quite sizable and also very good. Both entrees came with a potato pancake that was pretty delicious.
Staff was friendly, parking that morning was easily found across the street, and by the time we left, the place was about halfway full.

My ideal brunch: superb Mexican breakfast, bloody Mary’s, and people watching location.
After a quick 25 min wait (spent happily strolling down S. Congress), we were seated and quickly ordered the famous Bloody Mary. Spicy and delicious — hit the spot!
After snaking on the complimentary corn muffins, we shared the Huevos rancheros and ½ order of Migas (great option: 2 eggs instead of 3) plus a small kale and avocado salad.
Hueovos and Migas were both fantastic! Spicy in the best way. And that side potato pancake? can’t get enough. So much flavor in every bite of these dishes. Salad was nice and refreshing, but nothing to write home about.

Sunday brunch. What’s the point of calling in when you’re going to have to wait longer once you get there? We called in at like 10 am to be put on a «waiting list» and when we were finally in at 11:20, they told us we’d have to wait another hour. So if you call in, prepare to be put on two damn waiting lists. At this point I was praying the food would be phenomenal to make up for this bullfluckery.
We ordered the grits and shredded pork in addition to an eggs benedict. Pretty good actually. Everything tasted fine and came out in a timely manner. Portioning was meh. Price was slightly over what I would be happy to pay for. Service was not bad.
Well.
I guess I’d have to say that the wait time left an extremely bad taste in my mouth. If you’re gonna make me wait a second time for a lengthy amount of time, TELL ME. My lady friend and I were excited to eat as soon as our first waiting time was over and well, yeah, you already know. I really want to rate them lower but their food was actually not bad, so I can’t.
7/​10, would come again once in a while.

The typical brunch waiting period for the weekend is usually between 1.5−2ish hours. The wait isn’t terribly bad since there are many cute/“what make’s Austin weird” stores in the area.
I started off with the Ceviche, which was a little bit too citrus for my liking. Definitely a great option for those who love lots of citrus with their Ceviche! :)
I ordered the Traditional Egg Benedict and the Braised Pork Hash. I was not a big fan of the Traditional Egg Benedict. The presentation of the plate wasn’t appealing and the food itself was just OK. The Braised Pork Hash tasted better for my palette – not too salty. The combination of potatoes (my favorite), corn, and some vegetables complemented the braised pork.
Overall, the food is OK, the atmosphere is good, but this would not be my top choice for brunch.

The wait was pretty ridiculous today at around 11:30 am on a Sunday (1 hour wait). The hostess seemed pretty stressed out with checking in the guest at the restaurant and getting them seated. They have a back outside patio area that is first come first served. We found a table in the patio and sat down. We sat for about roughly 10 mins before we were acknowledged by the staff when I waved someone down and asked who our server was today. I ordered the crab cakes Benedict with chipotle hollandaise sauce. It came with a potato pancake. I was kind of disappointed today because the eggs were actual in a quiche form not cooked with a runny yolk like I’m use to with eggs Benedict. The quiche was seasoned well but a little on the dry side. The crab cake could have been a little meatier with more crab meat in my opinion. It tasted good though. I enjoyed the chipotle hollandaise sauce it went well with the crab cakes. I enjoyed the potato pancake. The seasoning was on point and cooked perfectly. My hun gave his venison meat loaf and mash potatoes a 5 star if he had to chose 1 – 5 star rating. Him and I enjoy cooking and have the same pallet on taste in foods but he just isn’t one for Unilocal.I would be back to try other dishes here.

Great brunch spot. It was an hour long wait, but it was well worth it! The frozen lemonade was so tasty, especially on a hot day.
Our server Justin was awesome. He was there to answer any questions and gave us plenty of time to debate the menu. Super attentive all in all he was great.
We got the classic eggs Benedict and the ½ order of the Migas. Both were very good. I especially liked the potato pancake. Bloody Mary was also great!!!
Corn bread free appetizers w butter were also good, a little dry but eh they were free.
Conclusion: Go! :)

Won’t come back. Food was ehh and wait was so long! Luckily we called ahead so we only waited for our table for 5 – 10 min. The actual food took forever though. If we ever were missing something or needed a refill it took 10 min per item to come back. We got the salsa trio with queso and guac. We were expecting typical queso but it was a hard piece of cheese the way it came out. The chips and salsa appetizer took 20 min to come out. My coke also had a piece of food in it.
Overrated. Slow service. Food is meh. Not worth it.

Came here for dinner last night. It was a favourite of our Austenite companions. I don’t know why. The décor is basic and the place was heaving and noisy. Our server was pleasant and attentive but the food was extremely disappointing,
We had a variety of appetisers. The ceviche was utterly tasteless, as was the steak tartare. I enjoyed the crab cake and the gazpacho. Next i ordered the scallop and clam dish with chorizo. This was so acidic, made worse by the olive tapenade and the romesco sauce that I could not eat it. I left most of it as it was inedible.
One of our number found a large part of a silicone utensil in her trout dish. Ugh.
I had some mexican vanilla ice cream to finish which was delicious but this is brought in from outside, manufactured by Austin’s ice cream legend Amy.
Mediocre and completely undeserving of its high rating on Unilocal in my opinion.

Two 1600 filets one well, one med rare. Med rare came out med well. But as a red blooded ‘merican I couldn’t send my filet back to be tossed out. Would be a waste. My filet was not my favorite by far. Not worth the price point either. Asparagus and herb smashed potatoes were delicious, and the maple demi glacé was sweet, tangy, and on point. But the star was a no show.
Spring risotto refused-​disliked spice/​cheese. The menu doesn’t list ingredients beyond vegetables.
No wait on Saturday before Memorial Day at 730pm. Awesome.
Ribeye special devoured by my fiancée. She was sold on it as soon as DeWayne said it was served with asparagus.
DeWayne was a fantastic server for our group of 8 ½.

Finally got around to trying this place and was pretty happy.
Arrived around 3:45 Friday afternoon and brunch was still going till 4pm, interesting.
I started to leave and the hostess started up selling on the brunch menu and I was enticed.
We took a booth at the windows facing the Soco drag show, constant entertainment. Burgers, ceviche, tuna tartare, venison meatloaf, crab cakes for brunch, things that make you go hmmm…
Multiple time zoned menu, pay attention:
3pm — happy hour starts
3pm — half price appetizers start
4pm — brunch ends
4−5pm — only left side of brunch menu available
5pm — dinner menu starts
6pm — straight up dinner menu and all other time zones expire
Not even the servers are able to explain this mayhem but I took notes and participated in all of the timely offerings.
It’s all very complicated but I think we arrived at the Bermuda Triangle of menus and totally capitalized.
Half priced apps: tuna tartare was good enough at half price but iffy at full price. Calamari was huge oversized portion of thick cut pieces, complete bargain.
From the left side of the menu the Arugula mint salad with compressed agave infused watermelon was super sized and delish. Gumbo was ok with a lighter colored gravy type consistency, not my style.
Moving on to the dinner menu at 5 and the crispy skin trout was superb!
We had no room for dessert obviously and will revisit to check it out.
Also inquired about dogs on the patio and received a response of negatory. Oh well doesn’t hurt to ask.
Interesting brunch menu most of the day and then crazy menus mashup into dinner keeps things entertaining.

Started off with the Baked Brie. It was a great new twist on cheese as the fruit (blue berries & raspberries) balanced out the cheese and added the right amount of sweetness. The brie is lightly coated in a habañero jelly which gave it a bit of spice as well.
Next I had the Spring Risotto that comes with sun dried tomatoes and I added chicken. Very tasty and generous portions.
We went mid-​day (3−4pm) and there was no wait.

SoCo’s is super trendy, and a great spot to start your SoCo shopping adventure. The menu is uppity tex-​mex and American, offering eggs Benedict on crab cakes, migas enchiladas and other twists on your favorite brunch menu items. You can tell this place is a local favorite too, because most tables are croweded with UT Austin students eating off their hangover from the party the night before.
I had the migas enchiladas with a potato pancake. The migas were OK, but for me it was allll about the potato pancake. It wasn’t your typical latka. Actually, the consistency was more of an actual pancake. When I go back, I’ll order the carrot cake french toast. Skip the chips and salsa sampler, not worth it. This place is all about ambiance inside and out. If the main dining room is crowded, hit up the patio to the back. Its covered in trees and they have a full bar. Its also easier to carry a conversation.

The wait alone was crazy on a Saturday morning. We were told an hr and a half wait. But because we saw such good review on it we said sure okay. When they texted saying our table was ready we found out we were forced to split into 2 separate tables which already was somewhat a red flag for me. What kind of policy does a restaurant have to split a group up to enjoy a meal together. Anyways we did as was told. Our table happened to have a new trainee which was fine when she messed up on the special. We made our drink and entre order. Took the Unilocal advice and got myself the carrot cake French toast with the white sangria.
Let me start with the service. It was horrific. I notice that the lunch flow was already dying down by the time we sat down. So there’s really no excuse why we had to wave 2 different server for simply a straw and Tabasco sauce. My 2 gfs ordered bloody Mary’s and was told they can make it Spicer if she wanted them too. which she asked TWICE. It never happened. My white sangria was alright… the carrot cake French toast was alright. Everything was just alright. For a meal that was pretty pricy for what they are. I paid $ 13 for French toast. I could have went to waffle house for something twice as cheap but twice the quality. CMON!
To say the least the experience there just went down and drowned. The manager did come by and asked us what he can do. He offered discount cards for next time. We told him we were not from austin. And quite frankly wouldn’t come back or recommend this place to anyone.

I love to travel because I learn something new everywhere I go. One such genre of new things I love to learn about is food. On this trip, I was introduced to Migas, a Tex-​Mex cousin to Chilequiles only better. Eggs, tortilla chips and a cheesy gravy-​like sauce all come together to make a monster breakfast or pre-​hangover/​post bender masterpiece. South Congress Café was the second place I had this dish and, with such simple ingredients, laid waste to my first experience with Migas the night before. The star of my meal was a humble cup of oyster and duck sausage gumbo. A brick roux was the base for this slightly spicy, perfectly seasoned, «I gare-​own-​tee yo gone love dis» gumbo I have eaten this side of the Mississippi.
Since I was in vacation mode, I decided to wash my meal down with a Mexican Coffee. Adults only for this beverage please.
The vibe of the place is a little hipster, but I would not have expected anything less in Austin. Service was friendly and my food came out at light speed.
This is a great little place to fuel up for some eclectic sopping in SOCO.

Only been here once so take what you can from this review.
Came from a Sunday brunch, tbe wait was about 30−40min so I suggest going early if possible.
While waiting, we ordered the chips/​queso/​salsa. YOU MUST GET THIS! The salsas were mediocre, but the queso was absolutely to die for. It comes with soft tortillas, and a different mixture of types of chips.
I ordered the Huevos Rancheros plus advocado and bacon. It was good, to me didnt really stand out to others ive tried. The avocado did taste very fresh so that was nice! The bacon is tasty as well, sort of a thicker leaner cut.
The pancake was interesting, I wish I had not been so full as I would of ate it as well.
Coffee — is delicious !!
Our server was super friendly and funny too :)

This was my third time going to soco café and still bomb as always. I don’t go often but every time I do I’m never disappointed. I shared the eggs Benedict with my sister and we as a table shared the carrot cake French toast too. The bf got the pork hash and had leftovers for the next day. Service was a little slow but understandable since it was packed on a Saturday afternoon.

You walk past this place on South Congress and may think nothing of it, but when you walk in and taste their food, you won’t regret it. I walked here in here with a friend on a Thursday night around 7pm and were luckily able to get seated right away. Our waiter was timely, not overbearing and very nice! I started off with a cup of the oyster and sausage gumbo that came in a lobster broth. Pretty spicy and tasty. My friend got the kale salad which was probably the most flavorful salad I have ever had. We then shared the beef milanse (which is really like a country fried steak) and the scallops. The beef milanse was so-​so (although huge portions!) and the scallops were a piece of heaven. I would definitely come back and try more of their fare when I’m in Austin again.

Came here with friends for brunch based on the high Unilocal review ratings and it was close to where I was staying that weekend. Needless to say, I was highly disappointed.
Wait time on a Saturday for brunch at around 11am was surprisingly fast (as I went during the weekend of SXSW), my 2 friends and I waited only 10 minutes before being seated. The restaurant is fairly big and it seemed to be very busy.
Of course I HAD to order the Tito’s infused Bloody Mary as this place is advertised as having one of the best bloody mary’s in town. Boy was I WAY DISAPPOINTED. Their bloody mary was NOT SPICY– I want reflux-​like, burning sensations when I drink my bloody mary– this one was WATERED down and I BARELY tasted ANY alcohol. So basically I drank a watered-​down, chilled, NON SPICY tomato juice. Yuck…
For brunch, upon the recommendation of our waiter, I got the Migas with bits of bacon mixed in and avocado on top. It sounded delicious when our waiter described it but IMO it was just meh. Very bland, the bacon gave it some salty taste, and I had to put a ton of hot sauce to give this dish some flavor. The black beans were disgusting and the potato pancake was tasteless. I would DEFINITELY NOT get this dish again. Blah!
Other than that, service was excellent– quick, speedy, and attentive– hence the extra star. Come here if you wanna be in with the cool crowd but if you’re looking for a good brunch place for food… don’t get what I ordered.

While visiting Austin over the weekend my boyfriend and I decided to try this restaurant for breakfast/​brunch. Luckily we arrived a little after 9am and snagged a table just in time. By 10am the wait was 30/​45mins. Also remember they don’t start serving liquor til 10am on the weekend…
I highly recommend this friendly establishment. The food was pretty good, even my boyfriend who is a picky eater enjoyed his dish. I ordered the Huevos Rancheros, they were indeed yummy.
The service was great!
Will definitely be back during my next trip to Austin.

The last time I came to South Congress Café was years ago, and I remembered it being good, I didn’t remember it being amazing! I had a lovely lovely dinner and I have to tell you about it.
First off, I sat at the bar, and was served by Mr. Justin who was an amazing host.
If you sit at the bar whilst you dine, you get 20% off your bill. I always sit at the bar!
The first meal I had was a butternut squash bisque that was full of delicious flavors. As a child I would stick chunks of cheese in all my soups and this reminded me of that with the slivers of I don’t remember what kind of cheese, but amazing cheese that did not melt, oh grana padana cheese, so delightfully surprising how good the bisque was.
And then I had a Warm Goat Cheese salad with tons of fresh greens and a light light vinaigrette. The goat cheese was breaded and fried into a little patty that exploded when you cut into it. Fresh Prosciutto… mmmm
And then the OSSO BUCCO!!! AHHHHH! Ancho braised, with grits and it had a little spice to it! I love a little heat. It was so moist and tender, With cilantro and shaved radish, oh and pickled corn! That is a first for me, pickled corn.
And then I had to try the Jalapeño Venison Meatloaf, the sauce was very unique, like a poblano sauce. It went really well with the garlic mashed taters. But honestly my favorite part about that dish was the collard greens. They were cooked perfectly, not too hard, not too soft… they were just right! Call me goldie locks.
Had a little dessert beverage after, the ADULT only XXX pumpkin spice latte, spiked and WOW the house made whipped cream! so creamy and fluffy and melt in your mouth, it made me feel dirty it was so good,… I could eat that out of a bowl! UGH, so good. And topped that with a neat port, very good selection of drinks in general. Some creativity, not too crazy, the classics and more. Good prices.
The overall experience was just perfect. The ambiance was great, the service was superb the FOOD is outstanding.

Was not impressed with South Congress at all. Considering that they have such a high rating with their huge number of reviews, I was so let down by the quality of the food here. This was the first place that I hit up when I got to Texas, and the fact that I was starving and the food still seemed mediocre to me. Can’t imagine the food would taste any better to me during another visit.
I tried two things– the eggs Benedict and the portobello scramble. The eggs Benedict was a joke. First off, visually this was the smallest and saddest looking eggs Benedict I’ve ever seen. Honestly the portion size would be more fitting for a kids meal. I definitely prioritize quality over quantity. So it’d be completely fine if the food was amazing, but it sadly was not. The hollandaise sauce was WAY too sour and tasted like there was an excessive amount of lemon juice. The egg was the most lackluster though. When I order eggs Benedict I expect a perfect runny yolk and the eggs Benedict here basically had a completely cooked center that was super dry.
The mushroom scramble was just alright, better than the eggs Benedict but not by much. I could probably whip up the same thing at home. Sadly the best part of the meal for me was the free bread and garlic butter. Our party of four felt that our experience here was extremely mediocre and honestly such a waste of a meal in Texas. There were a number of bookmarked places I had for visiting Texas, and this place was the only one that left me disappointed.

So we finally tried this place after all the hype and calling ahead with NO wait on sunny Saturday, unheard of! so we had to rush over! we got there around 1:30 however this was an unusual day the staff said they are always on a wait during the weekend, the don’t take reservations either and you have to be there to put your name in however there are a lot of cute shops near by you can waste time in.
the bring you the most amazing corn bread muffins with this sweet butter that i almost was too full to order i could have had 10 of them! i ordered a cup of the butternut squash soup which was by far the best thing i had for the meal, so sweet and creamy with amazing garnishes and cheese. My date ordered a bloody merry which i usually don’t like but this one was amazing!!! i should have ordered another one. he got the special of the day: blueberry goat cheese pancakes with a side of eggs and bacon. i ordered the crab cake egg Benedict which was good but not a traditional style so i had to order an extra side of the whipped hollindase because it was a tad try for my taste.
cant wait to go back and try more on the menu!!!