Stallion Grill

Food was pretty good. The type of restaurant that has food laid out already, like Panda Express. Pork chops were amazing! Very friendly staff. They came out to our table to talk to us just to chit chat, cook also came out to talk and gave a free giant container of candy to the child with us.

Nasty Fries felt like they just dumped them in a pot full of grease. The cook was rude and not very happy when my helper wanted his money back for the food he never got. The only thing that was good was the burger. The tea was nasty too. The owner was pleasant and my biggest tip would to be clean the place up and have a better staff.

So I am updating my review because I sent a message to Stallion Grill on 4/​16, and they never responded. This is the message that I sent:
I was very upset after I left your restaurant this evening. I arrived at arund 6:15pm. I ordered beef tips with rice. First I asked if you had rice because when I went there 2 weeks ago for beef tips and rice, I was told that the rice had already been thrown out, and offered beef tips on top of mashed potatoes instead. Since that is not what I drove there for, I passed. I went back today and ordered my meal. The man who helped me came back and asked for payment, but he did not tell me what the total was. I asked. He said that he thought it would be $ 9.19. I asked, «well how much is the meal? Isn’t it $ 7.99?» He said that the prices had gone up a $ 1. He said that a meal was $ 7.49, but now it’s $ 8.49. Then he told me that my grand total was $ 10. He said that he had to charge me .25 for a bag. Which my suggestion is that you either ask your customers if they want to pay .25 for a bag, or ask of they even need one. It is not right to assume that your customers are okay with paying .25 for a bag. The bottom line is that I was charged $ 10 for a meal that should have been $ 8.49 plus tax. Please tell me how you guys came up with that number. Then I eat my food when I get to work, because that is where I was on my way to, and the beef tips and sauce were so salty that I could not even eat them. I can pretty much guarentee you that this will be my last visit to your establishment. I would rather get a refund than to be offered a meal on the house. Yes I was that disappointed. I used to frequent your establishment quite a bit when I lived around the corner. I live off of Oltorf now, and could have chosen to go anywhere I want, but I chose your restaurant, only to get or feel screwed over in the end. Lastly, from a customer’s perpective, your prices are entirely too high. I could have had a meal that was comparable, if not better, at Luby’s for a much cheaper price. And so next time, that is what I will do. If you continue to do business in this manner, your restaurant will fail. I’m sorry to say it, but I’ve been around the restaurant business enough to know. Please tell me how you would/​will remedy this situation. Thank you.
It’s too bad that customer service is not on their list of priorities, and that they could not even respond with an apology. I will not be returning to this restaurant.

This place is like Luby’s scruffy homeboy, but in all the right ways.
I came in here expecting something pretty questionable and possibly life-​threatening but was too hungry to care. I ordered the beef tips with gravy, collard greens and yams. Big piece of pink frosted cake? Why the fuck not, since I’m probably going to die of cholera anyway.
I closed my eyes, said a prayer and dove in. Well Howdy doo. The meat was fantastic with nary a trace of gristle, fat or that other questionable shit they could have hidden in that delicious, soul-​soothing gravy. The collards were cooked with big chunks of tender brisket. The pink cake tasted.pink.
The nice guy behind the counter who probably heard my animal squeals of pleasure came over and plopped a complimentary pork chop on my plate. Again, it was tender, juicy and fantastic.
And those controversial yams? Son, If you’ve got a problem with anything that tastes exactly like pumpkin pie, you’ve got a problem with life. That brings me to the atmosphere: it’s not some hipster’s sepia-​toned reimagining of a southern diner, it’s a real fucking diner.
I like Michael Hsu designed architecture and 5 star presentation but in an increasingly trendy town there’s just something comforting to me about checkered tablecloths, plastic trays and friendly counter help that looks like they might have done time.

I ate turkey and dressing with green beans and sweet potatoes at STALLION GRILL today, and survived to tell the tale (so far). I have been wanting to eat there for years. The plate was not much to look at but the flavors were spot on and tasty. The bread was hard and old. Ultimately, Stallion Grill did not disappoint.
The entire place was goddamn filthy and the workers were overbearing and obsequious. I got a distinct feeling every employee was on some type of uppers. There were flies everywhere.
Recommended. Do not attend if immuno-​compromised.

There are only a couple of places here in Austin where you can get some good Southern comfort food and I have to say this is a place that I’ve frequent a few tines and I have walked away feeling good about the money I spent.

meh

Chicken fried chicken is the bomb!
Most of their sides are pretty darn good too, BUT, someone else must be cookin the greens now because they have tomatoes in them-​yuck, and are loaded w pepper.
I’m not a fan of onion soup smothered pork chops, so I don’t eat theirs. I like mine better, but this place is a good stop!
Not cheap, but you’ll be stuffed!

Stallion Grill is certainly one of those greasy spoons that you have on your radar and plan to check out down the road. On a low blood sugar Sunday, I was ready to dig into the meat and 3 offerings at this joint. I went in with high expectations because I am a sucker for Southern grub. Plus, it was Sunday. Who doesn’t gorge themselves on the Sabbath?
The choices were quite diverse, and it all looked quite good. Except the overly brown yams. Prices were a bit higher than most, with portions being a little smaller, unfortunately. The empty, somewhat dirty restaurant could have possibly added a less desirable ambiance; I prefer my mom and pops to contain crowds on Sunday and not have flies.
So, normally, if I were to hear something like «Fried chicken, meatloaf, smothered pork chops, chicken n’ dumplins, and gumbo» in response to my question of «What are y’alls’ daily specials?», I would freak out. Here. I was quite disappointed with a couple of those selections.
The smothered pork chops were certainly smothered, but it ended up being something along the lines of salisbury steak, as the batter just melted into the somewhat lumpy sauce. The chicken and dumplings was almost room temperature, the chicken was mealy, and the broth was bland.
An important component of a meat and 3 is the quality of the cornbread (or roll, if you must). The cornbread was not warm and was quite hard. No, thanks.
As I said before, the yams were too dark, and they were far too sweet and syrupy. The black eyed peas had a weird tang. The cabbage was boring. Lastly, the green beans were bitter.
Alas, I can say I have staked my claim at this Austin-​born institution. Did I like it? Not really.

I’ve been meaning to write this review for a while now. I made sure to remind myself to do it when I got the chance and kept the details fresh. I went in on my lunch break one day (probably around 3 – 5 p.m.) and ordered the CFS with Mac n Cheese and Mashed Potatoes. The service wasn’t too bad, but wasn’t «down-​home» hospitality or anything either.
The main reason I was insistent on writing this review was because my skepticism ran heavy when I received the entire meal about 4 minutes after sitting down. I watched the cook come out from the back and take the order from the cashier, yet the food came out quick, and honestly the taste reflected that. The sides were ok. But the CFS itself had breading that quickly came off the steak like a flat piece of contruction paper. Aside from that the steak itself was lukewarm and a bit stringy/​tough. Have I had worse? Maybe, but not in the recent past. That cook completely botched my cfs, and seeing as I can usually enjoy one from Burger Tex right across the street, that meal left a bad taste in my mouth.

You will Not find a better value for your dollar. This wonderful, very casual home style place has a nice variety of daily specials & always has a wide array of choices. Lunches for about $ 8 gets U. Full & U will take home the rest for dinner or lunch tmw.
You will never leave hungry nor have kinder, focused service.
I have been going to the «Tuesdays Turkey & Dressing or Stuffed Peppers» days since they opened.
They have a drive thru, many use that for the Breakfast tacos or lunches.
In my book, the Stallion Grill can Not be beat!
See U @ Turkey Tuesday!

Stallion Grill re-​do.
Hold on the Foolish Boys had another mini tour this Saturday and since I was the only one that had been to the Stallion Grill before the boys chose this place to try. One of our team was skeptical and did not eat the food here because of some of the reviews he had read, specifically the one about the mold.
The rest of us ordered our meals and ate them with no problem. The Boominator ordered chicken and dumplings with corn and Mac & cheese, New Jersey Tex ordered sausage with sweet taters and corn, I ordered the meatloaf with cabbage and Mac & cheese, our meals came with a roll or corn bread.
We all liked our meals except the one who could not eat. We also agreed that it was not as much fun as Juan in a Million last week, we finished our food and left and headed to our desert place of choice.
Would we go back? That remains to be seen.

I like tacos, unless they are of the breakfast variety– which is all that seems to be offered for breakfast in most Austin restaurants.
Not Stallion Grill though, if you want good down home southern cooking for breakfast– this is the place to be. It isn’t healthy by any stretch of the imagination, but dang its tasty!
The food was excellent. I got a ham biscuit and OJ and my fiancé got some sort of breakfast platter with a little of almost everything on it and he said it was all pretty tasty and my food was great as well.
The place looked a little run down, but the places that serve the best southern home cooking usually are. The staff was super friendly and we will definitely be back if we are in this area of town again at breakfast time.

Oh dear. I was hoping for the best, since they’re close to home, I like to support local businesses, and they serve southern food, which is code for comfort food.
I liked the people there very much, and I liked the idea that the food is all cooked fresh daily, so once they’re out, the dish is 86ed for the day. The likes pretty much ended there, sadly. My food wasn’t very good (mine was overcooked), nor was my other half’s (he described it as «meh,» but he doesn’t like food much generally, so YMMV). I almost spit my food out on the spot though when I saw the stained, moldy ceiling tiles in the dining room, next to the kitchen wall. Ceiling tiles aren’t expensive, and the green and gray mold was absolutely sickening. It made me immediately wonder where else there were this kind of issues, especially since this portion of ceiling is RIGHT AGAINST the kitchen wall. The owner came out and asked us how the food was and I didn’t have the heart/​balls to tell him the truth about everything :(
I feel bad giving them so few stars because they’re just so darn nice, but I don’t think we’ll be going back.

All I wanted to do when I got home yesterday was curl up in the fetal position on my couch. I had a bad day, but I was starving. All I wanted was comfort food, specifically mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, and a roll. From a drive thru. I realize I was being picky. Let me stress, it was a REALLY bad day.
So I checked out Unilocal to see if I could find a place that seemed like it would have comfort food from a drive thru. Stallion Grill was mentioned in a talk thread and it’s near my house, so off I went!
It looked promising when I pulled up to the drive thru to find a long list of sides. Fried okra! That’s exactly what I needed to go with my mac and cheese and mashed potatoes, I just didn’t know it until I saw it on the list! I ordered the veggie plate and it came with a roll, just like I wanted! Because it was such a bad day, I opted for an order of peach cobbler, too.
The staff at the window were so nice! And the sweet guy called me «Hun»! Just what I needed at the end of a long day!
The food was what I hoped, straight-​up comfort food. The potatoes were delicious. The mac and cheese was good, but I may try another side next time since they have so many choices. The fried okra was spot on. The roll was perfect! I’ll ask for two next time!
I was a little sad when I got home to find the gravy was left off my mashed potatoes. They were delicious alone; I’m sure they would have been even better with the gravy. The other sad thing was that the peach cobbler was just okay. I wouldn’t order it again. Instead, I would probably give the banana pudding a try.
Now that I know this place is a drive thru option near my house, I’ll be back soon. The specials of the day look like a great value, so I’ll definitely try one of those. Even if it’s a normal or a good day!

I’ve eaten here two and a half times, and I gotta say, kudos to the cook (if not the architect, interior designer and marketing person). I live just a stone’s throw from this place, and have driven past countless times over the last year; before they actually began utilizing the marquee under their sign, I had no idea what they served or when they were open. Half the time, they seemed closed, and I suppose I never wanted to be that fool sitting all by my lonesome in the drive-​thru when it turns out the place was closed (I’ve been there — it’s not funny).
But a few months back, my boyfriend was peckish and I wasn’t, so he left the house en route to Hill-​berts. He returned with a BBQ brisket sammich from The Stallion. Geographic and culinary confusion aside, neither of us regretted his decision; he’s not even a huge brisket fan, but felt compelled to order BBQ since they advertise themselves as a BBQ joint (and I guess he was lured by the bright red drive-​thru menu?). Along with his sandwich, he had two sides: green beans and mashed potatoes.
I’m currently convinced they sneak a little crack in their potatoes, because holy damn. I only wanted a taste, but had to literally throw the fork away in order to stop myself from eating all of them; his BBQ was equally delicious, and the green beans, though a smidge overcooked (which is likely what you’re used to if you’ve grown up in the South), were seasoned wonderfully.
I’ve since returned and tried out two different daily specials — the smothered pork chops, w/​two sides I can’t recall, and just today, the meatloaf w/​mashed potatoes and collard greens. This dish, along with chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and fried okra, are two meals by which I judge any restaurant that positions itself as southern or down-​home cooking. After finishing my second meal mere moments ago, I am saddened that I only have two thumbs — I wish I were a Matt Groening character, so he could draw me with eighteen thumbs (damn those nuclear power plant baths)… if I were that character, I would give 15 thumbs to The Stallion.
(the other three I would hold back, primarily because the drive-​thru it always a bit slow, and today, I felt stupid for sitting at the speaker for five minutes in the rain, after which the window guy appeared and told me to drive up since his headphones were broken)
On one hand, I hope more people begin frequently this joint, because I always wonder if they have enough business to stay solvent; however, there’s just as big a part of me that wants this place to stay my little neighborhood secret.

Horse-​lovers relax — they don’t serve up stallions here. It just tastes like it.
It’s tough giving this place 2 stars b/​c — as Rick N. mentioned — the people here are really nice. And they aren’t aiming for high-​end cuisine either — it’s just ‘down-​home’ cooking and BBQ.
The worst thing I’ve had here is the BBQ brisket sandwich. I’ve eaten a LOT of brisket since moving here 8 months ago and this was by far the worst. I don’t think they smoke it at all. It resembles the brisket your grandmother would make — I say ‘your grandmother’ because my grandmother was a great cook and I’m not going to sully her good name by comparing this ropey tasteless beef to her brisket. 1 star.
The burger is pretty good. A notch below Burger Tex. 3-​star.
I haven’t tried any of the other BBQ items but, after the brisket, I’m skeptical. I’m not a fan of down-​home cookin’ (i.e., meat + gravy + potatoes) so, if I go back, I’ll likely stick with the burger. But maybe they’ve got a savant-​like skill for another dish — you never know…

I’m going with this rating, not because it necessarily merits it entirely… moreso, because the people there were genuinely good people, and I’d feel bad giving it the two the food so wholeheartedly deserves.
Walking in, you’re greeted with amusement park style railing, guiding you through a short maze… the end destination being the sides grazing in the heated metal bins before you. Cutting to the chase, I had entered Luby’s, only this was the family owed Austin equivalent.
Let me be honest… I am an unqualified sucker for the plastic, red checkerboard tablecloths. Same for folksy pictures, tables bolted into the wall, and employees with ‘personality.’ When that ‘personality’ involves an employee picking their nose and wiping it on their sleeve prior to filling my drink… while still darkly humorous, that action is a tad disturbing. Don’t get me wrong, the very same employee in question was intent on providing good service… matter of fact she came by every few minutes to makes sure our dining experience was otherwise a good one.
I guess what the place is missing is awareness. I don’t think it dawned on the young women that digging for gold probably wasn’t the best of ideas. I don’t think it dawned on the manager that it is very odd that there is an 18% gratuity added to bill when using a
certificate. Other restaurants, yes, but here I ordered at the counter… there was no waiter, and I assume, customers don’t routinely leave tips… so the 18% is for what? And, then there was the ‘who’s on first routine’ that involved identifying the beverages that were dispensed from the soda machine 15 seconds prior.
And…insofar as the food. Again, I was reminded of Luby’s more than once. I had the chicken fried chicken. Other than it being larger than my head and buried in a sea of gravy, it was as advertised. Filling, if not a little bland. Another of us got the turkey… it was quite tasty and was especially tender and juicy. The catfish got so-​so remarks, but I honestly didn’t partake.
Insofar as sides, the cole slaw had a good taste, though it was a bit runny. The yams were also a big hit amongst us. The mac’n’cheese was kinda cold and entirely lacking flavor. The corn was functional, but, following the pattern, was also oddly cold.
I was really looking forward to the bread pudding for dessert, yet the restaurant had sold out. No worries, I’ll get the banana pudding. Oh, okay, sold out of that too. Well, what can I get? Turns out, nothing, nada, they had sold out of all desserts.
Writing this review is almost as much convincing as I need to give a two… yet despite it all, the employees of the Stallion Grill do such an amazing job of couching diners disappointment in the best of intentions that you almost don’t realize how comfortable you’ve become with seemingly lowered expectations upon leaving their establishment. Well done, Stallion Grill, well done indeed.

If you want some solid southern cooking for a low price, Stallion Grill is the place to go. For $ 7 you get meat, two sides, a dinner roll and a salad. I got the chicken with mashed potatoes and mac ‘n cheese. The chicken was perfectly seasoned and delicious. The mashed potatoes were made from scratch and very good. Some people complained that the mac ‘n cheese was a bit bland which I tend to agree with but after eating all the other salty flavors in my dish, it worked out fine for me. Glad to find this place only a few minutes from my place instead of trucking it all the way up north to Dot’s.

It’s not healthy, but it sure is tasty. You order from the counter. The staff was very patient and helpful on my first trip here. I had to try the BBQ platter combo. The turkey was quite good, but I wouldn’t recommend the brisket. I’ve been spoiled in Austin by better options. The fries and onion rings were really good, and they need to be ordered separately.
Just know what type of place you’re at, and it’s hard to complain about much. It’s not fancy, and it’s the opposite of a chain.