Cafe 131

Great little café BUT they are out-​of-​business! Have been for a couple of months! We really miss them!

We are DS residents and had dinner there with friends tonight. Congratulations! Rebbeca, the owner, went to every table and was friendly and made you feel like you were special. I had the tenderloin special with grilled brussel sprouts and potatoes and it was fabulous and only $ 18. It would have been $ 80 at Ruth Chris or any other downtown Austin steakhouse. My wife had the grilled romaine Caesar salad and loved it.
If you live in Austin, come out here to try it or stop in going back or forth to Fredericksburg.
You will love it! It’s very small and intimate.

A quaint little café that seats maybe 40 with an eclectic menue. The service was friendly but at a casual pace but not lagging. I had the soup of the day, a sweet potato curry, and a grilled ham and cheese sandwich. The soup was very good with the pairing of the sweetness of the potato offset by the mild curry bite. The sandwich was thin on the ham and cheese especially considering the price of the sandwich but the artisan sourdough bread was fantastic.
A downside is this place is not handicap friendly. There are no handicap parking spots in front of the café but there may have been one at another business at the back of the little shopping center. I doubt the little arched foot path could accommodate a wheelchair. Even trying to get over it using a cane was a chore as the path is native stone that is uneven and without an adequate handrail with to hold.
I would not go out of my way to eat here but it is worth a stop if you are passing through Dripping Springs.

It’s greasy, tucked away in Dripping Springs. They have good deals on Texas beers and appetizers. I’d go back.

This place is amazing! I had the Hob Nob Malbec and Schnitzel with herb pasta and Brussels! You HAVE to go here if you haven’t been!

We’ve been pleasantly surprised to find such a quaint place with fresh, farm-​to-​table food. Service is spotty, but the food is consistent. A plus that they offer Sunday brunch, as anything other than fast food is hard to find in the Drip on Sundays. Chicken fried steak is good (not quite as good as Nutty Brown, but definitely acceptable).

After our first good experience at Café 131 we thought we’d try it again this past weekend.
Unfortunately, the Sunday breakfast menu had changed. I ordered the 3 egg ham and cheese omelet. My wife ordered the eggs benedict.
My 3 egg omelet must have come from some pretty sickly chickens. It was more of a 1.5 egg omelet, no where near 3 eggs. And a side of burnt toast. I couldnt even stomach the terrible american potatoes, and had to swap for some boring hash browns. Awesome.
My wife’s eggs benedict was OK. The jalepeno hollandaise sauce was a bit much. They should offer some hollandaise without the jalepeno.
Probably won’t be back here anytime soon.

I was recently in Dripping Springs for a friend’s wedding, and looking for somewhere to have a late lunch. Stumbled upon Café 131 and glad I did! The wait staff was friendly and provided quick service. I had the panini — full of perfectly cooked eggplant, fresh mozzarella and ripe tomatoes. delicious! My friend ordered the club sandwich — it was HUGE. She couldn’t finish it, but the bacon was SO very good that we picked every last bite off the rest of her sandwich! I’ll definitely be back next time I’m in the area.

What a great find! They use local ingredients and the food was prepared fresh. We ordered a panini and a chopper salad.
Service was great. They brought out a bowl of water for our dogs.
Try it out. You won’t be disappointed.

OK I have been to this spot in D.S. a few times over the past several years with mixed results. I know it has changed hands at least twice during that time. I am always looking for some decent casual options out in Drippin so thought I would try again. Sunday lunch this time with the family. They got our order all wrong, and with only four tables full, so not sure where the lack of attention was, but the food was pretty good. Tasty burger that my sone ordered. Wife had a good sandwich. My $ 7 french toast with a $ 3 side of bacon (2 slices) seemed pricey for two pieces of bread and nothing on the side. Kids menu could have a few more options They need some help on ambiance. The paint and curtains etc never seem to be changed out even with new owners. They also need to spring for second bathroom. That is a bit of a hastle.

I use to come here for the food. Not sure if the quality of the food is going to be the norm or not. But i think I’ll wait for things to settle down before returning Give the new owners time to get use to running this place. I miss the old owners and kitchen staff. Time to look for a new Sunday brunch location. I posted a photo of the french fries that came with my burger order. Scary! Black potatoes make for black greasy french fries. Fries should be crispy and not soggy limp and greasy. My dining companion ordered what she has been ordering from the establishment since it opened, Veggie Omelet. Now the new owners seem to think that omelets have the cheese on top and the ingredients mixed with the egg and folded over with nothing in the center. I think someone is missing to point of what makes a omelet and omelet and not a furtatta. I posted a picture of the unmelted cheese mass that covered the top of the omelet. My dining companion tried to put the cheese into the empty center of the folded egg mass, but that did not work to melt the cheese as the temperature had dropped below the melting point of the cheese.

I just flew down from Chicago for a week and had the pleasure of finding this restaurant on my penultimate night in town because of my fellow Unilocalers that took the time to entice me to this discovery.
A big part of the draw to this restaurant is that so much of what they serve up is sourced locally. I came for the dinner and was not disappointed.
For appetizers, we had buttermilk onion rings and chips with a trio of dipping options, including black beans, a pico de gallo (w/​purple onions) and a fantastic cheese sauce that I may have broke ranks with the chef when I introduced my onion rings into it.
Texas can be hot at this time of year but I opted to stay cool through a few of my subsequent choices. After the appetizers, I enjoyed a cool creamed pea soup which had a dollop of minted cream that would yield a taste of mint with every sheared sliver into each spoonful of soup.
For the main course, I went with a chopped salad that included Fargo yellow pear tomatoes, shredded carrots, cucumbers, as well as chicken and bacon.
And finally, for dessert, I sampled a flourless chocolate cake and a crème brûlée.
The service was wonderful, the owners came over and spoke with us and I left completely sated. If there is only one small suggestion that I think could improve the experience, the option to order an espresso or cappuccino would be a welcome addition to the beverage selection, which on its own is already quite diverse.

This placed has changed ownership AGAIN!!! I have to say, I do like the faster service under the new ownership, but I do not like the food. They ran out of pancake mix, who does that. I have never been before with the old owners and never had a problem getting pancakes. The hash browns were super burnt for my husband and I, they were so crispy that they were dry. Never happened with the old owners. We were very unhappy about the taste of our breakfast food. The gravy tasted like the gravy I buy in the box from the grocery store. And I love country gravy, but no theirs. My husband ordered the breakfast sandwich and the croissantt was falling apart and he couldn’t eat it like a sandwich. It was gross. I don’t think we will be going back anytime soon. The breakfast was horrible.

My husband and I feel in love with Café 131! First, we often order to go because this place is very small. I’m talking a dozen tables inside and a few outside.
Second, you will not go away hungry! They have huge servings. Don’t tell me I didn’t warn ya!
We’ve had breakfast and lunch and everything has been absolutely delicious. Honorable mentions is the Hill Country Eggs Benedict and the Monte Cristo! And their fries are to die for.
If you’re looking for something out of the norm and want some great food at great prices, give Café 131 a try!

Great staff /​New owner /​Tremendous food /​Try the pork chop /​Best restaurant in Dripping Springs bar none! Rebecca is really doing things with this restaurant. I would say it is a ‘must stop’ if you are near Dripping Springs!

They sold out to new owners April 2012, changed lots, food really bad now.
Will not be back.

Yuuummmm! Had a great dinner here the other night with a dear friend and her darling mother. New owners Rebecca and Don (Ron? Rob?!) were charming and fun hosts, filling us in on a little of the café’s history and their plans to update and improve the restaurant– they’ve started with the kitchen and are working their way out from there. I loved chatting with them about their art collection and the potential for expanded out-​door seating.
I was more than pleased with the delicious schnitzel I ordered. It came out hot, fresh, juicy, pounded very thin and delicately breaded with panko breadcrumbs. The citrus-​jalepeno butter sauce was a perfect complement to the chicken, and the mashed potatoes that rounded off the plate were outstanding– luscious, creamy, slightly tart (sour cream? cheese? something delicious!) and perfectly flavorful. My friend had the steak, medium rare, and her mom had the shrimp scampi (aka the fried shrimp special– not fried!). The kitchen seemed more than happy to accommodate dietary restriction and the server was friendly. We had a good meal and a good time in a clean, casual atmosphere. We will definitely be back!

Had breakfast at this little joint this morning, on my way to see my bestie out in Dripping Springs.
I ordered the Garden Omelet and had them add some ham to it… Yes, I love meat… and it also came with a side of hash browns. I skipped the biscuits. They just fill me up too fast. Everything was wonderful! The eggs were fluffy and cooked just right and they just barely covered up the glorious goodies stuffed inside. The vegetables we’re Julienne perfectly for my taste! The hash browns were cooked crispy which is also right up my ally. The homemade hot sauce was good but there was something different about it that I couldn’t put my finger on. It almost tasted like they added cinnamon to it.
Small, quiet, friendly waitress and good food will have me coming back for more.

This place in downtown Drippin’ used to be called the Hill Country Kitchen. The good news is that only the name has changed, and they’re still serving up the awesome Country Fried Rib-​Eye (order one, and you’ll hear the chef out in the kitchen, pounding it thin). The owners recently updated the name to stand out more (literally; now you actually can see the new sign from Highway 290). But it’s still the same cozy, historic-​house setting (the dining room is tiny, with just 12 tables, which makes it a good spot for conversation). And the same Cordon Bleu chef is doing his creative take on comfort food, with a commitment to fresh, «farm-​to-​table» ingredients.
Back to the Rib-​Eye: Battered, fried crisp and covered with cream gravy, it’s the most tender chicken-​fried steak I’ve ever eaten. The Duck Confit is cured with lavender from Boggy Creek farm, then braised till it’s falling-​off-​the-​bone delicious. Both dishes were served with chunky house-​mashed potatoes. This is rustic comfort food done well!
The Old-​Fashioned Pot Roast was just that: tender, well-​seasoned and served with a delicious broth to spoon over our mashed potatoes. Caesar salad featured crisp baby romaine lettuce, fresh-​shaved leaves of parmesan, and real caesar dressing with a hint of anchovies.
A goat-​cheese and arugula salad used toasted sourdough as its base. We spread the lemon-​zested cheese on the toast, then pile the greens on top for a nice flavor combo of tangy cheese with peppery greens.
Café 131 is a little more casual at lunch, serving burgers, sandwiches and salads. The BLT was loaded with lots of crisp bacon and fresh tomatoes. The fries were hand-​cut and seasoned with sea salt.
The French Dip sandwich was heaven on a plate. Hot slices of roast beef were topped with melted provolone and served on a sub roll. You’re supposed to dip the sandwich into the warm au jus, like a beef broth.
There’s a short but good wine list, with reasonable prices. Dinner hours are variable, so I would check to be sure they are open.

Another flip in the ever changing Drippin’ restaurant scene with Hill Country Kitchen being replaced by Café 131. Same building, sorta same menu, and some new staff members. I have to mention the sign outside was changed and the menu and interior chalk board still says HCK. Every remodel is different with new owners picking a different color palate for the walls. Enough layers of paint and eventually this tiny building could be reduced to one table.
The story goes that someone contacted me about my review asking questions in which ownership I did my previous review. Its that bad folks; two or three owners under the Hill Country Kitchen name. The new folks have finally changed the name to Café 131 denoting the address on a street thats roughly a half mile long.
I chose to take little Rooster in for a visit under rare conditions. He is never sick; yet after a trip to the Zilker train and Barton Creek mall he ran a 5 day low grade fever. He was miserable with mouth sores following his fever finally breaking. The waitress was kind and understanding. My friends who happened to be dining when I got there were sympathetic and caring.
I ordered him the equivalent of the baby hungry man breakfast. It was at least two eggs (which he doesn’t eat), slice of bacon, and two pancakes. Those would be adult size pancakes with a drink for $ 4. Its a leftover from the previous menu/​owners its a huge amount of food for the price. So 131 gets great marks for the kid options. I chose the chorizo migas. The dish turned out to be a close hybrid of the traditional dish with fried flour tortilla strips, eggs, jalapenos, tomatoes, etc. The eggs even with the chorizo folded in with a splash of cheddar showed no grease residue on the plate. The hashbrowns that arrived late were decent fare.
Café 131 is by no means a homerun in regards to the menu. Some parts are the same dishes that caused previous HCK versions to fail within a year. My advice would be to think outside the box of the hill country triangle. We’ve got plenty of boring Tex-​Mex, fried stuff, average Chinese, and fast food burger joints. Take this place in a direction that local folks won’t be scared to frequent; but put a spin on the dishes that please the eclectic mix of new and old residents of North Hays County.