Royers Round Top Cafe

Had the best dinner with friends! The first time to experience Royer’s during «off season». The menu is to die for, with more items to choose from than what is offered during antique week. I chose the pork tenderloin with broccoli and quinoa. The pork was topped with a sweat peach & spicy glaze. YUM! I saved room for their award winning pie! I had the apple. SO GOOD! The food is exceptional, but the service is even better. Angie was on top of it the whole evening. She is funny and is truly the best waitresses around! (And she was patient with our group). We had so much fun that we ended up sitting at our table telling story after story! We’ll be back soon! I want to try their shrimp & grits. :).

After seeing Royer’s on Food Network which featured their Sweet & Salty Chocolate Pie on the Top Five Restaurants we headed down from DFW. We decided just to get pies to go after reading the lunch menu & the «No Substitutions» clause. The restaurant on Saturday was small, tight & loud! You can get pies at the restaurant or their pie shop a block away. We opted for the shop but when there found that you can only get the ‘sampler plate’ at the restaurant. :(
We chose Sweet & Salty and the Crack Berry pie. The berry pie crust had a bit more sugar in it but otherwise it was pale, doughy & lacking in flavor. It just seemed a conglomerate of berries with no distinctive flavor. The Sweet & Salty was essentially a dry brownie in a crust with salt crystals on top.
For $ 5.00 a slice, we were sadly disappointed as we had expected top of the line! The Oxbow bakery in Palestine was so much better. Next time, we’ll brave the line & try Pie Emporium in Dallas.

Over $ 100 for two HORRIBLE appetizers, two dinners (with the tiniest piece of — well, the menu said it was snapper, but…) and two desserts. NEVER again. NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER again will we go there. We could have eaten at a 5 star restaurant here in Houston for the ridiculous price we paid there. Really, truly underwhelming stuff. We decided that if we were ever to go to Round Top again, we will go to a sandwich place. As one of the other guests at the B&B said to us, «You can’t really ruin a sandwich.» And at least we wouldn’t have to take out a loan for sub par food. Just such a disappointment. :(

Not so great and pricey. Pie crust was almost white, lacked flavor. maybe just under baked, but really, just not that great. How can anyone do a bad BURGER? Well, I think Royers answered that. yuk on the flavor, taste like heavy garlic in their beef. After reading over the reviews I guess we should have order different, but we were just wanting a good burger, and it didn’t happen. The people at the table we shared also commented on the burgers, they made the same comment about a garlic flavor, but we just dismissed it and had already ordered… oh well… First impressions are huge, and that burger was ours, so looks like we wont be back.

Our new place when in Round Top! I had Karen’s lemon chicken and the creamed corn and mashed potatoes. Excellent and the cream of corn was so fluffy and perfect. I can quite tell what made it so light, egg whites or cream fraiche? Anyways mom had the broccoli, corn, and potatoes and we are both in heaven! We ate so much we had to order pies to go. I have cherry and she got Apple. That will be one sweet snack for us tomorrow!

I visited Royers on Monday November 30, 2015 on my way back to Houston from Austin… after a 30 minute detour off I10 I arrived to find that the café was closed for the day so they could ship out pies. 1. It would have been nice if the website was updated to reflect this (Thanksgiving holiday closings were updated but they failed to mention the Monday closure… but hey things happen right, that’s life) 2. But it would have been VERY, VERY nice if I didn’t have to stand at the door like an idiot for someone to acknowledge my presence and confirm they were indeed closed. Very rude employees who acted as if I was bothering THEM for driving way the hell out of my way to try their pie only to find them closed! A lot of the reviews say everyone there is like family… maybe I’m the red-​headed step cousin because I DID NOT FEEL LIKE FAMILY… and actually they were downright rude. Thanks for nothing Royers!

Round Top is cute and quiet, if you go at off times, i.e. weekdays during the day (especially when it’s not summer, I’m guessing). The people we talked to were very friendly. I decided to check out this famous café for lunch, and it’s cute and charming and very quintessentially central Texas. However, I hate to say that I was a little underwhelmed by the food, particularly the famous pie. I had a fried fish sandwich and it was pretty standard. The flaky white fish was nicely fried in a coating that tasted like a double-​dipped fried chicken coating. I liked that. The toppings sounded kind of interesting but none of the flavors wowed me – the taste of the guacamole was little reminiscent of the kind you buy in a tub at the grocery store. The bread was nice and soft and didn’t compete with the fried fish, which was a good thing. It had some kind of sauce on it that was supposed to be spicy, but didn’t have a terrible amount of flavor. Fries were skin-​on and freshly cut, but not particularly crunchy. I really like my fries crunchy. I think it was something like $ 13 or $ 14, which is a little on the pricey side for a sandwich. My husband and sister had the burger and the shrimp BLT, respectively, and also thought they were just ok. My husband asked for chips instead of fries and he got a bag of Lay’s – sorry, but that’s pretty lame.
Now on to dessert. We ordered 3 pieces of pie to share – pumpkin, cherry, and oatmeal cranberry. First off, I have to say that their crust is kind of pale and lacking in flavor and is kind of underbaked. So, not a worthwhile expenditure of calories in my opinion. I love desserts and bake a lot, and I know how challenging it is to get all the components of a pie to come out exactly how you want them – filling to be cooked properly, crust to be nice and brown and flaky, bottom to not be soggy. But pie is their thing! They should get the pies right! The pumpkin filling was pretty good, the cherries tasted good but I wasn’t a fan of the red goo, and the oatmeal cranberry was ok – basically a big, soft oatmeal cookie baked in pie crust. At around $ 5 a slice, they’re rather expensive pieces of pie.
I know this place is famous and all, perhaps because it’s a little in the middle of nowhere and they’re a local institution. But I’m sad to say that I would not run back here. Maybe the food is better at dinner, but with main dishes in the $ 20-​$ 25 range, I probably would go elsewhere based on the quality of the lunch offerings. Sad face!

The best little country restaurant there ever could be! JB, Bud and the whole staff are great people who live to serve great food and pies. You can’t go wrong with anything on the menu, seriously. Even the buns and butter that come out for free at the beginning are amazing. My go to, besides Bud’s Salad (lunch menu item) is the fried snapper (omg), steaks and quai. Be sure to get there early, or prepared to wait awhile. It can get super crowded on weekends.

Food is simply excellent. Locally sourced ingredients, top quality meats. Everything on the menu is great. The pork dish is one of my favorites… tender and cooked to perfection. The chutney on top is amazing. Plus, it has such a cool atmosphere and the town is cute and ecclectic. The menu is a bit pricey for a small town café but once you taste the food, you won’t mind the bill!

You can depend on having a darn tasty lunch at Royers, however with that will come a high price. Perhaps because they’ve been mentioned on Junk Gypsy’s they’ve justified the prices that way.
The five in our group all enjoyed our lunches, they didn’t disappoint at all! The service isn’t that of a 5 star restaurant, but you can depend on your drink being refilled when needed and food is a bit slow to come.
In the end, it was a good lunch and we’d probably dine here again if we were in the area.

This place is out in the sticks, but is well worth the wait. I had to stand and listen to a lady complaining about reservations not being taken. If she would turn off the TV and go to the web page, she might have been more enlightened. I really don’t care for sweets, but ate more than half of my wife’s pie before she got back from the bathroom. Dog house for me :-). We both got an incredible salad as a main course. BUD’S SALAD: Funky salad greens, red onions, grilled Beef Tenderloin & Bacon. Topped with lots of our Blue Cheese dressing & Blue Cheese Crumbs! (No, you can’t have it any other way or it wouldn’t be BUD’S SALAD!). It is just delicious with really tender beef. Go, you won’t regret it!

Wife and I came in from Austin really needing some quality down time together. Our experience at the Café was the best date we had been on since our honeymoon and we can’t wait to go back!
The service was AAA+
The food was AAA+
The atmosphere was AAA+

We visit Royer’s twice a year when we are in town for the antique festival. Many people have mentioned in their reviews the bad attitude received from Bud, the owner. I can agree with many of these statements but over the year’s we have learned how to avoid that:
— Make a reservation (if you are coming during Marburger this is a requirement and you would be wise to call on the day that they start accepting reservations, which is posted on the website)
— Show up 15 minutes before your reservation (they tell you to, so essentially your reservation time is really 15 minutes earlier) and DONT show up late
— Don’t change the number of people in your group, either adding or removing
— Listen for your name and be prepared to hop up the second they call it, don’t miss it or they will not hesitate to give your table away
If you do all of these things, your Royer’s experience will be much more enjoyable… now on to the food.
The rolls they serve before the meal are amazing, but don’t fill up on them or you will regret it. Most meals can be shared by 2 people. The pork chop is the best thing on the menu, get it with the brocolli salad. And ALWAYS order a slice of pie, they are known for their pies and every single one of them is amazing. The only thing that amazes me is that they serve Amy’s ice cream with their pie. Amy’s is good, but this place is right down the street from the Blue Bell factory and you would think they would have some small town Texas pride.
You can also expect that your group may be seated a table (in very close proximity) with another party. Look at it as a great way to meet some interesting people.

Best meal I’ve had in a long time. Delicious pork chops and crack berry pie. Yum. Can’t wait to go back. Angela was our server and was great. Highly recommend.

This is country food at its finest and if you don’t Redneckonize it with a 5 star rating then you lack taste buds and/​or a soul.
Do yourself a favor and call ahead to secure priority seating. Royer’s is small and you’ll be waiting a while if you don’t.
We went on a Sunday and fried chicken was still available, so that was a no brainer. Yard bird never tasted so good! Tons of crispy, dark breading perfectly encasing juicy meat. The homemade rolls will make your eyes roll back in your head. They come with garlic butter (yes please) and homemade applesauce (even better). You will be tempted, but do not overindulge in rolls. You must stay focused and keep your eye on the pie. The fried chicken sides are creamed corn and mashed potato casserole (I can’t quit you, you starchy, creamy, tangy bitch). My husband and I each shared an order of chicken with our kids (4 pieces to an order. 1 breast, 1 thigh, 1 wing, and 1 leg).
Although we were full, we had made a pact to not leave without eating pie, so we powered through and then it was time. There are too many choices, we had a hard time deciding. My husband settled on junk berry (named for the junk gypsies) with a scoop of Amy’s vanilla. I tried the blueberry lemon. Mine was good but his was the clear winner. The crust was so flaky and the warm mixture of berries melded perfectly. Afterwards, in our post pie glow we really wished we had ordered a third piece of something chocolatey to try.
We paid our bill of $ 41– cheap since the kids weren’t very hungry and we shared dinners with them– to our sweet as sugar server and we were on our way. We will be back to Royer’s Café for the food when we’re near Round Top and we’ll definitely be stopping by the Royer’s Pie Haven location in Austin to get our diabetes on.

This place has been a favorite of mine for 20 years now. The food is astoundingly good, and the pie cannot be beat. I cannot recommend it more highly. The prices are high for Round Top, but unbelievably low for the quality of food you get. The décor is quirky and charming and 100% sincere and authentic.
The service is reliably top notch. In 20 years of going, I believe I have had exactly one experience that wasn’t superb service, and that was on a night that the restaurant went from empty to over-​capacity in about 10 minutes. It was the kind of night that would have crushed most service teams, and yet they still managed to a strong job.
Go here. You will be happy you did. And don’t skimp on the pie. Take it to go if you must.

So, let’s start off with the truth — the evening didn’t start off well.
We had reservations for the busiest time of year for 3 people.
Due to car problems only 2 of us were there, as my 75 yr old mom needed to unexpectedly drop her car off to be serviced and get a loaner car. When we arrived to the restaurant I had a run in with the guy at the door checking reservations because we were 1 less.
The more I thought about how I was treated, I decided to leave — the gentleman apologized for his actions — but I was too mad to accept. i did not appreciate the disrespect — which is odd for that town — and for Texas as a whole. People are pretty respectful.
Later that night I remembered I had reservations fro the following the night so I called and cancelled those as well.
About an hour later I got a call from Bud Royer. Bud was the gentleman I had the disagreement. He again apologized and asked if I would please come back as his guest. Here’s the thing — he didn’t have to track down my number and you could tell the apology was sincere. It’s also the busiest time of year for the them and he really didn’t need my business. My cancellation wasn’t going to hurt his evening one bit. The fact is — Bud is good at his job and realizes that customer service is still alive and well in Round Top, TX. He is a very rare find in today’s world — someone who cares about his customers.
The next night we went back. and all I can say is I am glad we did!
It was quite embarrassing, I ordered the shrimp and grits, because I don’t eat meat, but Bud had a steak sent over. While EXTREMELY sweet, I could not accept it.
Regardless of anything that happened the night before — that food is AMAZING! The staff was busy and pulled in every direction but were EXTREMELY professional and always there to help. The shrimp and grits. WOW! The SHRIMP AND GRITS!!! So damn good. I one grits and those are some of the best i have ever had.
Royers is known for their pie — so I had to get the 4 pie sampler to split with my mom and girlfriend. Holy crap. I mean — seriously there is nothing bad I can say about any of the food or pie we had. I seriously will be ordering some pie to have delivered here to CA. The junk berry pie (I think that’s what it was) was not even something I really wanted — but ended up being my favorite.
Here’s the thing — I may only go to Royers once a year — maybe twice a year — but they have a customer for life. I will ALWAYS eat there.
People complaining about prices — great food is great food. i don’t care if you’re in NYC or Los Angeles or Round Top, TX — quality food is worth it. I have no issues with any of their prices.

Omg. Ok so I’m stuck in the middle of bumb f*ck nowhere Texas for «antique week». There is really only one place worth eating at in Round Top and this is it. But don’t worry you’re in for a real treat. This little dive/​hole-​in-​the-​wall is serving some of the finest, freshest food I have eaten anywhere in the country. They are using super fresh ingredients, and putting killer flavors together.
if you’re just having lunch their shrimp blt is pretty much a must. It has super thick bacon, and an amazing digion sauce. Don’t even think about ordering this sandwich your way:). This isn’t Burger King. If you change anything, you will screw it up, and probably get scolded in the process (think soup nazi.)
I have also really enjoyed the fish & shrimp pasta for dinner. Really creamy sauce. Paired with a perfectly seasoned fish and shrimp. An excellent choice.
On about day 5 bud tells me to get the pork tenderloin, it’s amazing. Really great sauce and a very tender and a truly generous portion of pork tenderloin. Another great dinner
As to the sides, the cream style corn is out of this world and unlike anything you have probably ever eaten. Get it you will love it. And while you’re at it the mash potato casarolle is a perfect companion.
oh btw did I mention the pies? Make damn sure you don’t wimp out. Just pick one you’ll love it. If you’re just to full for dessert they will let you take a whole pie home (or just a slice)
last but not least. The prices. At first glance you may be a little surprised by the pricing for a place like this stuck in the middle of nowhere. All I can tell you is they are way, way under priced. The quality of the food here is on par with some of the finest restaraunts in the country. And when you consider the portions are double what you would find in a comparably priced restaurant, and at the same time taste as good if not better than just about anywhere out there.
one last thing. Don’t go in there and act like a «Richard». They will be busy and you will probably have a short wait. If you’re going to have an attitude, just go to Houston :)
Thanks for the great service

Read all the Unilocal reviews, both positive and negative, we wanted to form our own opinion.
Driving up, from the outside, what a super cool place from the outside!!! Looked like a little antique resale shop. Inside there are probably 10 tables total, small quaint place. 1 whole table was full of the owners & worker’s family members & kiddos. I absolutely LOVED seeing this commitment to family! You could tell all the servers were related, fantastic family café!
Talk about pies, there were probably 30 home baked pies laying up on the shelf, looked YUM!
The place filled up FAST with every table taken up with a mix of out-​of-​towners and locals.
The service was fantastic! Very very good with both our server and the owner coming around to check on us.
I had the grilled pork chop, creamed corn, black eyes peas and cheesy jalapeño grits, YUM!!! My boyfriend had the Shrimp & Bacon BLT… not as good, very basic. We shared a slice of the homemade apple pie and ice cream, again, YUM!
We were reluctant to go here due to negative comments on Unilocal but sooo glad we did and we are DEF planning on returning! I’ve got to try the shrimp & grits.

My dining experience at Royers was as mixed and diverse as their pie offerings. Ambiance was kitschy and welcoming; coffee pours were non-​stop — completely on queue. Pies were amazing. We took an assortment of slices to go. But the regular food menu was 2– to 3-​stars worthy. We started with the Really Big Stuffed Jalapeños that were burnt, like, to a crisp and had little to no trace of crabmeat and skrimps. Had they been served cooked normally, I’m certain they’d be pretty damn good because the menu description is what sold us (jalapenos stuffed with swiss, cheddar cream Cheese, and crabmeat and shrimp stuffing. Side of cilantro-​ranch dressing for dippin’).
My girlfriend and I split the catfish sandwich and the shrimp and grits. The sandwich was soooo incredibly salty. Everything about it was good — the slaw, the bread, the perfectly cooked fish … but the batter was a salt lick. The catfish grits, I somewhat liked. A little more on the creamy side, but better than the sammy.
That being said, I’m certain they do have good, stick-​to-​your-​ribs fare, we just didn’t experience it that day. Apparently Sunday is the day to be at Royers for their fried chicken. Note to self. Oh, and don’t leave without a slice of pie; either enjoy there or take a slice to go!