The Driskill Grill

"Many memories from the Driskill over the years... Weddings, events, even worked there in my twenties. Hadn't been there in a while and thought it'd be fun to go back. Reservation for 8:30 Sat night. 1) Host sits us right next to a large party of 10 even though the restaurant was empty. It's like having an empty movie theater and having somebody come sit right next to you. No real thought, care or effort. 2) Place is not cheap. However, the portions were tiny. The wedge salad was so small it was laughable. Short rib portion tiny, soup volume tiny. With all of the fine dining options in that area, you have got to do better. The hotel was packed, the bar was packed and your restaurant was empty. Some of the items I list might be part of the problem?? 3) Salmon was mushy and just didn't even taste good. My wife didn't finish it and she loves salmon. Salmon is just not that hard, especially when the kitchen isn't busy and you can focus. 4) I probably would not have written this review except for what pissed me off the most. We didn't know the place closed at 9:00. Busy 6th Street, busy hotel, restaurant closes at 9:00 on Saturday night? WTH. If we were showing up at 9:30 or 10:00 for a reservation then I would imagine we probably would have inquired about closing time, but not 8:30 at a famous hotel on 6th Street on a Saturday night. Our reservation was for 8:30 and it was a special occasion. We sit down, get menus, order drinks and immediately are being pressed to order food and told the kitchen is closing. Wow welcome in ! We say that we'd like to order some appetizers first and then take a few minutes to look at the menu. Didn't seem to like that. Here's some advice, don't allow me to book a dinner reservation at a fine dining establishment at 8:30 when you close at 9:00. And if you do let me do that, then don't rush me as soon as I get in the door. If you want to stop taking reservations at any given time, you can do that it's your business. But if you're going to accept the reservation then you need to let people come in and enjoy their meal and not rush them. And if you want to get out of there earlier, then say your last reservation is it 8:00 or 7:30. You need to pick. Don't let me book, and then rush me literally within minutes. 5) The icing on the cake! We eat our appetizers, order our dinner, eat our dinner at a very reasonable if not quick pace and then all the sudden are being circled by the host. This is the kid that sat everybody down with tables clustered together and left the rest of the restaurant open. I am not kidding, he started walking right behind our table in circles. No more than two or three feet behind us just circling. I felt I was in a Seinfeld or Larry David episode. Couldn't believe it. Totally clueless, and obviously trying to pressure us to leave. Then literally stops circling and stands right at the table next to us just staring at us. Again, so close it was awkward. Keep in mind we've been there maybe an hour total time. Unfreaking believable. So, powers that be at this restaurant, if you're wondering why you were empty on Saturday night, it wasn't that hard for me to figure out. There are so many places that you can go in the downtown area and get an amazing meal if you're going to spend that kind of money. Hell we even went back to the bar afterwards and had chocolate cake and this blueberry donut thing and we didn't even eat the blueberry donut dessert because it was so bad. What the hell Driskill. With your location inside this historic hotel, that restaurant should be packed. It should be a destination restaurant. It seemed to me like it's an afterthought... almost like a nuisance that they even have it."

"Let me start by saying that our server was very nice. But the experience was not accommodating whatsoever. There was nobody in the restaurant but they were still unable to get the 14 of us to sit together. The bill was $1700 and yet it was too much work to split the check up more than three ways. The auto gratuity was $300 and I guess that wasn't enough initiative to be more accommodating with the bill. We would have been much more inclined to leave additional gratuity, but not if they couldn't even be bothered to help us split it up. The food was very flavorful and tasted great, but everyone who ordered the filet received it overcooked. The occasion was my for a friend's birthday, we informed the staff. There was no dessert or anything like that offered. Overall disappointed with the experience, which is unfortunate because my friend is very fond of the Driskill."

"Emily is the best server I have had the pleasure of waiting on me and my girlfriend in a very very long time..... extremely knowledgeable, well spoken and made us feel right at home! She gave perfect advice on which wine and drinks to pair with what food. On the food, we came back a second night after being disappointed at another restaurant! We have now tried the Braised short ribs, venison, filet mignon, and roasted duck, all excellent dishes with wonderful flavor and contrasting textures!"

"We got the $60 3-course meal for Austin Restaurant week. We saw the same menu priced at $49 for a certain windowfor certain days as well. The food was amazing and beautifully decorated. Chipotle shrimp tastes delicious. Their duck and risotto was one of the best duck dishes I have ever had. Their desserts are very creative and not overwhelming sweet. Service was very nice, too!"