Hyde Park Bar & Grill

4521 West Gate Blvd.

(512) 899-2700

Hours: 11am - Midnight Everyday

The Menu:

Hyde Park offers appetizer, soups & salads, burgers & sandwiches, entrees, brunch, and a kid's menu. Let's start with appetizer: fried Artichoke Hearts with sauce, Chicken Quesadillas, Steamed Dumplings, Stuffed Mushrooms, Crispy Parmesan Polenta, Sweet Corn and Cheese Tamales, and (award winning) Hyde Park Fries.

For soups & salads you can get different dressings (honey mustard, hot bacon, ranch, chipotle ranch, bleu cheese vinaigrette, creamy cilantro lime, low fat Ponzu vinaigrette, pickled ginger and tamari vinaigrette).  You can choose from the Soup of the day, or Lentil Soup. Salads include: Mixed Salad Greens, Sorona Salad, Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad, Asian Chicken Salad, Spinach Salad, Dinner Salad, or a Chicken Salad. You can opt for any soup and get the mixed greens salad as a meal.

Now on to those burgers & sandwiches. Texas Raised Kobe Beef Burger, Ground Chuck Burger, Half Pound Sirloin Burger. Or for something a little lighter try the Ground Turkey Burger, Chicken Breast Burger, Gardenburger, or Smoked Turkey Muffaletta. In the mood for a sandwich? Hyde Park offers a Fried Egg Sandwich,Pimento Cheese and Cucumber, Yellowfin Tuna, Pastrami Rueben, Chicken Salad, Fried Eggplant Sandwich, and Chicken & Guacamole B.L.T.

Entrees! They've got a nice variety of steaks including their most popular entree the Chicken Fried Steak and it truly is different from all others I have tasted. Meatloaf, Fried Pork Chop Dijon Artichoke Chicken, Sauteed Crab Cakes, Grilled Salmon Fillet, Catfish, Trout, Vegetable Stir Fry, Steamed Vegetable Plate (specially for you vegans and vegetarians), and Tilapia.

The Brunch menu is where you are going to get your breakfast-like items. (Served from 11-3pm) Eggs Benedict, Migas, Waffles, Omelets, Biscuits and Gravy.

Kids get their favorites too: Grilled Hot Dog, Corn Dog, Fish Sticks, Cheese Pizza, Fried Chicken Tenders, or a classic Grilled Cheese Sandwich.

The desserts are definitely not to be overlooked! The Wom Kims Peach Pudding is soooooooo tasty! You won't find that anywhere else!

Water, Tea, Sodas, Lemonade, Sparkling Water, OJ, and Coffee are some of the drink choices. As far as alcoholic beverages they have a large selection of wines, beers (including a non-alcoholic), and the usual mixed drinks.

Average Food: $10.00

(keep in mind that sides/kids/appetizers are less)

Average Drink: $2.25

The Taste:

The salads are great! I was pleasantly surprised to see some crispy greens and yum grape tomatoes! They give great portions, I don't think you'll go hungry. They steam their vegetables vs. boiling them which gives them that crisp outside and tender inside. They have won best fries in Austin from the Chronicle many years in a row. I'm not one for mayo, but their Hyde Park sauce is great with the fries. I can see why the fries are so popular. They cut, chop, bake, and cook everything fresh everyday which makes it all the tastier. I was told the cooks come in at 6:00 am and start their work making gravy, chopping vegies, making their mixes that are used in some of the items, etc. I enjoyed my chicken fried steak which is their most popular item besides their fries. It is the most tender chicken fried steak I have come across. They prepare it in their on special way. It's not deep fried like most of those monsters; it is breaded then fried on a flat grill. That method also helps you get less crumbs all over yourself. It is served with fries, Hyde Park sauce, and a side. The gravy they put on top is quite rich and thick, just to my liking. Yum. Try the Hibiscus Mint Tea, which is served with a lime for a nice twist. I ate about half of the meal and got full, so be sure to come hungry if you don't plan on taking any home with you. They use hormone free meat, a definite plus! You get everything served to you nice and hot. I appreciated the nice bag in which they put all of my to-go stuff, after they put it in the boxes for me.

Over all, their food is buttery and rich, and the homemade deserts kick butt! Oh, I love that tea too!

The Atmosphere:

Like any good old Austin place, they have local art on the walls that is for sale. The walls themselves are artfull too. It is horizontal panels of stained wood, very elegant in my opinion. The booth where I sat had a wooden framed table with neutral colors in the center. The seat was still firm and bouncy, and the back rest was firm. The ceiling is an open beam design with sky lights sporadically. The bar area was pleasantly classy, and not at all trashy. I enjoyed the funky classic music that they played, and they kept it at a reasonable volume. The temperature was good, not too cold and not too hot. Some restaurants will keep the place freezing and I have no idea why. There are lots of windows which keep the place bright and lively, and the blinds are magical. They do a good job of illuminating the place without 1) blinding you and 2) letting it get too hot. The AC is not too loud, so no worries about it or the music making it hard to conversate.

The general crowd is primarily people over 40. While I was there I spotted a couple of friends, a family, a senior couple, a young couple, and a few people just sitting by themselves. I am told this place is full of businessmen during lunch time though.

So it is a classy place, with great food, and great for all kinds of people.

The Employees:

You don't get to see the cooks like most sit-down restaurants. The wait-staff really knows the menu well, and I am told they all must have previous waiting experience before they can be hired there. They are really calm and collected during the busy hours, and they don't check on you 20,000,000 times. And when they do check on you, it's not annoying. If you need something it's pretty easy to get ahold of your waiter/waitress, and they will always come to help you. You never feel neglected there though, they will reasure you that your food is on the way if it takes a long time to make. They work really well as a team, especially during rush hour. If one person gets a little too much to handle, another will jump in and help out. The manager has no hesitation about jumping in to help out too! You can really tell that the staff gets along with each other, and you can tell that they are human as well. They aren't these generic servers that you get at other places. The waiter that I had let his silly side slip out while singing to the music that was playing. They are all calm, comfortable, and relaxed as far as I could tell. They'll be sure to keep your glass full, whether you had tea, water, soda, or anything else. They dress nicely and seem comfortable with their uniforms. They all seem to like their jobs and really enjoy working with each other. I got to witness my particular waiter handle a cranky customer with fantastic patience. Besides the wait staff being skilled, you can also see their individual personalities which makes it a more friendly atmosphere.