Lambert's Downtown Barbeque

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Excellent food, great service, terrific selection of food. Love the anything you want anytime menu items. Went to Mother's Day brunch with Mother-in-Law, bro-in-law, and wife. Great time, but a little pricey for what they offered. For the price they charged, I could go to Green Pastures, get more options for eats, and mimosas and milk punch are included. Pros: cheese grits, drinks, brunch Cons: price more

As a native Austinite, I've had my fair share of local bbq but Lambert's is undoubtedly the best experience I've had. I had their mustard and brown sugar ranch ribeye which was cooked perfectly and nicely complimented by the broccoli and beans recommended by the waitress. The service was excellent and the staff was friendly, making dining there an awesome experience. more

Just can't get enough of those thing, juicy, sticky, succulent. Just the best bar food. Can't just have them as appetizer as you will keep ordering more. Wish they had a dinner size of it. The specials are good too, but the Ribeye could be better. Also you WILL smell like mesquite when you walk out of there!! Pros: Wild Boar ribs! Cons: Beef ribs & Ribeye leave a lot to be desired more

First of all, yes, we did not have reservations, but it was Tuesday night and there were 2 people total. The wait was over an hour and that was awesome considering there is absolutely NO WAITING AREA. We had to literally stand in front of the crowded host stand for an hour while we watched dirty tables sit for way too long. By the way, the hostess was extremely unpleasant and ignored my boyfriend when he first asked her a question. The open kitchen would have been cool if the line cooks weren't so repulsive. I saw a lady preparing food literally stuff her face with meat--I'm talking fingers inside the mouth and no gloves. She didn't wash her hands after. I saw another cook rub his hands through his hair and play with his beard MULTIPLE times. Yep, no gloves or hint of hand washing to come. We finally got sat and had some ridiculous looking hipster as our waitress. In her defense though, she was really nice. Cons: everything more

I would love to comment on the bbq, if I could ever bring myself to order anything but Lambert's drool-inducing Fried Green Tomato Salad. I ordered it on my first trip during lunch with a friend, and actually took my husband back two days later for dinner to order the same thing. Lightly-fried green tomatoes topped with crab, over salad greens and a delicate green goddess dressing, this may very well be the reason God created tomatoes. I tasted my husbands brisket, though we actually found it to be good but not awe-inspiring (harder to take given both the higher price and the availability of top-notch brisket in the area). Their roasted vegetables are, however, in the realm of, ""can these really be vegetables"" decadent and rich through lovely roasting and caramelization. Another outstanding feature is their fried pies. The pie is cooked so well that you would never believe that it is actually fried (as any chef will tell you an item fried correctly, at the right temp, absorbs very little grease). We enjoyed the apple that night, with I believe a ginger ice cream and caramel drizzle. Refreshing but decadent at the same time. We were lucky enough to try brunch on Saturday (I think they've discontinued this one). I ordered their take on Eggs Benedict, and my long search in Austin for remotely decent EB is over! The problem with Eggs Benedict is balance -- you have to make sure nothing, the sauce, the meat, etc, overwhelms any other part of the dish. This was perfect, every ingredient able to stand both alone and with the others. Finally, I have to give major kudos to Lamberts for their drinks. They are quite steep, but top notch. They do not skimp in both measure and quantity of good liquor, and the mixing ingredients are fresh-made and natural, not bottled and unnaturally-hued mixes. Overall, Lamberts reminds me of the best parts of Austin: original, little kitchzy and unexpected, down-to-earth meets top-notch all the way. more

Went to Lamberts for the first time Saturday. We called for reservations and they said they only had real early or real late, so at 6:30 we were one table of about 4. Anyway, our waitress was very friendly. She checked back often and made sure we were taken care of. The appetizer (wild Boar Ribs) were AWESOME! So were our entrees. Some of the best brisket I have ever had. Very well prepared. Since it wasn't that busy, we also got our food very quickly as well. Pros: Great food and the wait staff was on top of things. Cons: Too pricey for a place that casual. Need to list the prices of everything on the menu. more

This place could really do better---great atmoshere, location, and service.....but sorry to report, well below average food. We were a party of 4. 3 of us tried the ribeye....fyi--the bone in @ $40 was barely warm and very greasy, and not seasoned very well---not fresh and juicy. The $30 non-bone in was seasoned much better and was tastier. My wife tried the brisket for $12---not bad, but you will still be hungry after this serving. Mac n cheese was very good.....the main courses just weren't good enough to warrant the prices. We don't mind $30-40 steaks, but Lambert's steaks are not good enough to command $40....I can think of about 12 other steak houses in the area that serve better steaks....and same for BBQ. To summarize: great place to have a beer and a snack.....then my suggestion would be to walk to dinner at the other establishments in the area. The main entrees here were forgettable. Sorry Pros: atmoshere, location Cons: food quality, taste, price, portions more

I went to Lamberts to hear a band play upstairs. My friend and i were sitting at a table and for the entire 2 hours that I was there, no wait staff came over to take my order! In fact, they served the tables on either side of us, but totally ignored us! I was parched by the time I left, but then again, I had money to buy the band's CD. I was not impressed. more

This restaurant rocks. They perfectly take traditional bbq and add a New York style twist. From a delicious jicama coleslaw to a creamy three cheese mac n cheese with a crisp layer of cheddar on top the sides were amazing. Creamy black beans topped with cojita cheese were also delicious. Our appetizer of crispy wild boar ribs in a tangy hot sauce with maytag bleu cheese dressing was a perfect alternative to chicken wings. Lunch plates are the way to go here. Being our first visit it allowed us to try almost all the meats they offer. The brisket was the most tender and flavorful of all the meat we sampled on our trip. St louis style rib with a coriander and brown sugar glaze was simply heavenly. Pulled pork was most and flavorful. And chicken was very moist and delicious. This restaurant brings the classic texas bbq restaurant to the next level with great imaginative spins on meat and sides, very good service and nice decor. more

The menu was full of slabs of red meat with words like ""oak smoked"" and ""grilled"". Not once did the word ""chipotle"" show up so I was open minded. We started with the Fried Green Tomatoes served with snazzy leaf they called Mizuna with lump crab meat and Green Goddess dressing?not your maw maw's fried green tomatoes, but damn the were good! We proceeded to the Wild Boar Ribs, a pile of short ribs arranged in the shape of the pyramid at Teotihuacan in a pool of bleu cheese with celery sticks lolling about. Again, awesome! We both decided on the Pesto Rubbed San Angelo Lamb Chops with the habenero mint jelly and steak tomato accompanied by a huge sharing size pile of three cheese macaroni. Again, I have had lamb chops all over town from $25-$50; these at $30 were the best, EVER! Convinced desert was not possible I then proceeded to the Blackberry Cobbler a la mode. Maw maw would have been jealous. Pros: Wait Staff: Vanessa was knowledgeable and made great recommendations Cons: Host Staff: Clueless; there was one redeeming gentleman more

The first people you meet in a restaurant can often make or break your experience there. I was underwhelmed and frankly annoyed by the prissy, rude pair of hostesses that were more concerned with flipping their hair around than making me feel welcome. Luckily, our waitress and several of the other waitstaff were consciencious and fun. But this should be about the food, and overall, I found that sorely lacking as well. The charcutierie plate had some interesting elements (i.e. the potted foie gras was delicious and the head cheese had good texture) but it lacked cohesiveness. For the main course, I had the special game hen with pea risotto. The dark meat was under cooked, but the white meat delicious. The risotto had the flavor and texture of pablum with a crunchy undercooked pea surprise in every bite. Everything was underseasoned to an unforgivable degree for a retaurant allegedly of high caliber. My husband had the beeef rib - yes, I mean rib. There was one chewy, underseasoned rib on the plate. The green beans looked and tasted like they had had an unfortunate encounter with a blowtorch and were dripping with oil (not in a good way). We decided to cut our losses at this point and skip the additional dissapointment of a potentially disastrous desert. more

It's nice to see people dressed up when eating BBQ. The parking may be a bit of a pain, but it's worth it for the urban atmosphere and good food. It smells like slow-cooked BBQ from the moment you open the door. There's a room upstairs with a corner stage and a bar, so it's a fun place to go even if you're not eating. more

Jimmy the manager gave insanely horrible service! I will never, ever, ever eat a morsel of bbq from Lamberts. I can not stand when a place thinks they are too big and bad for Austin! Try to love Austin and embrace us Austinites! All I ask is for good food, good service and please do not price bbq through the roof. I tried to book a for 25 people and he attempted to charge $5000.00 for BBQ!!!!! Are you kidding me! Good luck ripping people off and enjoy the BAD KARMA! Joel get rid of Jimmy he tremendously lacks good ole' fashioned customer service! Cons: Service was horrible more

My boyfriend and I decided to try this place and really feel like we've found a new Austin favorite. We loved the brisket and the mac and cheese. The venue us sooo cool, in this old historic building. while we were eating (on a Friday night), the band started playing upstairs and it was wonderful. Kat Edmonson was playing, but we didn't know who she was, we just marveled at her voice. The waiter informed us of her name and we've since become fans. Thanks for a great evening-we found a great new place to eat downtown AND we were introduced to a great new musician! We were surprised to find out they have outdoor seating as well...something to check out when the weather good. Pros: Ambience, great live music, GREAT food! Cons: Parking and a little pricey. more

The staff is great, the brisket was a surprise treat, the queso is perfect, the seafood can be overcooked sometimes (but who really cares when the meat is this good), the sauce is good though not remarkable, and the desserts are to die for. Pros: Meats, Service, Queso, Desserts Cons: Overdone Seafood (this only happened once though) more

I have visited Lamberts now twice, the first time I went with a large enough group so that we tried just about everything on the menu. There was not a single thing that I didn't like, I don't believe you can even order wrong. The menu is creative and interesting, and turns eating into an experience. Where else can you go to get Devilled Eggs unless you're inviting your grandmother over or want to stink up your own house? I loved the beat salad, the ribs were so delicious people were hesitant to share them... and I usually don't order chicken because it tends to be boring but it was exceptionally tasty, not even the slightest bit dry, and I love sauces and didn't feel like I needed any, of course the BBQ sauce is so good I would take just about any excuse to use it on something, and if people wouldn't judge would probably take a sip out of those cute little jars they come in. My favorite drinks from the bar were the wines the waiters suggested, the Brady Creek lemonade, and most of all the Sanchez- a martini with jalapeno infused vodka making it a little spicy and completely eliminates that vodka bite. I crave those things, and Im not a big drinker, it's just the taste. Then the desserts... oh the desserts! Ice box pie, the bread pudding and a rootbeer float with a little vanilla vodka in it. Aside from the food, I had excellent service and loved the ambience. It's an old historic building but there's a hand painted/drawn menu on the wall above where the chefs cook that gives it a little kitschy feel which I love and which went along nicely with the waiters pearl-snap shirt uniforms. Every detail seemed so thought out and I can only imagine it will get better with time. And for whoever would even compare Lamberts to a place like Rudys or County Line is just silly. I mean really. Silly. The only problem I have with Lamberts is that I can't eat there every week because I live in Dallas. more

The charcuterrie app was nice although the cheese portions were small. The drinks were good and the space is nice. The food, however, wasn't that good. I enjoyed the beet salad but did not care for the warm spinach salad with waffle fries on the bottom. The ribs ($14.00 for 3, yes 3 ribs) metallic and the quail was lacking. The six dollar mac n cheese just plain sucked. Pros: nice space Cons: food more

this was all around bad. to start our waiter was clueless, took 15 minutes to describe the specials using the word like about 30 times. hey forgot to refill drinks and had to ask 3 times for bread. he also dropped a plate right next to our table. when my friend asked for more wine (there was about an ounce in the glass) he took her glass away and brought refilled one that still had her lipstick on it. as for the food i was disapointed, i am a sous chef in new york city so i feel comfortable that i know my stuff. the charcuterie plate was very poor, tiny pieces of cheese, and artisian meats with no flavor. as for the entrees the briskit was dry and very lazily plated. the chicken lacked any seasoning but was moist. the sides were$6each and at the advice of our waiter we ordered three for 6 people. the three sides would have only fed 2 people. they were tiny and the flavor profiles were very bad. this may be kinks because they are new, but it is small easy things they can;t get right. Pros: management was very understanding Cons: everything else more

the night started with a clueless hostess that screwed up the reservation, and proceeded with poor service and a VERY LOUD experience. was nearly impossible to hold a conversation. the waitress had attitude and would mix up the refills on the drink orders...(how hard is it to get a lemon with your iced tea, instead of placing it on the coke glass). more