Central Standard

They served my $ 30 pork chop on a cold plate. I was hungry so I ate some it and sent it back.

STEAK TARTARE — thank me later. Ashley is the best server and has been awesome with us! Love the location it’s nice and quiet even though it’s on South Congress. Every time we go it’s a great experience overall good, drinks, & service on point. We look forward to trying the brunch!

Wow! Had dinner for two at the bar. Excellent service from wait staff and bartenders. The wine selection by the glass was extensive and reasonably priced. The food was well executed and delicious. The New York strip was properly prepared to medium rare. It was also sliced. I like when it’s presented like that. Really fantastic in every regard. One more thing, the finish out was really well done and it was quite lively but not terribly noisy. Can’t wait to go back again!

Great drinks! Had Huntsman & LOVED it.
Pricey, food good (nothing special); bisquit dry & crumbly, did not like latke. Cake donut ok. Main course SLOW coming out.
Great waiter. Beautiful space, great locale. Parking, of course, a challenge on weekends.
Will try once more. …

Been here 5 times now and it hasn’t disappointed.
One time we came in 30 minutes before closing and the staff wasn’t so pumped but I believe that’s par for the course with restaurants in general. That always makes me wonder though — why don’t they just make closing time earlier?

Just ok! Has no real Austin vibe or feel. Expensive for what it is. Wait staff not very skilled. Skip it.

***IF YOU LIKE GREAT FOOD AND EVEN BETTER COCKTAILS, READ ON***
Start with a drink. The «Pink Peppercorn Gimlet» is great and I am sure the others on the cocktail menu are as well, but elevate your game — tell TIM at the bar the kind of cocktails you usually enjoy and then let him work his magic. This guy is a true mixologist, so just get out of the way and let it him drive.
Make sure you dive into the food menu, too. We stuck with appetizers and the yellowtail ceviche and steak tartare were as good as the libations.
To top it off, the wood burning oven puts off a pleasant cooking odor that gets the gastric juices going.
Enjoy!

Central Standard is the type of place that makes me hate what Austin is turning into. If you’re a wealthy out-​of-​towner who would rather their feet not touch the ground and has terrible taste, this is the restaurant for you! Do not dine here and certainly never consider entertaining guests here. I would give this place ZERO stars if possible!
1. We had reservations for 4 at 7:45 on Friday night. An unexpected guest joined us and the hosts were not accommodating AT ALL for a party of 5. We waited over an hour in the lobby of the restaurant when there were open tables in the dining room where we could have easily have been seated.
2. While waiting over an hour, we were told we could order appetizers in the waiting area so we got the Steak Chips and the Yellowfin Tuna Salad, which was basically an uninspired ceviche. We received 5 french fries on a plate and about ½ cup of ceviche for $ 28. Very disappointing.
3. Once finally seated, our table was next to a door leading to the outside patio. When we asked if we could shut the door because it was very cold, we were told it had to stay propped open so the waiters could walk in and out.
4. We proceeded to order all the salads on the menu and shrimp cocktail. The salads were decent, but the $ 22 shrimp cocktail was basically 5 pre-​frozen shrimp and a ketchup packet. We asked for bread, which the waitress said they had run out of, and instead brought us 3 pieces of burnt toast for the table.
5. Our table of 5 got cut-​off of wine after two bottles. There was confusion as to if a third bottle of wine had been ordered, and the waitress took that to mean we had no clue as to how much wine we had consumed. The waitress said «if we couldn’t remember how many bottles we had, she didn’t feel comfortable serving us». She was very rude and condescending.
6. Our bill was over $ 500 for 5 people. One of the diners only had a salad and no alcohol. The rest of of the four diners split salads, the pathetic shrimp cocktail and 2 bottles of wine.
Needless to say, we will never be returning to Central Standard. As five native Austinites we all concluded that Central Standard has the poorest quality, most uninspired and ridiculously expensive food with the worst service in town. There are too many excellent restaurants in Austin to ever eat at Central Standard again.

Went there for Easter brunch and it was delicious! Had the salmon Benedict which was beautifully plated and tasted even better. Our waitress was so personable and sweet! Will definitely be going back!

Central Standard at the SoCo Hotel was a good place for brunch. Not great. Not memorable. If this was in a less competitive restaurant town, it would probably garner a 4.25−4.5 rating. In Austin, it was good enough to stay in business but not likely good enough to get our party of six to return any time soon.
To start with, the décor is nice but they have a significant ventilation problem. Their beautiful wood-​fired cooker doesn’t vent properly so smoke backs up in the restaurant. We kept trying to open the doors to the patio since the smoke was bothering our eyes and the staff kept trying to close the doors.
The menu for brunch is not extensive but there are some solid selections. Menu options are fairly straightforward, nothing really creative. Our party had some biscuits (tasty but not warm which was a disappointment), two hangtown frys (they were enjoyed), one steak salad (really tasty with fresh avocado), two burgers (solid choice) and a Huevos Rancheros. Add some French press coffees, tea, mimosas and it was a nice brunch. Everyone liked their choices.
The wait staff were polite but not as sharp and well-​trained as you would guess for a restaurant at this price point and managed by the same company that has Sway, La Condesa and others. For example, they asked us what type of water we preferred still or bubbly. After answering still, they served the entire table carbonated mineral water. Then, I ordered a hot tea when others ordered Mimosas and the server forgot it and brought I when I was almost done with brunch. I ordered a side egg with my steak salad and it was served after my salad not with it so that was not that helpful. No attempt was made to remove any of these late items from the bill but then again, we didn’t ask either.
We parked in the hotel garage and asked the server to stamp our parking ticket. The server said it would be taken care of by the parking attendant when we showed the brunch receipt, There was no parking attendant so we ended up picking up the parking fee at their own hotel garage.
None of these things are deal-​breakers (well ok our clothes now wreak of smoke which is annoying and now they will all have to go the dry cleaners after wearing them for a about an hour a half) but these mishaps are just not what you would expect for a brunch experience that sets you back several C-​notes.
It was a good brunch. Pretty sure I would go to the No Se Café (more interesting and diverse menu) next time and I think I would skip this spot for their even more expensive dinner.
There are too many EXCELLENT moderately priced restaurants in Austin to go to a good expensive one, in humble opinion.

Uhhhh, well, I went here with my mom who was visiting from out of town and my wife. The outside seating was good. They have some effective outdoor heaters that radiate in a more ambient way so it is comfortable to sit outside when it’s cold.
The whole thing is kind of silly, overpriced and inflexible. My mom asked to add chicken to her salad and they couldnt do that when they jave chicken on the menu. I know this makes me sound ridiculous but for the price per seat the customer should get a salad as they wish especially if the ingredients are avialable.
Not a big fan, if your mom is in town, treat her to Jefferys instead.

Unfortunately this place missed the mark for me. I would say overall their food was bland and under seasoned.
For the starter, we got the Warm Potato Bread. This was our favorite dish we had from this restaurant. The bread was moist and I couldn’t get enough of the crème friache/​butter. I was sad when we finished that dish.
For the main courses, we ordered the Berkshire Pork Chop and the Grilled Swordfish. Although each dish tasted ok, I felt some of the components on the dishes didn’t go well together. For example, for the grilled swordfish dish there were huge chunks of yukon gold potatoes that I felt added nothing to the overall plate. If anything it made it more bland in terms of flavor. The pork chop was cooked perfectly, but I do feel they could have done a better job seasoning it. The charred leeks underneath the pork chop were actually the best part about the dish.
I loved the atmosphere of Central Standard, but I left feeling underwhelmed. This place ain’t cheap either… not sure if I got my money’s worth.

The wedge salad was delicious and the swordfish was excellent– one of the best I have ever had! Burger, baked potato, & the other things we had were basic but good. The fact that you have to pay $ 6 for 3 small slices of bread was pretty ridiculous. Server was very nice and knowledgeable but not attentive and left our finished plates in front of us & without water for at least 15 minutes. The décor is beautiful and modern and love that you can bop right over to the hotel for a drink before or after. If you sit outside — the heaters really do their job so you won’t be cold!

Great décor, atmosphere, drinks, and bar staff but the good pretty much stops there.
Went with 4 people for dinner. Ordered bone marrow, a salad, steak tartare, and ceviche to start. Every single one was way way over salted and overly unimpressive. Then ordered the NY Strip and a fish dish for entrees which were both good. Everyone had about 2 drinks each as well.
Our main waiter started by rushing us to order quickly. Then three different waiters attempted to take every plate over every course off of our table while we were visibly still eating them with one removing the plate even after telling him not to. One waiter came and took all of our silverware while we were still working on one dish. It was as if none of them have ever worked at a restaurant. Really amazing that wait staff is this bad.
Then the bill was $ 400 including tip which seems really high for a barely mediocre meal with terrible service in Austin.
I cannot comment enough on how unpleasant of a dining experience this was when it is presented and priced as a high end restaurant.

I really like the ambiance at Central Standard and it is a welcome addition to SoCo. The bar is well put together (and they make some decent drinks as well). The kitchen is partially open so you can check out their awesome pit style grill — I like being able to see the cooks. It means it’s clean back there!
The staff was attentive and we received above average service. Something not easy to come by in Austin, which I’m sure you all know :)
The food wasn’t half bad either. We got their beef tartar and shrimp cocktail — both were good. The tartar was a little too salty though.
We also ordered their roasted chicken and burger. The chicken was 24 $ and the burger 18 $ — a little over priced, but then again it is a hotel restaurant. We also ordered a side of broccolini which was 8 $. All our entrees and sides were well cooked but all the dishes were overly salty again. I found myself chugging water to fight off the salty taste in my mouth.
Overall, cool layout and a little swanky. I enjoyed the food selection on their menu but they really need to lay off the salt a little bit. I’d come back.

My review may be a bit strange because I did think the food here was decent. It wasn’t exceptional by any means so be wary, this place is expensive, and I don’t understand why. You can get equally great food (similar menu) with awesome cocktails across the street at South Congress Café and likely save $ 20+ on a normal two person order. My gf and I had 6 oysters, 1 salad, 1 main ($ 32 for sea bass) two sides ($ 7 each), 1 beer and a juice. Total, $ 86. Meaning had we both had mains it would have been over $ 100. Add two cocktails at $ 13 each (NY prices!) and we’d have been well over $ 130 with taxes. Meaning this just isn’t a place we’ll come back to much if at all. We can get awesome cocktails at South Congress café or on the e side for under $ 10 so even for just drinks it’s too much. And the food didn’t blow us away at those prices.
But again I want to be clear. The food was solid, fairly creative new American. We only had the one main so can’t give much more on tastw. Restaurant décor is great and we sat outside on the patio. Very nice setting in the new hotel. So if you don’t worry too much about cost you should still enjoy yourself and have a nice meal in a great setting.
We’ve eaten at all the top rated restaurants in Austin to compare (Gardner, Qui, Launderette, Olamaie etc) and the major difference we felt was the others were truly special dining experiences with unique dishes, style and drinks with similar prices. This was good food with a nice menu but doesn’t warrant the prices, (in our humble opinion).
We were hoping for a new favorite local spot to be regulars as we live close by. But we left NY to get away from every restaurant trying to charge $ 30+ for mains and $ 13+ cocktails. There is a subtle art to pricing food and seeing $ 30 or more for nearly every main vs $ 25 – 28 really does make a difference in terms of perception. Same goes for cocktails.
So 3* because I did enjoy our meal. But I’d give it a 2 on food prices and 1 on drink prices. We don’t need to pay 13 for cocktails in Austin yet. (do we??)

First time visit, not impressed by the food.
1) bland, watery whiskey sour.
2) super oily artichoke dish.
3) wedge salad had a vinaigrette that scalded my mouth like a Warhead.
4) cheeseburger– can’t recall any cheese on it.
We ordered it medium rare, arrived medium and chewy. And the bun was a soggy mess.
Pros: the staff was wonderful and the restaurant itself is beautiful. And the fries were good.
I’ll try again in a few months.

I think it’s a tastefully decorated restaurant. Simple, but it doesn’t look cheap. Great hostess manners. Very attentive and sweet, almost. The waiter I had had a wonderful Australian accent. He was helpful and polite. The food took awhile to come out, but it was fine because I had time to talk to my friends. I enjoyed my Prime Rib Roast (9oz.), which was plenty after a couple of appetizers: Grilled Artichoke and Wagyu Steak Tartare. Do not order the artichoke. I did not think that was anything special to it, just grilled vegetable. The Wagyu Steak Tartare was decent. I recommend it. Everyone raved about the Prime Rib Roast because it had a tender texture hat melted in the mouth. I personally enjoyed the ambiance more than the food, but I would come here again and try other items. Beautiful décor at the bar.

Went opening week and it was a wonderful experience. The restaurant is beautiful and was designed to be welcoming and relaxing. Located inside the brand new South Congress Hotel this is a great choice for anyone looking to eat somewhere before or after shopping around SoCo, or even just a nice date night environment. Our waiter was knowledgable, the space had a good flow and vibe, and the food had great flavor! Everything we had on the menu was created with intention, from the berkshire pork cooked on the Hearth that lights up the room and puts out this amazing wood smell into the dining room. To the house made ice cream, like the apple pie ice cream or cream cheese ice cream which just melted in our mouths. Do visit Central Standard and do let me know what you think of them!

I really like this place and how it was put together.
From the wood burning stove you can smell a block a way, to the white marble, brass, copper, and wood interior, and obviously the food is extremely good.
American Fine Dining in a semi-​casual Austin atmosphere.
It’s the same group that operates La Condesa, Sway, Goodall’s Kitchen, and Café No Se.