Micheladas Cafe y Cantina

Wow! This place was terrific. Great food and great service I was pleasantly surprised. My experience was at the bar where I had the fajitas and enjoyed a few drinks all the creation of the bartender Chrissy. I wasn’t sure what to drink so she whipped up some of her own creations which were all delicious.
Thanks to the staff who were all very welcoming. Lots of fun times and great food. I will certainly return.

Great place! Staff was attentive never had to ask for anything. Tortilla soup was by far the best in Austin even beats The Mansion in Dallas! Décor is top notch and fits the downtown area. Wanted Texas sweet tea and they made it special for us. Oh but the Mexican martini with chili salt was a perfect pairing. We will be back!

We sat down in the bar area at 9 on a Saturday night while a playoff game was on. My cousin cheered and the manager Rudely told him to use his inside voice, like a child. A few minutes later a large group of guys came in from outside and yelled as well and the manager came out and automatically told my cousin that he was being childish because he was yelling while there was a family sitting close by. He never said anything to the large group of guys yelling because they were on their way out. This was the worst experience I’ve had at a restaurant and I was only there for 15 minutes. Very rude manager and very bad wait staff. Also there was a gnat in one of the drinks we ordered. Never again will I return here. If I could, I’d give zero stars.

Our first time there today and was pleasantly surprised. A waiter sat us and was a bit abrupt but pleasant enough.
The queso was amazing with slices of jalapeño in it. I had the shredded chicken tacos and the meat was well seasoned and tender. We will definitely be back to try more of the menu.

Nice place, big, comfy chairs. We were seated right away, water and chips right off. They forgot salsa for s while, but the fresh chips were great dry!
Our sever was very nice, refills came fast.
We were a party of four: fajita plate was GREAT! Pork belly tacos GREAT! Quesadilla plate real good, but it’s hard to mess those up: p enchilada just so so. We all shared so everyone was happy.
Taco plate was a little small. If you’re HUNGRY double down. Everything else was a very generous portion.

Food is good, nice atmosphere, but service sucks in bar area! No structure on which bartenders are working sections. When busy they bogg down.

Because I happened upon a bad experience, I’d like to start with what’s good about this place. The chips and salsa… yummy; I checked in with Unilocal and got some free queso dip. It’s a big open restaurant with a lot of seating and a great bar area. My waiter was ‘Andrew’ and he was very nice and easy going.
Unfortunately when I walked in around 12:45, there was no one there to greet me. I even left for a few minutes and then came back because I decided nothing looked better that was also close to the convention center. The second time I walked in at the patio area hoping someone would greet me. No one did… I walked back inside the place and finally just asked the bartender if it was alright if I sat down. Someone new; a newly trained waiter who seemed nervous sat me down. I sat there for a while until I heard some mumbling about how I wasn’t supposed to be sitting there. Shortly thereafter the nervous waiter came back and apologized for being new, and he didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to sit there… Okie doke…
I continued to sit there as no one told me where else to sit. I stopped a busy waitress and asked for a menu. She retrieved it for me and didn’t seem concerned I wasn’t getting service.
Finally Andrew got to me and I ordered. I got the cheese enchiladas. They were a bit funny tasting, I didn’t really enjoy them.
So that’s it’s. That’s my pathetic story. It all took about 40 minutes and my contact with a human employee was limited. I don’t know what was going on at the time… But… Man did I feel like a shadow on the wall. Not a good feeling.

I would put zero stars if I could. We went to Micheladas today for lunch and were seated immediately since there was hardly anyone there. We sat for about 15 – 20 minutes for our waiter to come over. He walked past us clearing tables like 5 times and never acknowledged us. We didn’t get water or anything! Another couple was seated across from us and their waiter immediately came over with water and started talking to them. WTH! We were done. My husband told the maitre d about our lack of service and at least he apologized. Never going to this place again!

The food was decent. Nice atmosphere, but for lunch they offer limited seating, $ 15 buffet, or sit out on the patio. It is 52 degrees outside! Not wanting to pay $ 15 or freeze outside we choose to sit at the bar… but then they left the door open leading to the patio so we froze anyway! We asked for the door to be shut, but they denied us.
Even other patrons could be heard saying, «it’s colder in here than outside!»
Little uoset and pretty cold. Probably wouldn’t come back.

Looking at the reviews, I guess I’m glad we came in late on a random Tuesday night near closing time! We were immediately greeted and provided with chips and salsa, both very fresh and flavorful. Our waiter provided an awesome suggestion for a margarita and did just the trick for what we were hankering for.
We conversed for a long time and he allowed us to take our time. We finally ordered and I got the shrimp tacos with corn tortillas and a side of black beans. After a short time they came out and I was more than excited to eat at this point, albeit hunger curved by margaritas and chips. The corn tortillas were warm and the shrimp was perfectly cooked, not overdone. It was topped with a slaw of jicama, avocado salsa, and crispy tortilla strips.
Some others at our table got the stuffed pork chop and another got the pork belly quesadilla and none of us were disappointed. My favorite part though? Ending the night with the tres leches cake. OMG. Amazing and mouthwatering, so indulgent and sinful but at that point, there’s no return! Hey, at least there was a few berries on the cake, so it’s healthy… right?!

Great service! Friendly and attentive staff! Clean restrooms.
I had lunch here while in town for a conference and arrived right after they opened the doors as I had an extended break between sessions.
Lunch menu is awesome! I had the chicken flautas and my free queso. The queso was amazing!!!

I have never been to a more poorly run, unorganized restaurant. I understand it was busy and everyone seemed to arrive at once however you are directly across the convention center in downtown Austin. You should be better prepared. I’m sure this wasn’t the first time that’s happened and it certainly won’t be the last.
I ordered and food arrived quickly. Unfortunately my silverware did not. I sat there for 10 minutes trying to get someone’s attention with no luck. It took the lady sitting next to me to request it when someone finally came by to get her order.
The food was nothing special. Standard tex mex. not worth returning for.
After I finished it took about 15 minutes to get my bill and then about 10 minutes to get card back.
Not worth it.

Worst restaurant experience EVER! First off, if you are a restaurant next to a convention center you need to be prepared to handle volume and get people in and out quickly. We waited 45 minutes for drinks, were told it would take 50 more minutes to get our food, asked for our food to go and didn’t even get all of it but had to leave. We were in the restaurant over 90 minutes and saw our waiter once. It’s a good thing gratuity was included because I would have not tipped him at all and I always tip. No apologies from the manager for anything. Definitely not enough staff. Two servers to handle a large outdoor seating area. Awful awful awful. Everything was just awful. If I could’ve given it no stars I would.
If you are at a convention do not waste your time here.

Pros — the place is huge with plenty of seating, both indoor and outside. The food is delicious and our server was on point. Great place for a weekday lunch with no wait.
Cons — the parking! Street parking near the convention center is limited at best, be prepared to circle the block at least a few times.

Great tasting food! I had the shrimp tacos that tasted so amazingly fresh!
I will definitely be retuning again for more local cuisine.

Ordered the Chicken Fried Steak with chorizo gravy! The chorizo gravy is awesome! It’s very interesting with great flavor…
Sat outside and enjoyed the weather.
Since it’s by the convention center I could see this as a tourist drop, but on a Sunday it was smooth sailing.
Ordered the Basil Strawberry lemonade cocktail and was really good…
I’d recommend anything that gets the chorizo gravy!
Great salsa and get the free queso when checking in!

Free small queso on check in. I like that.
Other than that, huh?
Long wait. Unorganized and limited staff. Mediocre food and service.
Atmosphere, but nothing else. Being across from the convention center you would think they would always be busy and amazing. Busy, yes — far from amazing.
They were out of bacon when I ordered my meal. At 3 PM. The meal I ordered because it had bacon. Mmmmk.
Won’t be back.

I had lunch here 2 of the 4 days I was in Austin.
Yes, I am a bit boring. Or it could be that this really works if you’re at a convention. I met up with a woman from Australia, we decided to dash across the street when classes got out. We got there before noon, got a table immediately and were eating quickly.
I had fajitas the first day which was good, not great, but good. The beans were spicy and the iced tea decent. I was so surprised that they did not carry Mexican coke!
The second day I had a chicken enchilada and was nervous that the salsa verde was already applied before I received my lunch. But it was deliciously tangy, not hot spicy. I really loved that enchilada. Probably the best one I have ever had.
Nice breeze, clean and comfortable room with efficient service. Add to that great lunch deals and some superb food, if you order the chicken enchilada.
And enjoy your convention to boot!

The salsa was only okay, but the queso is excellent! It is homemade, not Velveeta, and they put big chilies (serranos?) in it.
Their barracho beans are probably the best I’ve ever had — and that’s saying something because I’ve never had bad barracho beans! They had a nice smokey flavor.
The rice was a little above average. It could’ve used a bit more flavor, but the carrots and peas were definitely a nice touch.
The fajitas were excellent! Tender with a good smokey flavor (same as the beans?).
There was a real big lunch crowd, but service was good and the noise level was relatively low.
They seem to be a locally owned business, which I like. I’ve eaten here before and I’ll definitely be back again!

We came here on a 75 degree Sunday afternoon in February, and had the beautiful outdoor patio to ourselves. I was shocked!
The indoor space is dark, cozy, and designed to look authentically Mexican. The outdoor space is just perfect. (Okay, it could be a bit more perfect if it didn’t overlook the convention center — but I’m happy with a bright and cheery, nice size patio any day!)
The food was yummy and the service was on point. It seems like this side of downtown is never really too busy, but I love it. It’s quiet and there are tons of good spots to eat and grab a drink. We’ll be back for sure!