Moonshine Patio Bar & Grill - Review - Downtown Austin - Austin - The Infatuation

"Moonshine was designed in a lab to impress out-of-towners—and we don’t mean that in a bad way. Located a few steps from the convention center, Rainey Street, and most Downtown hotels, it checks all the boxes for a Southern comfort pit stop: massive patio, friendly servers who manage to refill drinks before you even ask, and portion sizes that guarantee leftovers. If you’re visiting Austin and want to say you had blackened catfish or shrimp and grits in a nice atmosphere, this is where to go. And if you live here, you probably already know all about Moonshine. The menu reads like a Southern starter pack—deviled eggs, fried green tomatoes, chicken-fried steak. Most of it leans classic, though you’ll find a few twists, like wagyu in the Salisbury steak or chile sage butter on the seared rainbow trout. None of it is reinventing the genre, but that’s kind of the point. The food is dependable, the prices are fair (especially for Downtown), and the whole place runs like a well-oiled cast-iron skillet. photo credit: Nicolai McCrary Food Rundown Center Cut Pork Chop The pork chop is well seasoned and cooked to a well-done finish. It’s a little dry, but the peach chutney on top does enough heavy lifting to make up for it. photo credit: Nicolai McCrary Chicken-Fried Steak If you’re at Moonshine, there’s a 75% chance you’re ordering the chicken-fried steak. It’s a classic take, topped with a chipotle cream gravy that adds subtle heat. It’s not the crispiest we’ve had, but it hits the spot. photo credit: Nicolai McCrary Banana Cream Pudding This is a little too sweet, but it’s an otherwise fairly standard banana cream pudding that hits all the nostalgic flavors you’d expect. photo credit: Nicolai McCrary" - Nicolai McCrary