Cafe Blue at Hill Country Galleria

We had a reservation at 630pm on Saturday evening. We were greeted at the host stand. The female host was pleasant and welcoming. We were advised that water was shut off for the building, but the restaurant seemed to manage as we did not note any issues during our dinner experience. Our party of six was seated within 10 minutes and our server welcomed us by serving bread and butter baskets and Taking our drink order. He was very friendly and patient. Drinks were delivered promptly Along with our appetizer and our server took our main course orders. I had the sesame encrusted tuna salad with mango. The tuna was not over cooked and I enjoyed the salad. The por - boy was one of the other main courses we ordered and although looked good it was overloaded with fried shrimp and only a small amount of coleslaw and veggies… this would have been a better sandwich without all that fried wrapped in bread. Overall a good experience and friendly customer focused service. The food was fairly generic to other seafood restaurants but it is a nice place for family dinners and we did enjoy our dinner experience.

We came for Saturday brunch. We were greeted immediately by a super personal hostess who seated us at her “favorite table.” The decor is wonderful with a mix of wood and blue lights and glassware. I ordered the grilled salmon avocado toast and could not be happier with it. The serving was large and the two poached eggs on top were perfection. Connor was our server and did a great job of getting our orders correct and taking great care of us. The beignets were divine!

I’m here on business and was recommended to try this place for some good food. When I tell you they did NOT disappoint….we were seated right away and then given the specials and answered all our questions. For an appetizer I got the Jerk Chicken Quesadillas and they were seasoned to perfection. For my entree, I got the stuffed shrimp with creamy spinach and rice pilaf. The rice had a hint of spice, nothing too drastic 6.5/10. The spinach caught me off guard, it was so flavorful, 10/10. The stuffed shrimp was spectacular, 9.5/10. Only took .5 off because I would’ve preferred fried, but it was delicious nonetheless. My co-worker had the blue shrimp plate. I tasted some of his fries and they were seasoned to perfection as well. They did not disappoint and it’s definitely worth trying if you’ve never been.

Food was excellent. Great brunch spot and really good seafood. Full bar and free beignets that have a delicious compote that is not too sweet. I'm pleasantly surprised. Best brunch I have had on a while.

My favorite sea food place in Austin even when eating alone. This time I had the coconut mocktail, Caesar salad, & Thai Muscles. The servers are always beyond friendly and help me decide how to narrow down my order when I want to try everything. Lol

Update - Turns out all the staff is this good. Great spot in the Hill Country. Pro tip: ask for John to be your server. This man could easily work at any of the top spots downtown Austin, but you are fortunate enough he works here out in the Hill Country. Excellent seafood in a surprising location. I loved their main lobster omelet and the crab appetizer. While the price and quality are high end the vibe is laid back. Most patrons were in nice jeans with a button down / polo or sundress. The patio is ok. The wine cellar area is the most aesthetically pleasing to sit in. Come for seafood. Stay for the excellent hospitality.

This restaurant is very nice with perfect lighting and a nice ambiance. The tables are spaced perfectly apart, and the service is always very good. We ordered during Saturday brunch. The crab roll appetizer was amazing, and let me just start off by saying when you can see nice big chunks of lobster on top you know it's going to be good. The bread it came on was toasted and buttered to perfection, the perfect ratio of mayo to lobster to lettuce was used. I ordered the crab Benedict Arnold which was tasty, my only complaint is that the hash browns were slightly burned and just an edge over crispy.

I came in for Happy Hour—ordered the Strawberry Jalapeño marg, half dozen gulf oysters, and tropical ceviche. Everything was amazing, some of the best food I’ve had in Austin. Service was great, too!

Food was absolutely amazing! Mahi Mahi fish tacos with the mango/pineapple salsa atop a small house vinaigrette salad was phenomenal! Crab cakes were amazing...majority crab meat and not filler...I recommend the Dijon mustard sauce on side, as would be overpowering and take away from amazing crabcake flavor. Waiter was very courteous and attentive and the atmosphere was very clean and pleasant. I will say it was a tad loud, and difficult to carry on a conversation with someone who does not hear well. Recommend 10/10 any day!!!!

Oops, they did it again... I have been in a love/ "kind of like" relationship with this establishment for over 13 years. The inconsistency of food quality, portions, and pricing is just nuts. My previous 5 star review was based a lot on their rocking updated happy hour specials. Off the chart's amazing prices, and the food was nom nom nom. Well...I guess they recently went back to their old happy hour menu where there are only a couple of discounted items and shocking...the same dishes diminished in portion size. No no. At first I thought, maybe it was just me, but I went back and looked at my old photos. So raise your prices and make the servings smaller. I find that a tad offensive as a customer. Albeit I can understand how there other offerings were almost too good of a deal and maybe they were losing a lot of money. ? They made some beautiful updates to the patio seating, included neat led lamps for ambience. The service is still stellar. The food is still good, but I personally don't think it's worth the price compared to similar styled restaurants in the area. [Insert whining here; sorry not sorry] If you want to flip a coin, it truly is hit or miss. Good luck!

Its been a long while since I've been here. My dish was not good at all, the fish they used was catfish and it didn't taste good and the was hard. The texture of the bread part was mushy. My partner had the fried shrimp and he loved it. The server we had her name is Jaz. She was amazing and very attentive. She was super sweet asking me she would have changed out my meal to something else. Most server wouldn't ask that. I would go back again to try something else. Everyone there was super nice and sweet. I would recommend this place. Not the fish and chips.

This dish is simply delectable this is why we come here they're so flavorful. Service is always great . Come on in and try them trust me they'll quickly become your favorite dish.

The food is decent, atmosphere, music, hostess and bartender could be much better. The dining room is awkwardly open.

I have a situation on Mother's Day which was my special day but the dinner that was served to me the oil was very old and shrimp was very old with the French fries so the manager comes out and And tries to make this right. So right now I'm waiting for my dish to that I can write a better review I've been a regular here at this restaurant for many years and I love love cafe blue there's no other seafood restaurant that serves quality seafood in this restaurant.. So for now I'm going to update this review in a day or 2 and I will give you the new dish that I ordered and that way it will be posted online so everyone can see what they did to fix this issue that needed to be addressed. So I had ordered the grilled chicken instead which was a plus and I was happy with the switch as well it turned out chicken is raw, ouch!!!!

I love visiting the Galleria but sadly cannot say the same about Cafe Blue! It's always been an average yet pricey place to me, and a recent visit reaffirmed my lukewarm impression. The protein was cooked fine across all five entrees but the sides were crazy salty. Not sure anything is worth reordering except maybe the Redfish Louisiane for the creamy sauce, especially at ~$30-40 per plate. Oysters on the shell were sad and small, maybe a seasonal issue? We enjoyed the complimentary focaccia bread, even though it was a tad undercooked. Again, great location! However, the inside is super dated and the acoustics are terrible. Be prepared for lip reading and/or shouting across the table to hear each other. Staff were nice but service was painfully slow despite the restaurant being pretty empty at the time.

I really liked this restaurant a lot. The food was delicious. The waiter was very helpful. I had the crab stuffed flounder. It was very good. The oysters were delicious. It's nice that they bring bread to the table at the beginning of the meal. I enjoyed it.

I could never understand fully why this place is never really busy. Especially the bar area. Now I know I ordered happy hour ceviche and it was half water. Know it had been sitting for some time. Drink I orders was too sweet. Bar tender turned her nose up when I said so and didn't ask if I wanted something else or ever asked if I wanted another drink. Chips with the ceviche were stale. And no one was friendly or inviting. Not somewhere I'd recommend nor want to go often. Other choices.

Really good place for a date-nite. A bit noisy for a "romantic" date, but still a good place to dine for two. Took my wife here and really enjoyed our visit. The place is very nicely decorated and lit. They have large glass doors that slide open for fresh air to breeze through the entire dining area. The staff is very nice and accommodating. Our waitress took good care of us throughout the night. My wife had the Rosemary Pasta w/ Shrimp dish and some Clam Chowder - which she loved. I had the Jerk Chicken Quesadilla for an appetizer, a house salad, and the Blackened Mahi-Mahi Tacos - all of which were plentiful and delicious! While we didn't have any "adult" beverages, the bill came out to about $50/person, but this place is worth it. Will definitely return to try some of the other menu items - of which there are plenty to choose from.

Good service! Great drinks. A relaxing place to have some delicious food and sit outside a warm night. (Inside isnt bad either!) Dog friendly- for those with a pet along. My dirty martini was outstanding... may have had two.

We have eaten at Cafe Blue several times; however, today' s service was terrible! We had to request a menu in order to order our meal. None was offered when we were seated. Since no complimentary bread was offered, we had to ask our server for it. Next my wife had to waive down our server to get coffee refills. At least she finally got some refills - better than my never being offered a refill for my soda! At least the food was good. All in all our experience was frustrating.

Great location, beautiful surroundings, and problematic food. Was in recently with children, who had full-size chicken quesadilla and cheeseburger meals. I had gotten the kids' menu to keep portions smaller, but our waiter had other plans. He quietly asked each child if they'd like the 'normal' size without any reference to me. Not a fan, as a sizable part of their food was left uneaten, and I had to eat the associated bill. As for the food: the quesadilla had good flaky surrounds, tasteless chicken, and either no vegetables or no flavor of vegetables. My half-chicken was beautifully presented, but the meat was tasteless and almost rubbery; to boot, the lemon sauce had the barest of flavors. Together, the combination was not appealing. The only winner at the table was the cheeseburger and fries combination. Overall, the bill was commensurate with the 1st-semester Cordon Bleu cooking style. Maybe a trained chef could help matters? I'd be willing to fork out for the difference, anyway. Until then, I won't be darkening their door, despite the reasonable price.

Pretty damn good food, I'd recommend the Thai muscles and any seafood. It can be busy but still a nice atmosphere for brunch or lunch.

The food was good. It was quite a drive to get there but we had plans in the area so we met there for brunch. There were four of us and we all got a different Benedict's. It was decorated in a sea theme. The dolphin faucets in the bathroom were an odd choice. Definitely made an impression on me. Our waitress was in training and tried hard. The pair serving us were not around much but the other staff kept our coffee filled. If we find ourselves out that way again I honestly can't say if we would go back.

This places food is great. the service is slow but it's worth the wait. I made this rhyme lay at time 1800 Ps Ryan Trayhan do not eat this burger because you do not like veggies.I love joyride classic burger is the burger that I am talking about

Revisited Cafe Blue a few times in 2023; decided a follow up was warranted. A nice brunch with friends awhile back and the day before Thanksgiving GF and I ventured in for a late lunch. Still one of my fave appetizers in Austin is the Thai Style Mussels with Red Curry Broth. Armed with a $150 gift card (thanks mom!) we stared with Oysters on the Half Shell, Oysters Rockefeller, and Calamari. Raw were delicious paired with CB's play on traditional minionette. Tangy flavors of green apple and jalapeno vinegar; cocktail sauce was good too. Rockefeller dish was also on point. GF doesn't like raw enjoyed the flavors of this cooked dish. Calamari was above average; perhaps the largest rings I've seen in a good while. Asian style dipping sauce was appreciated but if you're used to marinara it was there too. Yes, we ordered more food if you can believe it. Gotta blow out that gift card! My Mahi dish was prepared "Oscar Style" at my request. That's Bearnaise and Lump Crab Meat if you're in the know. Solid dish paired with requested Mashed Potatoes and Spinach. Service was attentive but there were minor issues. A table arrived after we sat down and got bread immediately; we had to ask for it. Table could have been pre bussed a bit quicker. We stared at empty appetizer plates for a good while. Prices aren't too inflated for what you get; four stars.

Very generous portions. Fresh fish and well seasoned. Seafood gumbo needed more seasoning. Thai mussels were superb. Very friendly and efficient service. The prices are reasonable for the quality and the restaurant atmosphere is very inviting.

Very friendly front end staff, was greeted with a smile and promptly taken to a table. Ate at the bar, waiter was awesome and food was delicious!

OMG. The lunch I had was great! The waitress, Sara was very polite and friendly. A typical college student trying to get by! I had the Ruben sandwich and a bowl of gumbo. Both were excellent. I would recommend this restaurant for anybody.

What a nice place. Service was solid and food was so tasty. Its pretty nuvo in decor but it really works. I had the shrimp scampi and it was very different than expected In a good way. Grab a bite here. You'll be happy you did.

Sat down at our table and after 10 minutes with no server we went to the bar to order. Ceviche used to have chunks of shrimp and more flavor than it does today. Today, ceviche only has maybe tilapia or some white fish and very bland for the non fruit ceviche. The Grammercy has much better ceviche!

My wife and I have made Cafe Blue our secret linnner drop in over the past few months. Great folks and we split a couple of apps with drinks. Tonight we hit it off with their wonderful bartender. Lost her name unfortunately but she was so kind and helpful to those who've been in the restaurant business like us. Can't wait to come back!

If you haven't been to the BOGO brunch on Saturdays then you are missing out! The seafood bennnysbate delicious and every table gets free beignets!

Service was pretty good and the food was great. Good place to explore brunch options. We had a large family gathering and they seated us fairly fast without reservations.

Ooohh...adding a star! You may ask, "What happened?" I don't know. Pandemic is over. Stars aligned. I had a bad hair day last time we visited. Maybe Cafe Blue just stepped up their game! Labor Day lunch. Happy Hour ALL day! Big group. We took advantage of the discounted apps and ordered one of everything. Seriously. And cocktails. Chingos of cocktails! At Happy Hour prices. All day Mondays. Everything was AWESOME! Ceviche, mussels, calamari, Ahi tuna, crab cakes, oysters (raw and Rockefeller). Didn't try the ribs or gumbo but heard they are delish. Sarah stepped it up and graciously man-handled our unruly group. ...and a good time was had by all!

I knew that at least one of my colleagues had mentioned liking Cafe Blue, but I hadn't had the opportunity to try it until recently. We dined on the patio during one of the Saturday night concerts on the lawn at the mall. It was the perfect place to enjoy the music from a distance. The food was absolutely delicious and I was pleasantly surprised with the value of the meal. The hostess was pleasant and the server was knowledgeable and inviting. I look forward to my next meal at Cafe Blue.

Meh. Service was okay. Of the three of us, one liked her meal a lot. Thought that it was the best meal in a while. The other two of us, nope. Crab cakes. It took a bit to get an understanding of what crab was in them. They weren't bad, but they weren't great. Crab stuffed shrimp. Partly our mistake, ordering more crab, but if it's good, it shouldn't be an issue. But after careful asking is any bell pepper was on the crab, and getting a "no", it should be okay. The red bell pepper was pretty evident. Sesame crusted ahi. Normally ahi is served with a pan seared crust. This was just a soy glaze with sesame seeds. No crust. Normally the slices have a nice pink middle. Each and every slice was gray. Inside of each side, still pink. How did they turn it so unappealing? Flavor was okay, but bland. And the wasabi mashed potatoes? I love wasabi. I love wasabi flavored snacks. But the potatoes made my eyes water, they were so over flavored. No wonder the fish tasted bland. Creme Brulee - fine. Good crust, but custard was cold. Bread pudding - nope. Fail. The Amy's ice cream served with it was delish, but the pudding was left for scraps. We definitely cannot recommend Cafe Blue. Too many fails in a single meal.

I've been eating at this restaurant since they moved to this location. It has always been delicious and the service is great. I highly recommend it for lunch or dinner.

Wish I could give negative stars. Just had Easter brunch there and it was absolutely terrible. Apparently a reservation only gets you a sad table in the very back room which is not even part of the restaurant. You certainly don't get good service there. Upon arrival, the people at the hostess stand seemed confused and flustered. When I complained about our table the "gentleman" (perhaps a manager?) only sounded put out. The brunch buffet was bad. The food was not even warm, let alone hot, the offerings were offensive considering the per person cost. The staff didn't seem to know if they should help serve or stand there...as if they had randomly been brought in off the street. Items that you think of with cafe blue were noticeably absent from the buffet. There was no boiled shrimp or shellfish of any kind, no crab cakes, literally nothing related to their regular menu. Nothing that would be Easter Sunday brunch special. I've had better breakfast at the free Hampton Inn breakfast. The omelette bar was lacking. Precooked food not warm enough, no bacon or sausage to add...but there was chicken for your omelette? Maybe they had left over chicken from Saturday they didn't want to waste? Our waiter overcharged us for # of buffets, glad we noticed before paying. This was so disappointing and so bad I wish I could get my $ back or that we would've just left the minute we bit into our cold eggs benedict. Massive, massive fail. Guess Cafe Blue needed to cut costs and over charge in order to make their rent?

met a friend for lunch today... Max was our server and was attentive and friendly. thr food, however, needs work. Appetizer Coconut Shrimp was 1) terribly overcooked, chewy 2) very small-5 per order. Fried Shrimp Platter was meh.. same very small shrimp (6), fries were tasty but not worth the cost of the platter. Plating and presentation matters as does quality of the food. someone needs retraining in seafood. Do better.

I really liked the French Toast Breakfast with Scrambled Eggs and sausage. The fresh fruit was a nice addition. Parking is a problem on the weekend I'm not sure about M-F. My server was very nice and helpful. I also tried the Migas and they were good. If they can find a solution for the parking I would be more prone to go back. Nice atmosphere.

Ok I get it now. I guess all our favorite restaurants are going downhill. They can blame Covid but I blame cruddy cooks. After I just bragged about Cafe Blue, we went there as I said we would in my last posting...for our anniversary dinner. Got there early for a Happy hour drink. They were good! The waiter "never" mentioned Happy Hour or we would've gotten an appetizer! We did however get our Happy hour discount after I mentioned it. Came back to the table at 6 so it was over. (Just the principle of it. (They have untrained wait staff I guess). A runner brought out bread didn't say a word. Weird.... Back to the food. Ordered the Sea Bass. Was ok, not great. It came with rice-a-roni over seasoned with garlic powder, little onion rings all over it and Asparagus. Disappointing since I cook better than that.

Food: the sesame crusted dishes like the ahi tuna, shrimp, and calamari were good! Also like the bread and butter they started us with. However the Cobb salad was just ok, a little drenched with much dressing, the jerk chicken was over cooked. Service: came during a weekday lunch, service was quite slow.

We had a wonderful anniversary dinner tonight. Service was outstanding! Thank you Rafe! You were amazing! Food was 5 stars all the way! We loved the chowder, salad, Red Fish and the Salmon. Everything was cooked to perfection. Cream Brulee was delicious too! Thanks for making our dinner so special this evening!

Ali served us tonight. Little did she know, we were there to celebrate our father's life. Yes it's busy. Yes, things aren't perfect. But she made evening perfect for us. And fixed orders that didn't come out right. Make reservations. Be patient. Respect anyone you interact with. Be human guys. We're in a pandemic. Great staff. Great food.

Our favorite restaurant! Whether indoor or outdoors, the service is excellent. We love the clam chowder and French onion soups! The various fish entrees are alway delicious, as are the shrimp dishes! Happy Hour is always fabulous, too!

Best service, Best staff, and Awesome seafood! My Best Bartender Award goes to Jackie! Picture a beautiful day, patio doors open, Amazing service, and seriously the Best seafood ever! The Amazing thing was that Jackie handled the patio clients, the dining room demand, and yet made the extra effort to converse with us, take our orders, and never missed a beat! If you are looking for Great Seafood, service, and enviroment...This is the place to go to!

This was our first time trying Cafe Blue. I was very impressed with everything. The atmosphere reminded me of Monterey Bay (without the views) The oysters were very fresh and they had really nice selections...the Thai curry mussels were great...the clam chowder was full on flavorful and they had a great drink selection. Mind you the location makes for more than just a one stop spot to eat. This location has all you need to spend a few hours around the Galleria as a whole. That said, we will be visiting regularly, especially throughout the summer months.

Overall score 4.6 out of 5 Really great location and very nice inside. Staff was excellent Food was phenomenal. Pleasantly surprised by everything we had. We had the mussels, lobster rolls, crabcakes.

We love Cafe Blue and have been coming here for over 10 years. The food is solid and most of the time the customer service is impeccable. Tonight was not so much on the service side. Our server seemed to be phoning it in. It took 15 minutes to get anyone to wait on us and our drinks took longer to get to us than our apps or entrees. We would have spent more money on drinks but the service was so bad we didn't even get water refills let alone an opportunity to order more cocktails. We hope this is just a hiccup and our next visit will be better.

Pretty, but both the food and service were uninspired. Smoked salmon benedict with cold eggs; server didn't know what St. Germaine was (me either, that's why i asked). All in all, it was a ho hum meal.

I'm giving this two stars, because the service was good, but the food was so greasy we left feeling sick. The portions were enormous, and I only ate half of what was on my plate, but my friend and I both left feeling drenched in grease.

The Redfish Louisianne I ordered was tender, flaky, and perfectly prepared. Hubby loved his crab cakes AND those silly complimentary beignets, as well. Our dinner partner ordered the shrimp brochettes and raved about them. Table service? Stellar! Many thanks to the friends in Houston who told us about this gem!

Simply Grilled Market Fresh Fish, I went with the Redfish (Simply grilled fish are lightly seasoned with Steve Marlin's Seafood Seasoning, brushed with lemon and olive oil, and served with rice pilaf and sautéed spinach.) It was okay, just not memorable. Would try something different if we return.

Bland crab cakes, eggs were poached nicely but cold. Hash brown were burned and they shouldn't have been served at all - in fact it should have been trashed. Would never go there again! Waitress did apologize and offer another serving I had no time. Also, an elegant plate would be better serviced with home fries.

Reservations were not honored today, Mother's Day. We waited 35 minutes to get seated (despite seeing patio open and 3 tables inside open within feet from the front door. Manager said they were cleaning up from brunch crowd. So several 3pm parties waited 30+ minutes. Question to restaurant: Did you know about the brunch AND the afternoon reservations the day before? What about parties that had other events planned after the meal? Food was great, service was poor.

Delicious, although a bit pricey the food is good I have no problem paying that price knowing I'm going to get good food

I can't believe I have lived in Bee Cave four years and I had not stopped in to Cafe Blue until today. Every time I visit Hill Country Galleria this place is buzzing with patrons. I admit, I rarely eat seafood but the soup and salads here are delicious! The location is also excellent, right on the central plaza where visiting bands play and art and craft festivals are often held. The staff are very nice as well. I look forward to returning!