Public House

Our family of five all found something to like here. My salmon with quinoa and green beans was flavorful and perfectly cooked. My husband liked their beer list. Wish it was a little more reasonably priced.

Was happy to see a more modern-​rustic comfort food restaurant come to Amarillo. I loved the interior with all it’s clean white walls, wood accents, rustic/​industrial feel. It made me feel like I was back in the big city and not up in North Texas. It was very clean and quiet at 10:00AM on a Saturday, but did pick up around 11:30. I’d give the interior a 5 star, but the bathrooms seemed to be an afterthought. I know that may sound strange, but when I give 5 stars you can bet the bathrooms are pretty awesome too and I feel they should always be considered in the restaurant design.
We arrived for brunch, so I didn’t sample much of their extensive boutique wines, but was impressed with what they had. They had a nice cocktail list as well. I did sample the DELICIOUS BLOODY MARY a few times (house infused pepper vodka, pickled okra, fresh mozzarella, beef jerky rim) and it was spicy and ‘delicious’ for sure. I opted to not have the jerky rim however since I’m a vegetarian. I also love whiskey so I did want to check out how their OLD FASHIONED held up to others. It was OK, but I agree with another reviewer and they need to do some thought process on their ice they serve it with. If you’re going to have an extensive whiskey list — get some good solid large cubes — it will make a difference.
As for food, I opted for the vegetarian CHILE RELLENO OMELET (w/​queso fresco, roasted tomato-​chipotle salsa). I thought it was pretty good, but I would have like to see them pull a it more flavor into it. The hash browns were perfect: crispy & not greasy. My mom also had this, but sampled my sister’s BREAKFAST ENCHILADAS and said she liked them better — that it had way more flavor. I’d expect that since it has chorizo! And being it was a special brunch we did opt for some desserts. I’m a huge CREME BRULEE fan & theirs did not disappoint. Crisp top, fresh blueberries and a smooth, delicious caramel custard base. I’d go back just for that. They also had a nice selections of port which I wish I had sampled. My mom got the DONUT BREAD PUDDING with salted caramel and it was pretty dang scrumptious as well! Overall I was pretty impressed with the food quality.
Service was also good. She was attentive without being overbearing, but I’d prefer that if you are not 100% sure of what’s in the food — then just go ask. Don’t him & haw and them have me ask you to go ask. There are people who don’t eat certain things out there and I don’t expect my server to know every ingredient for sure, but you want to boost your customers’ confidence in what they are getting simply saying «I don’t know, let me find out» if a perfectly acceptable response.
I’d certainly come back to the Public House next time I’m back. There were just a few small details that keep me from giving it the 5 stars I think it could hit.

It’s nice to finally see a restaurant in Amarillo with an appetizing brunch menu. The building itself is very nice, filled with wonderful art pieces. I believe it used to be a Tex-​mex place a year or so ago. They’ve made a nice little private room in the corner where our party of 10 sat with reservations. Like I mentioned, the brunch menu is great — breakfast enchiladas, eggs Benedict, fried steak and eggs. Brunch drink menu sounds just as awesome. I had my eye on the yellow belly breakfast, but didn

Public House — 1100 — 10.25.15
I had a reservation and our table was ready right at 11, despite the fact that they were PACKED! I was able bypass the throng of guests waiting around the door, straight to the hostess stand, straight to my table. Yay!
I didn’t catch our server’s name, but she did a pretty good job, despite their being short-​handed. Drinks were promptly refilled and empty plates were bussed quickly. I had my usual Bloody Mary which was wonderful, as always.
The food… One guest ordered the Angus Burger, several guests has the Eggs Benedict, another guest ordered the Breakfast Enchiladas. Travis ordered the Blueberry Pancakes and I had the Biscuits and Gravy. I didn’t hear any complaints except for one diner who ordered Eggs Benedict was shorted the Asparagus garnish. No biggie. Everyone complimented that the food was perfectly cooked, and in generous portions.
My biscuits and gravy — I expected a better presentation for an upscale restaurant… No garnish, no extra frills, and the plating was frankly quite messy as there were globs of gravy around the outer rim of the plate. Not a huge deal though. So rich and creamy, the gravy had wonderful flavor! It had a tad more salt than I would consider ideal but definitely not bad, I just drank extra water. The biscuits were thick, hot, and crumbly. My only real complaint about the dish is that there should have been about twice as much gravy on the plate for the amount of biscuit I was given. My picture will show how thick these biscuits were, and there just wasn’t enough gravy to go around. The overall experience was okay but I enjoy some of their other brunch dishes much more, so I probably won’t order this particular dish again.
The Blueberry Pancakes gave off a delicious berry perfume! As soon as the dish was placed on the table I felt a twinge of envy, wishing I had ordered the same… But since Trav ordered them, I got a few bites anyway! Once again, I expected a more involved presentation. This dish was just 2 pancakes popped in the middle of the plate with toppings served on the side — no butter rosette, no fresh blueberry garnish, etc. Again, that’s nit-​picky but those little touches are, in my mind, the things that set fine dining apart from great food at lower-​end establishments.
We finished our meal in an hour and left with a $ 50 check after tip. Overall a great experience! We enjoy Public House for brunch every time.

Food was good but not great. Some of the appetizers, such as the Fried Cheese Curds were great. Service was slow. Waited 10 minutes to get a drink order and another 10 minutes or so after they asked if we were ready to order, before they came back and took the order. Place was not busy.
With a group of people. A couple of people really liked their steaks, 1 person was «meh», 1 person had the Elk and really liked it.
Josh — Thanks for the note, it earned you another star. It was the evening of the 23^rd, if my memory is right.