Abel’s On the Lake

The service here was awful. The building had no customers on the inside, and the patio was about ¾ full. We waited 35 minutes for our waiter to bring us drinks after being seated. It was another 25 minutes after that before we got our food order taken. One of our orders came out wrong, and our drinks from the bar were melted and watery – obviously had been sitting there a while. When the food finally came out, it was nothing more than mediocre– definitely not worth the wait. Don’t do it. If you want to sit at the water front, definitely go next door to Hula Hut. I’ve had great service there every time and their food is delicious. You’ll be staring over there longingly the whole time your waiting for your server anyway.

I had some friends visiting and we wanted somewhere with a nice view, so we went to Abels on the Lake. They had a great beer selection and our server was really friendly and knowledge. Would definitely recommend!

Our dining experience was an experience I can simply laugh at now. We had a party of 8 on a Saturday night and were seated at 7:30. For a full 20 minutes, nobody asks us what we would like to drink. We finally place our drink orders and they don’t come. 40 mins later, a different server comes over to ask if we have been helped. We resubmit our drink order. Wait again for ten mins. Another server comes and we explain. We have drinks in the next five. Another short while later she asks if we would like to order, which at this point we don’t even know if we want to because we have been there for an hour. We decide to place our order and our food comes hot and promptly. Only problem was we were missing napkins and silverware; it was very entertaining to try to watch my friend eat a chicken fried steak with the fork that came with it. My margarita was weak and tasted like mix; I ordered an extra shot. It was just so awful. I asked for fries and instead was given fried onions??? So bizarre! We then list out how we need the check, as we are in couples, and it comes back completely messed up! Poor girl seemed like she had never worked the restaurant before. She was super nice so we weren’t mad. Fortunately, we were all comped for our drinks and were able to pay cash so we could just leave. Just go to hula hut!

2 stars for the view and being on water. Food was bleh. Service was absolutely atrocious. I’m pretty sure our «server» was the hostess. We were early and it was not busy at all… yet it took well over an hour for 2 people to get brunch. My husband finally had to give our check with card to another server and she just handed it to the manager… who in turn handed it to our server right in front of us. I believe this place is only still open because of the location. Otherwise it would’ve been bankrupt a long time ago.

Probably some of the shittiest service in town. Albeit, this location has been long cursed and restaurants here have regularly cycled in and out. I’m not sure why this one has lasted longer than some of the others. This wasn’t the first time I tried it but I thought it diligent to express the disdain I felt. And trust me, the lackadaisical service is NOT worth the wait or the food. A couple of days ago my boyfriend and I decided to give this place a shot to enjoy the sunset and a good beer; even knowing that the food would be sub par.
When we were sat the hostess didn’t even bother to show us to our table. Instead we walked down the steps to an awkward situation of «why are you here and where is the hostess… ummm I guess we will have to put you somewhere.» After being sat we waited a full 15 minutes to even be greeted by our server. Then, when asked for beer recommendations she shyly replies, «Ummm I don’t know I’m not really good with beer…» WTF girl?! Even if you don’t like beer this is kind of… I don’t know… YOUR JOB! We asked for two real ales on tap despite the ridiculousness and waited… and waited. After 20 minutes of not even receiving BEER we promptly left and hopped over to Hula Hut.
I don’t even have the words to describe the atrocity. Furthermore, it was not a packed house. #noexcuses #YOUHADONEJOB.

Worst experience ever. We went in and had 10 people with us. Four other tables were seated in the entire restaurant. The hostess never told us why, but said there was a 30 minute wait. 15 minutes into our wait, a waiter walked up to the hostess and asked her why we were waiting. The hostess replied «I told them they had to wait 30 minutes.»
The service was slow, and food was poor. No one asked how everything was, perhaps because it was so bad. My husband’s pan seared tuna was ice cold in the middle and way to raw to be described anywhere near cooked.” The salad I ordered I asked for dressing on the side and it came out on the salad. I asked the waiter if there was dressing on the salad and the response was «yes and I can bring you more.»
They ran out of kid’s menus and things were difficult to get as far as plates and extra drinks.
I have been in Austin almost 20 years and seen this placed packed many times. However, this is the first time I have eaten here and will be the last. This was the absolute worst dining experience I have ever had in Austin. No idea how this place stays open.

This was our first visit to Abel’s and it was a nice experience. The view is great, fantastic locafion on the lake. Indoor and outdoor seating is available. We arrived right after they opened so the bartender was still setting things up at the bar, but 10 minutes to get our beers, was a little long. That was the only hiccup though.
We started with the smoked chicken nachos, and they were very good. The pulled, smoked chicken had a good flavor and the fresh fried chips were good. The Dr. Pepper BBQ sauce was a nice touch.
We split a green chile cheese burger, which was really good. The meat had a great flavor and it tasted very fresh. The smoked gouda was nice. The green chile’s and carmelized onions topped it off nicely. The chipotle aioli had some spice and was a great compliment to the burger.
The server was very nice, and the overall experience was very good. Nice to have a second option for dining in that area of the lake.

Great experience! Beautiful view. Good food. Fairly priced. Great beer selection. But the highlight of our experience, our first here, has been our server Patrick! Attentive, friendly, helpful, and just all around pleasant.

Horrible food, Took almost an hour to get the food. Only good thing is has a Greatview
Told them it was freezing cold they said they heater was on but you put your hand by the vent and cold air was going out it said they would fix it three times never did.
Needs better cooks & some better management

Great place to watch the game and enjoy the beautiful lake view. The food is quality and the menu provides a choice for everyone. The bar is large and has great service. Make this your next place to catch a game or relax on the beautiful deck.

The freakin ceiling was leaking! Ok fine it was raining on the patio! Haha so that one doesn’t matter! :)
But seriously this place sucks .
Our waitress took forever to take our drink order and when we finally got our drinks… It wasn’t even the right order! But at least she was attentive when we wanted to place our order… Oh wait she wasn’t. Not only did we not get all of our appetizers, we were missing one and 15 mins after bringing it to her attention, we had to go and ask for it again. I would blame it on how packed it was… But the restaurant was empty.
Years ago this place was awesome but it seems like nowadays this place has gone from fetch… The what the fetch?!?
But for real… Is there even a manager watching what is going on? Or are they too busy fixing the leaky roof. Ha I’m kidding, it was raining.
The food though was off the chain though! Like the best I’ve ever had though. Just kidding. T was alright.
But on the real, this place sucked.
Until next time.
Xoxo Gossip Girl.

If I could give no stars I would. This is by far the worst service I have ever had and the food is bland and over priced for what it is. We sat down and it took over 20 minutes to get our drinks (after following up with the manager). Then they served us greasy foods without any napkins. To top it off, it took almost 50 minutes to get our food and they messed up my order. At that point I didn’t even complain because I wanted to get out of their as quick as possible. Great location but that’s it.

I want to preface by saying I have not had the complete «Abel’s On the Lake» experience. I was here for a company event, so it’s not like I was a regular restaurant patron.
Regardless though, my experience was NOT good, no matter what my business there was. I was greeted at the door and I was told my party was upstairs. As I was walking back to the stairs, I heard the restaurant staff joking about having already killed two cockroaches that day and that they hope there are more because they’re in a mood to kill some. Are you serious?
Look, I realize we’re in Texas and that cockroaches happen — regardless of how clean a place is. But really? This is what you’re discussing in an open forum where customers can hear you? Disgusting!
The food we had for our event was okay — easily forgettable. Our service was mediocre at best. Now I realize why our company had an event here — the location is great, but they probably got a swinging deal with the food and service are lack luster. There will be no need for me to come back here on my own.

So yes, you come to Abel’s for the view. Except at night and then there’s no reason to come here.
Food: Just not good at all. Food ordered medium comes out well done and void of any flavor. Forget about mentioning it to the server, you won’t see them again until it’s time to collect your money (see Service).
Service: Don’t expect to get waited on very quickly. In fact you may have to flag someone down. When they bring your food they don’t bother to ask if you need condiments or anything else. But if you’re fairly observant, you can find the table with all that stuff on your own. The one thing you don’t have to ask for is the check. They’re johnny-​on-​the-​spot with that.
Drinks from the bar are good, but if you ordered directly from the bartenders expect them to be less than friendly. Much like the food here, they are devoid of any flavor or personality.

A friend and I heard great things about the Texas Tea from this place and we were excited to make it a stop during our Austin trip. Unfortunately, it was a miss.
We came in and waited for 15 minutes before a waitress who I don’t believe was assigned to our table came to greet us. Our «waitress» walked by twice and did not even acknowledge us while she stopped at the table next to us and asked if they were okay and if they needed anything. It’s wasn’t busy, so I don’t understand why it took so long to be greeted and served.
I hate to say this and I hope it was a coincidence, but two White women came in and they had waters and menus within 2 minutes.
On a more positive note, thank you Jen for coming to our table after your customers notified you that we were waiting for a long time and had not been helped.
Texas Tea made me feel a little less angry.

Location, location, location.
Unfortunately, that’s about all this place has going for it. It’s pricey for what you get, the food is boring at best, and anything else you can think of is bad.
Might be a good place to go get expensive drinks and look at the water, though. Truly unfortunate that they haven’t done better with this kind of a location.

If you come to abels its for the view! And wow what a beautiful one they have!!!
I met up with my cousin on a Sunday (during acl) afternoon. At 11:30 there was a 30 minute wait to sit outside. No biggie we waited at the inside bar and drank $ 4 deep eddy bloody Mary’s. They were damn good! Only problem was in it was time to be seated the bartender was on where to be found. So we had to wait a while (5 mins) to cash out.
We ordered a dozen gulf oysters to share. I love they came with a marionette sauce and the cocktail. Next we order the cooked oysters they were great! Perfect size.
Again the view is worth the trip!
I will bring my boyfriend back for drinks soon.

Waited at a table near the bar and had two servers walk right by us, no eye contact, no acknowledgement. Oh well, we decided to move to the bar.
Once at the bar, Jason served us immediately. He was courteous, energetic, friendly, creative and fun. Everything you want from a bartender. He quickly made us forget that we had been waiting at a table.
Being happy hour, we enjoyed the $ 3.50 drinks and $ 5 appetizers, and Jason was able to provide some creative drinks. One example, Arnold Palmer with alcohol, yum.
Since we were drinking before our 36 person get together at the same restaurant, you have to say we were feeling pretty good. With the group we had a three entrée buffet (asparagus, pasta, beef). The food wasn’t bad for bar food. We had indoor and outdoor seating. Unfortunately, the outdoor seating had no lights so we ate in the dark. There were also some small tables with a view which was quite nice.

Great great location on the lake.
Very relaxed atmosphere. So relaxed that the service was pretty slow. But oh well the view.
The menu is not very enticing but some things work. The chicken fried steak and gravy were very good, best in a while good.
The oysters were gnarly looking and sandy but $ 0.75 each for happy hour.
If they had buffalo wings everything would be a lot better.
CFS and the view push it up to a 4. And oh yeah dog friendly pushed it above Hula Hut next door.

My Bloody Mary was excellent! Lately I feel like my bloodies have been really small, but this was large and flavorful.
Eggs Benedict Florentine was delicious, especially the hollandaise sauce. Instead of ham, it’s sauteed spinach and roasted tomatoes. It’s so nice to have a vegetarian option, I don’t remember the last time I got to eat Eggs Benedict.
We got a table right on the water with the best view. So pretty and relaxing!