Cafè Mueller by H-E-B

$ 9 for a sandwich = huge hunk of bread, bit of meat. Also it smells weird there. Not my fave place.

Café Mueller is no longer the same. Their happy hr food and drink specials are not worth it. Make sure you look up the new happy hr menu before visiting.

Well hit this place again for lunch after work… This round was the Smoked Chicken Club, with Bacon, Lettuce, Mayo, and Tomatoes on Sour Dough. Now I do get a discount for working there, but I cant be biased on that fact, its always good when you get a discount. My first thought was it was a bit small for, and not gonna a lie, was still a bit hungry… And that was compared to the Pulled Pork Sandwich, or Burger that I have already had. Yet, the smoked Chicken was tender, with a light smoke flavor, and the rest of the ingredients blended well together. The Apple wood Bacon was great, along with the sourdough bread. I enjoy the fact that plating the meal is something that take into heart. After All you always eat with your eyes first and it looked great when it hit the table. Now you may wonder why not 4 stars… The fries… Yes the Fries… Colder then my Ex-wife.they had been sitting for a while, but man I was hungry and still shoveled them in. I personally will pass on this item, just for the fact I need something to fill me up… As for the fries, Im sure they will be better next time around…

Quick and reasonably priced place to grab lunch or dinner. I always get the soup of day and Cuban sandwich when I go. All the soups I have tried were yummy as well as the Cuban sandwich. My boyfriend got the brisket sliders and he thought they were too rich because of the thick sauce. I did not like the mayo kimchi but my bf did, We also found a piece of bone in the sliders.
If you need a water cup, they give a baby cup which is a bit annoying because you have to refill it 2 – 3 times. Also, they do not have servers. They have people bring your food to you but they do not ask you if you need anything after they give you your food. So if you need anything ask at that time.

Not a fan of the menu change. A ton of unhealthy options added, and half the lighter options removed. Not impressed.

I used to eat here 3 times a week and really loved it. It’s been 3 months and I was looking forward to the fiery beef rice bowl. Well, HEB decided to change the menu and remove all the pasta/​rice bowls.
I don’t mind change and like to try new things so I ordered the pulled pork Korean sliders. Basically, the menu said pulled pork slider topped with a bit of Kimchi. Given how good the Asian rice bowls were, you would think the sliders are a safe bet. Yuck! the first bite I was horrified to taste mayonnaise and Kimchi. I remove the top bun and yep, the vinegary/​Spicy Kimchi was mixed with mayo. Grabbing a fork and finishing the meat. The second slider seems to have lost the mayo (or whomever put it together forgot) and it was MUCH better. The third slider seems to gotten all the mayo from number two and once again tasted horrible.
To top things off I found a large bone the size of the tip of my thumb in the pulled pork meat. I did show it to an employee and she said she would tell the manager.
All in all, the menu change has been for the worse. I will give it another try with the BBQ and update my review if it is still good.

Everything I’ve tried I’ve loved… even the Brussels sprouts which I exclusively get every time no matter what. I might even go just for them sometimes but don’t tell anyone.
Moist brisket is better than all your childhood memories of carefree frolicking with your siblings in summer too…
Plus wine.
Still need to go for brunch… one day… one day…

Food is pretty good, so it gets at least 3 stars. However, as usual, lazy staff.
After standing in a long line because you only staff one register person at dinner who also has to pour the beer, you find out they are out of something. They are always pit of something. You would think that if they can’t plan to actually have food available, there would be an 86 board for customers. There are always plenty of people standing around who could manage the 86 list.
Then there is the lazy. Wtf. Why are there ten open tables that need cleaning and I have to ask that one be addressed so uh can sit down? Meanwhile, three employees are standing around talking about Beyonce at the super bowl. Sure, they eventually walk pick up the plates, but don’t wipe the tables.
This place is such a disappointment that could be easily fixed.

Its truly nice having this place as a go to for something good to eat. With a Brand New revamped menu, they are moving in the right direction. Tried the Flat Top burger today, and I will say it was quit tasty. Nice charged flavor, along with the grease that make a Flat Top Burger what it is. Went with the Blue Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato, Onion and Pickle. Burger was cooked well. Now dont let the odd shape of the patty fool you, this is what you want in a burger. Hand Made for the win! Another sign of freshness, it a hot burger, along with cold veggies is the perfect combo. The fries could use a bit more crisp for me, but that comes down to personal preference. Next up with be the pulled Pork Sandwich!

My wife and I love this place. We literally eat here every single week. The pizza is amazing. The Brussels sprouts are to die for. The brisket tastes like legit BBQ. The outdoor atmosphere is awesome. Live music happening every week.
And to top it all off you can do a little grocery shopping before or after your meal.
We love this place and highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. Thank you Mueller Café!

Café mueller is great! The service is so-​so. Ie. They serve you and are polite but they definitely are not engaging. The food is excellent. I know it could seem hard to believe that your local HEB could have great food but I often pickup to-​go on my way to work and my co-​workers rant and rave about how delicious it looks. The chopped brisket baked potato and fried Brussels are my personal favorite.

This used to be a great gem for fairly priced BBQ, but after «remodeling» they raised the price of their chopped brisket by $ 5. For the same price, I can go to a closer and better establishment, for example, la BBQ, whole foods, even franklins.
Bottom line, it’s pretty good BBQ, but you can get better somewhere else.

I’m lowering my rating to 3 stars because of its obvious deterioration in quality over the last year. Food is being delivered to tables cold (multiple times in my case), certain items are often unavailable, and general preparation of each dish is just simply not like it was when it opened. I’m not sure if it’s a management thing, but this place is in need of rejuvenation and inspiration, because there are thousands of people in the area that want to give it the benefit of the doubt.
East Austin is waiting, Café Mueller!

Just don’t do it! I tried one more time to order up a nice meal while shopping at our regular grocery store. Big mistake! Last month I tried to order a veggie dish only to be told the item was out. Now, going thru the same menu, I’m told it, along with a host of other stuff on the menu are all being discontinued. What’s left are heavy burgers, bbq, & pasta. Ok, I order a pasta dish and a side of wontons. Ten minutes of waiting and the guy comes out with the news — big surprise, no wontons! So I play a guessing game again with the menu — and settle for brussel sprouts, which they think they have. So now I wait even longer!
All those people hanging around the kitchen and yet the food is limited and takes forever! Why bother, HEB? Either make this a real food place or shut it down! I’ll get the prepared foods at your deli counter from now on. At least I can see what’s available! And even after I go home & heat it up, I probably will have saved time! Oh, foods here — finally, with a small apology. Again, still not worth it!!!

The people that work there are great. They seem generally happy. And the menu has variety. When they make the food right, it’s pretty good.
Problem is that doesn’t happen all the time. I asked for a kale salad, and the cashier said they «ran out» or something to that effect. He recommended the Mediterranean salad, so I went with that. I asked for chicken to be added, and some pieces were pink… Some even had a little blood.
In their defense, it was lunch rush hour and the place was packed. Eh… just check the chicken ;)

I would give the brisket 10 stars if I could. I always go and split the 3 meat & 2 sides $ 13 plate with a friend. I recommend the brisket beans as a side… if you want even more yummy brisket. No wait for great BBQ is what I like. The pizza is great too.
update 1÷14÷2016: the 3 meat /​2 side plate is now $ 14 after the menu change last week.

The food here can be good, and the convenience is great, but the service is dreadful. Slow, unmotivated employees in front of and behind the counter can create some unnecessarily long wait times, and I’ve received the wrong order on multiple occasions (only to realize their mistake after driving all the way home).
With the staff issues fixed, this place would easily be 4.5 stars. But as of now, spend your cash elsewhere.

People raved about this HEB when it opened a few years back. I finally moved to Mueller this past summer and now have the choice: shop here in crowded aisles with far less variety and selections than at 41^st Street Hancock Center or go back to Hancock Center.
I’ll stay for the café and that’s about it. I usually order the child’s portion of the brisket sliders or grilled cheese since these portions are as far as I’m concerned, normal adult portions.
The price is right, the café is cute when it’s not too steamy out and sometimes they have live music.
As for the supermarket I still shop at Hancock.

I’ve lived fairly close to the this HEB for almost three years now and have become quite the regular for weekend lunches at Café Mueller. While the offerings are not as extensive as the Central Market cafes, I’m still impressed by the quality this HEB offers. The fact that they produce such decent BBQ is a testament to their efforts. The outdoor seating area is wonderful throughout much of the year and often packed with families and dogs on the weekend.
I predominantly get sandwiches when I come here for lunch and am a huge fan of the Brie Pesto Arugula and the Chipotle Turkey + Bacon + Avocado. All sandwiches come with a side of potato chips and pickled veggies (yum!). My only complaint is the serving sizes can be extremely variable day-​to-​day.
The Neapolitan-​style pizzas are also quite solid but sometimes take a really long time to be prepared. The simple Margherita and Buffalo Yard Bird pizzas are my favorites.
I’m not a huge fan of the stir-​fried Asian entrée dishes. The brown rice always seems a little off and is usually swimming in an overwhelming amount of sauce.
The Brussels Sprouts are phenomenal and the closest I’ve had to what Uchiko offers. If you haven’t had them before or don’t usually like brussel sprouts, it’s definitely worth trying them at least once.

The brisket here is pretty impressive. I think it’s better than Rudy’s and a lot of other BBQ places in town! Granted, it’s no Franklin’s or La Barbecue, but you don’t have to wait in line for hours. The brussel sprouts are also amazing. completely fried and doused in sauce so they no longer resemble a vegetable, but delicious.
Other than that, the rest of the food I’ve had there is so-​so. The sandwiches are mostly just bread and overpriced.

It is a grocery store restaurant. To expect 5 star service or food is nuts. Although dang, it is not bad! I go for happy hour– I get the 3 beef brisket sliders with a beer. I also pick up some potato salad and macaroni salad from the store. That is my tip to you, free of charge. Together, it’s a cheap and great meal for two ;) well, 2 medium ppl. Combined with the patio, live music, cooling fans, proximity to so many of our homes over here and then the grocery shopping done after– what more could you want??? And I usu find the servers nice as well.
Dont go on kids eat free night!!! (unless you have kids of course) haha

While the concept is overall a cool thing, the workers make this experience an average service. Most of them are touching the food with no gloves on, looking at cell phones, instead of busting arse to get orders out. People are bringing food back to the window because it’s wrong, and I’ve been waiting about 20 mins for a sandwich. One guy taking orders is doing a decent job, and about two cooks. The other 6 are playing.
Since HEB has an open concept kitchen where you can see the employees making food, the management might want to reel in this crew to actually work, cause it cost customers in the end. I’m likely to never return when I pay extra money to get a growler of beer just to have it get warm, waiting on my food. This place needs to step it up.
Plus the food is average at best. Meh.

Cafè Mueller is quite the interesting little place. Located inside the H-​E-​B, they serve BBQ, sandwiches, and pasta, and you can even purchase and fill growlers with whatever they currently have on tap.
When they first opened, I got a chipotle turkey, bacon, and avocado sandwich. I don’t remember much about it, so that must mean it was just okay. Since then, I always walk right by this place, but I never ordered anything again because, well, it’s just cheaper for me to go buy groceries and make my own food. I’m literally already in the grocery store.
The second time around, I ordered food because I wanted to try some of their other offerings. John really wanted their Brussels sprouts and also got some brisket queso and I wanted the fried wonton chicken dumplings and to try the fiery garlic beef. We got the food to-​go because I’d rather eat in the peace of my own home and it didn’t take very long before our order was brought to us, all nicely bagged up.
The Brussels sprouts were really, really good. I’d easily order those again. Whatever sauce they use to cook them with is pretty tasty. I also liked the fried dumplings. I was not a fan of the sauce they came with because it was sweet, but I just used some Sriracha instead. You can never go wrong with Sriracha. (Side note — the little container they package the sauce in is super adorable!!) Both of these dishes are only $ 4 during happy hour; they are normally $ 5.50. Since we bought them during happy hour, I’d say that’s a pretty good deal.
The brisket queso was good and came with a generous dollop of guacamole, some pico, and jalapeños. Oh, and brisket, but I didn’t want any of that. It was a little smaller than I was expecting, but that’s okay.
The fiery garlic beef was not my favorite. For starters, I didn’t know it came with brown rice. I hate brown rice. It’s like rice’s impostor cousin that just wants to ruin all of your delicious dishes with its nastiness. I don’t fault them for using brown rice because they’re just trying to serve something healthier and most people don’t need the extra carbs. I’m just really picky and rice is my favorite food — but not brown rice. Brown rice is the worst rice. The beef was just okay. It’s not a dish I would order again because most of it did not get eaten by me… but my dog loved it.
Other than food, we’ve gotten some growlers filled here, too. They once had Adelbert’s hibiscus saison, which is an amazing beer, and that was exciting. The taps change pretty regularly it seems, so they’re always offering new beers. (And you can get a sweet H-​E-​B growler. Who wouldn’t want that?)
For being located in a grocery store, they do have some tasty food, especially those Brussels sprouts. Mmmm, Brussels sprouts.

Really awesome place. Awesome patio, cheap drinks, super cold draft beer. I got the one meat plate of brisket. I felt a little jipped on the brisket since I only got one slice, but nonetheless it was very tasty and it came with two sides and bread. Ill definitely be back to try more of their menu, but so far I was pretty impressed

For just a little café connected to an HEB, don’t let it fool you! I was so pleasantly surprised and impressed at the quality of food here.
I ordered the chopped brisket sliders and they were absolutely to die for. Great price for a well amount of food. The patio is cute, there are misters to keep you cool, and dogs are allowed. Every time I go grocery shopping I always see so many people hanging out having a good time. There’s also a full bar I believe.
I would totally go back for a good, inexpensive meal.

Happy hour is 4 – 8 every day! My favorite things to get are their brisket nachos and brussel sprouts. Outside patio provides large fans and a cool mist.
Cons:
–margarita pizza is not my favorite. The tomatoes are oddly sweet.
–pizzas are very greasy.

Café Mueller, located inside an HEB grocery store, offers a surprisingly large number of really good food options, several of which are made in-​house daily. After having tried several items (e.g., Spicy Beef Bowl, Green Curry on Brown Rice, Pizza, etc.), I can confirm that their BBQ is by far my favorite! 4 star worthy BBQ inside a grocery store café? You bet! What a find!
Can buy meats by the pound (½ lb brisket only $ 9, up $ 1 from last year) and small, medium, or large sides… or you can choose a plate. My favorite is the 1 meat with 2 sides for a mere 9 bucks (can also get 2 or 3 meat plates for $ 11 or $ 13, respectively). Quite the bargain! The 1 meat plate comes with 2 very thick slices of yummy brisket and two very generous sides of choice.
Brisket: The moist (not lean) — aka fatty — is bomb diggity! It actually gives some of the Central Texas smoke houses a run for their money. Has a thick black crust, some burnt ends, and a beautiful little pink smoke ring. The perfect amount of smoke flavor and the fat rendered down to that state where it’s not chewy, but melts in your mouth instead. Doesn’t sound all that appetizing; however, anybody who knows good Q is aware this is one of the only times eating fat is a wonderful thing — perhaps not the healthiest — but oh SO good!
Mueller Potato Salad: Perfectly cooked chunks of red potatoes. Mild, extra creamy mustard base. Yum.
Brisket beans: Another reviewer stated something like «could just buy a can of beans off the shelf and would be better.» WTFreak! No offense (typically what someone says right before they are going to offend you — lol), but WHAT?! If anyone can find beans in a can (no tin taste thank you!) that are even remotely similar to CM’s I’ll…well…give you a gold star or something. CM’s Brisket Beans are made from freshly cooked dried pintos (perfectly al dente) and have a thick, slightly peppery and smoky broth with tons of old school ice cubed sized brisket chunks blended in (please see pic and you’ll understand). Some of the best beans I have ever had anywhere! I promise!
All «True Texas BBQ,» as CM calls it, comes with the mandatory Texas Q accoutrements: White bread, pickles, onions, and BBQ sauce (sauce is actually kind of a no-​no on good TX Q and is certainly not needed on CM’s).
Overall: Whether you dine-​in (if you do be sure to choose a nice cold Texas brew on tap to enhance your Q-​perience; yes, again inside a GROCERY store!) or take-​out, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. Worth every dollar spent.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND!
Note: There are 2 Unilocal listings for CM.

First please consider this is a Café located inside of a neighborhood HEB. Y’all, it’s good. Great salads, awesome bbq, delicious pizza and sandwiches, damn good nachos, yummy samosas, best brussel sprouts in town, AMAZING BRUNCH, and daily wine and beer specials. What. Is. Happening???
My hubs and I eat here or pick up food at least once a week. He’s obsessed with the prosciutto/​arugula/​parm pizza. I love the BLT salad, my girlfriends love the brussel sprouts, bbq and happy hour specials on appetizers. It’s way good.