Coal Vines

We have been here twice on Saturday nights and have had great appetizers and pizza and wine. Not sure why others have had less than stellar experiences. It’s been great for us.

Was so sad last Saturday to arrive at Coal Vines and see it closed. Please come back!!! Loved the staff, the atmosphere, the wine, and The a GREAT food! Our family and friends had some wonderful times there and hope you’re back soon.

We love this place! Pizza rocks! We LOVE the R. Stuart Pinot Noir! AMAZING!!! We are so sad you closed your Austin location! Please come back to us!

I had so much amazing food in Austin that this place was kind of a surprise.
Pros — service was great, ambience and décor was lovely
Cons — my food was so underwhelming. I ordered the soup special which was some kind of sweet chilled melon soup with basil cream on top. One spoonful and I was done, the flavors were just messed up. It was heavy and cloying. The caprese salad was drowning in balsamic glaze to the point you could barely taste the mozzarella (which was that thick rubbery stuff — not beautiful buffala mozzarella) or the tomatoes.
The pizzas looked good though.

Awful food. Undercooked calamari, cold pasta. Disheartened waitstaff, too. Dreadful.

I stopped in here late one night after an ACL show. It was one of the few places still open, and it was nice. I’ll go back another day when they’re not getting ready to close.
The meatballs were big, fat, juicy, and all around yummy. The wine selections were nice, too.
The only beef I have is that the table next to us was rowdy and talking about some disgusting stuff, but no one said anything to them. It was near closing, but it wasn’t what I wanted to hear while trying to enjoy a small meal.

I met some friends for happy hour before an ACL show and this is next door. They have specials on wine before 7, and we were able to get a couple of glasses in at a good price before having to pay concert prices at the show.
The patio was a little crowded. Walking through to get in and then to go to the restroom took maneuvering. People were borrowing our extra chairs. So it’s not a great place to go for private conversations or space. But the people watching was nice, the waiter was great, and they had a decent malbec.
I started with the panzanella, but I wasn’t in love with it. Panzanella should be an easy way to make someone happy because, c’mon, it’s a salad filled with bread. This one only had a sprinkling of too crispy, slightly dry croutons instead of pieces of bread. It’s a good thing they sat marinating in the dressing, but even then, they were a little too dry. I think this is just a way they use up stale croutons. The cucumbers were crisp and fresh, though.
We split a large pizza, which was pretty big and plenty for the three of us to share. We even left some behind. They let us do a half meat bolognese and half spicy meatball pizza because we couldn’t decide. The spicy meatball is definitely my favorite. It had a habenero drizzle and wasn’t too cheesy. The bolognese was fine. It was pretty meaty and competent, just not very exciting.

4 stars based on he incredible service alone. Our waiter was amazingly attentive and sweet.
The appetizers were surprisingly much better than the entrees. Pizzas were ok but came out fairly quickly and looked great.

Coal Vines is a great spot if you want to grab a bite of decent pizza in downtown Austin. It’s no Home Slice. But if you are on 2^nd Street and craving a pie, pick Coal Vines over Taverna for sure! I’ve been here numerous times for both dinner and brunch. I would definitely say the dinner hour is much more desirable in terms of atmosphere and food. Their brunch just seems to be lacking something.
For dinner, I always go with the Ceasar salad and split the Bolognese pizza with whoever I am dining with. It really is my favorite and pretty original compared to the other pizza places in town. The only weird thing I have noticed about their pizza is that it gets super cold about 10 minutes after it’s brought out to the table. I am wondering if they could add some kind of warmer to the pizza stand. I think it would definitely help make the second and third slices I nibble on a little more appetizing.
For brunch, they do have a decent menu but I always feel like the place is dead. So if you want to run in somewhere for a quick brunch, this is your spot. In and out, easy peasy. But if you are looking for more of the Austin brunch experience, I would try another spot. I ordered the Quiche this past visit and it came with tomato basil soup and a small salad. The soup and salad were really great, but the quiche was overcooked, dry, and very bland. Not my favorite.
I will probably keep coming back to this spot because they do have great service and it’s pretty convenient. But I think they need to step up their game in a few areas.

The pizza is pretty good. You can easily share a small between two people. I love that fresh jalapeños and arugula are topping options.
My water glass was disgusting, and sadly, I didn’t notice until two refills later. (shudder)
I wouldn’t go out of my way to go back, but I wouldn’t mind dropping in again if in the area. Obviously a return visit will include a thorough glass inspection.

Tasty, thin crust, pizza. And one very tasty spinach salad.
This is a nice relaxed place for when you want a nice meal downtown, but don’t want to spend a ton of money. The spinach salad is my personal favorite, always fresh with a great combination of pears, walnuts and gorgonzola balsamic dressing. Highly recommend.
Apart from the salad, go for the pizza. It is made fresh, thin crust, and never disappoints. We had family in from LA, and they said this was better than any of the pizza that they could get out there. The ingredients are clearly fresh, and the proportions of sauce/​cheese/​toppings is great, because many a pizza has been ruined simply by inaccurate proportions. Too little sauce, too many toppings, too little cheese… all of this can ruin a perfectly good pizza, but I have never had this issue at Coal Vines.
Their menu has other entrée options, and while I have never been sorely disappointed, I have never been wowed by them. It is evident the focus here is the pizza, and that the other entrée options are more secondary. You won’t have a bad meal if you order something else, you just likely won’t get the best meal Coal Vines has to offer.
They have a great deal of outdoor seating, and the inside restaurant can open up widely to the outside which is pretty cool. Tables are spaced well enough so that you don’t feel crowded, and the waitstaff has always been reasonably attentive.
I would definitely recommend Coal Vines for what it is. A nicer pizza place downtown, serving a very tasty pie.

Came here for date night and had a great time. The waitress was friendly and helpful, we did have to wait a bit for a few things but they were pretty busy so not a big deal. We got a jalapeño and pepperoni pizza and it was delicious! The patio is also very cute, right on the street and the interior was nice. Will definitely be back.

Two quick thoughts here. First, the name Coal Vines makes me think of a vineyard in a West Virginia Coal Mine. That thought has nothing to do with Coal Vines, since the ambiance is charming and welcoming and completely coal dust free.
Second, everyone seems to think they can do pizza now, especially as a happy hour item. Those of us who really like pizza know most people who think this are wrong. You have to be able to bring some skill to the oven, or else you’re stuck with sub par food, which is a downer. This too has nothing to do with Coal Vines.
Coal Vines pizza, on the day that the ever charming and vivacious Keri B and posse showed up, was divine. It started with the crust. True crispy thin pizza crust. Not burned, not doughy, not bland. Tasty and perfectly textured. Our table had 3 pizzas because we were hungry. And piggy. and all 3 had home run crusts.
And the toppings. We had an Artichoke pizza, and a meat, and a kind of margherita pizza. All 3 were better than I’ve had at pizza restaurants. Absolutely worth the money. The artichoke was probably my favorite and that’s saying a lot since I don’t like artichokes because I think they are secretly laughing at me because they have choke in their name but I’m eating them anyway. My therapist’s number is available on request.
And the wait staff was just right. There to check on you and make sure you had another drink when you wanted it and keep the pizza action rolling, but not hovering or barging in. The prices were happy hour friendly, about on par with most places downtown.
I’m not a wine guy (‘So why are you in a wine bar you feeb’ I hear you thinking in your judgmental voice) but I love hanging in the city with friends and we’d never been to Coal Vines (That’s why, you judgmental bastards) and Mistress Linda is a big wine lover so we plunged in and I was happy to discover that Coal Vines has a very good beer selection. Honestly, sitting at their lovely air conditioned comfy bench table on a hot July afternoon sipping icy Fireman’s 4 and nibbling pizza while our large and happy group discussed whatever came into our heads was a perfect afternoon. Thank you Coal Vines, you’ve made new customers!

There were only a few other customers at 5 pm on a Tuesday afternoon, so our service was great.
Our Coal Vines Regular Pie with basil came out quickly and was tasty, thin and crispy. The smaller of the two sizes offered was sufficient for two people. This was a basic pizza done quite well.
The tiramisu that we ordered for dessert was not so good. The portion was quite large, but large doesn’t make up for not good. For my tastes the ladyfinger pieces were oversoaked and the creamy mascarpone was too dense and hard. The combination did not sit well in my mouth and made me sorry that we had ordered dessert.
You might find my rating too high for not liking 50% of what we ordered. However, the ambience of the restaurant, the good service, and the near perfect pizza were enough to keep me coming back.

Picture It: Austin Texas, 2013 (Golden Girls reference, sorry).
We stroll along 2^nd street in search for mimosas and brunch, something to take the guilt and shame away from the night before. Wait at Cru, wait at Taverna, brunch has ended at Jo’s…what do we do?! Do we abandon all hope and end up with breakfast tacos? No! We continue west down 2^nd St… and we stumble across Coal Vines. Immediate seating?! Yes Please!!! Brunch Menu?! Yes Please!!! Mimosas?! Bring Them On (yes, that’s plural).
Now at first I took umbrage with the fact that they offered no «bottomless mimosa» option, but at only $ 10 a carafe (and once you realize just how much it holds) I was fine with this notion. The wait staff was fast, friendly, and knowledgeable. And not only that, they were a team. From our waiter, to the floor manager, to the GM, constant attention was paid. It’s great to see that kind of care for their customers. Menu modifications were a breeze and everything we ate was wonderful.
Side Note: the chef makes special sauces and we got «the unholy trinity» and it was epic amazing. The afternburn was killer but totally worth it.
Side Side Note: the regular pizza crust contains pork fat, and thus is NOT vegetarian friendly, while their wheat crust option is.
So with that all said and done, we shall be back to Coal Vine’s next time we are up in Austin and needing a Sunday Funday Brunch Fix. And here’s hoping it is much sooner than later.

Came here on a Saturday night and was promptly seated. My water glass was disgustingly dirty, but they replaced it once I asked.
Server was annoying, although attentive. She said, «I’d offer you some wine, but you all look too young.» These kind of statements really annoy me. If I order alcohol, just ID me. Seriously. Also, she was dressed sloppily.
Pizza was decent. I shared a half bolognese, half white pie with my SO. I liked the thin crust, but it needed flavor overall. The cesar salad was overdressed and the romaine was not good quality, especially for $ 6.
Wine selection is lacking. They only had one Rose and a few sparkling on the specials menu. I really enjoyed the Rose, but would have liked more options.
Nothing was so terrible as to not come back, I just think there are better options for pizza in Austin.

***This review is about brunch only!***
Our server was possibly hungover and hated us, but the $ 1 mimosas (that had orange juice «just there for the coloring,» according to one friend) made up for it. I appreciate a less-​juicy, more-​boozy Sunday drink and they delivered!
We didn’t try the pizza, but the pizza looked alright. The other server, the one we longed to have, was the «Mimosa Fairy,» he floated from table to table refilling glasses with glee. We did not have him. We wished we did.
The partner and I had the $ 7 omelet, you walk inside and tell Chef Soto what you want. He makes it exactly how you want; same goes for pancakes.
All in all, I’d go back but I’d hope to not have the same server.

I am a big fan of restaurants who will warmly accept you into their establishment so close to closing and treat you like they had just opened for business. That is class IMO. Coal Vines delivered last night. We wandered in late, 11.45pm, and was greeted warmly by the bartender. He was cordial, informative and attentive to our needs and never once mentioned that they were closing in order to hurry us out. His service was top drawer throughout our visit.
We opted for a pizza, the White Pizza to be precise. We enjoyed a couple glasses of wine and enjoyed the ambiance of the place. Our pie arrived and it smelled and looked great. The crust was perfectly charred on the bottom. The dough itself was lite and crisp to the bite. There was a good assembly of mozzarella, garlic and herbs. It was definitely one of the best pizza’s I have had in quite awhile.
The ambiance was chic/​cool. There is a huge photo of Sinatra and Dean Martin adorning one of the walls. It was a hoot to look at all the different bottles of booze on the table with these two legendary figures. I definitely look forward to frequenting them again when we are downtown.

«‘We went to Coal Vines»; «I stopped into Coal Vines last night»; «We had our date at Coal Vines»…all of these are phrases I’ve heard more times than I can count from Miss Sugarbaker when discussing where he had gone for dinner, either with friends or a date. Finally, it was time for him to show Jen and me what in the world this «Coal Vines» was all about.
We arrived a little before 10:00 PM, and since the only thing we had eaten in the last 6 hours was (maybe) the lime off our vodka tonics, we were not just «hungry», we were «ready-​to-​cut-​someone-​for-​a-​cracker» hungry.
We were greeted by a friendly hostess, and she asked us «How many?». Miss Sugarbaker, with zero hesitation says «Table for 2». A split second later he realizes that *I’m* standing there, too. I started in on a faux-​offended «Hello! Hi, it’s me, Nathan! I’d like to eat, too!» spiel, while Jen and the hostess laughed and he apologized profusely. He explained he was so used to going on dates there it just sort of slipped out. I bought his story, but for a moment all I thought was «God, what a bitch.»
I immediately loved the interior. The doors were flung open to enjoy the perfect evening air and give us a view of 2^nd Street. It was sleek, upscale, and we got a table right in the center of the restaurant.
We needed sustenance. We told our waitress we’d start with Prosecco for Jen, Malbec for the boys, and a plate of their garlic bread topped with mozzarella cheese. As the waitress set the appetizer down, I warned her to get her arm out of the way as quickly as possible because there was about to be a feeding frenzy of Shark Week proportions. And there was. That garlic bread seemed to last 30, maybe 40 seconds tops. I’m going to go ahead and assume that it tasted alright, although to be honest my judgment may have been clouded by ravenous hunger and I’m not sure you can «taste» something you «inhale».
Once we had solid food in our tummies, I was able to relax a bit, swig my Malbec, and carry on a conversation like a civilized person. But we weren’t out of the woods yet; we needed pizza and we needed it immediately. Miss Sugarbaker ordered a large «Bolognese» for us which included Bolognese meats and Béchamel sauce. He said that a medium sized pizza usually serves two people, so a large would work out for three. He was correct.
The pizza was amazing. Excellent thickness, not too greasy, and cooked to perfection. The secret was the Béchamel sauce, and we knew it. You could pour a sauce like that on a leather boot, and it’d probably taste good. Actually at that point, we were so starved, if they had served us that we would have probably eaten it.
All the Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin music in the restaurant (and even on their website) is a little irritating, but then again I don’t like Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin. So, it’s really more of a personal issue.
Top-​notch pizza and a glass of wine made for a pretty darn good late dinner. And as someone obsessed with trying new brunch spots, I’m intrigued by their brunch offerings on Sundays 11 – 3. The menu seems limited, but I’d love to see how it stacks up against some other venues. I can only get wasted on mimosas at Taverna or hoard bleu cheese grits at Paggi House so many times before I have to start branching out.
Seems like this place has a lot of mixed reviews, but I approved of our experience. And for some of you gay guys, be prepared: if you ever go on a date with Miss Sugarbaker, odds are he’ll end up taking you here.
4 Stars.

Coal Vines had me as I soon as I walked inside and heard the sweet sound of Frank crooning ‘Fly Me to the Moon’. The tempting smell of pie filled the air and the wine display drew us to the bar area.
The restaurant has a clean look to it. Black and white interior, a sleek granite bar and wine glasses perfectly placed on each table. The ambiance was reminiscent of the former Joe DiMaggio’s.
We sat at the bar and had a nice malbec and ordered the «coal vines regular pie» with ½ pepperoni and the other ½ pepperoni and sausage. We had to wait a bit as during certain hours they are open but the oven is not ready to fire up pies, when it was placed in front of us we agreed it was worth the wait. I usually stop at one slice but I liked the pizza enough to indulge. I especially liked the sausage. The menu does not include a happy hour but the price point is fair.
Bottom line is, if on 2^nd street if you are craving pizza and a happy hour, head to Taverna’s. If you are seeking a tad more romantic dining experience but still desire pizza and vino, come to Coal Vines.