Hank’s Garage

I am crossing my fingers that the new year brings a second chance for Hank’s!
Sure, they were working out the kinks. It _​did_​take a while to get our food, they _​were_​out of a few things, and our waiter _​was_​clearly less-​than-​trained («Welcome to Franks…»). And you know what, I don’t care one bit! Great food takes time. Places that stock fresh ingredients run out of things. Enthusiastic, genuine service makes you feel at home no matter how long the waiter’s worked there.
The burger was juicy and well-​seasoned. The fries were tops, and they have the widest variety of dipping sauces since Frietkot (what does this town have against great fries!!!). And they served POUTINE!!! That made this former Canadian very happy. I think the front runner, though, wound up being the Liege Salad: potatoes, bacon and green beans in perfect harmony.
As soon as I hear they’re back in business, I will be there with bells (and baggy pants) on!

Bummer. They’re closed and I never got to try them. I got a notice from my Amazon yesterday that they had refunded the cost of my coupon for Hank’s because it’s now out of business. Eater Austin has stated that they closed at the end of December.

Austin doesn’t have a «best burger» shortage. We all have our favorite stops. Well. folks, add Hank’s Garage to the list.
I ordered up a *juicy* ¹⁄₃ beef patty on a buttered and toasted bun, cheddar and with all the standards toppings on the side. The burger had me swooning. Apparently, they ground their on Angus beef, and throw in some cuts of brisket, making it all the more succulent with a perfect crispy and salty char on the outside. Top that off with an order of duck fat fries and our choice of two sauces — Sriracha mayo and another tangy aoli.
They’ve got a great selection of beers, including all of Austin’s local brews. The service was beyond hospitable. Our server had some great recs and she really knew the menu.
It isn’t the hippest dinner spot in town on a Friday night, and I think it’s only because of the location. It’s right by the convention center, so my guess is that lunch is their bread and butter.

We had high hopes.
The atmosphere was nice and our server, Brian was good.
But the food was sub-​par.
The fries in our poutine were cold the first time, and after we sent them back, the came back hot, but mushy.
The bread seemed to have bad oil in it, which ruined the French Onion Soup. And finally, the potatoes in the Shepard’s Pie were runny.
The drinks were good and the burger my son ordered was good, but for the prices we paid for entrees, I would not expect so many bad dishes.
Hopefully they will get it together in the kitchen, because we liked the atmosphere and location.

BEER. lots and lots of good beer.
also, had the fish and frites. tasty as all hell and ready to try more off the menu.
now let’s get down to business. i love condiments. i love every kind of condiment and sauce. their duck fat frites are to die for and every order of frites comes with your choice of two sauces!!! so far i have tried the wasaby mayo, curry ketchup, parprika mayo and garlic aioli. all were fantastic.
minus one star for price. i know it’s downtown and mama’s gotta pay the bills, but so do i… and this is fancy bar food.
will be back for occasional lunches though!

I live within walking distance of Hank’s and I love Belgian beer… so a visit here was sort of inevitable.
Still, after reading some of the other Unilocal reviews for the place, I was expecting to be disappointed in the food here. Maybe they did have some bumps in the road during the opening weeks, but I’m here to tell ya, my steak frit tonight was beyond solid. It was, in fact, delicious.
Yes, the beers are overpriced… I would give it 4.5 stars for that if I could. I was expecting that though given the location… and the fact that the food wasn’t overpriced for the quality won me over.

Sometimes you get out of your Chiropractor, still too sore to walk properly, and just really want to hunker down in a gay bar that’s been remodeled into a Belgian Pub with a beer and some potatoes fried in duck fat.
What? You’ve never been there?
Well, I was last week.
I’d been hoping this area would start gathering new talent, and I’m willing to eat my way through that talent.
I started off with a pint of Independence’s Convict Hill Oatmeal Stout. Damn, I love that beer. In fact, I love the majority of their beer selection here.
Upon the recommendation of the barman, I went with the Lobster Club. at $ 12, I figured it’s a steal for a lobster club on brioche bread with a smoked paprika aioli.
Well, it’s not quite there flavor-​wise, unfortunately. The lobster was chilled, which isn’t bad. Clubs aren’t often served hot. I guess I’d forgotten that. The real disappointment came when all that was on the bread was lobster, a few greens, tomato, and a bare schmear of the aioli. Now, I know it didn’t have it on the description, but when I think «club» I think «bacon». Or, more traditionally, the «multiple meats and cheeses» effect (though I understand the faux pas of mixing seafood with cheese most of the time). Still, bacon definitely comes into play with most «club sandwich» ideas. I had to ask for an extra side of the smoked paprika aioli, as I wasn’t sure if I had a small amount or if it was lacking in flavor. As I dipped a couple fries into it, it was clearly the latter. A smoked paprika is a HUGE flavor, and either they used an inferior product or not enough of it.
Speaking of the fries. They have pretty darn good fries! And a lot of sauces to go with them. I tried the curry ketchup and the sriracha aioli (and naturally the smoked paprika aioli). I also took the barman’s advice and paid the extra $ 1.50 for the «duck fat» option. As mentioned in my review of Contigo, I hardly ever get the flavor portion of the duck fat when I get things made with it. This was no different. It’s not worth the extra charge for me, personally. The curry ketchup and Sriracha aioli looked almost exactly the same on first glance. Not a good sign. But they possessed unique flavors, though I’d have to side with the sriracha. It had a great flavor and nice spice.
Service was great. Beer selection was fabulous. Ambiance was nice. I just hope they add a little more to the club and some of the sauces I tried. I’d like to see how they tackle a veggie burger as well, as that’s one of my great passions.
Note: I saw a listing on CL today that they’re looking for a new chef. Perhaps I may add in my two cents and say: «gimme some bacon on that there club!»

Ah, another gastropub restaurant in Austin. Belgian style? Perfect fit, but poor location. It is tucked in between some fine dining on San Jacinto, so I hope Hank’s makes it. People just do not realize how amazing poutine is. If you have had it before, you know how you need to literally search it out in a town. That was pretty much the main reason I came to this new establishment.
The grub here is fairly unique. It provides a very relaxed take on some cool, hard-​to-​prepare dishes. The prices are not too bad. Also, the service is spot on here. They even gave our dog (outdoor seating) a huge container of water. I will say that the indoor interior could use a touch up, though it is new.
The poutine was pretty enjoyable. The fries were thick cut, and the cheese curds were plentiful. My only wish was that there was more gravy. It was flavorful, but lacking on my order.
The fry sauces are pretty good, mostly mayo-​based. The fries are crisp; however, I added the duck fat addition, but could not taste the extra richness.
The macaroni and cheese was runnier than preferred. Creamy, almost Alfredo-​like.
Affordable, filling, and great service. Not your everyday lunch spot, bar, or restaurant… just some kind of oddly located fatty eatery. Dog was sitting next to us… eating poutine… and duck fat.

I’m giving it an overall 4 stars. We had a early lunch there on Saturday and the bartender/​cocktails were 5 stars — food 4 star and the wait for our food 3 star (they really need to work on that end of their business). With a great location surrounded by at least 5 major Hotels, I hope they can step up the service and capture some of that tourist business. Definitely a place to check out. I know we’ll be back

Went here last night for a EuroCircle party, which was a blast and mostly because of Hank’s healthy pours and great happy hour. I nearly had a guy doing cartwheels he was having so much fun (or too much, really)
The 2 bar tenders (and I think they were the only waiters too) were completely inundated and in the frothy alcoholic weeds.
The beer: I only had two beers and a sip here and there of other drinks but let me tell you– those were some strong beers. So strong I don’t even remember the percent that he told me. I had the Sahti Ale. (Inspired by Finnish Sahti, a traditional rye ale brewed with juniper). I also had a sip of a genius jäger cocktail. They were both awesome the beer finished, smooth, sweet and hoppy.
The food: The mussels weren’t warm and seemed rather uninspired but weren’t bad. I know I know don’t order mussels at a bar but I really want Hank’s to be the gastro pub of my dreams. The calamari was good. Lightly battered. The fries, cold. I did try a shrimp croquette on my way out and it was amazing.
The prices were amazingly affordable. $ 3 for that crazy beer! $ 6 for HH mussels!
I would definitely come back.

My bf and I wanted to go somewhere different for dinner so we decided to try this place out b/​c a friend recommended it. We’ve both been in the service industry for most of our adult lives so I definitely understand giving a place the benefit of the doubt. But we were absolutely not impressed at all and we’re pretty easy people to please.
*Sat in the bar/​cocktail area on a Friday evening around 9pm, so the bartender was our server. There were maybe 4 – 5 people at the bar and somehow the service was incredibly slow. There was another couple sitting in the cocktail area and we kept looking at each other like «is this guy serious?» Never refilled my bf’s tea, never refilled the other table’s waters, and checked on us maybe once during our meal.
*We ordered an appetizer of fries with a couple dipping sauces to start. Now for anyone who has ever worked in a restaurant that serves fries or has any common sense what-​so-​ever, knows that fries are NOT expensive to make. For $ 3.50, we were served 11 fries. seriously. There were so few that we could count them. I can only imagine what a side of fries that comes with a burger looks like!
*It took 42 minutes for our food to come out. And all we had was a salmon salad, and a grilled chicken dish. I will say that the salmon salad was very good. Salmon was cooked perfectly. But the chicken dish was «bleh». It came with roasted potatoes but the potatoes weren’t even cooked all the way! They were hard as a rock. When we told the server/​bartender about this he said «oh, umm… ok.» in an awkward what-​am-​I-​supposed-​to-​do-​kinda way. Dude, you tell the manager on duty and hopefully the manager comes to the table to check on things. We weren’t looking for a free meal or anything. Just the basics!
*Lastly, I was charged $ 14 for a glass of wine that was supposed to be $ 7. When I looked back at the menu, there weren’t ANY wines by the glass for that specific price. Just glad I looked at the check before paying. Yes, accidents happen but c’mon man, that wine wasn’t even on the menu of wines.
I wish these guys the best. Hopefully the kinks of being semi-​new will work themselves out soon.

Let me preface this by saying, I feel bad for the guys working here. The open kitchen lets you see an understaffed bunch working their asses off, and for that I commend them. This hilarious mess isn’t their fault. I don’t think.
That said, there’s next to nothing that goes right at this convention center «gastropub». Where to start… It’s a Belgian place that has maybe a handful of Belgian beers, at ridiculous markups. Meals take 30 – 45 minutes to arrive, and the check takes about the same. The interiors are pretty much a sports bar, which would be OK if you weren’t paying $ 17 for the chicken. And the food…
Holy shit, the food. Fishy mussels in zero broth that were so dry you needed a glass of water to get them down. Gazpacho that was basically cold tomato cream soup. Chewy salmon with lentils that could only be described as solvent-​like. And the mushroom fritters? Flavorless tempura… something (?!?) on a bed of neon-​red Sysco canned tomatoes.
This meal traversed right past awful into downright hilarious. Mascara-​running hysteria kept the mood upbeat, but for $ 50/​head, it feels wrong not to at least warn prospective diners of the shit-​show they’re walking into. This place is BAD.

*Note we didn’t eat here we just stopped for a quick drink.
We stopped in for my birthday and the bartender and staff were very friendly. The cosmo I had was nice. When we left, one of the server girls sang happy birthday to me! Thanks you rock!

Upon walking into Hank’s on a 100 degree day, I was greeted immediately by the kind bar staff. This was one of the few perks.
The décor around the bar was warm, surrounding you with dark woody colors, but the rest of the bar was nothing too comforting.
The beer prices were not kind. $ 5 for Coor’s light? I don’t think so. Prices for a pint ranged from $ 5-​$ 12, a majority of pints cost $ 7-​$ 9. The food is also a bit pricey for what you get.
The happy hour specials were a dollar off beer. Not too special.
I also ordered the fries cooked in duck fat, but they gave me normal fries. BUT, the sauces (I chose dill crème fraîche and sriracha mayo) were mighty fine.
Overall, I would not come back.

Saturday afternoon, slept till 1 pm, what’s a girl to do? Time to try out Hank’s. Walking into Hanks felt like walking into some place I felt I’ve been before. Between the booths, flat screen TVs and open floor plan the whole restaurant just felt very austiny. We were the only people in the restaurant, but it was a late Saturday afternoon. Very excited to see a perfect Manhattan on their menu for $ 6, even better when the waiter didn’t bat an eye when I got OCD on him and specified how I wanted it made. He even came back to make sure that it was just as I wanted.
But more importantly the food: My boyfriend liked his cheeseburger so much he’ll order it the next 6 times that we go there. I have to admit it was perfect, great cheese, perfectly cooked, yummy all around. The food did take a little while to get to us but I’m chalking that up to opening nerves. I split my meal between the Liage Salad (Potatoes, Bacon & Green Beans) — very good as a side, but not a real salad to have as an entrée. Mike work better as an appetizer to share. But the bacon rocked, thick cut, perfectly cooked, potatoes were flavorful and tender. I followed it up with an order of duck fat fries. They were good in mindless stuffing my face sort experience. We tried the cheese, garlic aioli, dill-​crème fraîche and sriracha mayo. Not enough Garlic to the aioli, the cheese ended up being my favorite. But as for fine food, much more of a drunken stuff my face with carbs dish. From appearances the fries didn’t seem to be hand cut, I would have preferred the thin Belgium frites that you get elsewhere. But over all, I like it. Will definitely be back.

BF and I went to Hank’s Garage last Friday, right after reading the Thrillist review. It did not disappoint with their great selection of Belgian beers. We tried five samples before settling on the Hennepin and Saison Dupont. Our waiter had told us that the Belgian beers ranged from $ 12 – 15 so we were sure to ask for prices before ordering. (Happy hour ends at 7pm, but it’s not a big difference since it’s only $ 1 off beers)
Like other reviewers, I felt the food was a bit pricey (Steak Frites $ 16). They’re also still working out the kitchen kinks – it was a little before 7pm and they were already out of my first two choices, the food took a while to arrive, and the fries were oversalted. BF got regular fries and I got duck fat fries, but they tasted the same, maybe a kitchen mixup. However, my burger was yummy and the sriracha mayo and wasabi mayo had the right kick.
This would be a 3 star if we didn’t have an awesome waiter – he brought us his favorite sauce (the cheese one) to try and gave us Framboise samples as a dessert to our meal. It also seemed like he could read our minds – he knew we found it odd that they were out of things so early and that I was taking a picture for Unilocal!
I would definitely come back for the beer and make another attempt for duck fat fries, but maybe in a few weeks when they have things sorted out better.

I had a great time at Hank’s Garage this week, and I don’t think they deserve the poor reviews. I hope everyone gives them another shot… it makes we cringe to see other mediocre places outscore them on here. Anyway, I went with a small group of friends Friday night, and the waiter immediately let us know it was their soft opening. Because of this disclaimer, I was braced for a poor experience, but overall I was very impressed with the great food, AWESOME beer selection (Abbey ⁸⁄₁₂ and Dupont Saison FTW!), and fantastic service. We got two orders of fries, one cooked in duck fat and one regular with chili cheese on them. Both were very, very good. You have options for sauces, just like the Pommes Frites shacks in Brussels… but be sure to get the sriracha mayo, wow. On top of that, we got a cheese plate, which was excellent… it also had some nuts and dates thrown on there which was a nice bonus. We weren’t too hungry so we didn’t get any entrees, but they all sounded great.
The only reason they don’t get a 5^th star from me is the fact that they don’t have a beer list with prices. While it was fun to peruse all of the taps, sample or ask the bartender what he recommended, it meant that I had no idea how much the beers I ordered cost… and when I got my bill and saw a $ 14 and $ 12 pint on there, I was a bit shocked. I know these are rare Belgian beers and expected to pay more, but it would have been nice to know the costs beforehand so I could mix up high and low cost beers. Come on Hank, how hard is it to fire up Microsoft Word and type all your beers/​prices out and print a few copies up?
Overall, an excellent pub-​n-​grub spot and a welcome addition to an area of downtown overrun with too many low-​character spots (PF Changs, Fogo, Melting Pot). We’ll definitely be back here often!

I’m not a wannabe food critic or pretentious yet not pretentious Austinite so I’m going to make this brief:
If you like rare Belgian beers, American bar food with a unique twist, Sriracha mayo and flatscreens if you get bored, this is the place to go. The beers are a little bit pricey but this isn’t the W charging you $ 6 for a Coors Light, these are legit beers and they give free samples to help you make an informed decision before you order.

I’m giving Hank here a tentative two stars due to their newness. If they’d been around for a while, which they won’t be if they don’t work out these growing pains, I would make this review a bit more concrete. However, I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt on account of their «soft open.»
I was initially drawn to Hank’s Garage by a specials board reading, «Duck Fat Grilled Cheese.» Unfortunately, I was one day late to try the aforementioned meal. When I returned for lunch the following Friday my waiter (possibly one of the owners) regrettably informed me that one of their workers mistook the mallard lard for overused canola oil and threw it in the grease trap. That didn’t strengthen my confidence in the culinary intelligence of their kitchen staff.
I decided to go with the new «Happy-​Hour Special,» the Shepherd’s Pie. At $ 15, this dish was almost as big of a waste of money as throwing out a vat of duck fat. Well, maybe not that bad, but it was definitely overpriced for the product. The texture was less of a pie and more of a stew. I know most Shepherd’s Pies don’t come in an actual crust, but when your filling is this runny you could use that doughy texture. The beef stock was thinner than my beer.
Which brings me to the highlight of my meal, the beer. After sampling two of their heftier options, to go with my hefty entrée, I settled on the Belhaven Scottish Stout. My sun-​incited dehydration had me feeling every decimal of the 7% Abv. Had I written this review immediately after my lunch, I would have probably given Hank’s Garage 4 stars. Unfortunately for Hank, I drank some water and realized that this Gastropub still has some work to do.

I really want to like this place, and I’m betting I’ll go there more regularly once they’ve got their kinks worked out. While it seemed pricey for the quality and our orders were slow and mistakes were made, I give the guys the benefit of the doubt. There were a few other tables there for a late lunch, but they seemed to have a large to-​go order being prepared and very little staff. I had a bland grilled cheese (Belgian, yeah, but veggies maybe? More interesting, less greasy bread?) and my friend had a cheeseburger with a slightly burned bun. They both came with decent fries and two sauces from a long, intriguing list (one of mine was wrong, but no big deal). The total was $ 20, which is a lot for that, but they were presented nicely (qualifier: I’m broke and cheap).
I would recommend a try. The menu’s got potential, it was a pleasant atmosphere at 1 on a Friday, and the staff were sweet guys that really wanted us to enjoy our lunch. If I were a bar-​hopper I’d love the side room with comfy seating by the windows.
I could say more, but in a word: go. Not spectacular yet, but I bet you’ll enjoy yourself and have a filling, relaxed lunch.