Hill’s Cafe

This is NOT the place to go if you need to grab something quick in between flights. I counted at least 5 workers (only 1 at the cash register– but she kept up just fine). I have no earthly idea what the other 4 were doing as it took 9 minutes from the time I paid until I received my cheeseburger ???
Also, they advertise «Best burger in Austin». Truly, McDonalds and Carl’s Jr are easily superior.
Someone call Restaurant Impossible… quick !

I eat in airports all over the country and I have learned to not expect much. This was pleasant surprise. I had the chicken fried steak sandwich and it was, surprise, very good. Piping hot, crispy and with a nice toasted bun. I asked for and received salsa from Nuevo Leon to spice it up. Corn nuggets were steaming hot and delicious.
For the morons that expect chicken to be in your chicken fried «steak», go to Taco Bell.

Had the «famous» biscuits and gravy. Biscuits were your vending machine variety and gravy was watered down with a hand full of chopped sausage pilled on top. Will not order again.

Meh. Food was served quickly, but the container was difficult to use on the plane — kept opening. For the price, my sandwich was pretty bland, and the bun was burnt in places. I ate my food wishing I had made a better pre-​boarding choice.

Crappy burger, even crappier service by the lady who would rather people watch than do her job. Burger is dry and tasted like it was made two weeks ago.

Hard to rate a fast food place at the airport but thought the Club Sandwich was acceptable representation of the item. The bread was fresh lightly toasted and bountiful bacon. My feedback is that this club lacks the turkey proportion to the pork (bacon and ham) but did have a could overall taste. Need more meat! The accompanied fries were potato wedges, slightly under seasoned and just tepid not hot as they need to be. Overall, I’d recommend the club if you like clubs.

We landed at 7:30 from Orlando and went to get dinner. Was a little hesitant after reading the reviews but had a complete different experience. The girl taking our order was ready to go home but the food was actually really good. The cheese burger and seasoned wedges were great! My wife had the cornbread nuggets which really good as well.

I usually get a couple breakfast tacos from here if I’m flying out in the morning. The tortillas are small but most of the time they are stuffed so 2 end up being filling.
Today was the first time I’ve ordered lunch from here. I got the cheeseburger and fries. The seasoned wedge fries were really good. They had a nice crispy outside and super soft melt in your mouth inside. The flavor was really good too. My burger was good. The patty was really thin which I didn’t mind. I really liked the bun it was served on. It’s a good sized burger too. It came with lettuce, tomato, onion and a pickle spear on the side. I was actually quite impressed for it coming from an airport joint.

I don’t hand out many 1 star reviews but this one is richly deserved. Note that many others have awarded them the single star, too.
Unfortunately for the weary traveler who is passing through the Austin airport late, Hill’s is your only option for hot food. Next time I’m in this situation, I’ll eat my shoelaces instead. You should, too. (Your laces, not mine.)
Seeing no items for kids on the menu, we asked if they could make a grilled cheese sandwich. I mean, they have cheese and they have bread and they have a grill.
The incredibly rude counter jockey was not happy at all with this question. She acknowledged they could and would make it but insisted we would have to pay the highest sandwich price on the menu. Come again? Why the highest? Why not the next to highest? Or, how about the lowest or next to lowest?
Nope. She wanted top dollar for this complex dish. I felt like I had stepped into the movie «Five Easy Pieces.”*
Ok, forget that BS. How about onion rings? Nope, all gone.
We ended up buying fries.
Look, I wouldn’t be happy being Captain of the Fast Food Airline Counter late on a Sunday night, either, but something tells me she richly deserves this position.
Never again. I’d rather starve or load up on snacks (or eat my laces) than give them my money.
*What, you haven’t seen it? Netflix it and thank me later.

I had the chicken burger and it was by far the worst chicken burger I have ever eaten. It was very clear this rubbery thing they pass off as a chicken burger was from a major food supplier and to make it worse, the cooks burned it. Lots of bun relative to the amount of «patty» and of course, nothing special. The only redeeming quality of the meal was the fries, which weren’t terrible.
I’ve been to the original Hill’s Café and this does not even come close in comparison. I will not eat here again and I would not recommend it to anyone.

I’ve heard they stick it to you at the airport. Well, hills café is them. Their burger was dried out and disgusting. Don’t waste your time or cash. Unimpressive.
I only now realized that their sign says best burger in Austin. Liars. Liars. Liars. I’d rather have mcdonalds.

I don’t like the automated touch screen because it’s a hassle to place my lunch order. Why can’t I just talk to the person behind the counter, whose only job appears calling out numbers and moving the food from the kitchen window to the customers? Even the «for here» food is served in plastic clamshell containers; what a waste.

Needed to grab a bit while at the airport and hard to pass up chicken fried steak however mostly went bad from there.
I initially got a piece of chicken breast (after waiting 15 minutes and seeing 4 customers having issues with their orders) and then waited another 10 minutes to get my chicken fried steak.
Once I did receive my chicken fried steak it was as crispy as a cracker. I really do like a crispy chicken fried steak but literally this was crisp all the way through. I am not even sure I could do this at home even with a deep fryer.
overall a very unsatisfactory experience…
Only pro — a big plate of food. Too bad I couldn’t eat it.
strike 10 for airport food! blech.

I’m in Austin, I thought, a breakfast taco is just the ticket — that’s a nice Texan way to start the day. So I’m in the airport on my way home and see Hill’s Café. Oh, dear reader, how I wish I never had.
You get past the surly greeting — no «good morning» or a genial «what can I get you?» but a silent, upturned, unsmiling face to acknowledge my presence and ask what I want. You might feel like apologizing for bothering them. That’s merely your first regret.
A coffee and a breakfast taco was all I wanted. This is Texas, one might suppose this is a recipe they’ve nailed.
The taco ($ 2.29), was perhaps 3 inches long — you’ll likely need a couple to be satisfied and the cliché that everything is bigger in Texas is evidently a wicked lie. However it seemed larger because it completely unrolled upon opening its wrapper. Clearly, some more advanced technology is required. But no big deal, I can be flexible, I requested a knife and fork, since it resisted being rolled up again (perhaps due to its diminutive size). The knife and fork duly provided with the same surliness as the initial greeting, I proceeded to attempt to eat my taco. It was cold. COLD, I tell you!
Perhaps you can imagine the welling nausea which overcame me, the dizziness, the cold sweat. Cold as my taco. Not to mention the mental anguish, from which I am still attempting to recover. The horror, the horror! Did ever a man suffer thus?
I returned the food to them in disgust. They asked, as I strolled away dejectedly, if I’d like something else. Since a breakfast taco was clearly beyond them, I decided this would be unwise. My suggestion to them, if they don’t intend to improve their food, is to rename the dish I purchased as «floppy, cold mini-​taco». Or perhaps, more accurately, «your worst choice for breakfast», and maybe rename the establishment «Over the Hills Café».
If, as they say (who are they?) breakfast is the most important meal of the day, then Hill’s Café is no place to have it.
The coffee was passable, but since I’d paid over $ 5 and all I got was that coffee, I can’t say I was satisfied and I most definitely will not be back. Horrible place, horrible food.

I love the original Hill’s Café on South Congress, and Bob Cole has done an amazing job resurrecting it. But this location inside the airport terminal is actually run by ABIA concessionaire Delaware North Companies. All of the great local restaurants you see there are run by the concessionaire. Yes, the menu choices are the same as what you would find in the actual restaurants but everything is managed and run by DNR. Sadly, they’ve given some of them a bad name. I’ve had several bad experiences at the Hill’s in the airport. Usually the chicken fried steak is so over cooked that it was like eating a giant potato chip. Another time it was so under cooked I’m shocked it wasn’t mooing! Occasionally they get it right, but I don’t even bother going there (and regrettably I’m in the airport way more times than I’d prefer).
I’m praying that visitors (or even locals) don’t shy away from the original Hill’s on South Congress because their opinion is unfairly negative based upon their experience at the airport location.
I’m pretty sure that Bob doesn’t have any control over how they perform here, but he can sure take his café’s name off the place!

They are located on the sleepy side of the airport terminal. I’m glad I wandered over. They had me at chicken fried steak!
Interesting how you place your order on the kiosk and then go over to pay. I thought the $ 10 price for a CFS sandwich with one side was a little high, I was wrong.
The sandwich blew me away… twice as large as I was expecting. It could easily be shared with another, esp if one were to order an extra side. The steak was thick and tender and well fried. The sweet bread was toasted and crisp. Comes with lettuce, tomato and those nasty onions, if you want stinky breath.
My side was an order of wedge fries. There were identical to the ones at KFC. They were very hot and crispy on the outside. The slaw on my 2^nd visit was really good.
They could gain an extra star from me were they to introduce fried okra as one of their sides. They also had corn nuggets, a salad or slaw. I’d love to try a burger, but I don’t think I could ever order anything but the CFS sandwich!
Love that their drinks, provided by a delivery service have BORN ON date, and not an expiration date, meaning the bottled drinks here are fresh and not expired, as some might have you believe. Know your facts, Unilocalers!

BUYER BEWARE — HEALTH HAZZARD
Bought a drink here in a bottle, noticed it was expired… told the girl behind the counter, she said «so?» .I exchange it for another and see that literally dozens of drinks, juices, and sodas are expired in their cold case, some as long as 6 months… I again speak to the girl behind the counter and she tells me how the expiration does not matter and if it really bothers me I should just get another selection. I am really floored and getting annoyed, so I find the one drink that is not expired and go on my way since she had then refused a refund saying she would have to call her manager… at an airport… I don’t have the time to wait for 30 minutes for a manager for a simple refund… what I do have time to do is post this on Unilocal and send email to the health department and airport authority…
So what else is old and expired if the drinks are ready to be in the trash and the employees are indignant about it… stay away from this place if you care about your health and the chance of getting food poisoning.

The breakfast taco is amazing and made to order! You get two tacos with three toppings each for $ 6.20. Pricey but it’s airport food so it’s to be expected! I’m having the potato cheddar cheese and sausage breakfast taco. Yummy!
One of my tacos was a bit greasy but that’s okay. I mean who doesn’t want a side of clogged arteries at 7am. Lol
Deduct one star for the $ 3.95 cup of grapes. Smh.
I’m so glad this place was open so early and right across from my gate. It’s just what I needed after waiting in the airport security line for about 45 minutes.