III Forks

I’m usually a huge fan of III Forks, but unfortunately our last visit there was disappointing to say the least. We went there on Friday to celebrate my dad’s 60^th with some family and friends. We had reservations and were seated promptly so no issues with anything of that nature. Too bad that’s where the good times stopped… it took forever for our waitress to even get our drinks and even longer to try and order apps/​dinner. Our drinks were never refilled, several drink orders were «forgotten,» and we were rarely (if ever) attended to at all. The food is always decent, but it really kills the ambience (and our mood) when our waitress is THAT terrible. And to be honest the food wasn’t all that great that night either (soggy onion rings, anyone?).
My dad actually said something towards the end of dinner about the horrible service in conversation and our waitress came up behind him with a serious attitude after hearing that. No apology or anything of that nature… just one last unsavory experience to really help top off the night. Considering we spent over $ 400 at dinner you would think we could have had a friendly, attentive waitress. There are way too many good, upscale steakhouses in this city to consider coming back to this one. Save your money and don’t waste any time here unless you want mediocre food and abhorrent service.

There are a number of classic steakhouses in downtown Austin, but you just can’t beat III Forks. You really can’t. From the accommodating bar upon entering to the friendly staff and then the awesome food, this place is the best. There were 7 of us and we had an amazing 3 hour dinner. Our waiter was informative and attentive without being overbearing. All of the dishes we ordered got rave reviews and the desserts were also excellent (although if you’re a traditional NY cheesecake fan, which I am, this isn’t it). Sure it’s pricy but no more so than the other high end steakhouses. Plus, they had a nice retro 3 piece combo band playing old standards, which added a nice touch to the ambiance. A great meal and a great time with absolutely no complaints.

Great restaurant but overpriced. $ 90 for a 14 oz ribeye steak is ridiculous! Ask the price of the specials before ordering. Our appetizer was over $ 20. 4 people 2 bottles wine and dessert was $ 600 Ouch!

First off I like my steaks I cook at home, guess I am just used to what I like. However, this Ribeye was cooked to perfection. Melt in your mouth good. I have no idea how they make their spinach but that was almost better than the steak (ok nothing is better than steak but you get my point). Bonus, I sat in Sandra Bullock’s chair.
Highly recommend if you are a steak lover.

Place is great. Apparently they have made a recent departure from their traditional menu and are doing everything a la carte. This upset some regulars I was with and I can understand people don’t like change. It was very good and very pricey. Flemings next time I am in Austin. Better value and equally as excellent.

Went to III Forks last night for the first time. It was literally the worst experience ever. We had reservations and didn’t get seated until an hour later. Once we were seated it was the smallest table by the back door and it was freezing cold. Once we were ready to go we texted the valet for our vehicle 29 mins till and still had to wait another 20 mins. This was the most expensive meal I’ve ever paid for and the worst experience. The only good thing that was good was the food, it was great!

First of all I would like to emphasize the fact that when I call to make reservations somewhere I always make it a point to explain to the hostess that I do not like to wait for my table when I arrive, especially when the reservations are made more than a week in advance. I called to make reservations for New Year’s Eve at 7pm for four people. We three arrived at 6:58pm and the hostess told us it would be a few minutes until they could clear our table and seat us. While waiting in the lobby we watched roughly 8 parties walk in and be seated right away. At 7:28 we were finally seated. We had plans starting at 8:30 that we were almost 30 minutes late to because of the lack of customer service at this restaurant. I even reminded the hostess that we had been waiting for almost 30 minutes and no compensation was offered nor was any general concern expressed. This type of operation for a $ 250 dinner on New Year’s Eve is unacceptable no matter what. Our server Eric was excellent but he still did not make up for how poor our experience was and how we missed out on our next event for the night. We all ordered the Sea Bass which was pretty good however, had we been sat within even a REASONABLE time frame would have really helped kick off our celebratory night. I would definitely never recommend this establishment to anyone I respect.

To be upfront, this dinner was paid by work for a special event and as a result price was not taken in consideration for this review. The food was terrific, everyone at the table of about 20 commented that their steaks were cooked perfectly. Nice variety of cuts and the sides and appetizers were great. Throughout the night we had great service. Good venue for a medium sized group.

When the best part of your big group steak dinner is the lobster bisque, there’s a concern.
Came here for a bachelor party, and had the whole back room to ourselves. Two giant tables for two bachelors. No one wanted to sit next to me so I sat at the head of the more empty table. Now I know what a king feels like.
Got to ordering drinks, and they prepared their Manhattans very well. Excellent selection of beers, properly made drinks, the libations are not the issue here.
The lobster bisque was fantastic. Five stars for their bisque. The actual steak though was disappointing. That’s a killer for a steak joint. It wasn’t too dry, or over/​under cooked, it just lacked the flavor I come to expect from my filet mignon.
The service was really top notch. For the price you’re paying, you’d expect that, but they really were wonderful.
Could have been a five star joint, but in the end I think you’re better off spending your money elsewhere is your dropping this kind of cash.

Had a nice dinner here, but III Forks doesn’t strike me as a standout vis-​a-​vis the other nice steakhouses in town. Good, I just don’t feel compelled to go back any time soon. Try the brussels sprouts – they were my favorite part of the meal.

My husband and I were in this evening. No special occasion, just date night. We had reservations, so we were seated very quickly. Halee (hope I spelled it correctly) was out server. She was phenomenal. Really, several employees touched our table over the course of our stay.
Husband ate ribeye and cheesy potatoes. He was more than pleased. I ate Ahi appetizer, bisque, and the scallop entrée. All courses were delicious and well prepared. Omg. Fried Brussels sprouts. Yum!
Finished with bread pudding and chocolate mousse. (We don’t share well)
Manager checked on us a few times. Very personable. He even shook our hands on the way out. Very genuine.
All in all we will be back very soon. We are kind of mad that it took us so long to come try it out. We are big fans of Flemming’s, Eddie Vs, and Roaring Fork. This is right up there and we are very pleased.
Halee, we will be asking for you next time.

Disappointing visit this weekend. Took visitors from UK in the hope it would be memorable– it was not .
Our server was very descriptive of the dishes not on the menu– indeed overly so– lots of adjectives and processes mentioned which I find very unnecessary and actually annoying– particularly as we had to ask the prices.
We all ordered from the menu; our guests chose fish dishes and I wish we had. Fillet steak was far tougher than my wife would have expected (altho to be honest she did choose Med-​Well). My own flat iron (served pre-​sliced) was tough too and not a sign of pinkness in its medium rare.
Service was as previously experienced– almost to the point of obsequiousness.
Restaurant had only 5 or 6 tables full at 8 on. Sunday night– cause for concern?
Coffee after the meal was excellent.

We had a decent dinner here last night — this is a beautiful upscale restaurant, albeit a little dark, and a little loud with the band in the bar area that made conversation a bit difficult.
We dined as a party of four — half of us got there, with the other two following shortly thereafter. When my husband and I arrived, we were seated at a cozy booth in the first room, across from the bar area. We had a nice view of both the bar, as well as a glass wine case area. Our waitress came immediately to ask if we would like cocktails while we waited. I ordered a Maker’s Buck which was a delightful cocktail with a great balance between the sour lemon and the sweet strawberry. I really liked it. As we waited for the rest of our party, our waitress came back to check on us and made beer suggestions for my husband.
When the rest of our party arrived, she came to the table to greet them, which was very nice. She did say that we had mentioned they would want cocktails though — which was really weird because we did not — it was very forward and presumptuous. Otherwise though, throughout the meal she was friendly and attentive.
On to the food:
We all ordered the Prime Double-​Cut Pork Chop, along with sides of fried brussels sprouts and the roasted mushrooms.
Prime Double-​Cut Pork Chop: I ordered mine well done and it wasn’t overly cooked, and still moist with a lot of juices which was great. The outside had a fantastic sear on it and the entire thing was plated nicely. I will say, however, that this was not my favorite pork chop. I do think that at least three restaurants, (Perry’s, Bartlett’s, and Trattoria Lisina) have them beat in flavor. Most of the flavor on this chop, I felt, was derived from the wonderful and light barbecue sauce with balsamic that it sat upon. It was a different style, and I did like it, just not as much as others.
With the Prime Double-​Cut Pork Chop, we all received mashed potatoes, which were great on flavor, but a little dry on consistency, as well as al dente snap peas and red bell pepper which were excellent. I cannot speak to the fried brussels sprouts as I did not try them, but the side of mushrooms that we ordered were heavenly. Buttery and soft, but not mushy and over cooked. Perfect really — the best thing we had, in my opinion. Along with all of the above, we received some of their cream corn. The waitress urged us to try it — and I wasn’t disappointed. I’m honestly not a fan of creamed corn but this was good. We also were offered their signature green onions and tomatoes with our meal which was a nice touch. At the end of our meal, we were stuffed. Although the desserts sounded tantalizing, we passed. Our waitress was awesome and boxed up all of our to go very quickly and was in and out with the check in record speed — very nice.
On our way out, I unfortunately need to mention the valet. The two guys working were awesome — let me just state that out front. Within that, however, they needed more people working. At the point where we walked out of the restaurant to leave, we were standing with three other couples and there were six cars waiting to be parked. These guys worked as fast as they could, but with traffic and the apparent change of entrances and exits on the garage, it was a total nightmare.
So, I’m awarding four stars here. I wished the pork chop was more flavorful, the waitress was a bit forward at times, and the valet needs help. While this is a solid visit and it surely has a lot of restaurants beat, I think there’s a lot of room for improvement at III Forks for the price.

Excellent meal. This is another example of great steaks in Texas. I would recommend this place for a juicy, well seasoned steak. They even were willing to split the 12oz filet mignon between the 2 of us. And in honor of a celebration, they gave us a complimentary cocktail that was like a Bailey’s Irish Cream (but it was their own mix).
Lastly, the staff was very attentive and friendly.

yeah.
We tried the happy hour so can’t comment on the full meals, but sitting at the bar was nice and comfortable, a good cool, dark, fancy steakhouse atmosphere. The bartender was very nice and we got a good variety of food:
–Lobster mac and cheese: sadly, the most disappointing dish. It was simply far too lemon-​flavored. It overpowered everything else. This could have been a fluke.
–Gouda grilled cheese slider: this was decent, not much to say about it
–Lobster bisque: very large and very good.
–Short rib slider: great short ribs, highly recommended, which got us very excited for…
–Short rib entrée: MMMmmm… so good! Great flavored, very tender meat over some great mashed potatoes with a drizzle of pesto sauce (I know, it sounds weird, but trust me — it worked).

This is Our Favorite Steak restaurant in downtown Austin! The service is always impeccable and friendly!!!
Tips:I highly recommend the Filet with a little bit of crushed fresh garlic Pittsburgh style but I prefer MR and hubby likes black and blue-​eeks.
I love that I Don’t have to pay extra a la cart for side dishes! It comes with mashed potatoes and I like my gravy on the side, sugar snap pease-​al dente, delicious, Ripe sliced tomatoes with spring onions And creamed corn-​however since I am lactose intolerant they are always accommodating to shuck it, sauté, with salt and pepper! This is My Go To place on a regular basis!
With all this said, I never order an appetizer because I want to enjoy the dinner. It’s wonderful portions and you must try their desserts.

Legitimate steakhouse in downtown Austin!
Writing this review from memory, but I recall the décor was very classy. A bit upscale, felt like a gentleman’s’ club of some sort. A bit dark, lots of booths, but the ambience was just right.
Food was extraordinary. You only notice something when it goes wrong, and none of that happened here. Must visit if you’re passing through Austin.

I must preface this with saying I chose to eat here on NYE and had high expectations. I felt like for a NYE dinner, this wouldn’t be a place that was going to disappoint. However, our experience started off on a sour note and progressed quite well.
We showed up for our reservation and were seated at an interesting table by the bar. It was kind of a half wall and the musicians were getting ready nearby us. I don’t know if they felt as though we got a last minute reservation and didn’t care about where we would eat (I hesitated asking for a quiet table which I normally do therefore, this one was sorta my bad) but, I wanted to enjoy a conversation with my boo and not enjoy the conversation of those at the bar. We got our bread and butter which I found interesting because they were cold. Like out of the freezer cold. It’s weird because my butter should melt into my bread. This is when I decided to move… This table had bad juju. We asked our server if we could move as politely as possible and he said he’d speak to the hostess. We kind of sat there with cold bread and drinks for a kind of long while until finally the hostess sat us at a table in the very back.
This table had good juju! We swiftly received our actual meal and the service made me smile. These guys ran a tight ship back there and I’m happy I asked to be moved. These gravy genies appeared out of nowhere as well as with some other additions to the plate. The only thing I really have to add is that I asked the waiter at the first table about the sauces they can add to the steaks. He simply told me they all were good as if he had never had some! This was irksome to me as I immediately regretted ordering this salty sauce that came on my steak. It was quite heavy. I’m usually such a purist when it comes to my steak and the steak gods were speaking to me that night. Other than that, the GM came by and apologized with some coconut based drink that was delicious. I think if I was invited to go, I’d enjoy myself but, I wouldn’t actively pursue dining here again.

First sign up for their e-​mail updates because you’ll get a free appetizer, specifically beef croustade.
We shared the boneless rib eye ($ 50). It comes with mashed potatoes, vegetables, creamed corn and optional green onions and tomatoes. The steak has a nice crust.
The bread is fantastic. Super crunchy on the outside and soft and warm on the inside. It was different. It came out wrapped in a napkin and the waiter crushed it with his hand to break it open like a kinder egg.
Bummer is they didn’t offer complimentary dessert for the birthday girl. I was eyeballing the ice cream sandwich on Unilocal but they discontinued that item two months ago so we opted to have no dessert.

Being a voracious carnivore, I couldn’t pass on steak, so when my colleagues hinted at steakhouses for dinner, I jumped to action. III Forks, being that it was right near city hall and potential after dinner sites seemed perfect. Needless to say, III Forks did not disappoint. Their steaks were cooked to perfection. We ordered Bone-​in versions of all cuts and tried a little of everyone’s steak. The only real complaint was that III Forks almost psyched us out with their Mahi Mahi special…
Pricewise, the place was on the expensive side, but not unusual for a steakhouse and the service was great!
We’ll definitely come again and visit this place again!
(Almost forgot to mention that the steaks came with sides, instead of ordering separate sides)