Nunzia’s @ the Y

My friends and I enjoy both the Nunzia’s and Señorita’s menu. I found that the Señorita’s menu offers different dishes that aren’t like your typical mexican food. They have a lot of flavor and zest to each dish. I also found it interesting when reading some of the other negative reviews on here, that people didn’t take the time to spell check, and that it sounded more of a personal issue! Also, I would never compare my dining experience there to stopping at Mcdonalds which someone earlier said. The menu was very impressive and the food upheld to my standards of impressive. I’m not quite sure what else I would be looking for at a restaraunt. I must also add one of my favorite dishes is off of the Nunzia’s menu the Y– Bar shrimp. Sorry to hear that your table side guacamole experience wasn’t as good as mine. They brought out avacados, lime juice, cilantro and pico de gallo and asked us what all we wanted in our guacamole as the server prepared it at our table.

Nunzia’s gets 3 stars. I really like the waiter, Steve, and the owner is a kick. If I were to review them, the décor and front door that they used to have until it broke yesterday, I’d give them 5 stars.
The food at Nunzia’s was good. Spendy, but good.
I am sad to say that the food at Señorita’s was… uggg. It is really hard for me to make that public, considering how much we like the owner. It PAINS me to say it. He is so cool and we live so close.
I had the chicken mole, and the mole sauce was way too much like gravy. The rice was dry, and the refried beans were icky. I have to say, though, that the chicken was very moist and tender (and my teenage son liked it). The salsa was interesting and fairly good — it had a medium spicy-​ness, and an interesting sweetness to it. The crème brûlée was not very refined. Margaritas: ok — plenty of salt (which I like), but not much flavor. The decaf coffee was good.
What I like about it (other than the people and décor): they’ll make the guac tableside (I think), the chicken is consistently moist and tender. The end.
We’ll be back, considering we like Steve and the owner so much. Just not too often, since it’s kind of expensive.

Gordon Ramsey would have a field day here. We decided to try the restaurant as we used to be regulars at the Y.
We sat in the UGLY Senoritas side and my husband ordered Mexican, I ordered off the Nunzia’s menu. We ordered table side guac, that was not prepared tableside, but came out barely smashed and with no seasoning at all. I had to request some lime and smash it with a fork. pitiful.
My steak at $ 24 was very small and thin and a poor cut and overcooked. I had it with a side of greasy over cooked asparagus and the most Knorr package tasting pitiful excuse for a demi glacé I may have actually ever encountered. I have had a better filet on an airplane.
My husband’s fajitas came out dead and were terribly salty and had a weird aftertaste. His beans and rice were cold and the setup for his fajitas looked as if it had been sitting out for days with brown guac, wilted lettuce and the cheese was hardening.
The whole disgusting mess cost $ 56!!!
I’m just really, really mad about this and wish I would have just driven a little further into town. Why does everything out here have to be sub par???

Hmmm, I’ve been going to this restaurant since it was first opened by Jean-​Pierre Piaget back in 2001. JP had been very successful with his formal restaurant, «The Upstairs,» in Austin for over a decade — but the post ⁹⁄₁₁ economic malaise led him to close that restaurant’s hallowed doors and open up the Y Bar Grill. The food, at first, was fantastic — but I gather that JP exited the operation after a divorce in which his wife got the restaurant (so I was told).
Fast forward to 2008, now Jean-Pierre’s little oasis of sophistication (for Oak Hill at least) has now devolved into a schizoid Mexican/​Continental-​Steak restaurant and his lovely building has been TRASHED by an ‘indelicate’ hand in the process. (Like Austin needs ANOTHER Tex/​Mex place???). I smell ‘new ownership.‘
I’ve had dinner at Senoritas/Nunzia’s twice in the past month. I have to say that the service has been extraordinarily good and the food above average. But I’ve stuck to my old faves — steaks with a diversion into the Tex/​Mex menu. The steaks have been delicious especially with one of the many sides offered as part of the price (I like the twice-​baked potato). The Caesar salad could use some improvement — the lettuce had wilted, and the dressing is WAY too spicy with chipotle. I’ve tried the Senoritas guacamole which was pretty good, too.
Why can I only give Senoritas/Nunzia’s 3 stars? Is it the cojunto AND Muzak AND jazz that were playing at the same time? Is it the fact that NO one was at the hostess station to take me to a table? Could it be the schizoid interior — Tex/​Mex décor to the left, sophisticated modern Euro-​style to the right — that feels a bit like the Taco Bell/​KFC ‘combo’ restaurants that I’ve started to see? Not sure. I hope this place can be saved. I have certainly enjoyed meals (and drinks) there in the past. At least it is MUCH better than Segovia nearby.
Transgendered Yin-​Yang interior. Superior waitstaff /​confused owners. 3 stars with high hopes that an anti-​schizophrenia medication can be found to resolve the personality disorder this place currently suffers.

I agree — WTF? Had an early dinner at the Y, aka Nunzia, now Señorita’s? Never saw a señorita and if she’s the one cooking, the place definitely won’t last. Menu was unimpressive as was the food. Prices way too high for what you get. Their Mojitos tasted like watered down rum with weeds in it and at $ 8 each, we felt seriously jipped.
Sorry, but it would be better to drive out 71 a little farther or simply stopping at the McD for a quick bite.

Sigh. Another one bites the dust.
Seriously, I seem to be in a bad phase: almost every place I’ve gone in the past 2 weeks has either spiraled down into a hell hole or has blown chunks from the get-​go. Maybe it’s me: maybe I’m PMS’ing.
The Y/Nunzia’s/Señorita’s…WTF?
Phase 1: The Y c. June 2005-​May 2007
Eclectic, innovative food served in an architecturally beautiful building with a gorgeous bar and dining room, or outside seating amidst fountains, Onion Creek and a well-​stocked (and extremely well-​staffed) bar. No turnover in the wait staff, on-​hands engaging owners.
Phase 2: Nunzia’s, c. May 2007-​May 2008
Well…they dumbed down their menu and food cost by adding an Italian feature and trimming the number of selections. The food is still good, but it’s no longer innovative. Some of the wait staff has departed. The restaurant is much emptier on a regular basis.
Phase 3: Senoritas Cantina/Nunzia’s c. June 2008-​now
WTF is probably too base, too coarse, but… WTF??? One side has been turned into a cheap-​ass Mexican cantina. In fact, their lunch menu actually says El Cheapo. I’m not making this up. But, just to confuse matters, the other side of the wall is STILL NUNZIA’S. WTF? The only way you know (except by asking the obviously shell-​shocked wait staff) is that there aren’t tacky paintings and party-​store plastic hot peppers on the Nunzia’s side. And the food? Can you say Applebee’s-meets-Taco Bell?
Obviously the 2^nd owners have absolutely no friggin’ clue why the restaurant they bought had clientele, nor any idea how to run a restaurant. If this place is still open in 3 months, I’ll be shocked. It’s no longer upscale, but it’s too upscale to grab the construction crew crowd (I don’t care whether it says El Cheapo on the menu or not), and it’s too pedestrian to grab anyone with more than 2−½ taste buds.
Maybe 2 stars is 2 many. I’ll keep them there for the memories and hope someone buys this place who has any semblance of a clue.

Just got back from brunch at Nunzia’s or should I say Senoritas. Apparently the front of the restaurant is a Mexican food place and the back of it (towards the creek) is still Nunzia’s. The food was just OK. I ordered the Spinach and Baby Portabella Omelet and my boyfriend ordered the Mi gas. We both came to the conclusion that Waterloo’s is much better and you get way more for your money at Waterloo.
A few good points were the $ 4 bottomless mimosas (even though the champagne was flat) and the service was good. We actually had the same server a few months ago when we went to Nunzia’s for dinner and we really enjoyed the food then. It was more steak and seafood type food. A little pricey for the quality of the food, but nice atmosphere.

Went with a few friends on Mother’s Day. None of us mothers ourselves, we didn’t realize it until we got there.
I don’t know if there is always a buffet, or if it was a Mom’s Day special. There were tons of choices – not always a good thing. Omlettes made to order, pasta made to order, even crepes sorta made to order. PS What brunch buffet does NOT have bacon on it? I couldn’t tell if we just missed it, or if it was never out. But, come on people, bacon is a must!
The weather was nice so we sat outside. Service was decent. Overall food was really good and I left full.
I’m bewteen 3 and 4 stars, but will round up. I’m sure I’d try it again.

Anybody for reheated leftover food? Throughly dissapointed with my last trip there. I ordered the chicken putanesca. The chicken breast was cold and dry and tasted like rubber. So I call the waitress and she offers to get me a new piece. 30 secs later she comes up with a new piece. Wow thats freshly prepared just for me. The pasta and the sauce looked like a gooey mush. The Sonic next door serves better frozen «fresh» food. My last trip to this place. Save your money.

This restaurant is right by my house. I went there for drinks and appetizers a few times before ever eating dinner. The atmosphere there is great – it has spacious high ceiliengs and lots of tables.
On Sunday, I mentioned half-​priced wine bottles that Tara included in her review, and my waiter said, «oh, the online special». And I said…“yes…the online special”. Sweet.
While my dish of venison was not all too appetizing, I must say that they have the best goat cheese salad I’ve ever had. It has 4 fried goat cheese balls on a bed of greens with blackberries, strawberries, and other fruit. It was a fantastic combination and worth a return trip.
Do it.

I love this place for the beautiful patio and food and it is not more than 5 minutes from home.
I just got an email from them stating they have 4.00 bottomless Mimosas during Sat and Sun Brunch, Happy Hour all day Sat and Sun w/​3.50 Margaritas, 5 flat screen TVs for football fools, Every Sun night ½ price bottle of wine, 15 minute Express Lunch or its free…
I can not testify to the above; but, I can say they serve up an awesome brunch menu. I have experienced an above average omelet w/​baby spinach and portabella shrooms sauteed in garlic and white wine before being folded into my eggs. The Fruit Pancakes or Waffles topped with fresh seasonal fruit and whipped cream is an «I’ve died and gone to heaven» experience. For lunch the Mango Habanero Salad leaves me smiling and alert — no siesta needed. Crab & Shrimp Crepes very good Y-​Bar Shrimp wrapped in bacon and stuffed w/​candied jalapenos served over pasta even better! Bonus points for cute and friendly service,

I’ve been to this place four or five times and have always had a positive experience. They just recently changed their name to Nunzia’s @ the Y and the food seems to have improved a notch over what was already very good. They have an outdoor patio which is a bit more casual, but I’m pretty certain that you can dress however you like. Hey, it’s Austin.
The cocktails are great. Try the Mojito Martini (not called that) — it was light and crisp (carbonated?) and refreshing. The wine list is pretty darn good with several nice wines available by the glass. The Y-​Bar Shrimp makes a great appetizer and is one of the few items that remain from the old menu. They have a great meat+sauce+veggie portion of the menu. I had the Ribeye with a Cognac demi-​glacé and sweet potatoes. It was to die for! I had a $ 12 glass of Hess Cab that paired nicely. My wife had a ginger-​crusted halibut that was perfectly cooked. I saw check it out. It’s easily one of the best restaurants in Southwest Austin!

Thanks to the modern marvels of engineering, there’s a «Y» in the road at Oak Hill. With the extra roadside real estate first came the Y Bar and Grill, which has since (as of January ’07) given way to Nunzia’s, a slightly Italian if comfort-​food themed restaurant.
The moniker itself a back-​story ode to the intentional childhood tweaking of Grandma Nunzietta’s actual name in Italian, Nunzia’s seemed to have kept the things that worked well about the Y’s previous incarnation, and implemented other items that modestly upgrade the dining experience here. We sampled the Lobster Ravioli, a Rib Eye and the Warm Goat Cheese salad with a palatable bottle of Pinot Noir.
My understanding is that while it can get pretty crowded around happy hour and brunch time here, if you time it right, dining in concert with the cheerfully mod artwork or al fresco can be a snap. One of the only spots in town that seems to sport a ‘tea time,’ if you’re into that kinda thing. We found the service expeditious and the food harmonious. Worth a stop if you’re near Oak Hill.