Ross’ Old Austin Cafe

Ross’ Old Austin Café is a great locally owned family restaurant owned by the Sterzing family. They are wonderful folks and they work very hard to help their customers feel right at home with each visit. The food is outstanding and the atmosphere is always friendly and relaxing. Ross’ is an Austin live music venue several nights each week where friends gather and enjoy that great Austin music tradition. Come on out and share in the fun and support a locally owned business!

Decent comfort food, but unremarkable. If you go during the lunch time rush, be prepared to stand in line for 20 minutes. That’s because of a poor layout — though not really a cafeteria, the salad bar is between where you place your order and pay. If the salad bar was standing by itself, the line would move ten times faster.

Nice folks and fun music, didn’t eat much yet but going back soon, the blackberry cobbler was tasty!

Hidden homestyle dining gem in North Austin!
We were looking for somewhere different to try as we were passing through Austin heading back to Dallas so were scoured Unilocal and found Ross’ place which featured several positive reviews so we rolled the dice and headed toward Lamar Blvd.
Ross’ is a bit out of the way on a busy highway in far north Austin just outside a small strip mall. Parking lot was full on our visit and there was a bit of a wait at the counter. You order your food here cafeteria-​style by grabbing a tray and ordering from the readerboard menu above the kitchen-​area. They’ll serve you your soup/​salad at the time you order and then you’ll meet Ross himself when he rings you up at the register.
Food came reasonably fast and we enjoyed the Monday-​night band while we waited. The players were three guys all north of 70 whaling on a banjo, guitar and sumptin else and were highly entertaining. I think we’d go back just to see THEM again! Food was ok and settled nicely in our digesive canals. Nothing fancy or gourmet (we had the chicken-​fried steak which the kitchen staff recommended) but certainly good and tasty. All menu items were reasonably priced.
The real draw here is the ambiance and the fact that the place is family-​owned and operated with owner Ross actively engaging and interacting with the patrons. He’s gotta be in his mid-70’s but he’s a friendly bear of a man with a warm smile and a bone-​crushing handshake. He even posed for pictures with us. His employees have worked for him for 30+ years which says even more about the guy.
Ross’ Old Austin Café is a winner and a MUST-​STOP for all motorists swinging through Austin yearning for an authentic dining experience!

i went out of my way for this place because I heard the chicken fried steak was the bomb. It was a frozen patty and they put my plate in the micowave in front of me. Everything on salad bar looked like it came out of a can. Best thing there was a cold Bud in frosty glass. Don’t waste your time or gas.

It’s been a long while but it’s the perfect place to grab a plate and get your grub on! Love it and aim to come out again in the future. This place when I went was in the evening and they have live folk and country music playing it makes me think of my old Kentucky days as a child. Loved it ;) The only thing I would change is making it more of a sit down family environment inside more booths and better lighting and atmosphere. (Keep in mind this was a while ago about a year and a half now… so my review will not reflect the curtain state.) But this place was a great place to eat a real home cooked country meal. ;)

Ones of the best breakfast spots in town.

Had the chicken fried chicken plate it was quite delicious. The green beans you can tell they were from a can, but they were seasoned to the hilt and quite good!
The only thing sweeter than the tea, were the people working there .very personable. They also have a couple of seasoned crooners on the mike singing old country Classics a couple of nights out the week… loved it… I’ll be back

Real Home Style cooking, the staff is friendly and helpful. Gets crowded for lunch, they have great lunch specials. The food is excellent for the price. Limited seating areas though, there is outside seating if the weather is nice. A lot of food for lunch though! Makes you want to take a nap.

Why have old school cafes fallen out of fashion? It’s sad.
This joint is definitely a throwback to old school cafes of the past. A holdout of traditional Texas café grub. Just good solid, stick to your ribs American food. Chicken fried steak and short order breakfasts. Reminds me of when going out to dinner didn’t require waiting in long lines of hipsters for pretentious fare.
God Bless Tradition.

Love love love this restaurant… One of the places that makes Austin — Austin…
Food like your grandma makes, food like your mom makes– that is if they are from the south and are really good cooks. Chicken, fish, burgers biscuits, eggs, bacon, toast and more, oh my gosh it’s all really really good…

The food was great, loved it! My son and I came for breakfast. I ordered migas and he orders huevos rancheros. Best migas I’ve had in a long time and my son loved his food. We will both go back for lunch, yum mmmmmm.

Great southern comfort food!!! Totally in love with this quiet little spot. We moved from Dallas to Austin 2 months ago and have been trying new places almost daily. We are always on the look out for a special place that surprises us. This wins this week hands down!
The service is not just friendly, but you somehow feel instantly at home and caught up in conversation as if you were talking with family/​friends and catching up.
The chicken fried chicken and fried okra was too good… I had to force myself to stop eating. Portions more than generous. Just simple good home cooking.
This is a spot we will return to over and over and our diet will forever «start tomorrow».

Great service! Great food! Great atmosphere! Had fried catfish with fried okra and mashed potatoes with brown gravy and toast. I wiped my plate clean and then got the peach cobbler with a scoop of ice cream for dessert :)
Will be returning! Frequently!

The food is always cooked to order. The service is always great. They have live music most of the time during supper.
I have tried several different entrees and been there for breakfast.
As is with most restaurants that serve sausage gravy and biscuits, they use a powdered gravy mix, which is NOT home cookin’! That is pretty much my only real complaint. I go there with my ex a lot. We have very different tastes. They are always very hospitable, reminds me of my hometown in Northeast Texas.
I will go back and I will continue introducing this little slice of heaven!

The chicken fried steak and chicken were both very good, the breading stayed on the piece of meat while you cut it, but, they weren’t the best we’d ever had… we were not expecting that after reading all the rave reviews… they were still a solid four stars. The sides were all outstanding… the star of it all was the cowboy beans… yum! The green beans were good and not cooked to mush like a lot of places do, the fried onion rings and okra were both very tasty. The iced tea was good, the salad bar looked exceptional but we didn’t think we’d have room for it, next time we’ll get some of that… and there will definitely be a next time!

Been here twice for breakfast The food is amazing my daughter got to make a puppet which was very cool, we loved The food and service will be back for lunch :)

This place is solid for sure… Service was outstanding, just like the Reviews say… We have, Like many other people, been driving by for years. We both went with the Chicken Fried steak… Onion Rings and Taters for me… Mac-​n-​Cheese and Taters for the wife… Everything was hot and fresh… Price was very fair… Onion rings were good, best thing. they were «Real»…whole onion slices. Gravy was spot on, as far as gravy goes… Taters and Mac and cheese were both good… We will be back to try some more items on the Menus. Especially breakfast!

Ross is a fourth generation Austinite, who has feet planted in the food industry. From the early 1900’s Ross’ mother was affiliated with the Maerki Bakery on Congress, which was next door to the original state capitol building. This is now a registered landmark. In the 1930’s Maerki Bakery moved to sixth street. It later became Butterkrust, and, then moved on to become Katz’s.
After Ross Sterzing and Sandy married in the 60’s, they, along with some in laws. opened the first cafeterias in Austin. Known as Milam Cafeterias and were located in the first strip centers in Delwood, Allendale, and, Twin Oaks. They are also known to have owned Big Tex Sirloin, G&M Catering, and, Mucho Bueno Mexican Restaurant, among others.
Since 1993 Ross has owned the Old Austin Café on N. Lamar, and, it is a hidden divey jewel. Service is down home friendly slow, medium, wanna be fast. It’s never a disappointment dining here. Whether you come here for breakfast, lunch, or, supper, You are gonna leave satisfied. And, you will feel like you are part of the crew/​family. For instance, today I ran out of coffee, my waitress was in the kitchen, so I got up to get my own. She busted me, but, insisted I serve everyone else! Which I did! That was cool. We had a good laugh.
You can pretty much get it all American with a little Tex-​Mex for the mix. It’s all spot on dive bar grill top food with fresh salads, beer, and, live music. Ross’ is a true gem. I would normally give a place like this no more than three stars (cause it truly is a dive), but, because they offer actual fried potatoes (instead of frozen hash browns), they’re clean, and, the place itself has a special warm personality, they deserve a hot five stars. Good job Ross!!!

I’ve been passing Ross’ forEVER, and finally last week decided to pop in and try some lunch.
This is one of those kinds of places that you swear they probably used to smoke in back when you could. Not because it stinks, it totally does NOT, and not because its dirty or dank, because it totally is NOT, but because it just LOOKS like that kind of friendly, everyone knows everyone, everyone is a regular and every that works there has been there forever kind of place. Very down home, and absolutely TEXAS Southern Hospitality! (damn I love my state)
I was kinda bummed to see how high their prices are, BUT, in their defense, you’re getting a dinner sized (Texas sized) portion, so if it was dinner, you’d expect to pay $ 8 – 12 for a plate. I wasn’t looking to spend $ 17 on myself and my 3 year olds lunch, but it was all good.
They woman at the counter was super friendly, helped me easily understand their ordering, salad bar and what not. but the guy @ the register. He was fucking hilarious. He just didn’t give 2 fucks about who I was, or what I was. He just let whatever he felt, come out of his mouth. I think I heard «fuckin, hell, and shit, more than once». It tickled me something fierce! Go head then! LOL To his defense, he said it quiet enough that no one could hear, but it was still funny that he had NO filter & didn’t care. He was very genuine, though. I appreciated his vibe.
Lunch. I ordered the Chicken Fried Chicken, mashed tates, and broccoli. IDK what they put on their broccoli, spice wise, but it was damn good! Perfectly steamed, and flavored. Chicken breast was pounded to a perfect thickness (or thin-​ness), gravy was great and the tates were DELISH.
My son had the corndog and fruit, and there was nothing left! LOL Needless to say he loved his lunch too.
I was told that they don’t really have a big dinner demand, so Austin GO HAVE DINNER AT ROSS’!! It was worth the money for some good home cookin!