Second Bar + Kitchen

Went here while at a conference and appreciated the food. The atmosphere was «downtown» and trendy. Thought the «text when your seat is ready» option was a nice touch because you could go out and look around at the cityscape. Portions were a good size and waitstaff was attentive.

Had pizza all over the world. Their black and blue was incredible. Offered the subtle truffle flavor with the taste of blue cheese. The added combination of flavors makes it a must have. Food and location are awesome. We ate and then went to view the bats. Great location for doing both.

Fantabulous food experience! My Friend and I shared the black & bluetruffle pizza, sub’g the pork belly for grilled chicken. It comes with dates and other ingredients that my friend described as «earthy». I loved it. He just thought it was ok. I think the shock of the dates on a pizza hit him a bit harder than expected. Drinks were interesting — I’m not usually a fan of pre-​mixed cocktails that involve vodka but mine was ok, my friend enjoyed his (can’t Renee right now what it was). So that’s the only reason for the 4 vs 5 stars.

Nice restaurant with view. The burger is not something to die for but the salmon is interesting. Salmon dish has rice and coconut in it. According to them it was inspired by Vietnamese dish. Staff are friendly and attentive. I waited for 15 mins and was able to be seated on a Friday night. No reservation needed
The restroom for women is certainly small for restaurant of that size.

The food was delicious. We had the Congress burger, beet salad, veal meatballs, and the Brussels sprouts.

This place was super cute and offers both indoor and outdoor seating! It’s a great place to go to enjoy good food with a relaxing atmosphere. The name of all the food we ordered escapes me at the moment because I waited too long to write this review… But you won’t regret choosing this lovely kitchen and bar!

Great food!

4.5 stars. Visually 5 for great service. This place is very cute, classy and lively with both indoor and outdoor seating. I came here with a group of people and we sat outside.
From cocktails to appetizers to the main dishes, everything on the menu is excellent. I tried the Floradora (gin, ginger beer, raspberry) and it was an amazing blend of sweet and sour with just a touch of fizziness. The waiter also recommended it when I couldn’t decide so I really appreciated that tip! To start we shared some truffle fries and they were delightful. For my main I got the Chicken Mole pizza. It was HUGE and I could only eat about 80% even though I was starving by that point. It was very savory and had a ton of chicken which I loved.
Would highly recommend as a dinner spot if you’re in the downtown area!

I came here for lunch and sat on their awesome patio!
My waitress was very friendly and attentive.
I had a glass of Riesling which was great and I had the Bacon and Eggs dish. Other than the portion being quite small for the price, it tastes great!

We came at an off time and had the place to ourselves. I loved everything about it! Beautiful restaurant, inventive menu, and good wine. I started with the gazpacho, which was unusual but tasty. I had the chicken salad sandwich and it was the best I’ve ever had. I couldn’t believe how much I enjoyed it! I also liked how entrees were served over generous portions of greens. Healthy and visually appealing.
Would love to come back for dinner.

Solid four stars at Second Bar + Kitchen. This restaurant is located conveniently across the JW Marriott and can get packed during dinner. We were promptly seated when we arrived around 6:30pm on a Thursday night.
Food wise, I would recommend what we tried — the soba noodles with sesame, mushrooms & avocado as well as the pork belly and poached eggs. The faroe island salmon had a delicious pork belly fried rice but the salmon was just slightly over cooked. I had the green river cocktail. It was the first time I had a cocktail with green chartreuse (kinda herbaceous) and it was super delicious! There’s a good variety in the menu that should suit a variety of palates.
Our server was attentive and knowledgeable. Overall, a good experience here.

I would recommend this place based on my first experience here, which was today at lunch. I brought a client here for a quick lunch meeting — he chose the spot based on my vague request for something paleo-​y.
This place is definitely stylish and hip, hipstery even, but not in a bad way. It has a cool, sleek ambiance inside and a broad inviting patio area outside.
The service was casual, but efficient and friendly. They have obviously done a great job of staffing and training their people.
They looked to have a nice variety of cocktails and a solid wine program for the size of the place, though we didn’t have drinks with it being the middle of the workday on a Monday (in retrospect perhaps EXACTLY the time to be having day drinks). In any case, without having had anything beyond the unsweetened iced tea, the bar program seemed on-​point.
The food was interesting and appetizing based on the descriptions on the simple menu… I went with a mixed green salad with a grapefruit vinaigrette, queso fresco, and flank steak — it was very good and was a solid portion (meaning that I left some of it in the bowl — not too big, but not too small either). My customer had a salmon served over pork belly fried rice… looked amazing, but unfortunately I am trying to stay away from the rice and grains and whatnot these days.
On the whole, I would highly suggest this place if you are looking for a solid place to dine in downtown Austin. It is right on 3^rd St between Colorado and Congress, so a very central location. Check it out!

My husband and I dined here a few weeks ago. The space is very cozy and quaint. The server was very attentive and made lots of really good recommendations. I can’t quite remember what we had for dinner but I remember it being delicious. Would definitely recommend visiting while you are in town.

Now that I’ve finally had dinner here, I wasn’t too impressed. Service was great, and the area is perfect, however. So this is definitely a convenient and great spot to get food and drinks, but the food we had wasn’t all too great in the taste department.
Black and bleu pizza: the best of our choices, you can’t really go wrong with pizza
Petite green salad with shrimp: the shrimp was too salty, and the salad was pretty drenched
Brussel sprouts: too oily, greasy, and salty
Though our food choices weren’t that great, everything else about this restaurant makes up for it!

The food was really good. Came here late one Friday night with the girlfriend and had a great dinner. The place was pretty busy so our waitress left us waiting for periods on end but that’s to be expected, I guess.
Anyway, the food we had completely redeemed any deficiencies in service we experienced. We began with the avocado fundido which was fantastic. Loved the sophisticated Doritos vibe of the tortilla chips and the cheesy, beefy guac was perfect. We also had the truffle pomme frites and panzanella as apps which were both ptich perfect.
They ran out of the braised beef ravioli so my girlfriend went with the Soba noodles instead, which she seemed to really enjoy. I had the braised beef short rib with fired onions and grits which my craving for southern red meat squarely in the spot. The perfect date spot for those looking for one.
Go here.

I was really fortunate to find Second Bar + Kitchen on a beautiful afternoon /​evening in Austin! Great spot at the bottom of the Austonian (THE premier address in downtown Austin), which provided some good scenery on top of good food and drink.
I started with a mixed charcuterie and cheese board (the waiter customized it for me) and it was both a good sized serving and delicious! With so many good choices on the menu, I opted to get my servers advice. He quickly pointed out that he thinks they have the best burger in town. So, I ordered the burger with black truffle fries. Not a bad decision! The burger was solid but the fries were to die for!!!
I will be back to give the black and blue pizza a try. A neighboring table ordered it and it looked amazing!

Great people watching and food in downtown Austin.
Right in many ways on many days.
Venison meatballs are very good to share: long toothpicks are fun.
Benedict with pork belly is special, mmmmm.
Tasty cocktails too. Cheers!

No clue why I waited so long to come try this place out, after book marking it over a year ago. After trying to go to Moonshine and finding out there was a 2+ hour wait, we decided to hop back in an über and go to Second Bar. It was a Saturday night and we were told about 45 mins so we stopped by the bar for a drink. We were luckily seated in less then 30 mins.
We started with the fried pickles and shishito peppers. Both were incredible! My gf and I shared a burger with truffle fries. The burger was incredibly juice and a huge portion, easily split with an appetizer or two.
My only negative for the meal was that we ordered the truffle fries and received the regular fries. The waitress was kind enough to bring a new order soon after but other then that, the meal was great, and I will definitely be going back.

I was so excited to have the crispy pork belly! When I ordered poached eggs I order a side of pink belly, when my order came it was shredded pork! I was so upset and all my waiter said was oh yea for brunch it’s shredded… Well my friend ordered a burger that came with the crispy bacon so I tried it and I loved it!!! Moments later my waiter brought a tiny pan with a dude if bacon. Thus totally made my meal I didn’t have to ask he just knew it was the right thing to do. Food was great and service on point.

I was getting brunch with a bunch of friends who were all coming from different directions. In need of a location easy for everyone to get to, Second Bar and Kitchen popped up on Unilocal.This restaurant is part of a hotel, so you instantly get the swanky, trendy feel. We all sat outside and brunched to our tummy’s delight.
Sometimes, when I go out for brunch and yogurt is on the menu as a side or appetizer, the portion is often large enough to be totally filling for my breakfast needs. Seeing this place had grilled pineapple and strawberry salad (which came with yogurt), I thought it would be the same. The waiter warned me the portion is small… like an actual appetizer portion, so I asked if I could make it a double, and double it they did! It was great, fresh, sweet, and doubling the portion was an excellent idea. My friend who ordered the Texas benedict was one happy camper, as was the person who ordered the breakfast plate. Other things heard around the table: black truffle grits are great, coffee is bottomless, and get your latte with 2% milk.
Overall, we had a great time here and the perfect outdoor dining weather certainly helped!

Ambiance:
I love a good downtown restaurant with plenty of seating, good lighting, and an outdoor area. Second Bar + Kitchen checks all three off the list. I was seated inside the last time I went and I can’t say I would choose the same spot again. The interior noise level on a Friday night was crazy loud. I could barely hear the soft-​spoken waiter try to upsell. Next time, I will sit outside.
Cuisine:
Whoa. This food is good. I, like the next true Texan, love deep fried pickles from the local grease spoon, but this place can fry a mean pickle. Their take on the most basic dish is revolutionary. Yes, it’s a pickle revolution. Pickle slices, drizzled in hot sauce, dipped in ranch it all sounds so basic, but its executed flawlessly. I also had their skirt steak dish, which was cook to a perfect medium rare and served over a bed of crispy potatoes. The whole meal was excellent and if you were strategic about your choices, your bill wouldn’t even put a dent in your wallet.
Service:
For a restaurant that does not take reservations, the hostess was charming and easy going. I would imagine her job isn’t the friendliest on Friday nights, but she handled the commotion with grace. Our waiter was also laid back and friendly. They either purposefully hire a certain type of carefree employees or put something in their brownies.

Me: I wish I wasn’t so hungry.
A: Why?
Me: Because I’m devouring this salmon faster than I can savor it. And your little pork shoulder, too.
Pro: 2^nd has pizza! And beer on draught!
Con: 2^nd doesn’t take reservations.
Pro: I had the pleasure to celebrate my sweetheart’s birthday dinner here.
Pro: Love.
Thanks to our server Anthony for sharing our neighbors’ Italian sports jacket rec! You rocked our night.
FIN.

You must order this burger if you are in or near Austin, Texas. On the menu it’s the Oge Uge –house ground brisket + chuck, shallot confit, gruyère, greens, tomatoes, horseradish pickles, avocado, crisp pork belly accompanied with Truffle Frites. This burger, so wonderfully crafted, blew my mind.
The bun was utter perfection and the explosion of flavor in my mouth with each bit is difficult to explain, but I’m going to do my best. The bun soaked up all the juice from the burger, while the crispness of the greens and pickles added a much appreciated crunch. The pork belly added the right about of saltiness to the whole burger, and lets be real, avocado is just always a good idea.

Since this was my second visit to Second, it seems like now would be a good time to review it. My first visit was a couple of years ago and was during happy hour and I remember that I enjoyed the experience. I’m going to focus on my brunch experience, since it is much sharper in my mind.
We arrived Sunday morning, without a reservation and, though the restaurant was bustling, were able to be seated immediately. We opted for a table outside thanks to Austin’s mild December weather and a sunny day of 65 degrees. We were served a carafe and two glasses of water within moments. Our server stopped by shortly thereafter to greet us and answer any questions.
The food:
Cauliflower soup: AMAZINGLY GOOD! Creamy in texture and flavor, dressed with toasted cashews and roasted cauliflower pieces and drizzled with a little oil. Seriously, the best version of this I’ve had.
Crispy French Toast with a seared foie add-​on: the toast part was a little mushy in texture and though it was cooked, the texture made it seem undercooked. It was served with some strawberries and a side of butter and syrup, but was sweet enough to not need additional sugar. The seared foie was really the best part and since I refer to it as meat butter, I didn’t really need to add butter to the dish. It was a lovely sweet and savory combination.
Home fries: not fries. More like skillet potatoes, but amazingly good. Crisp/​soft new potatoes that have been smashed slightly and covered in jalapeños, onions and cilantro or was it parsley? Anyway, they were the tits. Loved them!
Texas Benedict: the perfect blend. Pulled pork, poached eggs, chorizo gravy and jalapeño cheese biscuits. Oh my goodness. This was my daughter’s plate, but we switched plates mid meal, so I was lucky enough to try it. Divine! The only minor, tiny, baby complaint was that the biscuits were a little denser/​drier than I’d like, but that did allow them to hold up to the gravy better.
The service was good. Water glasses were filled before they were empty. Our server checked back on us a couple of times. The manager also came by to glad hand. Great experience over all.

The service and quality of Second Bar + Kitchen has been consistent on both my visits. My most recent visit was last weekend for brunch. It was relatively quiet with only a few seated tables, but I feel that’s the general vibe for the downtown area during this time of day. Unless there is a conference in town. then that’s a whole different vibe.
Friendly staff. Sleek & stylish décor & Food was pretty good.
We had the black truffle pomme frites with foie gras. a little heavy for lunch, but my friend (a foie gras lover) insisted on adding the $ 14 piece. Flavourful, crispy fries — you can’t go wrong with that. Next up, we had the blistered shishito peppers with miso aioli — it was good, but nothing super fancy. To finish off, we had the raw kale + carrots salad with quinoa, grapes and grilled shrimp. This was a light and tasty salad! It was really refreshing and a good complement to the fries. Had this salad on both visits.
Another dish that’s delicious (served during dinner) is the baked brie with toasted baguettes! You must finish all the brie while its still warm and gooey! Once the brie cools down and hardens, the taste just isn’t the same.
Overall a solid establishment! Will definitely come back.