The Story of Texas Cafe

Much better than expected. Reasonable prices. Saved a bunch of time to spend in the museum. Pleased.

Considering this café is part of the museum the food quality was actually decent. My daughter got a burger and another got a sandwich and they both liked what they got. I don’t know if the sandwiches are made there because they are pre packaged, but they look fresh regardless. The burger and fries were pretty tasty. Prices of course are a little high since it is part of the museum, but they aren’t outrageous.

The food here isn’t exactly bad. It just falls well below expectations. It’s the Texas state history museum! Represent ya’ll! Ok so it’s a museum café, I get it. With that said, they don’t offer nachos, hotdogs and frito pies, they offer real food options like quesadillas, BBQ sandwiches and fried catfish. So you’d think it would be better. But it falls flat. Think of all the tourists who crave real Tex-​mex! The portions are a fine, except the catfish which is over priced (like most items there) and teeny tiny. They don’t allow substitutions with their sandwich options so if you’re good with kettle chips, you’ll be alright. Bottom line… very very average and over priced. The BBQ sandwich and quesadillas are the best items to get. Just stay away from the grilled chicken and veggie burger. The Blanton art museum (across the street) has much tastier options if you’re vegetation but it too is a bit pricey.

This place was awful. Not only had they run out of almost everything by 1pm, but the food was bland. Such a waste of a meal.

A great place to eat. The selection is vast and has just about anything you could want. Food is fresh and yummy. I ordered a salad and they leave the dressings out so you can choose which ever you want. They even have little containers and lids for the dressing.

I am impressed with this thing that basically doesn’t even look like it exists.
Food: The food is normal deli type food but they have it going on when you get the food. My wife got the BBQ baked potato and she loved it! I got the club sandwich and it was grilled really well and it was super tasty! Although, the spinach tasted weird, I had to take that off.
Ambience: So, you can eat inside or you can go on the balcony and actually be able to see the capital from there and UT. It is kind of a unique space.
Service/​Staff: They were awesome. They were so nice. I went on halloween and they had this witches brew that people could drink. I mean, no need for that, but they happen to actually just do a good job with service and make things fun for the people that go there. There was even a raffle for something, I didn’t join it, but they were really trying to have fun with everyone.
Mexican Coke: 1 out of 5. They had coke, and their drink station was ok, but left lacking…

Free wifi! That was about the only thing that was really good about this place. Otherwise the cafeteria-​style food was a bit average. I ordered a fried fish with tartar sauce. Usually, I don’t order fried fish outside of a restaurant that really specializes in seafood, especially in a landlocked desert town like Austin, but I took a gamble with this one. It tasted a whole lot better than I’d anticipated, and I enjoyed my meal.
The venue itself is pretty quiet on a weekday afternoon, which is perfect if you have time to stroll through during work hours in the Austin business district. The atmosphere reminds me a bit of a staff lounge, with patrons in business suits to match. If I actually worked in the area I’m sure I’d stop by every once in a while, too. The food variety is decent and they have daily specials. The menu is just too generic and not particularly Texan in any way like you might expect from a restaurant located inside a Texas history museum, so maybe that’s why I wasn’t too enthused. Prices are okay, too. After several hours exhausting myself by walking and reading through the museum though, it works.
At least they had Teas of Texas iced teas, which became a favorite of mine while I was living in Texas. If you don’t know what that is, see here:

I ventured over to The Story of Texas Café when my friend was craving a grilled cheese last Friday. I agreed to go along, as the menu included soups, sandwiches, burgers, etc. I decided to get the cheeseburger which comes with potato chips. The burger plus the cheese plus a 12oz drink cost me over $ 9 and it was a pretty average burger. For $ 9 I’d like to have some fries or onion rings or something, or some mushrooms or avocado on the burger. My friend enjoyed her grilled cheese, but said that the vegan tomato and rice soup she ordered with it was incredibly salty.
Overall, I think this café is fine. You pay extra because it’s in a museum, but they do have a variety of food choices and some grab-​and-​go items, as well. I doubt I would make the effort to go here again, but I can see why people enjoy it and why it’s a nice place to rest while touring the museum. Just watch out for the throngs of children.

This past Monday for lunch, I had the «gourmet» grilled cheese sandwich on ciabatta with «homemade» ranch potato chips. The mozzarella and smoked gouda cheeses were not melted (hence the sandwich was not hot), the spinach was oily, the tomato was watery soaking the ciabatta into mush. The ranch potato chips were flavorless, stale, and yet greasy. The baked potato soup was tasty though with bits of bacon and green onion in a light and cheesy broth. Fortunately, I don’t live in the area and will never eat here again.

The best place to have lunch in «upper» downtown. Excellent daily special with a drink for only $ 7.04. Some of the daily special meals such as roasted pork loan with apple glaze, scalloped potatoes, sauteed vegetables, roll with real butter — rival many restaurants.
Some of my favorite specials are: the roast pork loan, Cuban pork sandwich, chicken fried steak.
Special is ready for pickup by the time you finish filling up your drink after ordering — they are very fast on the specials, which is great.
Excellent soups as well. Various sandwiches and salads available.
This is my first review after reading Unilocal for a few years — it takes a lot to inspire me to take the effort to write about something.
I think of it as my office’s cafeteria that’s better than any office cafeteria you’ve ever been to. Nice atmosphere, too.

This is hands-​down my favorite place to escape to during the workday.
Service is fast and everything I’ve tried on the menu is excellent, from the stuffed baked potatoes to the hot sandwiches. They even use the «good» kind of bread.
Where did the jalapeño tuna go? My fav sandwich is no longer on the menu!
Love the ambiance, so relaxing.

I have worked right next to this building for awhile and knew there was a café on the second floor but keep neglecting to try it out. Finally made it over and was very pleased. Big open seating area with huge windows and the nice Texas decoration that follows with the whole museum motif. Very clean. They had a simple menu, plus some items in a small refrigerator. The sandwiches in the refrigerator looked big and fresh, and the prices were great. My burger came out quickly and was cooked great. Nothing special about it, but nothing wrong with it either. Very quick also and I could watch them make it, I appreciate that. It cost me under $ 5 and came with chips. I was pleased and will be back. Great choice for a café in the capitol district area.

There aren’t too many museums that have a grill making sandwiches and soups to order. This restaurant was clean, spacious and had a nice offering of entrees and sides, including cookies and chips. Outdoor seating – wonderful! Free Wi-​Fi, refillable sodas, decent prices and one of the best chicken fried steak sandwiches I’ve had in a long time.

I ordered the cream of potato soup with poblano peppers (the waitstaff called it ‘cream of tomato’ but since it wasn’t red, I’m pretty sure it was cream of potato) with a baked potato. Both were tasty, if not all that big, and served quickly.
Clean establishment.
Free wi-​fi!
And nice view from outdoor seating area, over campus, state gov’n buildings, and humongo Lone Star in front of the museum.
I work 2 blocks from here so may come here more often for a change of pace during lunch break.

Located inside the Texas State History Museum, this café is a great place to grab lunch on a weekday. When I went at noon, it wasn’t even crowded. The Austin Cheese Steak Sandwich ($ 5.75) had sirloin and melted cheddar, but instead of the typical onion/​green pepper blend it had grilled poblano peppers on top. I guess that’s what made it an Austin cheesesteak instead of a Philly one.
Lara described the place well: it feels new and clean, and there is plenty of room. There are lots of windows so you get a lot of natural light and a view of the capitol. I’ll defnitely go back.

This small café is located at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum. I ventured here one day, because I was tired of state building cafeteria food. Don’t get me started…
Anyways, I heard about this place, and I finally decided to go. You enter through the front of the museum and walk up the stairs, since the café is on the 2^nd floor. You do not have to buy admission to the museum in order to eat there.
As I walked thru, it’s like a cafeteria. The café serves salads, sandwiches (hot and cold), specials, and soups. Prices are pretty reasonable. $ 4 – 6 for any entrée. I had the daily special — baked vegetable rotini pasta with a side salad, bread and a drink. It was only $ 6.50. Great portions!!. The pasta was great with the perfect amount of sauce. The drink was small, but you could upgrade to a larger cup. My friend had the Texas Caprice sandwich which consisted of tomatoes, bacon, gouda, spinach, basil aioli on cibatta bread. It looked great and it was a HOT sandwich.
They have spacious seating inside. You can also sit outside and eat your meal overlooking the capitol complex. The area is very clean and has a «new» feel. You order and pay up front, then pick up your order. They also have a frequent diner card (that I will be using frequently). They post their daily specials monthly online, so you can check what they are serving that day. The café staff are really nice and very helpful.
Overall, this place was great. It was somewhat full because of special tours. It’s a nice alternative to other cafes in the area.