Thistle Cafe

I’ll keep this brief. I assumed this was a Scottish themed spot so I didn’t expect much from their breakfast tacos. I was wrong. If you are downtown and need an affordable hot breakfast, you should stop here. It’s clean, the owners are friendly and that chorizo & egg taco was the best I have had in Austin!

First, I love to patronize businesses where I can associate a person to their service delivery. Herman, the manager is an amazing person and carries a huge ball of sunshine around with him. It’s always a good day if you stop by while he’s there.
That said, their breakfast tacos. Amazing! Go and do it.

Long wait times, poor service, Very meh food for the price. My soup was cold by the time it finally came out, and very thin and tasteless for a tomato bisque. Pretty much a convenience spot if you work right there, and the people who run it know it.

Huge fan of this place! I love their breakfast tacos in the morning (or whenever!) and the service is always terrific. Herman is a delight in the morning and all who work there always go out of their way to give you a good experience. I love any of their breakfast tacos and I recommend adding grilled jalapenos to whatever you order!
A++

Excellent option for lunch in downtown Austin! Superb sandwich and salad menu. Try the veggie burger and and ruben! Also, they have very friendly and efficient staff. I totally recommend this place!

I find myself going in there for breakfast 3 – 4 times a week because of their omelettes. My favorite is cheese and lots of vegetables is fantastic, one of the best I’ve ever had … the chef knows what he’s doing. Paleo doesn’t get any better. This is my favorite breakfast spot downtown.

Looking for mediocre, overpriced food? Look no further! Thistle is here to provide you with a meal that’s sure to disappoint!
Not only will your order take over 45 minutes, it’ll arrive cold. As an added surprise, you’ll get something completely different from what you ordered.
So step on in, and start off your afternoon disappointed!
Zero Stars

I grab breakfast tacos from this place a couple times every week. The lavaca taco with egg is bomb!

This is a great place to get a great lunch and is very fast and convenient for people who work downtown. Great food, fast service and very friendly staff.

I work in the Chase building, so Thistle is an easy elevator ride away. The convenience combined with the friendly service and tasty food make this a winner in my book. I try to avoid anything on the menu that contains lunch meat because I’m not a fan of processed lunch meats. Everything else is pretty great! My favorites are their breakfast burritos (a steal of a deal at about $ 5 and it feeds me for both breakfast and lunch!), veggie wraps, grilled cheese, and daily lunch specials. I’m a salad girl, but the prices on their salads add up quickly. I added grilled chicken to my salad one day and somehow ended up paying $ 16 for the meal. As other reviewers have mentioned, some things on the menu are overpriced, but you can definitely find budget-​friendly, tasty items pretty easily.

This is my new favorite lunch spot downtown! Really fresh recipes and a super easy in-​and-​out process. Everyone who has helped me while I have visited has been so amazingly nice and kind!
I think this is the only location downtown that doesn’t have that downtown rush to it. You can go in at 12:15 on a wednesday and take your sweet time without the rest of the store scowling at you. Very relaxing to the downtown eater!
I recommend their wraps and their veggie quesadilla!

Thistle is absolutely delicious! Thistle is one of those few places downtown in which you can find a quality yet reasonable breakfast taco! The owner is super nice and has always been welcoming the few times I have visited. Try the Barnyard taco, you won’t regret it! Oh and this place gets busy, especially during peak morning and lunch hours, I would recommend calling in your order!

Thistle is a-​freakin-​amazing. I seriously have not had one bad meal here, and for as often as I go, that’s pretty good!!! It is no secret I am obsessed with their green salsa, and I recommend putting it on every single thing. You could even drizzle it on your stapler, and it’d make it pretty delicious. Herman, who is the owner, is also extremely nice and is always in a great mood… which definitely helps those of us who are grumpy Monday mornings… or every morning for that matter!

The steak wrap was very tasty. Excellent flavor. Tomato basil soup served good and hot. The California wrap was also good. Plenty of filling in the wrap. The restaurant is in the basement of the Chase building on 6^th, but it opens to an inner courtyard with natural light. Outside patio also available.

Great service and really nice owner/​manager who made my first visit very welcoming and positive. Food is good quality and the daily lunch specifials are great and tasty. I’ve had their breakfast tacos too and they were pretty satisfying. Great place to fall back on when I don’t pack a lunch. The service I give a 5 and the food a 4 or 4 ½.

Love this place! I’ve been here every morning for the past week. They make breakfast bowls to order and their food is so fresh and good. Lunch is legit too! I’m officially a regular!

Honestly there’s nothing I don’t like about this place. The food is great, it tastes like someone spent time on it, like I’m in someone’s kitchen getting homemade lunch. The specials are a fantastic price that include a sandwich and side. And they do most anything gluten free! Plus of course Herman’s über friendly customer service just tops it off. Hands down favorite lunch spot in town.

Came here for lunch and had a bowl of the tortilla soup. It was ok, it tasted fresh but not a traditional tortilla soup. I did not have any chicken in mine so I might of miss read that it came with chicken. I probably assumed. But it was good. We also got the turkey wrap and that was a wrap. Nothing special but the prices were good. I would go back. Quick and easy.

I had their breakfast taco and coffee during break time once. It was nothing out of the ordinare. Its just another overpriced, cafeteria type service. I gave the 2 stars for the ambiance it portrayed. Décor is decent. My taco is as basic as it can get with little flavor other than the hot suace which was questionable.
Its good for quick fix but other than that, don’t need to go out of your way for this place. I mean, you can’t go wrong with bottled water and Gatorades.

I struggle with how to rate this place. #1 It’s convenient. I work in the Chase building. #2 They have awesome blueberry muffins, and the cranberry jalapeño dressing is one of the best I’ve ever had on a salad. #3 The quality of the chicken on a salad is good.
But it’s extremely overpriced. The deals are barely deals, and $ 10 for a wrap and some chips is just outrageous. I feel like they’re overpricing in order to make up for the high rent. I’d love to be able to come down here, get a cup of coffee and eat a muffin on a regular basis, but I’d be spending $ 7 for the honor. I can’t justify that on a regular basis.
The atmosphere is also extremely lacking. It’s a basement suite in a large office building, so I’ll forgive it quite a bit, but it just feels like a little cafeteria. There’s no charm, the music is too loud and it feels cramped. It’s also about 60 degrees in there, which literally makes you shiver.
The staff is extremely good and generous, however. They’re one of the best reasons to come down here to eat. They’ll give you a little extra dressing, some extra cheese, etc… for no charge, and they’re overall just very kind.
In the end, I come here because it’s convenient. If you don’t work in the Chase building, I don’t know why you’d come.