Trudy’s

Flaquitas that melt in your mouth, stuffed avocado was wonderful, margaritas were tangy. The food here gets a «five» from me.
Location isn’t that cool, and the service makes me feel a little ignored after we’ve ordered. But to their credit, they did go out of their way to sincerely help our vegetarian friend find something not fried, without cheese, and without eggs in a Mexican restaurant. Big tip.
Chips with salsa, ice cold water offered without hesitation. I wish they had a salsa offering which was less spicy, but overall, would come back again for the food alone.

This location of Trudy;s is CLOSED. It is now a Texican Café.

Strong drinks, a lively crowd and a dish called a stuffed avocado? I’m in! I have tried many of the dishes here, and I can’t say that I have ever been disappointed. My favorite by far is the avocado, and every trip to Austin has Trudy’s on the to-​do list.

Went here around Halloween last year. It was my first time in Austin and my first time trying the mexican martini. I was in love and drunk in no time. We actually pre-​gamed at a little mexican restaraunt next to it but definitely regretted that later… hahah.
I will certainly be searching for other locations when we visit next Halloween.

Trudy’s is my favorite chain restaurant. Everything I’ve tried on the menu (and I’ve tried most things on the menu) was GREAT! I’m a huge fan of the stuffed avocado. Food and service are consistently good. There is usually a hefty wait around dinnertime and on weekends, but well worth it. When the lines are long they will even take drink orders outside!

Like most of the other folks, I think Trudy’s is definitely a spot that you end up reminiscing about when you move away from Austin. Of all three locations, I like this location because it’s a little more tucked away from the crazy college folk (which means less painful of a wait) and the ambience is very comfy.
Be sure to order the mexican martini. Do it. If you are new to Austin, new to Trudy’s, you won’t regret it. There is a reason why people talk about it for ages (and when they move away). I personally love getting the hondo burrito with chicken and suiza sauce. The Texas Star nachos with cheese, guacamole, and sour cream are also a wonderful start.
If mexican martinis aren’t your thing because, well… you want to wake up sober the next morning, they have very good strawberry frozen margaritas as well.
I miss you Trudy’s. Please move out to the bay area!

I miss this Trudy’s. Conveniently located down the street from my house. A bar I could actually smoke inside. Sexy, sexy mexican martinis, of which they would not serve me more than two. Chicken stuffed avocado covered in Suiza sauce.
Now I’m consigned to going to the new location off Stassney on Little Texas Lane, and it’s just not the same. It’s too new, too wide, and the ceilings are too tall. I don’t like it because it feels like a Logan’s roadhouse.
To be fair, the food at the new location is just as scrumdiddlyumptious as it was at the old location, and the mexican martinis are still very sexy, but the whole thing is just put off by the atmosphere.
I miss you, old too-​small-​and-​too-​loud Trudy’s on Ben White!

Hot damn, I love Trudy’s! The Texas Star Lemonade (vodka, lemonade and fresh mint) is a delicious drink which I always end up pounding indelicately just because it tastes so good. I’ve had the green chile chicken tacos and the chicken chipotle the times that I’ve come here and both were excellent. The black beans are really spicy and totally kick the sad ass of the beans at Guero’s; it’s like a fight between Chuck Norris and Wilford Brimley without his Liberty ‘beetis meds. There’s just no comparison. The service is always very quick, efficient and friendly even though it’s perpetually packed to the gills.

It’s hard for me to write a fair review of this place, since I love their migas and have never ordered anything else. I know that migas are a hot issue, but these are really the best I’ve had.
Their salsas are fantastic, too, and the Mexican Martinis? Yum.
This is, essentially, my neighborhood bar. It gets crowded, so don’t go when you’re already starving.

Trudy’s is supposed to be another one of those places that every tourist or visitor should make a pilgrimage too and I happen to agree with that. Just don’t come here thinking you are coming for great Tex/​Mex and for the «flavor» or Austin. Trudy’s is a place to get your grub on, drink some kick ass drinks and probably leave a little less sober than you arrived.
LOCATION AND DECOR:
This Trudy’s is located where I would call «on the way to the mall or on the way downtown», it’s easy to get to, easy to find parking and it’s easy make a get away when your done. The décor reminds of an old Denny’s or like a crappy Alabama diner that was «remodeled» by Corky from «Life Goes On». In other words it’s not exactly bursting with style or it’s own «flavor». I do like the big glass fish tank in the center of the place that is the bar, it kind of reminds me of some kind of Michael Jackson hyperbaric room or a bar in an airlock. It’s kind of Jetsons cool. This location also has a little more of the «normal» people crowd, less frat boys and college kids than the West Campus location.
THE SERVICE:
I have always LOVED the service here, they have always been really great people, very nice, very professional and very quick to help out or fix any issues I may have. The bartenders are very nice and will even put up with my out of state ID every time. SO kudos for that!
THE FOOD:
Well it isn’t the best Tex/​Mex and actually I think the typical American fatty options are FAR better than the Tex/​Mex options. Try the Chicken Fried Steak or Chicken Fried Chicken they are both great and they are served with this amazingly fattening and tasty gravy, Texas toast (ALWAYS ask for this!) and some of the BEST cheesy mashed potatoes I have ever had. Seriously I could just eat a huge bowl of the potatoes, they are delicious and addicting.
THE DRINKS:
The drinks here are awesome, they are served quickly, poured nice and strong and they are SO tasty. I love any place that hands me a pint glass of liquor and let’s me pour my own drinks. The limit of two per day sucks because I have to admit this would be a fun place to put back like six of those monsters and just get crazy. I personally like the Cuban Martini, but the big seller here is the Mexican Martini, which like a lot of people I never even heard of until I moved to Austin and went to Trudy’s. This is a GREAT place to grab a drink before you go out on the town. AND you can smoke in the bar.
Overall, the service is great, this location has a little better clientele than the University location, the food is average but the drinks are spectacular. It is a GREAT place to take out of town guests, let them try a Mexican Martini and see if you can get them to dance on the bar. It makes for good blackmail.

I love Trudy’s (really I do, go see my glowing review of the Burnet location), but this is my LEAST favorite location of all… even if it is just another location of a favorite local place, it feels like a corporate chain restaurant. Without enough corporate intervention, because the quality of service and food is widely varied — but generally speaking, the variance is on the wrong direction — compared to the other locations, this one severely sucks.
The only reason this location got two stars instead of one is because I just love Trudy’s as a whole far too much. Go to the Burnet location, hell, even venture to the campus location… but stay away from this one.

Best nachos, best burgers & wedge fries, and best chips and salsa! Service is always great. I’m moving from Texas soon and I have to say Trudy’s will be on the top of my list of things I will miss! Thank you Trudy’s for bringing joy to my life.

Trudy’s is my favorite restaurant. Period. If you haven’t had the stuffed avocado you are really missing out. The wait is always long for a table if it’s anywhere near normal dining hours, but the staff is always really cool and the food is worth the wait. I only wish their bar wasn’t an aquarium of cigarette smoke so that I could have a drink before dinner.

A must when in Austin. Been here twice, actually made it a point to stop for lunch while passing through Austin. The food is great, very flavorful! You can’t miss the House Mexican Martini either, but you can only order 2 of these before they cut you off (I love that they give you a shaker full each time to keep refilling you’re martini glass).
We did find a big, hard plastic piece of something in our food, and our waitress this last time didn’t have the greatest attitude when we told her that we mistakenly ordered the House Margarita, when we really wanted the House Mexican Martini.
But the food is great!

I know Trudy’s is supposed to be another Austin institution. I don’t hate it, but it’s not a place a I would take someone visiting from out of town. This location in particular isn’t any different that any other chain restaurant in the same shopping center.
That being said, what I like about Trudy’s is that I can get one vegetarian taco on a wheat tortilla (yay!) and rice & beans for about $ 5. It was perfect when I lived within a block from there. What I like about this particular location, is that I can usually get in and out pretty quickly, as long as I don’t go at the height of dinner rush. This is really great when we have a big group with kids and waiting around isn’t an option.

This branch of Trudy’s does not have the more relaxed feel of the campus location (being in a strip mall), but the interior is a lot more interesting in its rambling space of different levels.
Staff is on fire here, and have never had to wait for more than two nanoseconds to get food on the table. Kind of amazing, really.
Fills up on weekends with amateurish crowds, so would avoid.

This is the more «upscale» Trudy’s, if that can be applied to Trudy’s. The building is newer, the staff a little younger and less «Austin-​y» and the whole feel is less like the other Trudy’s.
However, the kitchen and bar are still consistently good and the money is well spent at this «newer» version of an old favorite. Recommended if you’re down south needing a killer Mexican martini and some good nachos.

I had no idea what a «mexican martini» was before i moved to austin – actually before i went to trudys. and MAN i was totally missing out. if you live here and still haven’t had one, i say shame on you! the mexican martinis come in a GIANT shaker, and you totally feel it after the first one. and yes – you can only get 2, but trust me you don’t want no more. — and you will be talking like that after those 2.
so the food is really good, exceptional even, if you order the right thing. get the queso «especial» which has mouth-​watering guacamole in it and totally worth the extra couple bucks.
for food, i recommend the fajitas even the quesadillas. i would skip the tacos, although not bad, not the greatest either. if you really want to go WOW though, the chile relleno is the way to go. it’s a poblano pepper stuffed with cheese green onions and your choice of meat. all fried up in deliciousness. get the cheesy mashed potatoes to go with it as well. this is a meal you will remember FOREVER. (even if you opt for both mexican martinis)
tip: go on top shelf tuesday! get top shelf tequila for the house price :)
wow, i go here way too much.
but agreed with others, stay away from the smokey bar room. Man, even if you smoke it’s like cancer city in there, it would totally ruin the experience if you are trying to eat.

The food is nothing special, and it’s so loud, I can’t hear myself think. But I will give it three stars alone for its Mexican Martini — second only to Curra’s.
If you don’t like to wait, then I suggest staying away during the busy hours. They do have a bar room where smoking is allowed (yes, indeed!), but it’s enclosed in glass so it’s very likely you will suffocate if you aren’t a smoker yourself. Either that, or you will feel like you’re in a fishbowl.

This is the third best of the three Trudy’s, which is like saying that the Holy Ghost is the third holiest of the three dudes in the Trinity. It gets 4 stars only in comparison to the other two locations, both of which have somewhat nicer setups — this one is in a fairly depressing anchor-​store parking lot.
Things to get at Trudy’s — enchilada’s with caliente sauce, stuffed avocado, fajita’s, hondo burrito with spiced smoked chicken, queso especial, homemade flour tortilla’s, both salsa’s, their chips (so dainty and crisp and salty…)… And two Mexican Martini’s.
For the record — there is a competition in Austin regarding the Mexican Martini’s. First know that one «mexican martini» is served in a shaker, so once you finish the one they pour in your glass you basically have a full second drink. And a STRONG drink at that. Now if you want you can order a second one. I hope you have a designated driver now. But no matter what — they won’t give you a third. And if you want to order two, you can’t order ANY other alcohol. 1 beer + 2 martini’s isn’t allowed.
To get around this, some folks drive (or get driven to, hopefully) to all three Trudy’s and try to get two at each in a single afternoon/​evening.
I really don’t know how this is possible and I don’t know anyone who’s ever done it. Actually I wouldn’t be surprised if it is an urban legend because I imagine that the second Trudy’s would notice you are blasted and wouldn’t serve you, and the thrid Trudy’s would notice that you have died and wouldn’t serve you either.