Cafe Blue

Absolutely awesome tuna steak! They have an awesome bartender Leat. He’s very friendly and always makes an excellent cocktail to accompany a snack or dinner. I just moved to Lakeway & will most definitely visit this seafood restaurant again. The bread is great too, good ambiance.

Café Blue used to be our favorite but no more. Last night my drink was watered down, the food arrived very late and almost cold and was way over cooked. Apparently they’re having problems so we won’t be back any time soon.

Very expensive for what it is. Being from the west coast where seafood was fresh and abundant it’s hard to find good seafood in Texas! If you want good seafood I would go to Papa’s!

Went here for dinner on a weeknight, and I guess there was nothing that left me wanting more. There is parking up and down the street and I feel that the Galleria rarely gets crowded so there is parking near by. The restaurant has a very blue décor, I suppose that is given with the name. We made a reservation, but it seemed unnecessary. The restaurant is very clean and has great décor, the fish tank is really nice and there are cool paintings on the wall. The décor and detail has a nice touch, the utensils have fishes on it, there is a dolphin fountain in the back area. The décor is carried into the bathroom as well. But the food fell short to me, the rolls were good. We got the quesadilla appetizer and it was okay, but a little mushy. I got the chicken dish, and part of it was pink, but the server told me because it was rotisserie, it will be pink but it was good to eat. I did not, because I did not want to get sick so I just at the edges. The dessert tasted like it was straight rum. I wouldn’t make the effort to come back out here, nor would I recommend this to anyone.

Steaks were amazing. Cooked to perfection. The Key Lime pie was incredible. We will definitely be back!

Crab cakes significantly more bread than crab, more like crab flavored breading. Shrimp cocktail shrimp were over cooked. Possible from frozen can’t tell
Did not prefer the food

Don’t order the King Crab entrée. Had our first bad experience in this restaurant tonight. Ordered the $ 50 king Crab entrée which was to be 1lb of crab (I asked before I ordered), and I was served a plate of juvenile king crab legs. They were tiny. By weight I had at least ²⁄₃ shell for $ 50.
When you run a seafood restaurant, and this place typically does a very good job, then you should know, for $ 50, customers expect big leg sections which are mostly crab not shell.
You need to get mature King crab leg sections for the entrée or take it off your menu. What your serving is not worth the price.

Their food was good in a very present setting. We happened to be in the area and stopped in to give it a try. We were pleased with the dishes, the staff was really nice and it is kind of an upscale dining while casual. We did not try any of the wines as I was driving. However the ice tea was extremely good. A very pleasant experience. Next time we may try ordering several appetizers for use as a meal. I do prefer my food spicier, but when requested, the waitstaff was back in a flash with Tabasco!

I have been to this restaurant 4 times. I wanted to give it 2.5 stars for the 50% satisfaction rate I have, but alas, Unilocal won’t let me so it is getting 2 based on my most recent experience only.
The first time I went was in July 2013 for dinner. I got the crawfish po boy and it wasn’t good at all. The bread wasn’t fresh and it was greasy. The crawfish were either undercooked or refried… ONE STAR
The second time was July 2015… it took me 2 years to forgive them for the bad $ 12 po boy. This time I had the shrimp Cobb salad with no bacon at lunchtime and it was AWESOME! The complimentary bread rolls were really good too. FIVE STARS
The third time was this week on Tuesday for lunch. I had the salad again and it was AWESOME! Fresh, tasty and big. Again, good rolls. FIVE STARS
We went tonight for dinner. I was all about that salad! I couldn’t wait… Unfortunately we were disappointed by the food quality. My husband got the crab cake Caesar salad. The lettuce was old, limp and soggy. The croutons tasted like they had been put in the lettuce hours before. You know the taste of croutons that have been refrigerated on a salad… like soggy hospital croutons? That’s what they were like. Maybe the Caesar salad was mixed at lunchtime or too soon before dinner service? We ate around 6:00pm. The crab cake on top was small, but tasted good. In summary, that salad was unsatisfying (he’s eating a sandwich here at home as I type this) and it cost us $ 15! We told the waiter, but he denied the salad was pre-​mixed and didn’t offer a remedy… he just took it away.
I had my shrimp cobb salad. My lettuce wasn’t fresh either, but it wasn’t premixed with dressing, so it wasn’t soggy at least. It was just a little brown like it was chopped the night before. Whatever. I just didn’t look at it while I ate it. $ 13 for that one. The shrimp on top were good.
My young daughter had some fruit. It was fresh and she enjoyed it. $ 3 for a decent fruit cup for a kid who refused to eat anything else is a good deal.
TWO STARS for tonight… bleh.
Anyway, I will go back to Café Blue for lunch, but probably not dinner as I like fresh salad… and when the shrimp cobb salad is made correctly, it is to die for.

As usual, we will try places with more good reviews than bad, and Café Blue met the requirement. The food was good, the service was great, and we would definitely come back here again.
The calamari app was nicely done and the dipping sauce a pleasant surprise.
The redfish was very good as was the drum feature of the day. A pleasant surprise, too, was the dirty rice. Very well done.
Give this place a try. Wednesday is ½ price wine day, so a definite advantage.

I never heard many good reviews but gave it a try this weekend for sat brunch. We had a great experience
Food was fantastic and service was great

We had heard good things about Café Blue from a few different people, and considering its close proximity to Dripping Springs, we wanted to try it out. While nothing stood out as spectacular, it was a decent meal with average service.
We had to ask several times for refills on water, and the utensils didn’t get replaced, which meant my husband had to ask a busboy for a clean place setting.
In terms of food, the shrimp cocktail was sufficient, if underwhelming, while the ceviche could have used a dash of sea salt or something, as the flavors were pretty bland.
I ordered the ahi tuna and mango salad, which was missing several of the ingredients listed in the menu — — - kind of a bummer — but the sesame crusted ahi was pretty tasty.

Pretty awful Mother’s Day experience. Ordered mimosas which came out in glasses that were dirty had lipstick on them the temperature in the front room was incredibly warm and we had to keep asking for water, creamer, ice tea etc. it was so bad that my sister got up from the table went to the server station and got the drink pitchers to refill our glasses. The drink station which was also covered with flies from the dirty dishes. Never mind the fact the Buffett food looked to be burnt and crusted on the tin dishes it was cooked in.
Extremely upset to have spent $ 100+ on this especially for Mother’s Day when the experience was completely subpar. Will never go back and certainly would not recommend to anyone.

Decided to try this place on Mother’s Day. Called ahead for reservations, twice, but both times the phone was busy. Got there 10 minutes before they opened and tried again. Phone was busy again. Went inside as soon as we noticed the doors were open and were greeted by an older woman with, ‘Do you have a reservation?’ instead of a smile and a ‘Good morning!’ or ‘Welcome!’ or ‘Happy Mother’s Day! How many will be dining with us today?’. Just a cool stare and a haughty attitude.
I smiled and replied, ‘Good morning! We called a few times but the phone was busy. May we have a table for two please?‘
She looked at her computer screen for a few seconds as if to see if she had any tables available (keep in mind, the place had JUST OPENED and only 2 tables had anyone at them) then turned to me and said, ‘You may sit at the bar if you’d like.’ and turned away.
I paused at the cool treatment but said, ‘Thank you!’ and led the way to the bar where we received great service from the bartender. Everything at the buffett was clean, clearly-​labeled, and laid out well but the food was only lukewarm, not hot. So I got the omelette instead. At least I knew it would be hot and fresh. Not bad. Ham, crab meat, peppers, mushrooms, and just enough egg to hold it all together. Pretty good!
Aside from the cool food and greeting, the staff were friendly and polite. Very clean and upscale establishment. All the placeware and cutlery were shiny and the coffee was fresh and hot. Still not worth the $ 80+ we spent for the experience.

I decided to give this place another shot after my father wanted to go here. I swore I would never walk in here again. As Dad is close to 80 he likes to eat dinner around 5pm. They were having happy hour. It is all day on Monday and 3 to 6pm Tuesday-​Friday. I got the wedge salad which has gold fish crackers on it. A dozen oysters and a half pound of shrimp. Overall all was good. My father really enjoyed his dish which was a a fish crêpe. The food actually was not as salty as I remember.
Since this trip I have returned with my husband for happy hour. Wine is half price either by the glass or the bottle. He also enjoyed the food.
The main reason I am writing the review is the Easter Brunch. It was wonderful. First time I had something besides shrimp and oysters. Everything was delicious and didn’t haven’t much salt at all. It was a wonderful event and I am glad this is where we decided to spend our Easter Sunday.
One more small tip to the management. On the buffet make sure you post larger signs if something has nuts. I didn’t see the sign and did accidentally eat something with nuts. Thankfully, a small bite and knew as soon as it hit my tongue.
We will be back for happy hour. It is one of our favorites now.

My college roommate and her husband took me to Café Blue for a much needed break. We went during Happy Hour and the ½ pitcher of cocktails was an amazing deal. I loved that my glass was rimmed with blue salt.
Read all the other reviews and I agree with all the comments about atmosphere, colors, style. All the meals looked wonderful, service was great, and we had a wonderful time catching up.
Now, lets get down to business. What was it that made this a 5 star review? It was the huge, delectable, Gulf Coast oysters. They were $ 14/​doz and that was my meal; those bivalves were wonderful.
You Texans (I am a 6^th generation Austin girl living in Denver) do not send us very much Gulf Coast seafood so I will be returning for more as I still think it is the best.

Had the dr pepper steak it was great. We have found all places we go in Texas food is a bit spicy for north people

I’ve been here twice and was just underwhelmed each time. The food isn’t bad. It’s just not that good either. It’s like I really want this place to be good but it’s just not. For the price I expect more. I hope they can get it together. The Lakeway area needs a good seafood restaurant.

After dining and drinking at Café Blue several times now, I figured it was time for an update. They’ve made a few changes — and all of them great in my opinion! Happy hour is fantastic here — I’ll get to that in a bit.
On a nice day they will open all of the floor to ceiling glass doors, making the space feel like very cool indoor/​outdoor dining. If not, the ambiance is just as nice (try to sit in the front dining area or at the bar if you can). Tons of blue; all blue. Very calming, great mood lighting and two very large aquariums housing colorful Cichlids behind the bar.
I will admit the restaurant goes a little over-​the-​top with the oceanic theme (and I LOVE LOVE LOVE the ocean and all of its creatures)…it’s borderline Disney. There’s an entire wall covered with whales-​a really large wall. A dolphin statue. All of the dinnerware have fishtails on the ends (they are admittedly cool). The water spouts in the Lady’s Room are even shiny dolphins! Lol! Just take it all in and it’s great!
Now onto the food, I’ve yet to have a bad salad, app, or entrée — overall food success (and service has always been sufficient to superior). A few personal highlights:
Blue Cheese Wedge: Extra large, very fresh Iceberg. Quality blue cheese dressing, a little skimpy on the bacon. No croutons — Goldfish crackers instead. LOL! Again… with the theme.
Thai Style Mussels: PEI mussels cooked in the perfect Thai coconut curry broth with a great balance of sweet and a hint of spice. Served with an extra large piece of French bread to sop up all the goodness at the bottom of the bowl.
The Kick Ass Sea Bass: Is actually pretty kick ass! Chilean sea bass with a teriyaki glaze served with asparagus and rice. Yum!
Dinner is fine, but THE BIGGEST HIT OF ALL… HAPPY HOUR!!! Café Blue has one of the best in town!
From 3−6pm Tuesday thru Friday and ALL DAY on Monday!
DRINKS: HALF OFF ALL of cocktail pitchers (frozen and rocks margaritas, «boat drinks»…all signature varieties), wines by the glass including flights for those of you who can’t commit, and draft beers (nice selection.)
FOOD: HALF OFF peel-​and-​eat shrimp and Gulf oysters. Jumbo shrimp, steamed well, not rubbery, and covered in devilishly delicious Cajun blackened seasoning. Gulfs aren’t my favorite variety of oysters; however, Café Blue’s are consistently fresh and super plump and if you sit toward the right side of the bar they are shucked right in front of you.
Overall: 4 star general dining; 5 star food and drink HH! Great restaurant in the Hill Country Galleria, the special deals during happy hour can easily be made into a full dinner (maybe add a small salad), and the cocktails are great. If you like ‘ritas go for the ½ off pitcher of the «Two-​Step» made with Z Reposado tequila and Paula’s Texas Orange; normally $ 7 per glass and $ 48 per pitcher. At 24 bucks, the pitcher seems endless so be sure to bring a few friends! Café Blue’s cocktails are not made for the weak. Cheers!
Tip: If you set at the bar and happen to get Hector, he’s great!

LOLF picked this spot for her 75^th birthday dinner. It was a great choice She is on a very limited diet due to illness right now and can only eat «meat and potatos». Well, she got her meat on last nite!
The interior of the this place is my deco dream. All cool blues and murals of whales, dolphin sculptures, and sword fishes (ok I wouldn’t actually put a giant stuffed swordfish in my house). Even the silverware was fishy. I wanted.
We were informed upon arrival that it’s happy hour all day on Mondays, which was half off wine and oysters and shrimps. Unfortunately none of those are on her diet so we had to reluctantly pass but it was good info. She ordered the beef tenderloin with (giant) onion rings and creamed spinach and I ordered the brown sugar ancho-​rubbed salmon (I said BROWN SUGAR ANCHO RUBBED SALMON!) with lump crab meat, rice pilaf and «cucumber mint coleslaw». I put that last in quotes because I couldn’t taste either cucumber or mint but only spice, more like jalapeño slaw? Very tasty but super spicy.
Anyway, LOLF LOVED her meat and nibbled a little on the very tasty spinach and the light almost tempura fried onion rings. My salmon was amazing. A little spicy with that sweet crust from the sugar, off set by the almost tangy bearnaise sauce. Seriously, the moans coming from our table coulda been used as a porn soundtrack (until you realize they came from a lil olé lady…). As an added bonus, they comped her a desert for her birthday and she chose the key lime pie. She had me cracking up with the sourpuss face with every bite. She kept saying «This is just so beautiful.» as she would wrinkle her brow and screw up her mouth. Truly an oxyMORON. But, yes, the pie was fantastic and came with a sweet whipped cream to reduce the tartness and covered in fresh berries that I gladly threw myself in front of for her and her crazy gut.
I was really pleasantly surprised by our meals here. I guess I had eaten at the lake location years ago and don’t remember it being this good. But I will definitely return. There were about 6 other dishes on the menu that I sadly rejected for the salmon. I can’t wait to try those!
***just a little side note of gratitude: not only was our waiter super sweet to LOLF and laughed at her usual antics, but this restaurant also donates meals to shut ins and the elderly, of which LOLF is on that list and gets them delivered to her house through the rotary club. In fact she had just had one delivered from Café Blue when I picked her up last nite. She saved that one for today. I can’t tell you what a godsend these meals have been for her, and she made damn sure to call the manager over and thanked him for it.