Hippos Hill Country Hideaway

This review is for a pickup order. I ordered 15 Ranch Wings which are a dry rub. The wings are large. It could have been a bit more flavorful but they were good. I ordered 10 traditional hot wings. Sauce is not spicy but the wings could have been cooked a bit longer. They were completely cooked but not long enough to make them crispy so the skin was squishy. I also got a cheesesteak. It was great! Buttery grilled hoagie with lots of beef, onions, big mushrooms and green peppers. Lots of cheese and it was perfect!
I only gave this place 3 stars. The reason is the phone call to place the order. I called right at 12 when they opened. I asked to place a pickup order and she said «Um,…well,…uh…I’m not sure the kitchen is ready. It is Super Bowl Sunday and you are not ready by noon? Seriously? She put me on hold and then came back and «ok well, it’s going to take longer and we are not honoring our 50 cent wing special for takeout orders». At that point I almost said «OK I’ll order from Lee’s» since she seemed to be trying to get me to go away. I really wanted to try this place so I went ahead and ordered. The total was just over $ 35. I asked her to take my CC# because I would not be the one picking it up. She refused and said to send my card with that person. Ridiculous.
OVERALL…Food is decent bar food but the staff has a lot to learn.

Don’t understand why people feel the need to slam new businesses that are trying to make it. Unfortunate that you can work your tail off and put your blood, sweat and tears into a place and people feel the need to rip you apart on social media. Guess that’s how people hate on other people these days. Hippo’s is still a great place to bring family and friends and will continue to try to improve.

I wanted to love this place… great outdoor space, perfect for kids to run around with a fun playscape. Friendly bartender and decent enough food, but the price will make me not return. Our bill was $ 93.10 for:
2 cheeseburgers
1 SMALL order of fries (burgers don’t come with fries)
2 kids meals
2 bottles of white wine (2 choices for white wine)
The wine alone was $ 52!!! $ 26/​bottle for crappy white wine that you have to order and pick up at the bar yourself… this price doesn’t even come with a waitress.
Wasn’t expecting to have a $ 93 tab tonight from this kind of place. Love the low-​key vibe, but if I’m going to spend basically $ 100 I’ll go somewhere with better food and a waitress. (it’s all counter-​service here)
Kids’ meals are edible at best.
Cheeseburgers are pretty good really, but $ 8.25 for a burger with no fries.
Might go to back when the weather is warmer if they add live music on their outdoor stage… order the $ 2 beer instead and eat before I go…

7 dollar craft brews served in a plastic cup that might be a pint. Looks small. There are 2 places that have the same beer within a couple miles that are 3 and 5 respectively. The help sorely lacks in customer service. On the plus side the food is good and they’ve done a nice job with what used to be a pretty run down bar.

Order your own meal at the counter, pick up your own meal at the counter, get your own drinks, get up to pay your bill and a simple family meal costs 75 $ and they want a tip (for what). Nope done… first and last time at Hippos. Go to Angels it’s waaaaay better. Dive…

Went there yesterday with friends. First time to visit. Was a disaster. Served to different tap beers that were flat, s I finally asked for a bottled beer. Wings were fried. Will choose Angels next time

Hippos Hideaway has taken the place of Moon River. They have certainly spruced the place up with bright new paint, some really cool new art pieces and made it look more appealing. It’s certainly a turnaround from what it was!
So a few things you should know before you come in.
1: It’s counter service only. Don’t expect to be waited on here. You come in, order drinks/​food at the bar, get a buzzer and go pick your food up in a basic to go container at the ‘drop’ station next to the other things you need — like utensils, napkins, etc.
2: It’s not a fancy joint. Don’t expect craft cocktails with egg whites, amazing interior design or anything of the sort. It’s still a very low key casual joint, but is much more family friendly than before if you want to hang outside. Outside there are fire pits, games and a nice stage (hopefully they’ll get some good bands to come play some live music in the warmer months). You’re kids can run wild while you sip your cold brews. The interior still feels very much like a bar.
The service has always been good the two times we have been here. We did sit at the bar both times. Our first time it was pretty slow, so the bartender was very sweet and really went over everything with us on how the place came about, how it works and what the future plans are. She also seemed receptive to our responses about things.
They have a decent tap list, but I’m excited to see they are planning to get some more local kegs on tap! Looking forward to that nice 512 Pecan Porter since it’s one of my favs. As far as food goes we were satisfied with our choices. Being a vegetarian I’m always worried about what I’ll get, but the veggie cheesesteak was good. The veggies were fresh and not overcooked, the cheese was creamy and melted just right and the bread was soft and delicious. The fried okra was a very large portion and not greasy at all. My man also enjoyed his cheesesteak. He thought the meat was cooked well and loved the fresh bread too. He got the corn on the cob, but it was a tiny little thing. The taste was great, but a little disappointing on the portion size of it. Thought it would be a whole cob.
Overall we like the place. It’s super convenient to Pace Bend Park, which is where we camp often with large groups, so it will be really fun in the summer to hang out there. I’d really love to give them 3.5 stars if I could!

We live nearby & hoped to find a good reasonably price restaurant, unfortunately we did not. Our bill for three burgers & fried pickles was $ 50! I had an Atwater Porter served in a plastic glass for $ 6.75-outrageous, both price & plastic. My husband’s coke was almost $ 3. You are not served here either for this price… you order at bar, are given a light up contraption & have to go retrieve. The barmaid forgot to activate our contraption & walked over & told us she forgot & order was ready. She also uncharged us for an extra order of fries. I should have said something immediately & forgot to tip her decently, but I was a waitress once upon a time. The fried pickles were really good but for $ 7.95 they should be. I asked about happy hour pricing, we were there at 5:30 on Friday, and basically there is none, unless you want a $ 2 Lone Star. I’m being generous with my one star, we will not be returning.

DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY! The food at this place is horrible and overpriced for the very small portions you get. I paid $ 8 for the cheesesteak sandwich that was cold, and the 3 small pieces of meat weren’t enough to even cover half of the bun. It was also tough as leather and didn’t even come with fries or chips for that price.

We went Friday and Saturday last weekend. It was awesome, cold beer, good whiskey, great chow and friendly service. Great for families or just hangin out. Got to watch the horn game on sat with some very nice people. We’ll definitely go back.

This place has an outdoor playscape, beer and is close to my house… The only reason I come here. Food is ordinary and salty. There are no waitresses which makes me wonder why I’m paying $ 8 for a burger. I really want this place to be great but its not quite there yet. I’ll probably keep trying :(

Wasn’t sure what to expect but totally pleasantly surprised. You can tell they paid attention to details. The beer was cold, the food was yummy and the service was friendly and quick. I don’t have kids but there were a bunch of families enjoying the play area. And, we met some fun people (adults) at the bar. I will definitely be back!

I usually keep my mouth shut if I can’t say something good, but last night we were treated so unbelievable by their bar manager. She was so hateful and rude to our group we will NEVER go back! This visit was our 5−6^th trip. Prior to this trip the bartender Haley just ignored me every time I ordered even a menu. My friend at the bar inside had to tell her what I know she heard me ask for. At that time, I decided never to sit inside again, too much stress trying to get served. I ordered a drink it took 10 minutes just to get a beer. Ironic how there was only 3 – 4 customers for her to take care of? Wasn’t happy and after listening to her talk about people, not a wonder she couldn’t hear or pay attention to a paying customer sitting right in front of her!
Last night Karen went inside to order drinks and get menus for us. The manager began barking off RULES rather than welcoming us to the restaurant. The only other 2 people there said «just before we arrived a patron peeled out of the parking lot they thought he was going to hit the fence!» I guess she doesn’t understand customers do not need business.
We sat at the cages in the back to watch the football game and could not hear the game. Again, we requested the volume to be turned up, managers response «I don’t know how to turn it up». Really? Inconvenient for her? A few minutes later she came out went into cage picked up remote and held the volume button down turned it up too loud and threw the remote down and stormed back in even after we said thank you!
Later she came out and told us «we close at 10 pm if the ballgame runs over I’m NOT going to kick you out! Very unprofessional choice of words. Okay we tried to ignore her rudeness, but once again, she came back in a rush pushing chairs and picking up buckets making obnoxious noise to prove a point? Game was OT so I went inside to get a beer and glass of wine she informed me she closed her register! I said «what manager closes the bar without giving last call? Told her I’ll pay cash then she said NO way can I sell you anything! I told her how rude she had been all night to the only patrons in the place and go ahead and do what you NEED to do as I will too! My question is why do you have a liquor license if you do not want to sell LIQUOR?
Lastly, I will never recommend this type of service to anyone. It’s so much easier to be kind. It’s unnecessary roughness and stress as a customer. I grew up in this business and worked most of my life catering, cooking and managing. Irony? I managed the same location before it was Moonriver! By the way the only reason for 1 star is the backyard atmosphere.

The bar outdoors under the oak trees is nice. Indoors was no smoking. The food was typical hamburger and fries. The staff was friendly and the facilities clean. They had a playscape as well. Plenty of parking.