Woodland

My partner and I order in at least five nights a week. We generally patronize Threadgill's, Magnolia, Kerbey, etc. on "comfort food night."

On occasion, we like to splurge on something better. Last night, we decided to get a couple of sandwiches from The Woodland.

(We have had their burgers and a few of their entrees in the past and have been pleased at times.)

When we phoned, we were asked to hold. Understandable for a Friday night, and I'm glad local businesses do well. But after five minutes, we were still on hold.

Still...not a big deal. I just went and ordered in person.

My biggest problem this time was with the BLT. At first it looked great. Big sandwich; the bread was good. But for ten dollars, I would expect more than four super-thin slices of bacon.

This paltry amount did not even cover the surface area of the sandwich. Not. Even. Close.

I would not even be writing this review if this weren't the latest of several disappointing experiences. We have seen a steady decline of both service and food quality at The Woodland.

The staff sometimes seems either startled by or displeased with the fact that there are people in their restaurant. I happen to think that a "cool detachment" from one's clientele is anything but.

We are not in Paris and this is not haute cuisine. A little warmth goes a long way toward making up for an underwhelming experience.

I'm afraid it's a trend that does not bode well for what has at times been -- and could be -- a good restaurant.

Pros: Good Atmosphere

Cons: Food Quality, Service

Posted 10/23/09

how is this place open? is Austin's tourism really keeping this place open? or is it the over priced EVERYTHING..is it buying produce and ingredients from Wal-Mart and selling them as if they are organic? Im a cook at a place with a very similar menu but its ALL ORGANIC and high quality and 1/4 of the price, so its not like they have to charge that much.....this place was so horrible after eating there my girlfriend and i broke up......

Pros: Service i GUESS

Cons: price and quality

Posted 10/16/09

The Woodland does not offer a large variety of choices on the menu. My assumption was that with the limited menu, everything would be exceptional. The kitchen would focus on only a few things and excel at each dish.

Breakfast: You can order two eggs any style and have 4 items with the eggs. The eggs do not have any seasoning when they are served. Yes, the Woodlands is known for down home food, but I thought they would at least reach for some seasoning. I mean you are paying $11 for eggs and 4 items. The bacon and sausage are above average.

If you are looking for plain, the Woodland should be your destination.

Service was not bad. We were served another party's food first, then had to ask for service at each stage (to order, for check,). The service was responsive after we asked.

My recommendation is for the kitchen to take some sage advice. Take more thyme in the development of the recipes. Maybe even consider turning over a new leaf (of almost any kind) and add the leaf to a dish to accentuate flavor.

Pros: Simple Food Prepared Fairly Well

Cons: Staff Seems Distracted

Posted 08/22/09

We had lunch at Wooland today. Can't say I'll be going back anytime soon. We were sat facing the open part of the kitchen and the cooks were full of attitude and bad comments to wait staff like 'ask for something off menu again and I'll take you outside and sort you out' Not enjoyable background to our lunch.

Our food took an hour to arrive and when it did, it wasn't really worth the wait. The turkey sandwich had clearly been sitting there for a while and the Mac & Cheese was really just penne pasta in a cheese sauce. Our waitress didn't appear to know what she was doing and seemed in a daze and our water wasn't replenished the entire time we were there. We had to chase up our meals twice - both times being assured that the food would arrive in under 5 minutes...10 minutes later, we were STILL waiting. When it finally arrived, the waitress simply exclaimed that they were a little rushed today, no apology nothing. Funny as I could spot at least five/six empty tables and a lot of seemingly unhappy, hungry faces..

I really wanted to like this place but the long wait, bad service and pretty average food means that I'll take my money elsewhere.

Cons: Slow service & staff with attitude.

Posted 06/29/09

Went in after a movie Sat, May 16 for pie. With a $13.53 tab, they brought back $6. To add insult, they threw the chocolate cream pie in a go-box UPSIDE DOWN.

Pros: Greta Bartenders

Cons: Lousy Service

Posted 05/17/09

The quality of service and food have slipped drastically.... while the Quality of vintage wear and tattoos have markedly improved.

I'm the last person to judge people on their appearance... but Woodland has simply gone past the point of no return in the hipster department. The staff must feel as though they are occupying Beauty Bar or manning the door at Emo's... and serving up American Apparel with a side of fixed gear instead of food.

Most of the people there are really nice, and yes.. there's some really outstanding, beautiful tattoos. But come on already.... people want good food and good service. That's really all that matters.

Pros: great location, great interior

Posted 03/09/09

The place has a really nice vibe, it does have a full bar and the side with the bar on it is extremely loud, which is where we got seated. When we left we saw there was seating on the other side of the restaurant which was probably much quieter. The menu isn't too extensive, it's your classic American with a modern twist kind of food. They served warm rolls with butter before out food came. I ordered the Woodland salad with chicken added (for $6). It was small for a dinner salad. It had cooked beets, ricotta salata, mixed greens, sunflower sprouts and seeds. All over it was nothing special. The chicken was just plain grilled with no flavor of it's own. I wouldn't go back there for the food, maybe for the bar and atmosphere. Amy had the reuben, it was better than the one from 34th Street Cafe and even gave the one from New World Deli a run for its money but I didn't like the bread, had a licorice flavor to it which I think is due to... fennel seed? Not 100% sure but if it weren't for the bread it would've been amazing. Amy loved it. It came with a side of really delicious potato salad. She also ordered a drink call the Eudora. It tasted very strongly of bourbon which I don't like so just the smell of it made me cringe. The cocktail menu is very different with flavors like cucumber, elderflower and grapefruit. But like I said they have a full bar so I'm sure they can make any drink upon request.

Pros: Location, full bar

Cons: Noisy, parking, price

Posted 02/13/09

We had dinner here with friends yesterday evening. Two of us ordered the chicken with mashers and spinach. The spinach was so salty we could not eat it. The potatoes were overcooked and dry. The chicken was bland, but juicy and OK to eat. Another had the duck. Very small portion of meat, certainly not worth the price. We ordered pie for desert. The coconut cream pie tasted entirely like whipped cream with a little coconut mixed in. The wait person apologized because they had RUN OUT OF DECAF COFFEE by 8:30 PM. We were shocked at how disorganized the place seemed to be. Two people recomended the pork chop, so one of us ordered it. Said it was nothing special. Very disappointing overall. We would not return to give this place a second chance.

Pros: Nice decor

Cons: Much too loud - had to shout to be heard across the table

Posted 01/15/09

I would like this place to be good. I live a few blocks away and I like the interior. I've given the Woodland 3 tries and I have to say with the exception of the mac and cheese (not hard, see Kraft) the food that I have had there is not very good. Tonight my wife and ordered a salad and some mac and cheese to start. Both were edible but we were only half finished when they brought our our entrees. Annoying. Her fish and chips had all of the ugliness of the real English thing but none of the flavor or crunch. Wet fish with a massive doughy shell. Blaghk! I had the special, a white bean soup with sausage. Canned and bland. The sausage had less flavor than the vienna variety. My advice, sell the ceramic tree and hire a cook.

Pros: kitschy

Cons: gross

Posted 11/20/08

I'm not one to write reviews good or bad on places I've been, but we had such terrible service at Woodland that I felt this necessary to report. The food is and has always been mediocre, and we ended up there because all of our other favorite haunts on South Congress were a long wait, so everything was fine, until our Rib Eye dinner plate arrived. It was a really bad and fatty cut of meat which my mother and I were sharing, and we basically had to cut around and find tiny little pieces of edible meat on this plate that ended up being more fat and grizzle than steak. So, naturally we called over the waitress, not necessarily to complain, but merely to show that our $20 some dollar entree was hardly edible. Her nonchalant response was that she would take it up with one of the managers who (according to her) on duty that Thursday evening, which I find odd.... but whatever and even more peculiar was that I knew that a manager was on duty, because I know who he is, but she basically lied to our faces, for whatever reason. Maybe she didn't want to bother him? At this point we realized that suggesting taking it off our bill MORE THAN ONCE and quite politely, was getting us nowhere. We kept being met with the "I'll let our managers know...". And what good is that going to do anyone once we have left? We didn't cause a huge scene, cause at that point we just wanted to remove ourselves from this place and continue to celebrate my sister's college grad weekend. But, seriously folks, if anyone from Woodland is reading this....SHAME ON YOU GUYS. I guess keeping the $24.00 bucks for a less than edible plate of food is more worth it to your establishment than return customers. Thanks for nothing, oh and by the way, at least we do our part....we are always steering people away from Woodland now thanks to that night.

Cons: Poor service, mediocre food,

Posted 07/22/08

I went to have dinner with a friend of mine tonight and just got home. It was very pleasant. We had today's special and it was very tasty. On top of that, the customer service was really great. Our wait person was very attentive and nice. When we got the bill, we noticed that they forgot to charge one of the drinks we ordered earlier. We let out wait person know that and then the restaurant manager came to our table and thanked us for letting them know. He gave us $10.00 gift card for appreciation. That was totally unexpecting. We eat out a lot but we have never experienced something like this before and it was a very nice surprise. We will definitely come back again!!!

Posted 06/05/08

This was our first visit. We went on a Sunday evening and I was surprised at the full-house. Seems to be a good indication that people like it here. I loved the servers in jeans and plaid. I liked the decor. It was a bit loud and it made conversation a little difficult. We had the corn fritters to start (total YUM) and a variety of entrees. The only quibble was the Halibut special that night was served lukewarm. The Peanut Butter Chocolate pie made up for it, though! The grapefruit mojito, Grace & Moxie, is very good and gets better and better. :-)

I love Starlite and am happy that Woodland serves down-home comfort food with an equal attention to detail. We'll be back.

Pros: Food, Atmosphere

Cons: Loud

Posted 05/04/08

My very first experience at The Woodland, is one that I will never forget. I went with a group of friends about a year ago. We were greeted by a very sweet hostess that seated us at a very large booth to accommodate our group. The staff was very inviting and friendly and made me feel right at home, but they had better food than my house. They offer a great home cooked menu, my friends and I were dying to try everything! I think we might have, starting with: Corn bread muffins (perfectly moist), Arugula & Fennel salad (My favorite...salad), Fried oysters with an amazing sauce on the side (I dream about this one), Steak (tender and juicy), Pork Empanadas (sp?) (wonderful flaky crust and an even better filling)... There was more. Not only was the food amazing the service was to match. The servers were polite and funny, all the people it took to bring us our truck load of food were all smiles. The manager even came by to visit to make sure we were enjoying ourselves and proceeded to be friendly with conversation. At the bar: the drink menu was very unique with a lot of neat twists to plain old drinks. The bartenders are great about helpful suggestions on what would be the best drink for the taste you desire (sweet, sour, etc...) I could really go on and on. The Woodland is my favorite place to take my friends to enjoy great food and relax in a friendly environment.

Remember if you treat the staff like you would like to be treated, you will be treated like gold :) and even if you're a rude person (which A LOT of people are) they are still as kind as can be.

Pros: Great food, service etc....

Cons: That their not open 24/7

Posted 01/21/08

A group of us went here on a wednesday night. No crowds and we were seated quickly. I got the stuffed tomato and pecan pie. The tomato was a little mushy and lacked a lot of pizazz or spice... just kind of bland. The poXpie (the on-line review system won't take the "T" after po... because it is "inappropriate"... lame!!) was good. One friend got the poX pie and found a 1 inch long bone in it- eekk. The other friend got some kind of steak sandwich that looked good. Overall, I thought this place was just sort of average. I'd pay the extra money for a nicer restaurant on Congress. The service was fast and very friendly though.

Posted 01/09/08

Went today Jan 6 for brunch around 1:30. Wasn''t busy. Had two little kids with us. Ordered english muffin w peanut butter....10 mins later was told they don''t have pb. Ordered bowl of fruit with two lunches...had to wave down the busboy 15 mins later to have him pull it off the line...it sat for about 20 mins and the cooks didn''t say anything to the waitstaff. Had to walk to the line myself and get spoons for the fruit. Waitstaff couldn''t leave the table fast enough. No one seemed concerned....hugh....so I guess they won''t care when they don''t have jobs...hugh. Bathrooms were filthy..not just from the day...was a couple of days worth of crud. Old saying ...if the bathrooms are dirty...so is the kitchen. Sad that a local place is so poorly cared for...really wanted it to be great!!! Our first time, when the owners were there when they first opened...it was good.

Pros: Walking distance from our house.

Cons: Waste of money...no energy..food choices are boring

Posted 01/05/08

I attend this establishment on a weekly basis and what I can say is they cater to everyone's needs. Their salads and veggie burgers rock! The bartenders, waitstaff, and hostess are all friendly and truly try and help the best they can given the space (come on folks this is SOCO). This isn't one of those planted post; I truly love this place and will miss it once I move to another coast. Great amazing food, great folks and great management...you couldn't ask for much more! BRAVO GUYS!

Pros: You should be there

Cons: Why aren't you there?

Posted 12/25/07

My sister and I had been meaning to try this place for a long time. Very optimistic, we entered on a Friday night and were greeted by the hostess who walked us over to a standard, small table. There were many booths open and we asked to sit in one. She said no, because they were about to get busy and needed the booths for larger groups (this was 8 PM). Fair enough, we thought, and sat down waiting several minutes for someone to come over and ask for a drink order. We never did get someone to ask for the drinks. Instead two waters and some stale corn muffins were smacked down without any acknowledgement of either of us. The most insulting part was that every party who walked in after us consisted of two people who were immediately taken by the hostess to the empty booths. However, the small two-person tables we were forced to sit at were available and empty. What happened to the booths being for large groups? It was the same hostess the entire time. Did she suffer a mental block? The remaining staff members were walking around like zombies. The food didn't even make up for it. We speculate that my sister's chicken potpie was the soup of the day (chicken noodle) with some cornstarch stirred in and a slab of pie crust thrown on. Also, make sure to check your receipt as well. They somehow tweaked the dollar amount of our entrees so that the receipt listed the correct dish, but with a mysterious increased price. We had to open a menu and point to the listed price before our waiter corrected the mistake. Just don't go here if you don't want your evening ruined. Save your money.

Pros: none

Cons: service

Posted 12/13/07

I went to eat at Woodland tonight with my friend. It was her first time there, and I have been there for a few times. I had good experience for past few times, but it was completely different experience tonight. I ordered meatloaf , and it was hard around the edge. I told the server that I had meatloaf before here, and it wasn't hard like this around the edge before. He took it back to the kitchen and brought me another plate. It was better than before, but meatloaf still had hard edge. The server explained to me that because it was cooked in the oven, the edge is hard like that. I understand how meatloaf is prepared, but it was not hard around the edge when I ate there before (nice and moist). The server told me if I do not like the food, he would take it off the check. When my new meatloaf arrived, this guy came by the table and asked us how the food was. I replied, "Better than before." It turned out that the guy stopped by briefly was manager. I would have appreciated if he identified who he was and took a time to speak to me. Then we ordered coffee and desserts. We felt that coffee tasted weak, and my friend asked the server if he could make coffee stronger. He replied, "It is just a coffee, not like espresso or anything." We told the server to take our coffee back and cancel the desserts. Yes, I did pay for my meal I did not enjoy very much. My friend and I felt that the customer service was not that great at Woodland. I do retail management and will never treat my unhappy customer the way I was treated tonight. As for our server... He was not customer friendly (not outgoing, energetic, attentive). A little smile on his face will go a long way. Needless to say, tonight's experience completely ruined my previous experience at Woodland.

Posted 12/07/07

I love the Woodland, it is one of the best things to happen to S.Congress in a long time. The interior is hip and inviting. The staff is friendly and helpful. The food is delicious. Certainly in a rush any small restaurant is bound to get backed up. But when the drinks are that good, what 45 minutes among friends. If you want everything to come out fast and mass-produced go to tx land and cattle. And to the people who said they were discriminated against: Give me a break, both of the Managers are in their mid to late thirties. I eat and drink at the woodland all of the time and I always take out of towners there. Haven't had a compliant so far. Check it out, you won't be sorry.

Pros: Everything

Cons: What cons?

Posted 11/28/07

Some friends of mine called me on a Friday night and asked if I would like to meet them at Woodland for dinner. They arrived a bit before me and phoned me to inform me to hurry up because Woodlands will not seat partial parties. (which is fine because I was sure they don't want you camping out). We arrived and waited 15 minutes to be seated. My friends ordered food/drinks & I ordered a drink.We got our drinks & waited & waited for the food to arrive. Our server explained that a lot of people are ordering burgers & that there is only one cook in the back that can cook burgers so the kitchen is backed up. We din't order burgers by the way. We waited more and a female server came by and explained the exact same thing and that they are short in the kitchen. Finally after 1.5 hrs of waiting we asked for a manager. He came by and explained that the kitchen is not short handed and didnt know why someone one would say this. He was very defensive. We all exchanged words about the poor service & he went to the kitchen and brought out one of the orders. My friend ate his until it was cold and his appetite was ruined. We asked for the manager again because the other plate never arrived. It has now been 1 hour and 45 minutes. My friend is now P.O'ed. He had talked to the manager and the manager kept on defending the kitchen and that things are busy and proceeded to give excuse after excuse. We told him we don't want to hear excuses that he was being very unprofessional which he was. He was the rudest and worst manager I have ever seen. Then he forced us to pay for the 3 lousy drinks after waiting close to 2 hours then he was overly polite to rub it in our face. I cannot believe that someone like this is still employed. A business that has people like this representing it does not deserve to serve the public in any shape or form. There are too many other restaurants in Austin with great food and courteous service. Please seek them out...

Pros: Its not near my house

Cons: Everything we experienced

Posted 11/10/07

My wife and I came into the Woodland on a Sunday morning, about eleven-o-clock, for brunch. Everything was excellent, from the service (a friendly young man who the receipt identified as Wiseman) to the drinks and the food. The Bloody Mary I had was very spicy and rich-tasting, which is exactly how I like it. My wife had "The Morning Wood," which was as delicious (in her estimation) as the name is quirky and fun. In fact, quirky and fun are as good of descriptors as I can find to accompany this review. Highly, highly recommended. Oh, and getting a table was a breeze - it did not take longer than 5 minutes, though from the street it looked like it could have taken up to half-an-hour (which I would wait, if I had to, since the output is so good). Very efficient, and enjoyable, especially if you get to sit by a window. Like I mentioned above, the waiter was quick on his feet and very knowledgeable about the menu. He came to the table often (but not too often) and made sure our food and drinks were to taste. He had a professional, and at the same time, fun, demeanor, which seems to be a rule, rather than an exception, in the restaurant, as all of the waiters, waitresses, and even the manager, seemed to be having a good time while also efficiently doing their jobs. Anyway, I ramble. Go try it!

Pros: Great service, great food.

Cons: I don't think there are any!

Posted 10/15/07

I just moved to Austin and have been out an d about trying new things. Woodland definately takes the cake! Or in my case the apple pie! Some friends of mine and I have been here a couple of times and absolutely loved it. The first time I came in I shared the mac n' cheese and a salad with cranberries and goat cheese with a friend. I was sold. For dinner I got a fat pork chop. The second time I came in things got even better. It was a Sunday night and to my surprise every bottle of wine they had was half price! (I am not sure if they are still doing this, but our waitress told us it was every Sunday) Well that started my night off right. I have been back several times since and every experience has been positive. The waitstaff is very friendly and I have yet to experience a problem with service. Once or twice I have arrived on a very busy night, but even then the service was still up to par. One of the waitresses their is an absolute doll and has gone out of her way to provide really amazing service to me and my friends on occasion. Honestly I love the Woodland. Hey I'll give you guys 6 stars for some free pie! any takers?

Pros: soooo tasty, awesome people watching

Cons: just don't expect a quiet romantic meal during dinner time on a Saturday night

Posted 09/11/07

I don't know what people are complaining about. I go all the time and have never gotten bad service or bad food. The burgers are amazing, the appetizers are addictive, and the salads are big and satisfying. You have to try the oysters--some of the best I've ever had, and I'm from Louisiana! And it is loud and energetic--that's part of the fun on a Friday night, right? It isn't a fine dining experience, it's an upscale comfort food grandma's-kitchen joint. Just appreciate it for what it is!

Pros: Food, fun atmosphere

Cons: I can't eat there every day!

Posted 08/21/07

A very mediocre experience at Woodland on a Friday night. Good food, but lazy and distracted service. The food was good and overall a good value, especially on otherwise pricey SoCo. We were greeted by a pleasant hostess who took us to a dirty table and told us water was on its way; after she wiped down the table and a bit of a wait, water was finally brought by a sullen dude who didn't say a word. Our waiter seemed like a competent, pleasant guy, but so much for appearances. He forgot the appetizer; he had a lame excuse about not being able to switch out side dishes because "the guy who makes that is gone for the weekend and we only have enough to go with the regular dish", he did agree to substitute another side - more on that later. After figuring out that our appetizer was not coming, he appeared with the salads - and about 2 minutes later someone else appeared with the entrees. At some point the waiter asked if we wanted a second round of drinks; I guess he was simply curious because he never brought them, and never offered wine, etc. After we juggled our plates and started on the entrees, we realized we ended up with the menu side dish, not the substitution. I pointed that out to the waiter (the one time he proactively checked on how our meal was); he disappeared, returned to tell us that he couldn't do anything because the kitchen was shutting down. He left and then came back and offered to comp one of our drinks (completely failing to notice that our drinks were, and hand been, empty). He left without clearing the empty glasses or the salad plates. At one point my companion asked for water; he got a refill while my 1/3 empty glass stayed that way. Insult to injury: he forgot to comp the drink! Again, food was good and as a local I like the idea of a comfort food place on SoCo - but this is not it. If the service is going to suffer as the night goes on, charge less.

Pros: Overall good food and good value

Cons: Lazy, distracted service to the point of ruining the experience

Posted 08/02/07

We decided to try this place on a Saturday evening, despite the negative reviews below; I'd heard a different story from friends who ate at Woodland & enjoyed their visit. We were glad we ignored the negative reviews, because the food here was quite good, and well-priced for what you get. My husband had the potpie; theirs was an excellent version with a really nice crust. I had the sloppy Joe; my only complaint is that the bun was described as being toasted, and it clearly was not, causing the bun to become a bit soggy from the sandwich filling. But the filling was so good that I didn't care too much about the bun! The sandwich came with fries, which were perfectly done and nicely seasoned. I also had a house salad, which was good. My one complaint about the salad was that the "balsamic vinaigrette" was just a little cup of balsamic vinegar and olive oil. The vinegar settled to the bottom and due to the cup container, I was unable to get the oil and vinegar to come together, and only succeeded in pouring oil on my salad. To the Woodland, I would suggest serving the oil & vinegar separately, or at least in a shakeable container. The drink selection was quite creative, I had a "Berry Basil" which consisted of blueberry puree, rum, and basil leaves. It was different, and delicious! For dessert, I had a piece of the peanut butter pie. It was a bit fluffier than I normally prefer, but it was good nonetheless. Next time I plan to try another one of their pies. The prices were very affordable; a sandwich and house salad will cost $10-$15 depending what you get. For those who care about portion size, the portions are all medium to large (especially the house salad and sandwiches). The service was definitely Austin-style - casual and not overly friendly, but they got the job done. At these prices I wouldn't expect white-glove service anyways. I will definitely return to Woodland!

Posted 07/30/07

I was reading the reviews below and realized how whiney people can be! You don't get discriminated because you are in your 30's.....it's all in your head! I had nothing but good experiences and great food at the Woodland. Yeah it was a little noisy and fun, but I think it reflects Austin and South Congress...I don' t think it is suppose to be a romantic getaway. "SoCo" as they call it now was never filled with highend snobby resturants but rather eclectic ones.... but I guess now that's what some people feel you have to be. What a shame......What ever happened to keeping Austin weird?

Pros: fun atmosphere

Cons: not open late enough

Posted 07/19/07

We arrived at 1:30 for a light lunch on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. We were seated promptly by a friendly hostess. Our waiter was cordial and helpful with the limited menu that Woodland offers on Sundays. The interior is pleasing and comfortable, however It was quite loud. The music was shrill- lacking any bass or substance, which we should have taken as a sign of things to come. We ordered a Ruben sandwich and a Woodland Salad. To their credit, some things were done right- the sandwich was hot and the fries were excellent. Everything else was a train wreck. The food was very slow coming out of the kitchen. The Ruben was nearly inedible due to the tough, flavorless corned beef. The sauerkraut was missing in action, perhaps it was with the promised dressing that was missing as well. I did not finish the sandwich. The Woodland Salad came in a soup bowl. Yes, a soup bowl. Tiny. The listed ingredients, such as the peas and beets were apparently mis-labeled in the menu as they were in the plural form, however, in this little salad there were three chickpeas and one slice of a beet.

The waiter never asked how the food was, which was probably a survival mechanism.

Adding insult to injury, one of the managers went about the room giving wooden nickels for free drinks- but only to the 20-somethings. He openly sneered as he bypassed our table (we're in our late 30's) whilst passing out these little tokens. And you know what? It was a good thing that he didn't bother. We will never set foot in this restaurant again. We live in the neighborhood and like to support our local businesses. Too bad Woodland is openly and blatantly propagating the hipster-wannabe population that is sucking all the life out of South Congress. Don't bother.

Pros: Nice interior. Fries were excellent. Service was acceptable. Great for hipster-wannabes

Cons: Loud, shrill music. Food slow to come out of the kitchen, and when it did- flavorless.

Posted 07/14/07

Went there with a group of girls for a fun night. The place smelled weird when we walked in, the waiter wasn't very attentive and the prices advertised on their website are not the same as those in the restaurant. We ordered onion rings as an app - they were very strange, extremely doughy, almost like a doughnut with a thin onion lining the inside. I ordered the stuffed tomato, as I thought it sounded healthy, only to be given a tomato submerged in what can only be called Cheese Soup. Great for the heart. Friends got the mac 'n cheese as a side and it was very bland - remnants of white cheese on top of over-cooked penne pasta; soul food this is not. I would not waste my time or money on this one again, way too many great SoCo restaurants nearby.

Pros: Location

Cons: everything else

Posted 06/21/07

Oh, and the food was pretty good. The drawback was the loudness and it may be because we were seated in a two person table betweens the booths and the bar. If you go, wait for a table or booth if you want to have a real conversation. I had the spinach salad and the mac and cheese and both were good but nothing I would return for. My date had the stuffed tomato and he thought it was very different and surprisingly rich. Love the decor. Service was again, pretty good but not great.

Posted 05/27/07

Woodlands has the potential to be a nice neighborhood restaurant, but need to fix a few basic things: turn down the music - it should be breakground music and not something you have to compete with to hear your friends; wait-time was pretty lenghy for food, including breakfast. Food was pretty good once it finally came, so hopefully the easy things can be fixed.

Pros: good breakfast

Cons: noisy

Posted 05/19/07

After reading the reviews, I was pretty hesitant about going to the restaurant. In the end, I went just to see if it was as bad as all that, or still bad. And, I must say, that most of the negative reviews were about bad service, but we didn't have that experience. So that was cool.
The decor was the next thing to notice and I must say it kept me distracted throughout the whole time. It was really nice, especially the lighting and the painting near the kitchen. It was a little loud though so my intimate experience I was hoping for didn't really happen. Perhaps other parts of the place would be more intimate but with the music and the seating, not so much.
The food was pretty tasty, a good solid 7. I had the steak and veggies and my partner had the chicken pie (apparently citysearch won't let me use the word that goes in between this, ridiculous, but you know what I'm talking about). Both were good. The pricing was nice for the food items, as well.

Pros: decor

Cons: not good for romance

Posted 05/12/07

We went here on Easter and expected a wait, but not as long as we had...I told our waitress that we wanted to order our food with our drinks since we had not eaten all day. Well, long story short, 1 hour later (plus 2 tables who were seated after us, ordered, ate and left!), we nicely asked our waitress when our food was coming and if maybe our ticket had been lost. She didn't say a word, left for about 10 minutes then came back only after I had to grab her attention again and told us that it would be another 10 or 15 minutes before our food arrived! I told her that we would need it to go since our baby had reached his capacity in sitting still and she left with no apology and very few words. It took me making a bit of a scene with the hostess to try and get the manager over or an apology from anyone. When the mgr finally did show up, he was gruff with my husband in initially, but after hearing our story asked if he could buy our NEXT meal when we eat there. All we wanted was an apology, but nonetheless, we're not going back to get that free meal. It took us 2 hours to finally eat our food! I could have made 2 sunny side up eggs in about 3 minutes. This is a shame. The food is decent and the ambiance is nice but the service was unfriendly and cold. And, after reading reviews, it seems to be a norm with this restaurant, not an exception. I used to work in the restaurant biz and was very patient, but this experience was terrible. We really wanted to like this place, but we aren't going back. Every single restaurant on S. Congress has wonderful service, this is the bad egg of the bunch.

Posted 04/15/07

i showed up with a friend, the atmosphere is amazing, pretty pseudo hipster, real shishi swankster type of spot. The menu looked good but pretty genaric - burgers, meatloaf, etc... I ordered the meatloaf, it was underseasoned and came with almost like a tomato pico salsa, the only way i could eat it was with ketchup. It was seriously some of the worst i've ever had!!! the service is AWEFUL. Being such a small place you'd think it would be easier getting the wait staffs attention, think again! don't waist your time or money on this hyped new little bistro. Its VERY marginal!!!

Pros: ambience

Cons: food, service

Posted 04/09/07

Starlite, Starlite...not exactly stellar tonight! At least not while we were waiting in the Woodland. Showing up on South Congress at 9:30 on a Saturday night, you'd hope that the dinner rush was at least receding. Since the wait at South Congress Cafe was 45 minutes, we decided to try Woodland when we were told that there was "no wait"...Hardly!! Thirty minutes after placing our order, we commandeered our waiter (who seemed to be conveniently unavailable at the time) and asked if he knew anything about our food. He said that the kitchen had been slammed by two large parties ahead of us (even though the place wasn't at all packed!) and admitted that he should have come by and said something sooner...at least he was cordial. The manager stopped over a few minutes later and asked how everything was...everything consisted of my date and I staring across an empty table at one another and wondering if the statuesque tree was at all edible! The food finally showed up after about 40 minutes and was so-so. I had the meatloaf, which was a little dried out and the texture was somewhat chewy. Next time I want meatloaf, I'll stick with Blue Star Cafe or Portabla. My date had the slightly overcooked pork chop (no hint of pink) and a somewhat bland butternut squash puree which had no identifiable seasoning. As far as ambiance, this is probably one of the LOUDEST restaurants you'll ever find...I've been at NFL football games where the crowd wasn't this loud. So, forget it for the romantic date night as you shout across the table at your dining companion. The decor is a somewhat kitschy portrayl of forest greens with an artificial tree sculpture in the middle of the room and comes off as more drab than comforting...like being trapped in the woods and wondering when and if your next meal is going to come or if you're going to get desparate and shoot Bambi yourself!
Didn't try the desserts, so don't know. The food was adequate, not bad, but certainly not worth the wait!

Pros: Quality free water

Cons: Food wasn't worth the wait; service less than stellar!

Posted 02/23/07

I love the ambience of the place; the decor is definitely original. However, the service was pretty ho-hum. Nothing to get angry about, but several annoying slip ups by the server (she kept forgetting things, including what we ordered, and charged us for a different, more expensive meal). There are very few vegetarian options on the menu, two of which revolve around falafel. Which is ok, since I love falafel, and their falafel sandwich is pretty creative and tasty. However, the menu is so limited for a vegetarian, that I doubt I'll ever be a frequent customer.

Pros: cool decor, creative drink options

Cons: limited vegetarian options, kinda crappy service

Posted 02/12/07

This place fits right in with the whole South Congress area. It's all cute with an Austin kitschy diner style. It has a big fake leafless tree in the middle, which is just kind of...unusual. And it was BYOB, which I assume is just because they haven't gotten their liquor license yet. But you can grab a six-pack at the little farm-to-market grocery next door, which is convenient and cheap if you're with a group (or are thirsty).

But let's get down to the real business. The appetizers looked great, from mac & cheese (which apparently is making a huge comeback these days) to fried oysters. But we passed and got straight to the meat of the meal, so to speak. I got the Pepper Crust, a black Angus burger with bacon and bleu cheese. Straight up?a pretty darn good burger. Bacon was perfect, lettuce and tomato were fresh and crisp. The bleu cheese was definitely prominent, so if you're not a fan, stick with something else. But overall, a terrific burger. And the potato salad on the side was pretty much some of the best I've ever had. Not that I'm a potato salad connoisseur, but it was very mild and creamy and delicious.

The rest of the menu looks great too, and I intend to try several more items soon. It's all very rich, heavy, comfort-style food. Pot-pies, meat loaf, and "spaghetti meatballs" [sic]. They've also got fish, steak, pasta?pretty much something for everyone. And it's fairly well-priced, with most things in the $9-15 range. Oh, and the pies look delicious. I look forward to trying them...just as soon as the Marie Callender's $5.99 sale is over.

So yeah...check out all the other typical stuff on South Congress, and then work up an appetite by walking a little further South. Before you know it, you'll be standing outside the Woodland, and I recommend you step inside and give it a try.

Pros: The food is great

Cons: The food took a while, the "back room" is a little dark and uninspiring

Posted 02/10/07