Restaurants, Barbecue, Banquet Rooms
$, Cheap Eats, Family Style Dining, Family-Friendly Dining, Group Dining, Happy Hour, Historic Setting, Lunch Spot, Outdoor Dining, People Watching, Open 7 Days
The Original County Line! Located in an historic old "Speak-easy", this County Line offers an incredible 20 mile view of the beautiful Texas Hill Country. Sunsets are spectacular! Open for lunch and dinner 7 days a week. Also a Full Line of Grilled goodies including: Fish, Chicken and a full line of steaks. Happy hour Sunday through Friday. The County Line Restaurants have been serving up legendary barbecue since 1975. During that period, the County Line Restaurants have been the foci of numerous feature articles and have been voted Best Barbecue in almost every one of their respective cities. Our barbecue is so in-demand that we ship it all across the country. *Live muic on weekends*
The view is great! It's a great place to take out of town guests to give them a snapshot of the Hill Country. Enjoy a drink or two out on the patio and listen to some live music.
Posted 08/27/09 | Report Abuse
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County Line used to be a favorite of mine. The bread is still out of this world. However, the ribs are dry and have no flavor, the brisket is so-so, the sausage is still good. There is better BBQ in Austin.
Oh, and be careful. They have a "computer" problem that will randomly pick people and charge them twice (yes, that was me and after 6 phone calls, it was finally fixed). Sadly, all their management can do is say "sorry". Not great when you rely on repeat business and word of mouth.
Pros: Still great bread, great servers
Cons: so-so food, not friendly management
Posted 07/08/09
Superlative service! Ren is the best Ninja Waiter I have been served by. The food is fantastic, especially the chicken, and view is awesome. I would like to have sat by the window but it is a bar area only serving cocktails and appetizers.
Pros: Best chicken ever!!!
Cons: can't get a table w/ a view if ordering food
Posted 07/04/09
We recently hosted quite a few out of town guests and had the ocassion to visit both County Line and Salt Lick (see separate review). Years ago, County Line was a fav of ours during college because the bread is out of this world. The homemade bread is still THE BEST and I would consider going there to pick up a loaf or two to go. Otherwise, Salt Lick is light years ahead on the BBQ front. The chopped beef sandwich was dry, the veggie kabob was horribly dry and flavorless, and the rest was just okay. The service was awful as we sat there for over 5 minutes before even being acknowledged by the server, and that was just to tell us that she'd be there soon. In the meantime she passed our table several times over again. The bill for 4 adults and 2 children was $82 (we drink water). The view is nice but not spectacular. The patio was sweet looking and I'm willing to bet that the ambiance is much improved when the live music is playing and the string lights are glowing. All in all, we will be returning only to pick up loaves of bread.
Pros: bread
Cons: BBQ; slow service
Posted 08/06/08
Good food. A tad bit expensive for a family with children...but I would go again. Nice atmosphere. Good place to bring out of town visitors
Posted 03/04/08
Visited with some friends early afternoon. No crowd, so I really can't comment on service if/when things get hectic.
Ordered a brisket sandwich with coleslaw side. The bread for the sandwich was excellent, perfect density and melded well with the (slightly overcooked) brisket. Coleslaw was too mayonaissey, too much fat takes away from the taste of the brisket, which should dominate the meal. Drinks served in ENORMOUS glasses.
Service was good. Overall, it seems somewhat overrated, but is is clean, big and the setting on the river is very beautiful. You could do much worse...
Pros: Lovely location
Cons: Slight inattention to food quality
Posted 01/13/08
seating was awful had 10 in party waited 2 hours to get seated. Service was not good and food was not what all the rave is about.
Pros: Thumbs down
Cons: service
Posted 09/12/07
Good, not too spicy, a little undercooked, but delicious. I've been cooking for awhile professionally and I'll eat here again. MY big critique is that we had to deal with 2 different people to order booze and to order food. That's gotta stop......
Pros: first time
Cons: first time
Posted 09/09/07
Good view, ok food. Brisket was nothing special, sides either. Service was solid though. Looking ofr the best check out Busters just west of Lakeway, it's much better if you can stand the outdated decor.
Pros: View, service
Cons: just average bbq
Posted 04/02/07
We just moved from CA to TX and now live close to this restaurant. Friends introduced us to this place: it does a great take-out whilst you're too busy unpacking boxes to cook (or just to lazy). The beef ribs are to die for (they are also huge). We have been to the one on the Lake, but we prefer the one on the Hill because, it has a children's menu. I once had a party catered by them, my husband was supposed to pick everything up, and, of course, he forgot to pick up a lot of stuff. They felt so bad they gave me 50% off my next party! Dennis, one of the managers recognised us when we were eating in and we were offered free desserts! Orlando and Dennis are some of the great people that work there! My son wanted to have his birthday dinner there. My husband told the waiter, and...you'll just have to try it when you have a child under 10. I don't want to ruin the surprise. My son loved it!
Pros: Lovely view, lots of stuff on the walls to keep the young ones busy. Great food and staff.
Cons: Big groups can get loud on week-ends.
Posted 10/27/06
Our friends have been hounding us to go to this place ever since we moved to Austin. We started out with drinks on the patio, the view is amazing! The patio is very laid back and relaxing. The wait was not too long for a table considering it was a Saturday evening.
The food was well spaced out, not too long and not too short a wait. All of it was delicious, from the appetizers to the main meals. The brisket is so tender, it melts in your mouth and their garlic potatoes go down just as easily.
The atmosphere in the main dining room is loud on a Saturday night, which was fine with us since we had a small 2 year old boy who tends to be loud as well.
We will definitely come back to County Line.
Pros: Food, Service, Margaritas
Cons: Parking
Posted 05/15/06
My family is a regular here. This location is less crowded than the one on the lake and offers a great view out on the patio. Guests are seated promptly and the wait staff is super friendly. Food is served quickly and is consistent. Check out the bathrooms to hear the "how to speak texan tape". The bbq sauce is unbeatable and it is great for kids and groups.
Pros: food, good parking, great view
Posted 07/04/04
I've never been disappointed in my menu choices from this establishment and I've made the journey for the homemade loaf alone on more than just a few occasions. The view is great and the addition of their meeting room space makes it a great place for family and other types of get-togethers.
Pros: nice ambience, good food
Posted 06/07/04
County Line on the Hill has to be my favorite BBQ place in Austin. The view is excellent, food is great, and the prices are affordable. I like this location better than the one on the lake because of the better side dishes available and they have fish at the "on the Hill" location. I always take visitors to County Line and they are never disappointed.
I've been to Salt Lick and would probably rate Salt Lick's food just a little bit better than County Line. However, if you factor in the drive out there and the overall experience of the two restaurants, I give the nod to County Line.
Pros: Great BBQ, Breathtaking view, Modest Prices
Posted 11/27/02
