Austin's Steakhouse

My son took us to Austin's last summer. We had my 88 year old mother with us. The service was great. They treated my mother like a queen. Even cut her meat for her. What a treat it was. The steaks were the best ever tasted. Can't wait to return again. Looking forward to bringing friends and family.

My first time at Austin's was an accident. I was looking for a different local steakhouse. I decided to go in. From the outside it doesn't look like much. Once inside I was surprised. The mellow adult atmosphere was wonderful. Sinatra/Billy Holiday music filled the space. A small but upscale bar. Very nice. The bartender could not make a bad drink. The booths were very comfortable. The service was almost too attentive. I ordered the "cowboy steak", odd name for the atmosphere, medium. It was perfect. My guest ordered the shrimp cocktail. She loved it. My only objection were the sides which were charged separately. The steak, for Brooklyn was pricey enough. Should have came with a choice of sides. I had the brownie for dessert. It was a little too rich for my taste. FYI, the men's room was super clean. I think that says a lot too. I went back a few days later and sat at the bar for a drink. The bartender (John) was wonderful and friendly and adult. Again every drink was perfect. Summary...well worth it.

Wait staff: Excellent -- attentive and polite.

Steak: We ordered the porterhouse for two and felt that there was not enough portion for the price paid.
The filet side was undercooked but very tender. The sirloin side was slightly overcooked (we ordered medium rare) and a bit chewy. The steak wasn't dry and tasted "pretty good", slightly underseasoned and disappointingly was not served with the drippings to dredge our forks through, which is common to Ruths Chris and Peter Luger like faire.

Sides: Terrible. We ordered mashed potatoes and creamed spinach. The mashed potatoes tasted like instant spuds which is a terrible contrast next to an 82 dollar steak. The creamed spinach tasted OK, but had a bit of a "soapy" like taste.

Ambiance: Nicely decorated but the plasma screen faux aquarium screen saver was a bit cheesy. A real aquarium would have provided for better atmosphere. The lighting did not provide a cozy feel.

Overall: Pretty good, a bit pricey for the experience. For the same price, we would probably try somewhere else next time.

Falls short in comparison to Ruth Chris or Wolfgang's or Lugers.

D&J ? Brooklyn, NY

Recently visited Austin's. As a steak lover, I've chewed the bone at most of the city's finest steakeries. My experience with Austin's left me wanting. While the waitstaff were nice and accurate, they seemed mostly unconcerned and disorganized. Our order was correct, but that's because our order (and our drink orders) were taken twice, but two by two different servers. It often seemed like every interaction with one server was followed by the same action of another (as if they hadn't told each other who was covering the table). One of our servers, although nice enough, looked around the room as he leaned on the side of the booth as we asked questions and placed our order. Nothing that couldn't be forgiven, if the food delivered.

While the steaks looked great (we had the fillet and the NY Strip) upon arrival, they were surprisingly flavorless. My date and I passed the salt back and forth with each slice, surprised that so much grease could be pooling in the plate while doing so little for the flavor-level of the meat. All in all, it wasn't by any means a bad experience, but when I spend $150 for steak dinner for two, I generally like to leave the restaurant without the feeling that I should have gone to Outback instead.

I went to Austin's on my 57th birthday after a long day. I was supposed to celebrate my birthday with family on staten Island, but because of a tragic accident on the Verrazano Bridge It was impossible to get into Staten Island in time to meet my family. So in a year that includeid personal tragities like loseing my father, me being treated for prostate cancer, I looked forwrd to salvaging my b;day at Austins. I specified to my waiter how I wanted my steak cooked, I was not as I asked, This was a very dissapointing end to a disappointing day. I was offered free coffee and dessert, which was a gracious offer but hardly consolation to a dissapointing dining experience.