6th St post Thanksgiving was a delight! Quieter than usual, we were thrilled to find Parkside. Sat at the bar & it was perfect!! Their Happy Hour from 5-6 was AWESOME! Half off all drinks & 4 of their top selling appies was perfect! Nico was behind the bar: Friendly, professional & gave the perfect suggestion for my palate. My husband loved his Oysters & Lamb with the WA Hedges Cab & Still Rye from Austin & I ADORED my Austrian Buchegger Riesling with the Ceviche. Fresh, balanced & tasty... we'll definitely be back.

My wife and I found this place on our walk back from our hotel. We were greeted with amazing customer service and sat promptly at their bar, as requested. The service was some of the best I’ve had. They had a fantastic authentic gumbo special and the oysters were delicious. At the end, they let us sample their king cake! Jill was fanatic behind the bar. Everyone in the restaurant appeared to have been having just as much fun as well. Highly recommend and we plan on returning there to eat before our trip ends!

Jeremy Fretts

I wanted some decent Tex-Mex near my hotel, and the menu looked good. More than decent - I was wonderfully surprised by the elevated and delicious entree - Pollo Relleno. Delicious flavors, and beautifully served. I also enjoyed on of the many margaritas choices. Service was prompt and friendly.

Jeff Scott

This is my second time in two years eating here. It is my favorite non-bbq place in 6th Ave. Fantastic food, well poured drinks and very knowledgeable and friendly wait and bar staff. They were able to engage and answer questions and generally add to the vibe without skipping a beat. We were there for the AFF and when a patron next to us walked out without his festival schedule, one staff.memeber covered for another while her ran half a block to try and get it to him. Definitely on my list for my next trip. Super clean and great vibe.

Renny Titi

This restaurant is so accessible. Just right in the corner near by the comedy show building. It was too loud music from the neighbour so nearly can't hear music from this restaurant. One thing that wasn't cool. Meanwhile we still able to see night life outside of the windows. So colour full. We ordered southwest Paella 🥘 was so delicious. I loved it. Husband ordered brisket enchiladas which he loved it too. This restaurant is so perfect for Mexican food lovers. Server was so helpful. This place is so perfect for Mexican lovers

Explore ATX

Iron Cactus was amazing food and hospitality. They switched over to being a seed oil free restaurant. Which has elevated the taste, and leaves you feeling amazing. This is located right next to the iconic Comedy mothership, so it’s a great place to grab food/drinks before/after a show.

Christina Larson

"I am a health-conscious foodie, and this place is fantastic! My ahi tuna was light and satisfying. I love food that brings back memories of a place."

Alyssa Watts

Food was amazing, we loved the brisket and pork enchiladas! Jay was amazing and very attentive, and the bartenders do NOT disappoint!

Devanee

Awesome place to check out if you’re in the downtown Austin area. I had the Baja fish tacos and my husband had the Travis burger. The drinks were also delicious and refreshing, I had their Paloma. I would come back again.

Darcy Esparza

Great food. Service was awesome and we had a party of 12

Carla K

Waitress made our night. The hostess was not friendly when we walked up but the waitress and the food were great. Amy R was very sweet and even gave us a personal note with our check thanking us for coming in. The food was great too.

Hannah Carter

Stopped off for an early lunch with my husband and was greeted and warmly served by Sarah! She was attentive to everything throughout without feeling overbearing or rushing us as other places have. The food was amazing, fresh and flavorful. The atmosphere was great and welcoming. I got the Iron Steak and each bite was better than the last. Hands down the best steak I’ve had in Austin and cooked to a perfect medium rare as asked. I know the night life here is always on point but if you need a good lunch with amazing food and great service I strongly encourage you to check out Iron Cactus!

Lifeworks Photography

Relaxed atmosphere. Great fish tacos. Staff was very nice. I’d have taken a photo of my food but I ate it too fast. Loved that the rice had a little spice to it. Even the pinto beans were good.

Komal

Loved this place. The salsas were perfect. The warm fire roasted was delicious. The tableside guacamole was amazing. The entrees were delicious such as the chicken enchiladas. Really enjoyed the drinks as well. The cajillo coffee was just amazingly smooth! Def try that. The cucumber martini was also delicious. They do food & drinks really really well. Also the the dessert was worth a try. It looks gorgeous and tastes just as great. Upstairs patio seating is popular. However they do have bar seating & indoor seating available. The service was good. When it got busy, we could tell. Gratuity was included on our visit (20%).

+3

Gillian Smith

The back of the restaurant is really nice, they were very accommodating and our waitress, Sarah (I’m sure that how it’s spelled) was super sweet! She was fresh out of training but she still gave amazing service! We now know who we will request when we go back which will be very soon. Thanks Sarah for making our anniversary amazing! Ps; had to edit cause this food was TOOOO DAMN GOOD

Gregory Kuhn

Ok, I went here for lunch on a Saturday. Place was quiet. Sat on the rooftop. Very chill. Jackie, our waitress, was awesome. Food came fast. Chips and salsa while we waited. I had the Mexican Meatloaf. It was really, really good. Mexican. Mexican mashed potatoes to go with it. It actually tastes better and better as I ate it! The corn was kind of tangy but it went really well with the Mexican Meatloaf. It's a little on the pricey side. But the food I got was excellent. I can't imagine expecting more out of a restaurant....except cheaper prices. Ha!

+16

Awesome happy hour deals! Sun-Fri 5-6 PM 1/2 off cocktails, beer, wine glasses; 1/2 off select menu items (east coast oysters, beef tartare, ceviche, crab fritters, USDA prime bacon cheeseburger). Greta ambiance. Downtown street parking. We especially liked the cheeseburger, crab fritters, and beef tartare. Outside of the happy hour menu, I recommend the endive salad (so good with apples, nuts, and dressing) and caramel pear tart for dessert.

Tried Parkside for dinner on East 6th and it’s a good pick if you want something a little nicer but still relaxed. The raw bar is the move here—oysters were fresh and the mignonette options made it fun to mix things up. Cocktails were solid, and the dining room has that brick-and-wood downtown vibe that works for a date or catching up with friends.

No wait for us, there were two barstools available, otherwise it would have been about 25 minutes. The food was very good, the service from the bartender was good. I left no additional tip, due to the 20% service fee added to the bill. I hope that goes into the tip pool, if not, do better by your servers and customers. The prices are high enough, 20% service fee is defeating the purpose, if it is a tip...I would have left more than that, if not forced to pay it.

Peter Baxter

Walked in on a Thursday night, 3 of us seated immediately at a table near the front where we could people watch (including the woman walking up and down 6th in chaos). Quac came quickly as did drinks. I had meatloaf, a spicy, chorizo number with ranchero sauce-very tasty but needed to be a little warner. Bacon cheese mashed potatoes were also good. Street corn was cold, which I was not expecting but had interesting flavor. Others got chicken enchiladas which had nice spice and warm cheese sauce. Tried some, would order it in a second. Other order was vegetarian mushroom tacos which were good. Server was attentive. We ate, talked, lounged and left for an enjoyable dinner.

Shawn Authement

We have been to both Iron Cactus locations. To start they have chips and a traditional salsa as well as a smoky warm one which we loved. Order the guac, and they hand make it at your table - a fantastic experience. Their offerings are the normal spread of Tex-Mex and everything we have tried has been good. Note that you should ask if you like spicy - the kitchen will add Jalapenos and such.

Pi Kositphon

Monday night, not so many people. We got the 2nd floor seating by the street. Nice view, good service. I love my steak fajitas -hardly found the restaurant that not over cooked my meats. 🥘 Paella is not quite what I expected I would normally like it more spicy. Drinks are good too. We had a good time.

+3

Some of the food here was hit and miss. The macaroni lacked flavor. The squash and salmon were really fantastic. However, compared to other reviews and photos I saw. The portions for the entrees given to us were a lot smaller on Valentine’s Day for the same price. That was a let down. Also while everyone was nice, we were seated very closely to other people. All in all, based on my experience it seemed this business is more interested in turning tables and serving less portions for the same prices. Don’t think I’d return.

Fancy Dining here so it's definitely kind of pricey but some dishes are nice. If you ever decide to dine here, you can get the following: Beef Tartare - It's interesting how they added a tortilla chip as the base. Gives a good crunch to the raw beef Marinated Pork Blade Steak - Found this very tender and filling. Something you can savor. Some things to avoid: Corn - Totally not worth it and hard to eat Lamb Pastrami Ribs - They made it a bit too salty and meat is slightly tough

Guyver Francis

Place is cool and convenient. Pork chops are excellent. Steak was not so good, felt tough. Service and ambience is nice. Fair price. Aa I said, the pork chop excellent. I would also like to thank thr manager and staff for the way they handled our issue.

+1

Super disappointing Valentine’s experience. We chose Parkside because we recently rented the event space upstairs for our wedding, and were truly blown away. I’m not sure where the lines got blurred, but our recent dinner experience was everything but smooth. Our 6:30 reservation was not honored, we finally managed a table about 30 minutes after that. Once seated, it took about 20 minutes to get seen. Thankfully my husband managed to order me a drink from the bar. Once our server came around, we put in our complete order from the Valentine’s menu. We received our oysters about an hour after seating and nothing else. The server never came around again, no management came to speak to us, we never even had the opportunity to know what was going on. After voicing this to a person running food, she simply dismissed our concern and told us the restaurant would cover our oysters. No hospitality, resolution or explanation. Mind-blowing bummer.

Our reservation was at 730pm and we arrived at 710pm. Got seated fairly quickly then it took awhile for someone to take our drink order. Another 20 mins goes by and finally someone takes our order. Afterwards they tried 3 separate tikes to brings us other people orders. Our food arrives after the 2 couples seated after us already had their food. My wife's food came 10 minute before my steak. When my steak arrived almpst blue rare(ordered medium) I was done and ready to leave. Food arrived an hour after we first checked in. Other only table we could find last minute on Valentines Day was at a Saltgrass location and ended up have a great time there.

I got the lamb ribs and I didn’t like the sauce on top. It was too herb taste So if you don’t like intense herb flavor ask the sauce on the side. I ordered the salmon and it came with a green sauce and I didn’t like it either and the salmon didn’t even had salt or pepper it was plain . The worst part was to wait for our food 1 hour 30 min.

Khadijah Pierce

Our overall experience at the restaurant was very…interesting to say the least. We stopped here because we just toured a nearby attraction and all like Mexican food. Firstly, all of the food was incredibly overpriced. The only things that were priced decently were burgers and sandwiches(American)! My friend and myself decided to try the Stuffed Iron Iron burger. When our burgers arrived, they were basically medium rare. I took a few bites and felt as though it was too pink for my liking. My friend agreed so we sent them back. Upon returning, the burgers were still JUST as pink, but now burnt on each side. We still weren’t comfortable eating them and asked to send them back and that we would just share a chicken sandwich. At this point, we were just ready to leave because we had been there for a decent amount of time. At no point during this time had the manager come over to us and apologize for the food, or check how our food came out the second time. This was odd to us, as most of the time, the manager will introduce themselves and say to let them know if there are any more issues. This, however, made sense when the first interaction we had with the manager was him coming and asking if we were OK because we were laughing about how odd the whole situation was. After we couldn’t really say much, the manager loudly said “Jesus” and walked away. This not only made us feel uncomfortable, but also was very odd. When did it become a crime to laugh with your friends? A few minutes later, the manager came back and said something along the lines of “Let’s quiet down. Yeah, let’s do that.” It was incredibly rude and unprofessional. I’ve never had a manager be so upset about people being loud, especially when they just complained about the quality of the food. You would think that you would want them to have a good rest of the experience so that they don’t leave a bad review about the food. The one positive, is that our waitress was pretty nice and did the best at recommending places in Austin to visit. She also removed the two burgers from the check. She’s the only reason that service got any stars at all. Needless to say, I would not recommend this restaurant because the food quality is not worth the money, might not be cooked, and if you complain, you might receive rudeness from the manager. It is surrounded by many other food options and it definitely is not your go to Mexican restaurant if you’re looking for that as a food option.

Galin Zhelyazkov

Disappointing Experience at The Iron Cactus Dear The Iron Cactus Team, I wanted to share some feedback about my recent visit to The Iron Cactus in Austin. My family and I were excited to dine there, but unfortunately, our experience was less than satisfactory. We ordered a quesadilla for our child, and unfortunately, we found hair in the dish. Later, my wife discovered a long strand of hair in her fajitas as well. While we appreciate that the manager removed those items from our bill, the overall experience was still quite disappointing. To add to our frustration, when we didn’t leave a tip as waiter forgot to bring us cutlery and water, the waiter expressed dissatisfaction with arrogant attitude “we work for $2 an hour! In America we tip” - so at the end I had to apologize , which felt insensitive given the circumstances and the overall disappointment we faced. We understand the importance of tipping, but we also believe that service quality and hygiene standards are paramount. We hope this feedback helps you improve the dining experience for future guests. We truly wanted to enjoy our meal and support your restaurant, and we hope you can address these concerns effectively. Thank you for taking the time to consider our experience. Sincerely, Galin Zhe