Wow! Hate to do this because the food use to be soooo good years ago but yesterday not so much. The 1 Star is def because the service was top notch, sweet girl at the register, order was ready to go quickly but the food and desert were terrible. I ordered the smothered pork chops with mac and cheese and greens, Oxtail with snap peas and greens and an 8 piece drummet. Me and my husband also ordered 3 peach cobblers. All this came up to $76, which I can respect the hustle but the quality did not add up to the prices. Firstly, the portion size was that of an express, 1 spoonful on all the sides, but alot of rice which was undercooked and lacked any real flavor. The greens were beyond salty to the point that they were inedible also no meat in sight that would have given it a natural seasoning instead of a pound of salt that was clearly thrown into it. My porkchops were tough and NOT smothered, as there was some gravy minus onions just poured over them and they were not fully covered in gravy. Mac and cheese was baked which was nice, but also too salty to really enjoy. My husband did enjoy his Oxtails, but for $22 he received 3 small pieces layed on a bed of hard yellow rice. Drummet's were decent, cooked fresh but definantly fried in old grease because they were extremely dark and tasted burnt. As for the desert, this is were I have my biggest gripe, peach cobbler is not your simple average desert, it takes time and skill, especially if your calling yourself a soul food restaurant cause then I am expecting it to be from the soul ie. from scratch. For nearly $6 I received a croissant layed on top of a can of peaches and a bunch of watery brown sugar. Real peach cobbler lovers know that the CRUST is the best part of any peach cobbler and for you to slap a store bought croissant in the mix is just down right disrespectful. NOT COOL! especially when you're charging these kinda prices. Not sure who was in that Kitchen, but def not the Austin's that I use to love.
I hope this place gets better. Lighted menu board but products not served. Referred to a written on board with selected products with some being erased. When asked about a product they are unsure and asked again we continued for a reply. I had to walk out. SMH. Personal items in the food area. I will not be surprised this place will be on the bad food report. Good luck to this organization.
I visited Austin 2x’s back to back in the week! On Saturday I got the fried shrimp dinner with Mac and cheese and field peas and snaps. Sunday I got the same thing along with an oxtail dinner. I did try the dressing and greens as well.The customer service on both days were excellent and even the owner was very friendly which was a plus!The shrimp on both days were awesome fried to perfection! The Mac and cheese on Saturday was better than Sunday to me, it was way more creamy and not to much of the sharp taste. You can see the difference in the picture of both macs.The dressing was very moist and seasoned to perfection with the gravy on top. Greens were good as well.My mom said the oxtails were tender but would like more spice to it.Overall I would recommend for your next soul food fix, and I will be going back too!
One of the best soul food restaurants on the North side of Jacksonville. They are only open on the weekend but they are definitely worth the wait. You get a pretty decent amount of food and their desserts are amazing.
The food was delicious! I had the oxtails, greens and Mac n cheese!??
This was my first time eating at Austin's The food was excellent I had liver and onions the liver melts in your mouth the candy yams was to die for the oxtails was so tender and the baked chicken what season to perfection I will be going back ??
The first time l went to Austin's it was Fantastic! This time not so much. My Ox tail plate was missing my collard greens and sweet potatoes...l just had a container of rice and Ox tails. I ordered peach cobbler...nothing like southern peach cobbler...which I ordered but what I got was Baklava cobbler...which was overly sweet not what l had in mind...please adjust the menu to reflect what it is "Baklava" peach cobbler I wouldn't have ordered it! Please check your order before you leave and caution if you order the peach cobbler. Overall I wasn't very happy ?...maybe next time.
The food was awesome! There line was long, but it was worth the wait
Good food friendly service. My food came out quickly. I like how they text you when it's ready so you don't have to wait outside in the cold. I waited in my car.
This was my first time to this diner and the food was delicious. I had yellow rice, oxtail, collard greens and dressing. The food was so good. The place was crowed but it didn't take long to order our food. I will be back.