Lamberts - Austin

We stopped in here for a last minute dinner and it certainly did not disappoint! The complementary jalapeño cornbread and brisket were phenomenal! Great vibes inside (they happened to be blasting some oldies over the speakers that night).

The food at Lambert's was okay at best. The brisket was dry and rough and the broccoli seemed under cooked and had a weird smokiness to it. The fried pickles were excellent though. The four stars was really for the service. Our server Riley was excellent, providing just the right level of attention, getting everything spot on, and having a friendly and welcoming personality.

We visited because someone gave us a gift certificate. From the very entrance, the smell was enticing. We started with a queso appetizer with burnt ends. The chips were quite heavy but the queso was tasty. My wife and I split the brisket plate with sides of beans and potato salad. The brisket was incredibly tender, but I wish they had not added cracked pepper. The beans were so-so, but the potato salad was delicious. Sadly, and we?re wondering if it?s just a downtown thing or not, but our server seemed dismissive of us. Even our attempts to make eye contact and engage her in conversation failed to slow her down. All in all, it was good food, but too pricey for what was delivered uncaringly.

Lambert?s is pricier than your typical BBQ fare, but you get what you pay for, with an upscale interior, good service and excellent food with some quality sides that you won?t find at Franklin?s or Terry Black?s. The brisket was excellent, moist and with a good bark. They serve two kinds of ribs, one basted with a sauce and one with dry rub we had the sauced variety, which had great flavor. The smoked sausage was also good. They also sell their own dry rub for meat, and in the past I have enjoyed a fair amount of success using it on my home grilling efforts.

A very busy and popular place, we got the Chipotle queso, three meat sampler and heirloom carrots avocado which were all delicious. The queso, pork ribs and brisket were stand-out dishes and would definitely be going back for them.