Amazing food and great calm atmosphere on a Sunday evening. Oh dear. As I write this I am struggling from falling into a deep food coma. A food coma so deep that I just may not what the energy to come up with enough complimentary adjectives to describe my complete happiness of being full. I had the meatloaf with my 2 mates as fried okra and garlic cheese grits. Nice helpings for portion and the rest of my table shared their entree and mates with me too. I dipped into their dinners with a fork full of cowboy beans (which id guess is the best side mate to order), several fork-full of potato salad, yummy Elgin sausage, and chicken fried chicken too. all of it was overwhelmingly wonderful for a hungry belly like mine. The waiter, Mike, that looks like "the dude", was VERY helpful and patient as we had a lot of questions to ask regarding the menu. I took all his recommendations except the dessert part. I didn't have room or I'd get the peach cobbler. I'm going back. Meatloaf was amazing with the sweet tomato sauce, btw. Best meatloaf I've had in awhile. read more

If you're hungry this place will no doubt fill you up. I'm not too huge a fan of southern food, but this place hit the spot after the gym. We had a farewell for a friend here and they were able accomidate 30 of us on 30 minutes notice. That might be indictment of slow business, but we came at like 9 and there were still pretty good amount of people there. We started with chips, queso and salsa. The chips we got must have been from the dregs because they were mostly broken up and hard to dip with. The salsa was full bodied, slightly spicy and nice and chunky, closer to pico, but just mushy enough to dip. Queso was so-so; a bit too thin and not too much taste. I got the chicken fried steak with okra and potatoes. Real mashed potatoes is seemingly a rarity but they were generous with them and smattered with gravy. Moist, rich and creamy with just enough chunkiness. Okra was perfectly fried. The chicken fried steak is enormous.....I easily could have eaten half and been perfectly satisfied. It has a light crisp batter that has gravy spooned over the top. Perfect combo. The cornbread is pretty good too, but I was a bit saddened that the lady didn't bring us very much bread since we had appetizers, but our friend's tables did get a good amount. Service was good overall though; our waiters kept our water glasses full, refilled the chips and checked up on us as needed. Recommend coming back if you're in the mood, but not sure what else there is in Austin to compare it to this. read more

Hoover's is our favorite Austin Restaurant. We love the grits and the sweet potatoes. The desserts are always great. We love to see what's on the wall that is not featured in the menu. We have breakfast here every chance we get. Every trip to Austin means breakfast at Hoover's! read more

I really like Hoovers, but can only go there if I'm really hungry. Every time I go there, I order a healthy portion of food and beer and need a nap afterwards. There is a really good variety of options, but I'm a big fan of the chicken fried steak, the chicken etoufee, pork chops and whatever interesting specials they might have. Whenever I go there, there always seems to be some sort of interesting entree or side dish, so I never get bored of the options. The bartenders are very friendly and even knows your name, if you've been there a few times. The food is really good, and so are the desserts. The banana pudding cheese cake is really good, as well as the chocolate bread pudding, buttermilk pie, or even the cobblers. So try to save room for dessert, or bring it home. Just writing about Hoovers is starting to make me hungry. I may have to pay a visit sometime this weekend! read more

We were on the East side and decided to go back to a place we hadn't been in awhile. I want to give our server Tyler a huge thank you and she deserves 10 stars! She was amazing. She was friendly, she was attentive but not in our face. Great spirit. Overall a wonderful experience because of Tyler. THANK YOU. I got the chicken fried steak with a dinner salad, green beans and mash potatoes. Over all ok. I felt like there was more breading than mean in my chicken friend steak and the green beans were over peppered for my taste. My father got the meat loaf with mac n cheese, pinto beans and mash potatoes. My husband got the rib plate with mac n cheese, dinner salad and fried okra. Overall everyone enjoyed their meals. I think the meat loaf is very tomato. Personally, I am more a fan of the less but this is their style. If you go to Hoover go hungry. Like so hungry you haven't eaten in days hungry. There is no way to personally eat all the food. None of us got the Hoover size and I want to meet the person that does and eats it. Huge portions. Being there on a Saturday night around 7pm, I was shocked how empty the place appeared. I hope they are still doing a good lunch crowd. I know there are many more options on this side of town that used to be. My husband and I said we need to make a point to come back more often. We want it to stick around. Tyler made our night! I hope the manager or owner sees this review and rewards her. read more

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The wings and chicken fried chicken are fantastic! I highly recommend them both. I can't wait to go back to try the dessert and corn bread dressing. This is some good soul food. read more

Hoover's Cooking - Wings wings, spicy and wonderful! - Southern Near Me - Austin, Texas

The food, service, and ambiance we're substandard at best. The automatic service fee (tip) should explain some of it. I will not go back.

My wife and I ordered takeout after a really long week at work. We had been here once before and really liked it. But we got home and the food was TERRIBLE. The corn had no flavor. The bread was crushed in tin foil. The chicken was soggy and chewy. And we got peach cobbler that was inedible. It was clearly just a few canned peaches stuffed between store bought, chewy crust. Big fail. Won't ever go back. read more

Hoover's Cooking - Southern Near Me - Austin, Texas

WOW a lot of food! I'm a vegetarian of 12.5 years, so I don't have an opinion about the barbecue (although it LOOKED fine). I went for the veggie sides plate, which ended up being massive amounts of each side. Trust me, it's a LOT OF FOOD! The butter beans were awesome mixed with some of the candied yams, and the coleslaw wasn't too sweet (which is good). The cornbread was a little dry, but maybe I just had a bad piece. I also tried real sweet tea for the first time (yeah, I know, I'm a loser), and it was pretty good. I added a lot of lemon to it; does that make it unauthentic? My boyfriend had the smoked Elgin sausage with a side of mac & cheese. He loved his food as well, although I somehow ended up with WAY more food than he did. Lastly, our waitress was really, really awesome. I wish I could remember her name, but she was sassy and I loved it! read more

Hoover's Cooking - Veggie sides: cornbread, butter beans, candied yams, and coleslaw - Southern Near Me - Austin, Texas

We enjoyed our dinner at Hoover's. The service was good as was the food. I can't say it's the best food I've ever had but it was fine. We received a basket of bread that consisted of small corn bread muffins and something we couldn't identify. (I meant to ask our waitress what it was.) My son wasn't impressed; it tasted OK. My husband had ribs, our adult children had meatloaf and BBQ chicken; I had fried catfish. I had cole slaw, creamed spinach and mustard greens as my sides. For dessert, we had blueberry cobbler, apple cobbler and "Nuttin but Brownie". My brownie wasn't warm (I assumed it would be), my children's apple cobblers were not either but my husband's blueberry cobbler was warm. The inconsistency was a little surprising. read more

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Some things are great, others are definitely not. Pros: - Great service. Friendly, attentive, genuine. - Good atmosphere. - Fried chicken was tasty. The chicken-fried steak looked good, but I didn't have it. - Side salad better than most. Fresh! - Cobbler. Yum! Cons: - Vegetables. The carrots and black-eyed peas were bland. Black-eyed peas had been cooked to mush, so it was more like porridge. Carrots had no seasoning, butter, anything. And they were overcooked so that sharp carrot taste was missing. I'd go back just for the cobbler! read more

There is nothing bad I can say about Hoover's. From the time we walked into the door to the time we left, we were impressed. Being from New Orleans, I am always all about the food. When we were waiting to be seated we were greeted by the heavenly smell of Southern cooking. My mouth was watering in anticipation to see the menu. Upon being seated and after we received our drinks, we were given some rolls and cornbread with butter. I immediately went for the cornbread which was sweet and moist. Delicious! I actually had a yearning for red beans and rice but was immediately sidetracked when I saw chicken fried chicken on the menu! They had several specials where for about $9.00 you get an entree and three sides. My hubby decided on the jerk chicken which was very tender and had great spices going on. One of his sides was mac and cheese was was gooey and cheesy. I had the chicken fried chicken which was covered in a thick and rich milk gravy and I had fried okra, blackeyed peas and green beans for my sides. The okra had a nice crispy breading and when you bit into them the veggie and its seeds just popped. Yum! The green beans were seasoned with some salt and pepper and were very tender. And the blackeyed peas were delicious! The chicken fried chicken (yes chicken) pounded thin and tender had a nice crispy crust and was seasoned simply with a salt and pepper flour mixture. The waitress was extremely friendly and made constant checks and refilled our glasses without even asking. Very nice! Her attitude was pleasant and she had that "come back and see us" feeling about her. And we will definitely be making more visits to this gem of a restaurant. read more

Hoover's Cooking - Yummy Chicken Fried Chicken - Southern Near Me - Austin, Texas

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Came here for some down home Southern Comfort cooking. Our waitress was very friendly and welcoming. On the menu for the DP and I: Cajun pork roast with mash potatoes and texicali corn. Large fried pork chops with jalapeno creamed spinach and Caribbean rice. The sides weren't anything to run home and scream about. The cajun pork roast was a special on the board and usually, in my experience, good choices. Once again, my rule of thumb proved correct. The roast cut sliced thin, but still moist. It was smothered in some Cajun inspired sauce. The large fried pork chops - AMAZING. But then again with me, fried and pork together = win. The pork was very nicely fried on the outside and was succulent and moist on the inside. Would definitely order this again. read more

Hoover's Cooking - Fried pork chops with Caribbean rice and jalapeno creamed spinach - Southern Near Me - Austin, Texas

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2nd time arrived for Dinner 7:30 for table for 6 and was Crowed. Waited 1 hour and 30 min and floor manager did not even check on us. Restaurant was severely understaffed. A major suggestion of Upgrade to invest is to Get GUEST BUZZERS as they wait. Biggest issue was 2 tables finally opened up for 6 and the host ask to seat us and manager DIDNOT ALLOW us to be seated so we waiting for 20 more Minutes while 2 empty tables open. We were the Only table of 6 Standing in the Corner. Still not noticed. Disappointing and Terrible Service to customers. Will not return. read more

Came to Austin for BBQ but decided I wanted some chicken fried steak authentic style but didn't want to pay an arm and a leg for it. I mean I don't need a NY prime steak or even a Short rib with a batter coating. A friend of mine told me about this place. A chicken fried steak with sides for the price not bad. The beans, mac and cheese are the bomb here compared to Blacks BBQ. Great chicken fried steak. I am from San Diego, we don't have southern comfort food so I guess I am southern comfort full without busting my wallet. read more

Good selection, black ownership so I support it (btw I am Caucasian), friendly wait-staff. Going there for lunch today!

Sorry mom but this is where I go to get my home cooked meals! I've been eating Hoover's amazing food since his days at Good Eats and have never stopped. Not sure why I've never left a review to let everyone else know how amazing Hoover's is but I figured after my second day in a row eating dinner there that it's about time I did. The chicken fried steak is the best around and is my usual go to but really everything on the menu is delicious. I would say to save room for dessert but they give you so much food that I just get my chocolate cream pie to go and enjoy it a couple hours later. The food is great. The people are great. The man is great (Hoover gives selflessly to his community and industry). Go there, eat well and be happy. read more

I was brought here last night and I was so impressed. The food was amazing the staff and waitress were all so helpful. I ordered the catfish with yams, collared greens, and macaroni with cheese. Wow it was all so delicious and the amount of food you get for the price had me thinking I was being tricked. I would totally recommend this place to anyone looking for some yummy southern style food. I can't wait to come back here again. Next time I will definitely have dessert. read more

Hoover's Cooking - Southern Near Me - Austin, Texas

Being from Texas, but not currently living in Texas, I always have a craving for a good chicken fried steak when traveling back to Texas. I figured if I'm in Austin I need to do some research and find a place with a great chicken fried steak. After researching a few places the wife and I decided to give Hoover's a try since they were consistently ranked in the top 5 for chicken fried steak recommendations. I got the CFS with pinto beans, okra and mashed taters. The CFS was breaded nicely and the meat to breading ratio was on point. The pinto beans had a nice flavor and the taters were delicious. I just wish the gravy was made from scratch because it tasted like the powder gravy. Otherwise my meal was good and hit the spot. The wife ordered the smoked chicken Cesar salad and she said it was good but tasted like the chicken was reheated. Honestly, it looked reheated or maybe in the warmer too long. For the not so fresh chicken and powder gravy, I give 4 stars. read more

I had the BEST CANDIES YAMS EVER. Bbq Chicken was on point. All the side tasted Delicious. Definitely will recommend it to everyone. read more

Hoover's Cooking - Southern Near Me - Austin, Texas

In a nutshell, some great hits with a few misses. Hits: Jerk ribs were tender and lip smacking good. Kale and beet salad were a delicious lighter fare. Corn muffins and yams were pretty good. Misses: mustard greens were watery and to me lacked depth of flavor...they were sweet and spicy but not savory. The jalapeño spinach was visually and texturally unappealing to me. The coconut Creme pie was ok. I'd chance going again to try other things. My family enjoyed the chicken fried chicken, the fried chicken, and the pork chops so I guess they have the meat proteins mastered. read more

No complaints but not a huge favorite. If you are looking for some good 'ole southern food then this is a great place to go! There is a TON of seating so it's great for large groups, however it does get packed easily. Tons of food options so picky people will be happy here. Great for kids. Plenty of parking. Also awesome prices for the portions you get. However, the fried chicken was not my absolute favorite. It's also a LOT of food, giant portions always make me feel like I ate way too much. I felt like I probably could have done this at home, so nothing really fancy. read more

If sitting at your table for 42 min waiting for your cold food to arrive sounds good, you're gonna love this place. The waiter really enhanced the experience with his "oh well, s*** happens" attitude. read more

I remember the food had taste. I haven't been to this restaurant in years now and decided to order. I'm very disappointed I ordered fried chicken and chicken fried steak. No taste. Im not sure what happened to over the years. Seems the food is catering to certain type of people. read more

So I was here before and decided to bring my family to eat soul food. I didn't have a good service experience the first time so I decided to go a second time because the food was delicious. I shouldn't never went back. I got embarrased, my family didn't like it because everything was over, overly cooked. We had to take out the crusty because it was extra extra crunchy. The waitress is such a bimbo. We told her it was a secret birthday surprise for my sister and as soon as my sister arrived she told her happy birthday, you must be the birthday girl? We just looked at her and she replied oh I'm sorry it wad a surprise. That was it for me. I just wanted to leave. read more

My favorite restaurant in Austin! So so yummy! I've tried Many different things on the menu and I'm never disappointed! Don't forget to get a dessert, even if you're too full (you probably will be because most of the meals come with 3 big sides) grab it to go. If you've never been to Hoover's go now! read more

This is a locals joint that a friend turned me on to many years ago. I stop by about every year or so when visiting or passing through and have never been disappointed. My most recent visit was this Saturday, the season opener for Longhorn football. Being a gal Nike walk from campus there were plenty of fans stopping by on the way to Royal stadium. I was greeted quickly, seated quickly at a high top since I was solo, and was served quickly. Today I had the chicken and sausage gumbo from the daily special menu with a roux so dark it wax on the verge of being burnt. Aka perfect. I also had the meatloaf from the regular menu which came saddled up with a very chunky tomato sauce, and some cheesy grits from the daily special menu. This place makes awesome southern comfort food and has never disappointed. read more

Fun and casual place. Staff was friendly and food "looked" great. I only gave them 3 stars because the food was bland. I had everyone to taste my mashed potatoes because they were paper thin with no taste. Nothing seemed to have seasoning on it. read more

Visiting from San Antonio for a weekend getaway. Hungry but with no particular type of food in mind I decided to hop on Yelp and see what local restaurants ATX has to offer. My fiancé got the fried catfish plate and I got the chicken fried steak for sides we went with potato salad, mac n cheese, okra and fries. Absolutely just what we needed. We halved our entrees to share so we could each try what the other had ordered. The portions were very generous as we (2 mid20s males who like to eat) both ate until full and had enough for another filling meal later in the day. We placed our order online no problem. After paying I zoomed in on the dessert cooler. There is a good variety of desserts, we chose the German chocolate cookies (which we'd never heard of such a cookie before) also the snickerdoodles both of which were absolutely delicious. The staff was very friendly and attentive. Whenever I'm back in Austin I'll definitely stop by again and try Hoover's other dishes. read more

This spot never disappoints. I've been coming here for a few years and am always just crying tears of joy for how delicious and well made every thing tastes. You can tell there's a lot of thought and preciseness that goes into every dish because EVERYTHING tastes ridiculously good. I went to dinner with my mom last night (it was my moms first time and she's generally hard to impress). I had the chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes, Mac and cheese, and their cornbread stuffing (recommended by the waiter). The steak was fresh out of the fryer and perfectly cooked, the cornbread stuffing reminded me of what we make at home during thanksgiving, and mashed potatoes and M&C were of course delicious. My mom got the fried catfish with coleslaw, fries, and Caribbean rice. She was very impressed with the freshness of the fish, the flavorful rice, and how beautifully composed the coleslaw was. She raced about it (again, she's hard to impress). We, of course, had to top it off with dessert. My mins Hoover's go to is Coconut cream pie, and mine is the chocolate cream pie. I always say, Hoover's has the best desserts in Austin. The pie had to be homemade through and through. The flavors were just perfect. And then lastly, I've always had incredibly kind and attentive waiters. I couldn't recommend Hoover's enough! read more

Hoover's Cooking - Chicken - fried Steak, Macaroni & Cheese, Mashed Potatoes, cornbread stuffing - Southern Near Me - Austin, Texas

We LOVED the food. I had the Chicken etouffee and my wive had the hoe pancakes. I have to admit chicken ettouffee for breakfast didn't seem like a good breakfast combo but wow. We will be back. read more

Great home cooking. Hoover is a super nice person and is committed to providing consistently quality food

First time here, and decided to check this place out because we were starvin'.... seating was prompt, but everything looked out of place, and you couldn't tell who works there. It tooked 25 minutes to get our food and we had 2 different waiters bringing our food, wasn't sure who to tip. the food was bland, didn't like the potato salad and they had complimentary bread that tasted and looked like just cooked dough, no flavor to it and was pretty dry. beans were good but the french fries looked and tasted like they came from a frozen bag.... Overall not happy with the food for the prize that we paid. read more

Hoover's Cooking - Southern Near Me - Austin, Texas

Makes me miss Momma! This is the best home cooking I have had in Austin!

I live in Houston and have been working in Austin for a couple of months now. I have missed the southern food I love and searched and found Hoover's. I wanted to love this place and the reviews were pretty decent. I ordered the Tuesday special, which was chopped steak with mushroom gravy. I ordered 5 different sides to try everything. The chopped steak was kind of dry, lots of black pepper and the choice of meat was not so great. There were parts that I wasn't able to chew. The Caribbean rice was mushy and had no flavor. The butter beans lacked salt. The okra and tomatoes was watery and tasted of mostly tomato. The great beans were tasteless. The yams were okay, but lacked imagination. I have to say, I was so disappointed. I live to support and try new businesses and seeing as though this one has been around for a while, I just expected more. Perhaps it was because it was 830 and they closed at 9 pm? I don't know what the case was but they have to do better. I called to place an order and was put on hold for 6 minutes, hung up and tried to call more than 10 times without getting through. Online ordering was easy. I explained this to the gentleman who had my order and he didn't even apologize. I'm just sad that I truly didn't fulfill that need for good southern food. I will not be back. read more

Hoover's Cooking - Chopped steak, Caribbean rice, butter beans, yams, okra and tomatoes and green beans - Southern Near Me - Austin, Texas

Went with the family. All of the food was definitely made from scratch. My wife and daughter had the catfish and thought it was terrific. I ordered brisket and it was good, but not great. We skipped dessert, but they looked delicious. read more

Great Home Cooking to the max, Meatloaf/Catfish/Chicken Fried Steak and House Mates and service are amazing..The Sweet Potato Praline Cheesecake was to die for. Thanks Hovers and Kyle read more

Hoover's Cooking - Southern Near Me - Austin, Texas

A friend and I split the bbq chicken and pork ribs and tried six different sides. Everything was packaged well, and they threw in corn bread and biscuits. Flavors were great, and while it was definitely comfort food, nothing felt too heavy or too salty. Fried okra crunched back up in the air fryer! read more

Hoover's Cooking - Bbq chicken, pork ribs, fried okra, mac & cheese, mustard greens, coleslaw, jalapeño creamed spinach & black-eyed peas. - Southern Near Me - Austin, Texas

We have always loved Hoover's and planned on trying it for thanksgiving this year. I called a week before thanksgiving and was told that since I was ordering thanksgiving plates rather than the full turkey meal and bulk sides that I would be okay ordering the day of, a few hours before I wanted to pick it up. So on thanksgiving morning I called at 9:30 (planned to eat by 11:30) and was told they would not be accepting orders until 11. So at 11 I called and went straight to voicemail (which was full), I called repeatedly over and over again and never even got a ring, no option to be put on hold or anything. Online ordering did not work, and my calls never went through. Finally at about 11:45 gave up and ordered elsewhere. So disappointed! We have always been big fans of Hoover's, the food is always excellent but this was really frustrating! read more

One of my favorite comfort food places in Texas and in the country. Catfish and candied yams are amazing, , as well as meatloaf and so many other things. read more