My meal was good, and the service was good. My drink was promptly refilled the first time, but then was never refilled again. The food was good, but not great. The jerk chicken was extremely dry, and not worth $4.99. I tell it like it is. read more

Goddamn this place is good. They'll serve you a ham steak as big as your face. They serve you so much food that if you get a dinner from Hoovers, you don't have to make lunch the next day. read more

One of my favorite restaurants in austin. I think it's much better than that Austin institution of comfort food, Threadgill's. But someone I know who waited tables there tells me the kitchen is, shall we say, less than spic and span. Maybe that just adds to the down-homeness? read more

I love the food here and I always order takeout, but their customer service is lacking. It's always a rude tone and no warm hello or thank you. read more

I'm sorry to have to give this place a lower rating, but it just wasn't that good today. The good part was the host. A very nice young man and very personable. The not so good, was the service. Starting with very slow to take our order, not very attentive, no drink refills, and very slow to bring our check. As far as the food, my daughter had one of the specials which was the rainbow trout and said it was very good although it did seem like a small portion. Unfortunately, I ordered the barbecue chicken Cesar salad. The chicken was dry and a little charred. The salad was fresh but the dressing was not the best Cesar too vinegary. read more

Wow. I'm giving this place five stars, however, I've only been here once. So this judgement is based soleley on that. First the food, the food was amazing. This is Southern cooking at its best (for Austin). I ordered one of the specials, the smothered pork chops, and that came with two 'mates' (side dishes). For my mates I chose the creamed jalapeno spinach and macaroni and cheese. I love me some macaroni and cheese and am extremely particular about ordering it at restuarants because it always tastes like it came from a box. This had so much cheese in it, even if it had come out of a box, it was overcheesed where all you could taste was that. Yummy. My partner in crime for this adventure ordered the meatloaf and got mashed potatoes and green beans for his side. You show up here with an appetite, as the portions are not for the finicky or non hungry. We ended up sharing our mates and entrees and they bring out corn bread and butter with the meal too. The pork chops were smothered in a thick brown gravy with onions, and the meatloaf was smothered with a thick spicy tomato based vegetable sauce that was a lot more awesome than the typical ketchup crap you normally find on meatloaf. The green beans were average, the mashed potatoes came with a white gravy and the spinach was the best creamed spinach I've ever had. After our meal, we ordered dessert. They have various sweet treats available, and we opted to share a cheesecake made of sweet potatoes, pralines, and caramel. The service was awesome. Our waitress, not only stayed on top of our drinks and refills, but was also very suggestive in a non upsell way. Originally I wanted to get the chicken friend chicken, but she suggested pork chops and she definitely pointed me in the right direction. Also our dessert was a suggestion from our waitress and we were definitely not disappointed. I noticed we arrived at around one pm on a Saturday. We finished up at around two. Right as we were leaving the entire lobby was full of waiting people. I recommend arriving early. The pricing wasn't outrageous, but obviously increases depending on the type of entree you get, or if you 'HOOVER SIZE A MEAL'. Yes, regardless of how large the portions already are, they give you the option to make it larger. Scary. All in all it was a great experience, I'm looking forward to going back and trying the chicken fried chicken, the chicken friend steak, catfish and gumbo. Also note, there are vegan options on the menu. Not everything needed to be shot in order to create an entree option. read more

i don't really crave homestyle/soul food in austin. i think it's partly bc i haven't had any here that is crave worthy. i also don't think of hoover's as soul food though too - homestyle, yeah - but there's not enough bacon, boldness, spice, heat and unconventional parts like ox tails or chitterlings. i'm probably going to get flamed for what i originally wanted to say so i'll say it more pc - hoover's seems too gentrified. when i think of soul food i'm thinking of This Is It in Houston or Sylvia's in NYC. i always like to preface these reviews by saying, i'm born and raised in houston. i don't claim a lot of things from Houston anymore, but the one thing we have there is food. with that being said, the food is average. i've never been knocked off my feet - actually if i was to give an accurate description, i would say, slightly better than luby's. i mean that isn't saying luby's is horrible, bc chicken fried chicken and chicken fried steak is really hard to screw up imho, but there's nothing about hoover's that making me say OMG i want their mac n' cheese now, or i want their corn bread right now. as a matter of fact, the candied yams weren't cooked all the way through, the corn bread is really dry and bland, they had some kind of sweeter biscuit that was hard and i likened it to a cardboard hockey puck. i didn't even get the 'top part' of the mac n cheese - you know the cheesy topping that's the best part. pluses are that the portions are ginormous if you order from the regular menu. i was mostly impressed by the portion of sides you get. if you order from the 3's menu you get a slightly smaller entree and a choice of 3 sides that are also a smaller portion but are actually closer to the portions you would normally expect anywhere else. if hoover's and threadgill's is austin's claim to homestyle food, i think i'll pass and stick to interior mexican which is actually done very well here. read more

I just had the best meal I've ever had at Hoover's, bar none. So why the four stars you may ask? This review is more of a COLLECTIVE review of Hoover's over the past five months. I live in San Antonio and travel to Austin twice a month. I make a point to eat at one of three places when I visit: The Pizza Shop, Lebowski's Grill, or Hoover's. Mr. Hoover had a San Antonio location for a few years--which was one of my favorite restaurants in town--until it closed. He was frequently at that location cooking, and would always come out of the kitchen and speak to customers about their dining experience. A friendlier gentleman you could not hope to meet. Unfortunately, that friendliness does not always translate to the wait staff. In my experience over three of the past five visits, my servers have been aloof, inattentive and, in one case, downright rude. It is also worth mentioning that the food has occasionally been subpar (mac n' cheese, I am looking squarely at you) or portioned smaller (chicken fried chicken) than I remember. Also noticeably absent from what I remember is the 'heat' of the Jamaican rub used on the chicken and ribs. Nevertheless, make absolutely no mistake that the rub is delicious and flavorful even when mild. Now that the bad is out of the way, I would like to end this review with what I absolutely love about Hoover's. First and foremost, the complimentary warm cinnamon bread that comes out before the meal is sublime comfort food when paired with a pat of butter. Tonight I ordered the fried catfish with three house mates (smaller size) of garden salad, mac n' cheese, and sweet potatoes. I also ordered one pork rib--not Jamaican rubbed this time--to compare the two. I can enthusiastically say that everything I ordered was the best it has ever been, so big kudos to the chef tonight. Although I love Hoover's meatloaf and Jamaican jerk chicken and ribs , my favorite food item is undoubtedly the fried catfish. They serve catfish 'fingers' that are delicately and lightly breaded in a cornmeal batter that arrive to your table without a whisper of grease. Slightly crunchy on the outside and tender, succulent, and non-fishy tasting on the inside, I challenge anyone to find better tasting catfish. If you do, PM me. I want to know about it. Fortunately for me the mac n' cheese had just been prepared and it was ON POINT. I think this may have been the problem with previous visits in that it had been made a while before serving, but that is simply suggestive. The yams were as delicious as I remember, but I really want to give a shout-out to the garden salad. Usually side salads are an afterthought at most restaurants. Not here. The vegetables are VERY fresh, there is a 'bite' to one of the added greens, a couple of strong purple onion rings (essential, in my opinion) and the homemade buttermilk ranch is one of the very best salad dressings I have ever had. Ditto to the homemade tartar sauce for the fried catfish. Phenomenal. Lastly, my server tonight, John Fajardo, was one of the very best I have ever had in any restaurant. Courteous, attentive (not overly--just right), and very genuinely friendly, it was a nice departure from the service I had received at some of my previous visits. So thank you, John, for making my dining experience even more enjoyable. I will always be a return customer with this level of service and food quality. read more

The service was good and our waiter was super sweet! The food, however, was not all that great. Nothing was seasoned well and the "rolls" were kind of weird... probably won't be back. read more

Hoover's ROCKS! If you want some stick to your ribs true Southern cooking - this is the place! I believe Paula would agree. I had the chicken fried steak and it did not disappoint! It might not look like much from outside, it resembles a food joint in a strip mall, but the interior is a nice surprise. This isn't really a vegan, vegetarian or dieter's type of place though. read more

The worst chicken fried steak I have ever eaten. The meat was so tough I struggled to cut and chew it. The gravy was as thick as wallpaper paste and had no flavor to it at all. The broccoli and green beans were grey and way over cooked. The squash was good though. The server was more obsessed with the regulars than anyone new. Overall, this was the worst meal I have ever had in Austin. I was excited due to the high reviews, but they are clearly heading downhill fast. read more

sweet baby jesus in the manger, hoover's is the best restaurant in austin. hulagirl is, obviously, from the land of hula. but i swear to god there's a latent southern girl inside me. i love stewed collards and grits and all that good stuff. so bless you, hoover's. i'm so not one to normally go for the chicken fried steak but holy god is their chicken fried steak pretty much the best thing ever. i started off sharing it with hulaboy but he got tired of me hogging it and i'm now forced to finish off the entire plate by myself. and please. for the love of god. let's stop comparing this to threadgill's. threadgill's=terrible airplane food. hoover's=heaven. read more

I love southern comfort food and they do it right. Catfish was hot and crisp, greens were cooked with the right amount of seasoning and fried okra was awesome. I generally eat healthy, and this was a nice "splurge" meal. Don't let the strip mall exterior fool you, this is a great place to eat! read more

This place was fabulous! I was really pleased to find a restaurant that was open around the clock and where it appeared you could leisurely hang around that wasn't filled with students. I had the cheesy garlic grits. They were awesome. If the grits are this good, it only bodes well for the rest of the food. read more

Southern food served in a noisy, chaotic environment, with portion sizes that would do Dom DeLuise proud. Menu standouts are the chicken fried steak and/or chicken, the Cajun ham poboy, jerk chicken and any dessert. If they are serving banana pudding cheesecake, do yourself a favor and order it. You will not be disappointed. I have always left Hoovers full and happy, if not a little sleepy. read more

Excellent home style food. Best chicken fried chicken had in a long time! Wife LOVED their yams!

I hate to write a negative review because the potential is there to be delicious, but I can't ignore 3 sub par meals in 3 separate visits. The final straw was dinner tonight. I ordered the chicken fried chicken with mashed potatoes, grits, and salad. My entree came and was the thinnest, driest, chicken breast fried til it was rock hard and smothered in gravy. Next to it was a sad pile of potatoes equally smothered in gravy. The grits were just edible and the salad fine, but not enough to carry the meal. The husband had a sad red, white, and bleu chicken sandwich. It came open faced with two dried chicken leather patties smothered in browning lettuce , watery tomatoes, and tasteless bleu cheese. Ugh. The experience was just depressing. Service was fine but I'm there to eat the food, not the servers. Sadly that was the last nail in the coffin. Hoovers you are dead to me. read more

Hoovers is a very nostalgic place for me. As a child I ate here many Sunday's. I have tried just about everything on the menu. My favorite is the meatloaf! As an adult I make sure to come at least once a year for my birthday. I still get the meatloaf, Caribbean rice, fried okra and spinach every time. My partner typically gets a different meal each time so I still get to taste everything on the menu. the reason I gave Hoover's a 3 and not a 5 is over time the food has lost a little flavor and it seems as though my servers are always a little intoxicated. The food is still fairly decent and the servers are still nice. read more

I met my husband and my son for lunch at Hoovers today. It was my recommendation for lunch as I have previously eaten here a few years ago. I raved about the quality of the food to my husband. We ordered our food at the counter and then sat down. My son was hungry and was requesting chicken strips and french fries. My husband decided to try the red white and blue burger and I had the hot links with sides of steamed broccoli and squash medley. The food arrived shortly after ordering it. In fact it arrived so quickly, I have no doubt that the food had been made already and then reheated to order. My son who had been asking repeatedly for chicken strips and french fries tried the chicken and the fries and then refused to eat any of it. The batter on the chicken strips was not completely cooked (flour was still raw) and his fries looked like they had been fried 3 times. They were dark brown and hard. The chicken batter had VERY large pepper corns in it. My son will usually eat about 80% of his fries and chicken when we go out to eat. My husband tried the fries and said that they tasted like they had been fried in old oil. My husband's burger patty was burnt to the point that his burger was inedible. The patty was hard and dry and to be honest would have made a good hockey puck. My "hot links" were oddly colored and tasted old. The steamed broccoli was almost raw and the squash medley had no seasoning. I ate 1 sausage link and the vegetables because I have to work until 10:30pm tonight and did not have time nor the money to stop for another meal. As I sit here writing this review, I feel sick to my stomach and am wondering if I should have even eaten that. This was by far the WORST meal that I have had in a very long time. Those 3 items and a coke cost $55.00. read more

I love Hoover's with all my heart, ever since I tried it a few years ago. I, too, grew up in small-town Texas. Sorry Granny, but Hoover's Cooking shames your food, except for your fried okra. Everything I've ever tried at Hoover's was mostly very delicious. One caveat: their mac n cheese can be very hit or miss. Yes, the portions are huge, but what's wrong with having it for lunch the next day? So what to recommend? I think their chicken fry is one of the best out there, and I consider myself a connoisseur of chicken frys. But I almost always go for the chicken fried chicken. Their gumbo is delicious on the days that they have it. I don't like meat loaf, but my husband claims it's the best he's ever had. I also love their catfish, particularly the lemon pepper, which is a quasi-healthy alternative to the rest of the menu. I've found the po'boys to be outstanding, too. And on Wednesdays, you may have the exquisite chicken n dumplings. I'd like to address the other person's critique of the way that they prepare their dumplings. You ask who makes dumplings like that. Actually a quick use of The Google yields a surprising result. Paula Deen, the queen of southern food y'all, makes her dumplings exactly the way Hoover's does. I've had both versions and like them both. Hoover's stands out in the respect that they use their smoked chicken, giving it a terrific flavor. It's also loaded with huge chunks of chicken. I think getting hung up on whether or not it's soul food, or southern food, or comfort food is a little silly. It's kinda like going to almost any "Chinese" restaurant in Austin and not getting authentic Chinese, or expecting true Mexican food at one of the many restaurants around here that call themselves "Mexican." I think for most of us food laymen out here, the term "comfort food" works just fine. I've lived in the South all my life, and maybe I've been hoodwinked for 29 years, but their food seems to resemble what I grew up on, only much much better. The atmosphere is not great, but to me, the place is as un-pretentious as it gets, and so is the food. I also like the fact that I often see Hoover himself working the kitchen or dining room. The only reason I don't give this place a full 5 stars is for their service. The service can be awful. As a long-time fan, I've observed that they seem to have a high turnover rate among their servers. Management needs to address this phenomenon so that they can retain good servers. read more

I've only been once and I had chicken fried steak, okra, and mac-n-cheese. The chicken fried steak was good, but not any better than most i've had, and the fried okra was yummy, but the worst was the mac-n-cheese (which is one of my all time favorite side dishes, but here it was gross, there was no taste to it, it was bland and I was hoping for so much more at this place. I had heard it was super yummy home cooking but I don't think it was all it was cracked up to be. If I ever go back i'm definitely ordering something different. read more

I randomly stopped by this place for a Thanksgiving lunch and was really surprised at how good the food was. I had the vegetarian medley meal and I was completely satisfied. Our waiter was fantastic and really made us feel at home, I believe his name was Christian. The whole staff really handled the holiday well, especially considering the amount of people dining (and waiting outside) that afternoon. I have no idea what their regular menu is like, but if the quality is anywhere near what it was on Thanksgiving day, I say check it out! Thanks Hoover's! read more

Go for happy hour. Get the margarita on the rocks cause it's strong. Get the brisket stuffed jalepenos cause they are amazing. The place deserves a five for those alone, but since I didn't really eat dinner at Hoovers, I'm sticking with a four. Did I mention the jalapenos are also filled with cheese and deep fried. Yeah, I would go again and again and again. read more

It's expensive. It's pretty okay food. I've never ordered a burger because it'd cost me $16 for my choice burger and it's not even gourmet. More gourmand. I haven't been there and not felt sick when I get the check. $19 last lunch. LUNCH. Honestly I'd never return. 2/3 times service was horrendous. The chocolate bread pudding is closer to chocolate mousse. It's the final chance I was giving this place. Fail. The gumbo was the last plate I had. Had to add spice to it. Sad. Not a bad location for a new business. read more

When you come into a restaurant at 7:30 you expect to wait a long time imagine my surprise to find only 3 parties in front of us we go outside to wait since inside is crowded after a while we move inside and start to see people who got there after us getting seated. I look at the list and my name is crossed off and 3 groups after us are seated. When this is brought to the hostess attention he says it was a mistake and seats us at a dirty table. When I speak with the manager he keeps making excuses that it is busy dispite several empty tables. Management should avoid making excuses and simply say you will talk to the employee. read more

Overpriced and NOT good. Very disappointing. My friend and I ordered online food to go. Cornbread was the size of a golf ball and dry as hell. Her greens tasted canned and were too sweet. My black eyed peas were mostly mush and my green beans were waaaayyy overcooked and were sweet. And my side salad consisted a 3 pieces of spinach and iceberg lettuce and a tomato wedge. Even though it was small it was the only decent thing I had to eat. The mac and cheese had fake cheese on it and when I asked for an extra tea to go I was told no, this after paying $2.50 and I would have gotten an extra had we dined in. After tipping (because I know it is tough for restaurants these days) my bill was $18.00! For three veggies, a dried out piece of cornbread and 6 ounces of tea. Won't be going back, sadly. Another Austin institution bites the dust. read more

Go on Tuesday for the Red White and Blue sandwich. Grilled chicken, hot sauce and a 1/2 pound of blue cheese...heaven!

Sad - but this used to be one of my favorite places to eat in Austin. Maybe I just caught them on an off day or two? I went there last week to celebrate my Son's new job offer and was, once again, more than a little dissappointed. I ordered the chicken fried pork chop, with mashed potatoes and jalapeno cream spinich. My first peave was that they charge extra if you want cream gravy on your chicken fried pork chop. Come on, seriously? ANYTHING called "chicken fried" has GOT to come with cream gravy. Peeve number two - I got mac and cheese instead of the potatoes I ordered, and the waiter wasn't offering up any apologies. And of course by the time I got the potatoes I ordered my food had cooled off - I hate that. Peave number three - there were six of us for dinner, and they brought out five of the meals, and then after several minutes had passed brought out the last dish. Again - I hate watching my food get cold, but don't want to be rude and start eaing until all the food is served. The food itself was only so-so, except for the jalapeno cream spinach, which was as good as it's ever been. The porkchop was thin and dry - thank God I paid extra for the gravy!! All-in-all I think this place is on a downhill slide - hopefully they can pull out of it before they loose too many customers. BTW - if you like Smothered pork chops, make sure you go on a Saturday and catch their special! read more

Came here for our final meal in Texas. Food was awesome. I got the chicken fried steak and my girl got the smothered pork chops. I'm only removing 1 because we felt as though we were a bother to our server. We noticed our server was friendly to other patrons and we wished we got other servers we saw. Again, the food was incredible and we'd go again... maybe our server was having a bad day .. everyone does. read more

The catfish here is amazing! Crispy on the outside and tender inside. The mac n cheese was perfect and so were the black eyed peas! Just like home. The only dislike were the greens which I prefer a more savory vinegar ham flavor. These greens had too much sugar for my liking. When in Austin, I will def return here read more

This review is only for their Cajun Fried Turkey. We usually buy fried turkey from Popeye. This year we got it from Hoover's instead. It is a big disappointment. Their turkey is extremely dry and tasteless. The turkey turned out to be very small. It is about 8 lbs. after it is fried. I am aware of turkey's weight will drop once it is fried. According to Hoover's the precooked weight should be 14 - 16 lbs. Popeye's would be $20 cheaper. We have bought fried turkey from different places for Thanksgiving over the years. This is by far the worst. read more

I live very close to Hoover's and always notice how good it smells when I pass by, but had never tried until recently. It did not disappoint! I had the lemon pepper catfish and it was SO good, with the fried okra and Caribbean rice and beans. My whole meal was so yummy, I literally ate every bite (including the cornbread). My roommate got the fried catfish and also really love it. Everything was very very good! read more

Great place for Southern food. Also works for large groups if you don't mind the wait, or even better show up early and not have to wait. The chicken fried chicken is so heart-clogging good and ginormous! I love me some white gravy! The meatloaf is okay, but then again meatloaf isn't really my thing. A friend of mine who loves mac and cheese thinks this place has the best mac and cheese he's ever had. If I didn't try so hard to be health conscious, I would definitely make this a regular stop when I'm in Austin. read more

I'd never heard of Hoovers but a friend brought me some to work! and OMG it was freaking delicious! I haven't had an opportunity to go back, but I can't wait to go back! read more

Worst experience at a restaurant in a very very long time, first our food took forever to come out the waitress looked like she didn't know what was goin on... the chicken fried steak is supposed to be the "best thing on the menu" nope don't waste your time or money at this place. The guys that brought our food had no idea what belonged to who at the table ... then spilled the fries in the kitchen then what was left on the plate almost spilt on me.... I asked for a refill 3 times before I could get one as well, asked to speak to the manager and all he says he could do was offer me fries after I had already finished eating or take a $1 off! Lol are you kidding a dollar?!? I told him to keep it he looked like he needed it more than me... over all I would never come back here or refer it to anyone. Other than the hostess in front no one here looked like they wanted to be here.. STAY AWAY LOOK ELSEWHERE! In the end they took $2 off my receipt read more

I had a nice southern BBQ experience here. Let's start with the food. We got the Austin-TX pepper fired wings to start. These were SO SO good. The meat falls right off the bones, and it was the perfect spiciness for me (not TOO spicy). SO SO good. Still wondering how they made it. I ordered the Elgin sausages and it was just too much sausage. In hindsight, I should have gotten a regular BBQ fare. The portions are huge so beware! They charge extra for sharing. The decor was country kitchen like and the hostess was this little lady wearing a country dress like one Dorothy wore in Wizard of Oz and said "y'all". Fun experience for a New York girl. read more

One of my favorite places to eat in Austin! The catfish is amazing and I love the jalapeno creamed spinach!

I had heard so much about this place. My husband raves about it. I finally went with some co-workers for lunch and I was unimpressed. I ordered a muffaletta and it was very bare bones. Not much olive relish and the bread was just ok. The cold cuts were fine, but nothing to write home about. I did like the creamed spinach. It was deliciously decadent. Perhaps next time I'll go all out for the chicken fried steak or fried catfish. read more

I had the chicken fried chicken with mac n cheese and green beans. For desert, I indulged in the buttermilk pie (which I had never heard of before!). Other than mediocre service, the food speaks for itself! Amazing for the price and the portions! read more

Best fried okra I've ever had (in a restaurant). My three sides veggie plate was HUGE, enough to take home for another meal. Everything was piping hot, which is important to restaurant experiences for me. The mashed potatoes were rich and thick. The squash medley was a bit undercooked, but still fresh and good. I'll definitely be going back when I'm craving comfort food again. read more