Simply the best for authentic Texas dining. Stopped in here during a business trip from a recommendation, and was not disappointed. Food, drink and customer service second to none. I will be back!! read more

This is one of our absolute Austin favorites. I can eat here any time. Excellent local taps and mixed drinks. If you are a shrimp and grits lover, order it! The blueberry pancakes are perfect. Love this place! read more

Good home style food with very generous portions. Me and my dad went on Saturday and tried the chicken and waffles. It was to die for best chicken and waffles, I have had this far. Menu was a little limited, but everything that I saw come out looked great. Very reasonable and the sweet tea was tasty as well. read more

Best fried chicken I've ever had, and the biscuits are heavenly. We've been there a hand full of times and have never been disappointed. Even the service is great, but keep in mind this place gets busy! One of these days I'll go there just for dessert, which always looks amazing, but I haven't saved room yet! This is one of the places we have to bring our out of town guests. read more

This is an amazing authentic true southern restaurant with food that my grandmother would make. An Austin iconic place that resonates Texas cooking. Don't miss it. read more

The best place in Austin to eat! Food was fresh and cooked to perfection! Will come again!

I'm pretty lucky. I've had the opportunity to eat soul food and comfort food all over the the US. I had the opportunity to eat at Hoovers 3 times last week. Pork chops, meat loaf and chicken fried steak. Collard Greens, Mac and cheese. Mashed potatoes and green beans. Peach and apple cobbler. So I feel pretty comfortable in saying this is average. Since there was no way to chop a star in half an give them what they deserve, l'll leave it at 3 and err on the side of mediocrity. It's not bad. The food was warm. Service was good. But worth a special trip? No. Something to write home about? Absolutely not. Is it better than Lubys? Sure. But not by much. So if you're already in East Austin and you're hungry and tired try Hoovers. If you're a foodie there are a lot more interesting choices. read more

Wife and I traveled from chicago to Austin and we where looking for a southern style restaurant. We came across Hoover...BEST RIBS and meat loaf we've ever had! The server (Anderson) was very very very nice and helpful and knew his menu very well. We fell in love with their cooking and Austin its self! We recommend!! read more

I'm upset at Hoovers. I lived across the street from the place for 15 years & ate there a hundred times. Well, I Went back there today, on duty & in uniform, for a burger. I ordered the junior burger & it was a small burnt patty, not well done, BURNT. I usually prefer it medium. I get it, no one likes the popo, but I couldn't be more disappointed & will likely not be returning. read more

Don't let the decor fool you, Hoover's is serious food. From the house made garlic buttermilk dressing to the delicate, pastry-like cinnamon biscuits, thoughtful care has been put into everything that leaves the kitchen. read more

Cold stale French fries, gritty Mac and cheese, soft drinks not functioning( wouldn't have mentioned the soft drinks, but it was served to me). Ribs were ok, sauce was nice and tangy. Jerk chicken was bland. Over 30$ with tip, way over priced for the quality. read more

I usually do not write negative reviews but just want to advise you to check to-go orders. I ordered chicken fried chicken and after I returned ALL THE WAY hone, realized I had chicken fried steak. Go back in my car, returned to Hoover's and politely advised that I would pay for the sides that my daughter picked through, but did not want the chicken fried chicken - had lost my appetite at this point. Waited about 15 minutes for the manager to come over and he gave me a receipt saying he cancelled the entire order. Seven days later, there is still a charge of $14.00 on my bank account. The charge was never cancelled. I won't return. The frustration around the incorrect order and the assurance that it was refunded (due to their error) when it really was not, is not worth it. read more

If you are in Austin and don't eat here you are a DUMBASS my wife and I were in town for 3 days and ate here twice OUTSTANDING

Wow. Went there after the UT Game and the food was awesome, the prices exceptionally reasonable. Overall and excellent place, with excellent services, good solid comfort food. read more

I love Hoover's. All in all i think its a great place to grab some southern cooking. The prices are pretty reasonable considering the amount of food you get. Get the spinach side, its always delicious. I love the ribs there, but their jerk chicken can sometimes be a bit salty. If you are feeling indulgent I recommend the black berry cobbler there. read more

Went to Hoover's for the first time last week, and I have to say this place is AMAZING! Since moving to Austin I'd been looking for a place that had southern home cooking, my search is over. I will definitely be making this one of my fav spots. I had the meat loaf with okra and green beans. The meat loaf was tasty with it's seasoning and the green beans were cooked in bacon making the flavor quite delicious. After trying to conquer the meal, I had to order a slice of sweet potato pie to-go, which did not disappoint. Can't wait to visit them again to try other items. read more

Ha ha! So, I can't believe this. I saw a sign that said "Best Margharita in Austin." So, I thought...home town cook'n with a little cajun flavor?? how could this place make a good marg? Well, they do. I've always loved the food here, hands down, but now...I have a new reason to come! read more

I used to love Hoover's. I ate at Hoover's at least once a month until I moved to New York three years ago. When I moved back to Texas, I was thrilled to eat at Hoover's again, but I was really disappointed once I did. It seems as though the quality of the food decreased. I used to love their salads with thousand island dressing because it tasted homemade, but it's definitely different now... it tastes like the standard dressing out of a bottle. Their macaroni and cheese was bland and mushy. The chicken fried steak was chewy and tasteless. I was VERY disappointed. I don't know what happened... read more

I don't know why I haven't reviewed this place yet. It's been one of my favorite restaurants in the Austin area since I moved here in 2010. I always order the same thing--fried catfish with macaroni and cheese. I've had fried catfish at other restaurants, and each time I thought there was entirely too much thick, unhealthy breading on the fish. I could not even taste the fish in some cases. When I tasted the catfish at Hoover's, I knew it was different. They use a cornmeal batter to coat (not smother) the fish before frying it. I could clearly taste the fish this time,and there was just the right amount of batter--enough to give the fish a crunch, but not enough to mask the flavor. The macaroni and cheese is delicious. It was easy for me to tell that it was completely made from scratch. It had just enough cheese to make it creamy, without becoming runny and messy. I always save room for dessert here. I have had both the banana pudding cheesecake and the sweet potato praline cheesecake. Both are delicious. The sweet potato cheesecake is a new twist on sweet potato pie, and I love cheesecake, so it only seems natural that I would like this dessert. Overall, I really enjoy the food, and the service is outstanding. I will definitely go back. read more

My wife and I visited Hoover's on New Years day specifically for black eyed peas. As we walked in, there was a nice spread of black eyed peas wrapped in greens and beets. The food hit the spot. We highly recommend this place and will be visiting again for fried chicken and chocolate pie! read more

This place is overrated.. First off I was seated up front..There were plenty of tables elsewhere.. The sweet tea was semi sweet, the black eyed peas were not seasoned..I did have the chicken fried steak.. It was semi good.. And the corn bread it was good.. Not too busy when I was there..It was around 6:00 p.m. read more

This is home cooking at it's best! I recently had surgery and didn't feel like cooking. We had heard of Hoovers and decided to give it a try. I had the fried pork chops, mashed potatoes, and veggie...OH SO GOOD! So good, in fact, we went back a few days later for breakfast. This will b my go to place when I want good old grandma-type food and don't want to go to the trouble to make the mess myself! read more

I really liked Hoovers, until I discovered their BBQ menu. Then I fell in LOVE. I have eaten the BBQ chicken with ribs many times and it's darn good. And those sides? Amazing. The jalapeño creamed spinach is fantastic. Leafy greens right? Healthy? Yes. Corn bread and biscuits could be better but everything else, including customer service, is very good. read more

Let me start by saying I'm 5''11/160lbs. The best part of Hoover's is the menu. I was SO excited to go here after looking at the menu, and had a couple of different entrees that I wanted. I decided on the char. catfish (lemon pepper) and the mashed potatoes, mac & cheese and pinto beans. The biggest complaint is that the portions are TINY. I ate all of this in roughly 10 minutes and was no where NEAR full. The food was all room temperature, and the flavor was "Meh" at best. And a note to waitstaff, if you see a glass of water empty fill the damn thing back up. If you can't manage this go find another job. I see a lot of reviews on here praising this place so I may have just caught them on a bad night or with a new cook. Having said that, there are a lot of amazing restaurants in Austin and I have no intention of going back here. read more

A dismal experience at the best. I've been searching for a restaurant in Austin that serves a good Chicken Fried Steak, but this place doesn't have it either. The steak was small, pounded to the thickness of copy paper, over cooked and served cold with cold gloppy gravy (FAIL), the sides were no better, the fries were frozen (in a home-style cafe?), my side salad came out after my meal (FAIL), the black-eyed peas tasted like vinegar (FAIL). Plus the other guy in my party order the Hot sausage plate, which it was not hot, heat-wise or flavor wise, the only thing that was warm on his meal was the yams. The sad thing is I checked the reviews and thought it might be worth checking out. Don't bother, you'll get as much satisfaction with a Swanson's TV dinner and save a lot of money. read more

Short version: Mediocre food and subpar service. Long version: I ordered the jamaican jerk chicken which comes with 3 sides. So I opted for steamed broccoli, Caribbean rice, and yams. Also comes with cornbread. Cornbread was tiny and boring like the cornbread muffins from Jason's Deli. Chicken was alright-- neither objectionable nor memorable. Yams were tasty. Rice was tasty with a little kick (although possibly boxed). Broccoli never made it to the table. Which brings me to the service... When the food first came out, I didn't see the broccoli and mentioned that it was missing to the person who brought the food (someone different than our server). He said it was cooking and would be out soon. Fifteen minutes later he comes by the table to say the broccoli was coming. By this time, I'm halfway through my meal. Our server didn't notice it was missing and didn't say anything about it. I didn't say anything because the cook said it was coming. Well, I finished my meal and told the server my broccoli never came. She offered to give it to me "to go". I declined. She offered me another side to go, and I declined. Why on earth would I take some steamed broccoli to go? And where has it been all this time? No apology, no adjustment to my bill, no dessert on the house...nothing. My dining companion was also unimpressed with her meal. Hoover's was a disappointment. No interest in returning. read more

Great burgers and even better service. My son and I ate here twice in two days while he was taking exams at the UT K16 testing center close by. The wait staff was very friendly and the service was great. The burgers were the best I've had in a very long time! read more

Hoover's is simply the best. They can handle large groups with ease, and everyone is so friendly and accommodating. I went on Sunday for the second time with a couple of girlfriends. We were seated and waited on immediately. Our food was delicious. Two of us got the chicken and dressing special, and the other got catfish. The servings are large enough that wait staff should just bring you a to go box with your food! The sweet tea is the best I've had...yum. I don't live in Austin, but Hoover's feels like a neighborhood place where everyone is a regular. I can't wait to go back next time I'm in town. The salads on the menu looked amazing, and I just have to try one. read more

Great Southern comfort food! The food was delicious and affordable, and the staff was efficient and friendly. I had the chicken fried steak with fried okra, mashed potatoes, and mac & cheese, followed by the blackberry cobbler, and I highly recommend you do the same. read more

Bland food and almost no service... A once great name in the Austin restaurant scene has really let this place slip.

The food is fine. Two star rating due to relatively low value: example on my visit today was Greek salad for $11.99 (on the web it says $10.99, so don't base your price expectations on the on-line info they publish http://www.allmenus.com/tx/austin/14529-hoovers-cooking/menu/). Salad was a broiled chicken breast with a small amount of artichoke hearts, a very small amount of feta, sprinkle of black (canned, pre-sliced) olives, and a pile of average lettuce. More like a $10 value than a $12 value--even being generous. Also, $9.99 catfish fillet was SMALL. If you like good food but are not sensitive about price, you'll be satisfied. But by no means is this place a bargain. read more

Hoover's has an excellent weekend breakfast/brunch without the long waits. Generous servings, delicious traditional breakfast items like pancakes, eggs, and bacon. But, you really need to try the honey dipped chicken strips on biscuit with grits. THE BEST! read more

Absolutely fantastic food!! Home cooking is what they say, and home cooking is what you get. Don't forget the pecan pie.

For Thanksgiving we Pre-ordered two smoked turkey breasts and two pans of cornbread dressing. One Smoked Turkey breast and one "Jerkey-Turkey" (Jamaican Jerk Spice.) Both had an amazing smokey taste. Family Consensus Best Turkey ever! The Cornbread Dressing was like homemade. We will definitely repeat! read more

See all

The grilled catfish was superb and the fried catfish was tender and not at all greasy. Delicious. Salad was fresh and dressing was homemade. Other sides could have been fresher. An over extended waitress did her best to give us a good experience, but she deserves some help. Overall very positive. read more

I stopped at the ABIA location and got the chicken strips and fries. The strips were moist and coated perfectly. What I loved most was the peppery brown gravy. It was a good thing the portion of gravy wasn't bigger or I would have dipped every fry in it. I had plenty of time before my flight so I didn't mind the wait, particularly because everything was cooked to order. read more

Good food for your soul here. I always think of the good old days every time I eat here. Great service and a great go to every time I want to feel better. read more

The food did not taste fresh at all. We had chicken friend chicken that wasn't crispy, sandwich where the bread tasted stale. Veggies like out of a can... service was good and (strangely) margarita was good) read more

I love Hoover's. Great jerk ribs, butter beans (and a ton of other sides), buttermilk pie & a surprisingly good and interesting margarita. Always friendly service. read more

Terrible service!! Would not recommend. Was so excited to try Southern Comfort food, but was underwhelmed by the service. Our waiter greeted us by joking he was busy serving us and one other table. We ordered an appetizer, and Ron forgot to bring it out. Following this, our food arrived. Unfortunately, it was the incorrect order. It took some time to correct, but eventually got what we wanted. When we ready to pay out, we were overcharged for the incorrect order! Had to track down a manager to straighten things out. Although the manager made things right on the bill when we explained the situation, very disappointed in the service overall. Although the food is decent, I'd recommend spending your evening elsewhere. You'll be far less frustrated. read more