Lil’ Easy
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My list of places to try in Austin is a never-ending backlog. About a year ago, I had a friend recommend Lil' Easy for dinner. Since it was this new and poppin' restaurant on East Cesar Chavez from the team behind De Nada, we had over an hour wait that we didn't take up. Its vibe intrigued me, and I think Cajun food is top five like Tatum with a cut. I decided to prepare only slightly this time. While getting dinner with a friend, we were discussing places when I suggested Lil' Easy. I threw a reservation down for an hour later at one of their numerous dining options. Upon arrival, parking at that little strip of restaurants on East Cesar Chavez is a bit treacherous. If you're not afraid of getting your steps in at 6 pm on a Friday, don't sweat it. Anyone else, good luck. There are a lot of different seating arrangements at Lil' Easy: the true outdoor patio with fans and umbrellas, the climate-controlled outdoor space that still brings the sun while still pumping A/C, and the traditional indoor space. Plenty of seating. The entire place was decorated with Mardi Gras beads and colors. Off the rip, we had to set the tone: I ordered a Pimm's Cup while my friend got some secret frozen swirl. We had to throw down an order of the Crawfish Queso as well. The food and drinks were served so quickly, we questioned if it was ours. The queso was De Nada's signature queso with Crawfish Étouffée mixed in. There are no tortilla chips on the side, but instead toasted bread. It's kinda like a DIY Crostini. The crawfish's flavor is a unique and savory balance to the cheesiness of the queso. Very delightful. We crushed it. My friend wanted to go wild. Another appetizer?? Their Shrimp Cocktail was thrown down immediately after ordering. The shrimp was great, but those house pickles were sneakily one of the best things they served us. Living the high life. Speaking of that, I ordered a High Life Pony as we made our main orders: a Fried Catfish Po'Boy and Fried Oyster Po'Boy. Both cut down the middle so we could have a little this, a little that. I think the bread, the catfish and the oysters, and the fries served alongside it were all incredible. My only issue was that the catfish po'boy had horseradish in it. That is a me issue, and I don't know why I can't stand horseradish. I don't know if it was hiding in their coleslaw or their rémoulade, but something was horseradish-y! I'd get the oyster po'boy again and again though! We closed the night with me being fun as I ordered their Frozen Espresso Martini with sprinkles and whipped cream because some other lady sitting nearby had that, and I WANTED TO BE FUN TOO. My friend got herself the seasonal nonalcoholic Arnold Palmer that was spiked with some Deep Eddy Lemon Vodka. Hers was great, but mine was basically a milkshake. I looked like a joyous kid with my drink. I was so very happy. They do give you lids for your drinks if you want to take them with you, but I planned to finish mine then and there. The gimme cups are also a nice touch and have their cute alligator mascot on them. Throughout the night, we could not believe how fast the service was at getting our meals and our drinks to us. Our waitress was absolutely on point the entire time we were there, constantly checking in on us and being extremely friendly and helpful in making sure we chose the right things and had a good meal ahead of us. Lil' Easy is casual, fun, and absolutely delicious. They have some of the best frozens in Austin, and their food is some of the best seafood and Cajun food I've had in Austin, hands down. Get over here. RIYL: crawfish and cocktails
Came in on a pretty busy night when they were hosting karaoke. The host was very accommodating to me and my friend. We sat outside and enjoy the Texas cool down after a hot day and order drinks. Devin the man who was waiting our table did not seem very happy to be there and after we placed, our order would either truly not see us or just straight up ignore us while he waited on the tables around us. The food, however, was very good. I had an a frozen espresso martini 7/10. All the food was 10 out of 10 delicious..
This place is cute. It does feel a little bit like New Orleans. Just in the aspect of sitting outside in the decor, but not the ambience. When we arrived, we sat outside since it was such a nice day. There was plenty of seating and it was a Sunday where they were having a crawfish boil. The service was nice. The waitress is very helpful and nice. I came here because I kept hearing good things about the crawfish. I have to say the crawfish was OK. There is nothing amazing about it, but it was good. I will say the corn and the onion were beyond spicy, but that was a nice kick. We also got the oysters. I have to say that the oysters were delicious so I give them that. The gumball was definitely missing a lot of flavor. It was it that good. The deviled eggs were mediocre and nothing special to them. We also got a meat. Patty empanada kind of deal and that was OK. It was a little overly greasy. And for dessert, we got the banana rum cake, which I have to say was nice but again nothing special. As for drinks, they had quite a variation. One of us got the espresso martini, which was OK. It was too sweet for my taste. And then I got the spritz which was nice. It's very hard to mess up a spritz. Not sure I would've come back just because the food was OK if I did come back, it would be for the oysters cause I do say that was really good for them.
Cajun spot with collectible cups and a decent sized patio. The meat pie with the crawfish queso is a must get in my opinion. They have matchbooks if you're a collector!
Visited Lil' Easy with friends for the first time for a late dinner on a busy Friday night, and LOVED it. This is a Cajun restaurant through and through, with friendly employees, a NOLA vibe, and awesome food. We were surprised at how much we enjoyed everything we tasted. After seeing Lil' Easy's extensive Frozens list, we had to taste test. My friends ordered the Cowboy Coffee and Celestial Sunrise, and I tried the Saturn frozen. We were surprised at the complex flavor of the frozens, and enjoyed all three. To eat, we started with the boudin balls which will now be a mandatory order for all future visits -- crunchy on the outside and perfectly soft on the inside, served with creamy creole mustard aioli. My friends loved the cajun meat pie and fried butterflied gulf shrimp. I enjoyed my order of the gumbo, and snagged one of my friend's hushpuppies, which was perfectly done -- not dry! We ended with an order of the rum cake with vanilla ice cream, which was deliciously decadent. Counting down the days until our next visit at this fun spot. The only negative was the bathroom line -- there are only a few individual bathrooms, so be prepared to wait. Our server also let us know that they are having crawfish boils every weekend in Spring for everyone looking to get their crawfish fix!
Service is the essential part of dining out experience and it's crazy to realize that despite actually good food I declined coming back to this place last week because the experience we had two weeks ago was disappointing. Food was legit good! I really enjoyed our fried oysters and their gumbo was amazing. I will give them full credit for it. However..... Our server had zero interest in helping us. He came up to the table and the only thing was said was "are you ready?" No greeting, no menu run down (our first time here), no suggestions. We were not event told they had a crawfish boil!!!!????? We found out it was happening as we were leaving after our dinner: we saw people having it outside and staff actually boiling crawfish. I was confused about the drinks, I didn't realize bone of the items was not a flight AND it was frozen drinks. Instead of being actually helpful I was kind of spoken to as I'm stupid. Mind you, our first visit. I told him we'd need a minute on the drinks to look at the menu again. And he never returned to take our drink order nor to check on us until we finished with your food. Tables next to us sure did get some service though. Overall, didn't really feel welcomed, rather more like an inconvenience to our server. So we ended up going to a brewery next block instead for the drinks after food.
A little bit of New Orleans in the Govalle neighborhood of Austin. The food was excellent with the perfect amount of seasoning and spice. We didn't wait more than five minutes for any dish to arrive and the waiter and rest of the staff were efficient. Put this place on your must do list while in Austin and definitely try the deviled eggs
TikTok is honestly a dangerous place... one minute you're scrolling, the next minute you're sitting in a Cajun restaurant ordering everything with the word boudin in it. The boudin balls? 10/10. Absolutely elite. I would fight someone in the parking lot for the last one. The drinks? Delicious... and strong enough that I briefly considered learning how to speak Cajun French. Everything else? Let's just say it was... present. Not bad, not amazing, just there doing its best. Would I come back? For the boudin balls and drinks alone -- absolutely.
This is a New Orleans-themed Cajun restaurant, which I feel is very hard to come by around here. I brought my friend here, and he said it is one of his new favourite restaurants in Austin. They had some great daily special deals. We got the bowl of chicken and sausage gumbo, smothered chicken, and Cajun meat pie. The gumbo was more etouffee-like in our opinion, and it had a strong, salty and spicy flavour that wasn't that great. The portion was also quite small. The smothered chicken, on the other hand, was amazing. The chicken thighs were so tender, and the hushpuppies were delicious as well. I would definitely get that again in lieu of the gumbo. The meat pie was very flaky, and we both agreed it was just alright. The server suggested the remoulade for a side sauce instead of ranch, which I was surprised was the default. The remoulade was a good sauce.
Came by Lil Easy for lunch on Monday and had a good experience. For parking, they have limited spots available in front of the restaurant, but there's plenty of street parking. For beverages -- they had several frozen drinks in the bar and marketed that you could get a flight to try multiple, however the flights are pre-determined and with my red-dye allergy, I wouldn't have been able to partake in any of the flights, but I think that's a nice touch that the restaurant offers. Another cool option was to "swirl" some of the frozen drinks together (also pre-determined mixtures) so we opted for a Painkiller + Frozen Espresso Martini swirl ("Cowboy Coffee") and a regular Margarita in the rocks. The swirl was great but the margarita wasn't my style - I only drank half and left the rest to be poured out. Will probably just order a beer next time. For food -- we started with the Cajun meat pies, which honestly put a smile on my face. SO good. The filing, the flaky crust, the ranch dipping sauce - wonderful way to start our meal. Next, I ordered the chicken & waffles and my husband ordered the shrimp po-boy. The portion of shrimp on the poboy was VERY generous and the bread was dynamite. (It was so good that I'll probably order that next time!) the waffle was yummy and had great density - warning, it was a little sweet, kinda reminded me of a funnel cake (though I liked it!) Pro tip: Lil Easy also offers a reverse happy hour Wednesday-Saturday from 10-11 PM.
This is a "Trendy Austin spot" meaning it'll be busy busy on weekends and loud with lots of bachelorette parties. Parking was a free for all like many other places in East Austin, so just try not to park where you'll get towed. People come for the drinks, which I was not getting so I can only speak to the ambiance & the food. We came just between large groups, so thankfully we were able to get seated relatively quickly on a Saturday early afternoon in the "not patio but not indoor" area - it was great because it was cooler than the patio but also still had a TV etc. Our waiter was friendly & got to us between being sucked in by the big parties of drunk girls who didn't know what they wanted. Alcoholic drinks came out quickly but sodas & water refills did take a bit longer. Food ALSO came out very quickly once ordered. The étouffée was the best thing I got, with the fried crawfish & hushpuppies being just okay. The crawfish queso was quite good although we wished it had a little more bread with it. Overall, this place is cute but a little too trendy for my taste. And there are other great Cajun offerings in the city or down south, too.
Always a great spot to scratch the Cajun food itch...also has a great happy hour if that's your thin
I had never heard of this restaurant until we were invited for a memorial for one of their employees/my husband's friend who sadly passed. Full transparency, we didn't know what kind of restaurant it was until we arrived. I have a shellfish allergy and started itching when we got there, but oh my god, allergy be damned it was worth it. We arrived a little late and the table had closed out so there was some confusion over us starting a new tab, but that again was fully on us. The staff were funny and so kind and patient. The environment was comfortable and reminded me of being in New Orleans, which hard to find here. It was the perfect spot for a relaxing afternoon lunch. My husband ordered some drinks and we debated ordering food or not due to my allergy, but I've been craving a good muffuletta and Austin is sadly lacking in this department. I'm pregnant so this craving has been intense. I saw another patron order one and I felt it was worth the risk. We generally don't eat anywhere that serves shellfish due to fear of cross contamination. My husband ordered the jambalaya and deviled eggs. Our food came and it was beyond good. The muffuletta hit the spot and even though it was half a sandwich, that was way more than enough. The portions were big. The sandwich was divine. My husband shared his jambalaya with me and it too was delicious. While the reason for our trip to Lil Easy was sad, the restaurant and experience we had there was positive and we will definitely be back. Thank you for your stellar hospitality, Lil Easy!
2 years ago
Our first time and most certainly not our last! We are southwest Louisiana born and raised and the food, drinks, and service reminded us of home. We decided to sit at the bar where we were attended to immediately and even greeted by one of the owners. We tried the boudin, deviled eggs, meat pie, gumbo, potato salad, shrimp po boy, sazerac, Bloody Mary, and daiquiri. The boudin and sausage are from Poche's and are perfection. The Bloody Mary was one of the best I've had and the daiquiri requires you to call an Uber. The inside and patio felt like we were transported back home. I like my food a little more spicier but everything was flavored so well. I only took a picture of the Bloody Mary because I was so excited to eat :,) We will definitely be back. Edited to add: ghost in the machine IPA and bread pudding should be considered to be added to the menu eventually read more
We were seated outside and it was VERY hot, luckily we were given water as soon as we sat down. We also didn't like having to swat away flies the whole time we ate. Waitress was great and attentive. Food was great as well! The oysters were wonderful! read more
2 years ago
Brand new Cajun restaurant and it was solid all the way through. They have a great drinks menu and the painkiller with a floater was not too sweet. The raw gulf oysters are what you would expect and the meat pie was tasty. The shrimp and roast beef Po boys were really good and stuffed full. It has a Mardi Gras and Cajun atmosphere and overall I am glad to have this in Austin! read more
So so excited to have this new spot in Austin! Everything here has been a win all 4 times I've been so far. I've struggled to find a good Po' Boy in Austin that doesn't skimp on shrimp & Lil' East is the winner!! All the food here has been consistently good, the meat pie is an easy favorite with the ranch-like sauce as well. Gumbo here is unique, and more of a smoky style gumbo than what I've had before but I enjoy it for what it is. (Yes, it does have okra). Only low point was the hush puppies which were on the drier side but great when dipped in the sauce from the meat pie, or even used to soak up the gumbo. Frozens are strong and delicious as well and for a cute casual spot, the service is friendly and always attentive. Thought it couldn't get any better here until I found out they have happy hour too!!! New favorite spot for sure! read more
2 years ago
Got dinner with friends at Lil Easy! It's a cute spot out in East Austin! They had tvs inside with sports playing. We shared the Saturn frozen drink which was quite good. There's a lot of cocktail/alcoholic drink selections, which is perfect for a night out with friends! For food we got the gumbo, oysters, shrimp po boy, and fried shrimp platter. The shrimp was cooked perfectly and I enjoyed the remoulade sauce that came with it. The hush puppies on the side were yummy too. I thought the prices and portions were good especially compared to a lot of the newer Austin restaurants. Would def recommend checking it out! read more
6 months ago
11 months ago
R/n there's much to be desired in Lil' Easy; I'm hoping it'll improve. We made a Sunday morning brunch reservation. It seems like they were smashed the day before and everyone working at the restaurant including the hostess was just in a lackadaisical haze. Yes, we made reservation on Open Table. Oh! Let me sit you outside. Mind you we made an indoors reservation but it was Sunday and I wasn't in the mood to be rude. So we got seated al fresco which I didn't mind too much since there was a breeze from the traffic on Cesar Chavez so the mosquitoes would have a hard time. So I was put off by the less than Southern greeting. Perhaps this is Southern California style not Southern Louisiana style. The waiter was OK. Don't really blame him he did his best. The food was just not up to standards yet. Like I've seen other reviewers on other sites, the food is just so so. The oysters are not shucked well. In fact it's pretty messy so glad that market here is not the market price you find in other high falutin places in town because if it was I'd be upset. You'll have tear them raw oysters from the shell. As for the grilled oyster, very sad. Not like the grilled oysters you'd find on vacation in New Orleans. These are just buttered with some hint of parmesan. Not layers with cheese and butter. Maybe the grill still needs work. The highlight for me was gumbo. They say cajun but the roux not sure seemed like it was thickened with okra so perhaps more creole. I don't mind at all since it was spicy but I think so may lament that it isn't a thick roux and more like a Nigerian okra soup. I don't mind since I'm a fan of okra soup just didn't have any fufu so I'm confused. As for the drinks. You can't get drunk on these. Very sweet. I was promised my floater on the the very tart margarita tasting daiquiri. The hurricanes. Maybe it's just a breeze. like a light breeze. As my partner says. He won't go here again but I'm still cheering you guys on. Please improve? read more
2 years ago
Bomb. Everything. Bomb. Fire. Supa hot flames. Delicious. Still has that new business feel where everyone working there is nice, we spoke with the manager and everyone is just excited, I hope it stays that way! My friend and I wandered in on a Thursday evening to see what the new spot owned by Sawyer and De Nada was all about. There's some outside seating and some inside seating, it looks like the space was an old gas station maybe? Super cool. I saw they offered the plastic cups that you can take home, so of course I had to try one of their many frozen drink options. I got a NA option with cherry and lime. My friend was pleased they had unsweet tea, because he is obsessed. When the waitress came, we were ready to order everything on the menu. We got the meat pie, boudin, pork cracklins, shrimp po boy, and the daily special: crawfish etoufee. Which is a lot for 2 people, but we still need to come back to try more of the menu. We are professionals lol. Service was great, they did not skimp out on the amount of shrimp in the po boy, the etoufee was our favorite in town. Our waitress told us we got one of the last daily specials before they ran out. I trust this menu and we'll definitely be back. We already made a plan to sell for an east side crawl: Start at Lil Easy, get a good base of food and frozen drink, wander over to Central Machineworks since they'll probably have some kind of event or market going on, then pop over to De Nada for another frozen drink, salsa/chips, then end up at Sawyer for another delicious meal :D read more
I am a fellow New Orleanian so I have a high threshold when it comes to Texas establishments serving Cajun cuisine. And this one passes the test. The aesthetic is very authentically Louisiana which I love. The service was great, and very impressive given we came on this business' first week of operating. The food was very good. The shrimp po boy was my fav of the dishes I had. The gumbo was good. The potato salad was decent. Their banana crême drink was amazing. I look forward to coming back and trying their other dishes. Overall I'd give the food a 4/5, the service a 5/5, and the ambiance a 5/5. read more
11 months ago
Fun, cute spot to grab drink and bites with friends! It did have a few crowded corners, I ran into people or people ran into me multiple times which was odd. We were sat in the garage area, the restaurant stuck to its Louisiana theme well. Our waitress was very attentive and answered all our questions about the food. She was very patient with us since our group arrived at different times. The Thursday special was crawfish etouffee so most of the group including myself ordered it. It had great flavor and plenty of crawfish! This was my first time ordering etoufee so I don't have too much to compare it to. We wish it had a bit more rice and to make the dish more filling. We were all still pretty hungry after finishing it. The potato salad had an odd, almost fishy flavor to it so I didn't end up eating most of it. The drinks were yummy but I wish my drink had a stronger strawberry flavor. Make sure to order the large size to get the souvenir cup! It didn't make a great first impression but I'll be going back to try a fish basket or po boy which I think would be much more filling. read more
1 year ago
1 year ago
Great customer service. Nice cool air conditioning. Food was great and big portions. Definitely going back to try more items b read more
Food - yummy!! We loved everything we got. I'll be going back for the shrimp po'boy. Such great flavor and high quality bread. If you don't do well with spice, I'd suggest staying away from the crawfish. The painkiller was the perfect frozen drink and not too sweet. The frozen drink, "sex on the bayou" was pretty tart. We also got the rum cake for dessert and loved that! Service - Roberta was amazing!!! She made our first visit a great experience. For a new restaurant, the service already seems well dialed in. Ambiance - casual New Orleans vibes were on point! read more
1 year ago
2 years ago
The service was great, food was delicious! The drinks are top notch, try the Saturn! My favorite! Great vibe, good music. 5 stars! Meagan was the best waitress read more
2 years ago
2 years ago
Passing through Austin and found this Gem! Happy hour is pretty much all night until close! The cup of gumbo was really good! I actually had to get a second cup! Meat pie was good my first time having! The grilled oysters (garlic parmesean and chorizo) was the highlight! Megan was our waiter she was great, recommended a few items which all were very good The puloma and voodoo shots topped the night off!! Cute place to visit! Cant wait to go back!! read more
2 years ago
Came here around 4:45 seating for 2 at their no bar table instantly. // Sazarac cocktail - good, a sweeter old fashion to me. // Blood in the water alcohol frozen - if tounlike cherry and something sticky, sooo good, can't taste the alc that bad hahah // Hushpuppies - straight fucking fire. Best damn hush puppies I've ever had. By itself was good, with some butter was good, even asked for some cocktail sauce and that was good // Grilled oysters (Rockefeller style) - good massive oysters was not expecting them to be that big. Delicious with horse radish and Tabasco.// Gumbo - FIRE. Easy going down and what really makes it is the aftertaste. Easy going down and might not seem like much but it's hella good. I got a cup, should've had a bowl. Banana crème Float - was aight lmao read more
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Great time!! The drinks were amazing, it wasn't too loud and the food was great!! Service was also stellar!! Highly recommend! Especially as an alternative to De Nada. Cheaper, nicer and way better drinks and food. read more
Went here for a friend's birthday lunch celebration, was about 8 of us. Wanted to check it out since I know the owner is also the owner of the amazing De Nada. Our waiter was amazing, I wish I remembered his name! My Cajun Meat Pie and Saturn drink were delicious but I did try other people's food, gumbo, oysters, and Shrimp Po'Boy, and wasn't super impressed. read more
1 year ago
2 years ago
There are few things more comforting than Cajun food on a rainy day. Lil' Easy has a laidback atmosphere, delicious food and an array of cocktails to choose from. We ordered the boudin, meat pie, hushpuppies, cracklings, red beans and rice and two fried shrimp baskets. The highlights were the meat pie, the shrimp and the red beans and rice. Loved the smokiness of the andouille sausage. The flavors were great in every single thing we ordered. Everything came out quickly and tasted fresh. They forgot to put in our order of cracklings but once we realized and told them, it only took a few minutes to get them. Service was excellent. Both waitresses that took care of us were friendly and efficient. Honestly, I was very surprised they've only been open for less than a week and that service was so smooth. The French 75 was epic for the price and I liked that they give you the option of choosing between gin or bourbon. Very important tip is to save room for dessert cause their rum cake is spectacular. Definitely a great addition to the eastside. read more
As a local reviewer, I'm very disappointed with the service at Lil Easy. This was a first time visit and initially we were very excited to try the food. We saw there was plenty of outside seating and the ambiance seemed chill. Once we were seated, it took 9 minutes to even be acknowledged by any of the staff. Once we were acknowledged, the gentleman (busboy gave us some water. The establishment wasn't crowded at all. It took another 7 minutes for the waiter to finally come to our table with more water. At this point we were a bit irritated but decided to stay and try the food and drinks. The beverages we tried were ok. The meat pie was actually really good. In no time the beverages and meat pie were finished and it took another 6 min before we were acknowledged again to order. We decided after that to just leave. We did voice concerns to whom I believe was the manager or owner. He did provide some accommodation with the bill. I'm a stickler about customer service and unfortunately won't be going back. read more
11 months ago
2 years ago
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Is this 21+ all the time or is the restaurant kid-friendly during the day?
It's kid friendly.
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