I'm always eager to try a new place in Abilene! I'll start by saying the service was spectacular and it was incredibly clean inside. Our waiter truly was so personable, attentive, and kind! The outdoor atmosphere is a huge plus here as well. Overall, I'd consider this place a good option for appetizers and drinks specifically. We tried their Bacon Gouda Mac & Cheese bites with the jalopeno ranch and creole sauce to dip in and it was delicious!! Their fried pickles were also delicious! I wasn't as impressed with our meals. I really wish that the Mac & cheese side had been the same as the inside of the Mac & cheese bites and our wraps were on the smaller & dryer side. Their grilled chicken on the other hand was great! This place absolutely has the potential to be 5 stars if the meals were to get a lil extra love to them. read more

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My wife and I tried this place on a Sunday afternoon. Is this a bar that happens to serve food, but its specialty is drinks? Or is this a restaurant with an immense bar? If the former is true, it makes sense that the food is not impressive. But if the latter is the case, then I assume there is a problem in the kitchen. If you see this place from the outside, your expectations rise since it is aesthetically pleasant. The inside could be more enchanting but needs consultation from an interior designer. There were two other families in the dining room, yet it took 42 minutes for our food to arrive at our table. How long should it take to open a mixed salad bag from HEB and put it on the plate? On the other hand, two things were fantastic: The meat over the salad (which was on point) and the chicken sandwich bread. I would try this place again because it is not overpriced, and we all deserve a second chance. read more

Matera Grill and Catering - Seafood Near Me - Abilene, Texas

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My second time here. Five brothers and sons met to try the Downtown Burger Brawl burger. It's called the Fire & Smoke burger. It was fantastic! Easily the best burger I've had lately. First visit, I had the bacon cheeseburger, while both my nephews did the burnt ends Mac and cheese. They loved it, and my burger was damn good too. A good place that you need to try. See you there! read more

Matera Grill and Catering - The Fire and Smoke burger for the Downtown Burger Brawl. This burger was awesome! - Seafood Near Me - Abilene, Texas

Atmosphere: Located in a new(er) building on Oak and S 1st which had been housing a brewery until recently. Big open space with lots of room between tables so you won't feel crowded. 1 Star Service: Our waiter was great. Very attentive and with a big smile. We never ran out of drinks and our food came out in a timely manner. It was hot as well. All of the staff was friendly. 2 Stars Food: It was really good. We had a smorgasbord of items including the following: Giant Pretzel, Chips and Salsa, Fried Pickles, Sirloin, Brisket Burnt Ends Mac & Cheese, Cajun Combo, and Blackened Pasta. We shared around the table. Let's start with appetizers. The so-so first; The Chips and Salsa were a bit of a let down. Nothing unique at all. Salsa was more like a mild chopped tomato chutney. The chips were just your typical store bought style corn tortilla chips. It was fine, but nothing to write home about. Now for the other two. The pretzel is huge. It's doughy on the inside and crisp on the outside with lots of salt. It comes with a beer cheese dip. We devoured it. Very tasty. The fried pickles were the absolute BOMB! It's a good sized portion and the flavor was outstanding. Not only do you get the great dill taste in the pickle, but the breading seemed to possibly have some dill in it as well. It was perfectly fried. Possibly the best thing we had all night. Sirloin was wood fired (mesquite, I believe) and cooked perfectly medium rare. Great flavor and the accompanying mashed potatoes were perfect. The brisket burnt ends were quite good too. I somewhat consider myself a brisket aficionado so I'll give you my honest opinion. They tasted great and were paired nicely with a good quality mac & cheese. My only critique is that with burnt ends that should be crispy (thus the moniker "burnt") and like a piece of bbq candy. They are typically twice smoked to allow for this. This dish was more like a Brisket Mac & Cheese (minus the burnt end part.) like I said, still great, just not what I was expecting. Would I order it again? Absolutely! Just keep in mind it is more like mac & cheese topped with brisket. The Cajun combo was quite the eye catcher. Big luscious charbroiled oysters, and good sized shrimp. The catfish fillets were more like a couple of small nuggets though (see picture) rather than actual filets. Which to me was surprising considering it's typically a cheap fish. I digress, they were still very good. The fries were nice and crispy shoestring style, and the hush puppies are jalapeño cornbread style (my fave!) The oysters were briny and plump as expected. Finally on to the Blackened Pasta. It had nice big chunks of grilled chicken along with fettuccine noodles in a cream sauce (think Alfredo) and was topped with a blackening seasoning, which had a nice quick. I could definitely have used a significantly increased amount of garlic in the sauce but that may just be a personal preference. It was quite delectable and I did finish off almost the entire plate. 1.5 Stars Overall: Will definitely add this place to my list of "must return and try something new" restaurants. We all actually had a hard time choosing dishes because everything sounded so good. I may have been a little nit picky ("burnt ends" and garlic), but overall it was a great supper. Nothing was bad (although the salsa was disappointingly bland) and almost everything was "very good." Highly recommend. 4.5 Stars. read more

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The burger with Mac and cheese and smoked sausage is the best burger I've ever eaten. The fries are homemade crispy and perfect. Service awesome! Pina colada and expresso martini delicious Clean and classy! read more

We have been curious about this place for a while and are glad we finally stopped in! Since we weren't super hungry we got several appetizers to share for lunch and everything by we had was great. The atmosphere is clean and bright, and our waiter was on top of things! We also lined shopping at the little market under the building after we ate. read more

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Y'all need to go here, the food is great as well as the service. Don't let the Soda District or downtown die read more

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I liked the hand battered onion rings. Service is friendly but very slow and I think this place is closing.

Been wanting to try Matera. Lunch today with mom and daughter. I had the shrimp po boy with sweet potato fries. Mom had chicken bacon ranch wrap and daughter the burnt end Mac n cheese. Everything was delicious and service was excellent! Great new place in town! read more

I wanted to like it, but it was not good. Some items were nasty. I was disappointed. Don't get a watermelon sugar. The only items that we liked were the mashed potatoes and catfish. read more

Came in on a Wednesday for lunch. The menu is very small and nothing really stood out (as in most items you can find anywhere else). We ordered the fried green beans, which were very good. And the burnt end Mac and cheese, which was just ok. They definitely weren't burnt ends - more like plain brisket. Service wasn't bad, just slow. As far as restaurants go, it wasn't horrible, but it wasn't the best. "Meh" at most. I wasn't sure I was in the right spot, as there is no real signage for the place. And no outdoor seating... I thought maybe they were already closed down. It needs to work out the kinks more, and maybe we will try them some other time for dinner. read more

Food and service was so great! We went for lunch and had the shrimp Po Boy and Hamburger with French Fries with Ranch Waters. Everything was delicious! The slaw in the Po Boy was homemade as was everything else. The burger was a large perfectly cooked patty. Crisp lightly fried shrimp. Cute spot, fun bartenders! Yum!!! read more

This place is absolutely amazing! The owner and staff were absolutely wonderful! The food is phenomenal! Can't wait to come back!

Best food ever!! great place and amazing drinks!!! We cont come through there without going in!!!

It's a great spot! Love the atmosphere. Miss the old Sockdollager, but Matera has good food and friendly staff.

I have been there several times now. I have ordered different items each time and every time it has not disappointed me. Food is great! Service is great!! It's a place that everyone needs to try at least once. read more

we had Catfish, corn and mashed potatoes and it was great. For dessert we had Carmel funnel cake fries that were amazing. service was excellent and all staff was friendly. cant wait to go again. read more