Trace - W - Austin

Our experience was amazing!!!!! We had such a good time at the Dolly Pardon drag brunch. The only thing that dampened the mood was our waitress. She did not come to our table for 30 minutes upon arrival. When she finally did, she wouldn’t even speak to us. The only things that made it better were the support staff and entertainment. It was only a table for 2, so we were super easy and quick to order. Hoping she was just having a bad day? Aside from that, we had a blast and we’ll def be coming back for another fun brunch! Thanks Trace!!

Unfortunately our Christmas dinner was quite bad. Seemed to be severely short staffed. We waited almost 30 mins to even get an order taken, and then drinks took another 20. After an hour and 15 mins a table that came in after us had appetizers delivered, and we had not received anything yet. I did go to management twice. They were very apologetic and offered a free round of drinks, unfortunately we weren't drinking... The manager did come by 2-3 times (after 2 hours) to apologize and offer more free drinks. Overall this was a 3 hour meal that was poorly serviced. To top it off, our dessert of choice was then sold out by the time we were ready. Top to bottom, poorly executed dinner. Food was good but for Prix fixe, I would have expected a lot more. I hope they have figured out what went wrong and can adapt. The staff seemed frazzled, so I am guessing it was a matter of not having enough people to service the tables booked..

To start, the reservation number to call if I was running late wasn’t working so my table was taken when I got there. The vallet was extremely rude(long haired white guy) not sure if it is because me and my boyfriend are black or because he’s just a rude person. But besides that the place is beautiful and the waiters and inside staff were great

My Christmas Day dinner was ideal! I was solo this year due to COVID and kinda down in the dumps. The ambience was nice and there were only about 4 other tables. I sat on the covered patio that was I pleasantly covered in all white Christmas lights. My server (older with glasses also bartender) was great. Walked me through the entire menu and checked on me just enough. The busboy was a borderline server’s assistant. He was great-refilled my water, cleared my plates as soon as I was finished, and was always smiling. The butternut squash soup was charming and plated beautifully. The prime rib came out Medium Rare as requested. My only complaint was the potatoes being a little dry. I had the wine pairing for all 3 courses and they all paired nicely. The Chocolate Yule Log dessert was absolutely decadent. I walked away with a full stomach and some Christmas Cheer that wasn’t there a few hours before. I definitely recommend this spot for the solo diner on holiday.

Great food and service! Loved every minute of our experience there!

I was very disappointed in this experience. I was taking My Best friend out for a birthday lunch and it was both of our first time here. The food was not good, pecan pie was so cold I couldn't cut it to eat it, and the server was not very attentive. We will not make a second visit here.

The outdoor atmosphere was wonderful! It was so great to hear live music again.

We reserved an outdoor table for the 3 course Thanksgiving dinner. Here is how it went:
- no outdoor table available (for us and other guests) so we settled for a table next to an open door. I had even called to confirm we would have an outdoor table.
- actual menu was not the exact same as online.
- meets had definitely been prepared hours before.
- portions were small.
- nothing was hot (including the soup).
- service was adequate.

Very good food and their recommended wine pairings were on point and added a fabulous dining experience.

We enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner inside. The food was innovative and delicious and the staff was very attentive. It was a relaxed and comfortable dining experience.

Trace opens at 7am for breakfast and we arrived at 7:20am (7:30am reservation). They are the only breakfast option for the W Hotel in Austin, where we stayed (and breakfast was included in our rate). We were the first in the restaurant for the morning. We were seated at a nice table inside, overlooking the patio. Then someone started sweeping up with a broom all around us, with dust flying in the air. Why was he doing this with customers and why wasn't it cleaned before it opened for the morning - esp with COVID going around? Service was poor. We waited for long stretches without any understanding of why things were taking so long. My wife tried to alert the man behind the bar, who seemed in charge, and he acted bored, gave no apologies, and didn't thank her for bringing the issues to his attention. No wonder we were alone in the restaurant. We ordered Eggs Benedict and a side of sausage links (two small links for $5), which took 30+ minutes to arrive. Finally after about 20 minutes, the chef came out and apologized, letting us know there was a problem with the grill and brought some fruit in the meantime (nice gesture I guess, but we didn't want it). We thanked him and let him know we really appreciated the communication. It is no fun sitting in the dark wondering what is going on with your food. Once the Eggs Benedict and sausage was delivered it was cooked perfectly. However, my wife found some bone fragments in her thinly sliced ham. Mine was very good, however the side of pork sausage links didn't taste very good and was extremely greasy (stay away from the links). The eggs were perfect.

They were shorthanded due to COVID it seemed based on the way our waiter was rushing around all night at dinner. Our server in the outdoor area seemed stressed and was not very personable. They may have forgot our entrée order, as there was a huge time gap between our salad and our entrée with no sign of our waiter or our meal. Finally it came without apology for the wait or explanation. It also came differently than ordered on the menu. My wife had the roast chicken breast, but it came with an entire half chicken. It did not have the broccolini or fingerling potatoes as the menu described for the dish, but instead had sautéed spinach and some kind of serrano brown and white rice. At this point we just going to made do vs. risking sending it back. I had the Salmon and while it was a very small portion, it was cooked to perfection and delicious. For desert we tried the pecan pie, one of my favorite deserts normally. Their pecan pie tasted like pure sugar and molasses. We could not eat it being so sweet. The homemade ice cream on the top was very good and luckily disguised the two tastes of the pie we had. Another lengthy wait to get the bill and we were back to our hotel room in the W. On the positive, the food was very good and they have a very nice outdoor patio atmosphere to dine, which we enjoyed.

The server took 15 minutes to even get around for our drink order. The place was good, just not a "dinner date night" kind of place. Probably much better for the brunch or lunch hour crowd.

Disappointed in our first post-Covid visit to Trace. Used to be one of our favorite spots in Austin, but menu is much more limited.

We were there for a friends 37th birthday. The music was fantastic, food was great and the service was the best. We all highly enjoyed our experience.

I was warned not to have dinner at Trace due to the service and food but figured the advice I was given was just a bad experience. Sadly it was true.

Limited menu and they must be in need of a new head chef because nothing was really good.

The DJ really set the mood for the night !

I reserved an outside table weeks in advance to watch live music. When I arrived they sat me outside... but put me behind a concrete wall so I couldn’t seen anything. I am also currently handicapped with a broken foot and they refused to switch my table to one that is more conducive for my handicap and viewing purposes. They manager was extremely rude and stubborn even though there were 6 open tables he could have sat me at. I was very disappointed by the whole experience and will not be going back.

We used to come here all the time and they tripled the prices on mimosas, the service was awful, they charged us for food we never got, and the actual food was terrible quality compared to before. I don’t know what happened but we won’t be coming back. Such a shame we used to go almost every weekend.

We have been going to the W Hotel lounge for many years on Friday evenings. Trace has been our Friday night option in the COVID 19 world. The patio is perfect for an outdoor option. (We typically go for cocktails and not for dinner.)

Service is great! It’s not too crowded. We recommend it for the atmosphere and the service.

Always look forward to the drag events (e.g., bingo, brunch, etc). Vylette Ward puts on a great show and makes it fun for all.

Drinks are good but a little pricey.

Menu for food and drinks don’t change often (if at all, which isn’t great).

I ordered the steak and was so disappointed. Took about 2 bites and didn’t eat anymore. Was supposed to have duck fat fries. These were not fried in duck fat and tasted like they came out of a bag of frozen fries from the grocery store. The whole meal was quite awful.

We enjoy dining al fresco surrounded by plants and flowers. Our gazpacho was delicious and the chilled fruit was an unusual twist. My spinach and arugula salad is one of my favorites. The lemon dressing IC creamier and the balsamic drizzle is perfection. My husband’s go-to is the flavorful pulled pork tacos which are just the right size for lunch.

Perfect socially distanced get together

Beautiful place for date night with some music

It was fun to get together with friends and listen to live music outside. However, we got there at 5 and unfortunately only heard 4 songs even though the singer was promoted as performing from 4-6pm.
She talked a lot, took a 10 minute break and ended her performance at 5:45. That was disappointing because we chose to go there to hear live music. Maybe from 4-5 she performed more songs?

Food was okay, nothing to rave about.
My “salad” was pretty much an unripe fruit salad with vinaigrette dressing and 3 shrimp for $25 Server was very nice but other than that we won’t be back.

We had a poor experience at Trace. Our waiter was neither attentive or friendly. The food was way overpriced for the quality. Someone in our party had some dietary restrictions that were clearly communicated and the order was still incorrect. Everything should have been better considering we were one of three tables that were being served. I would not recommend this place to anyone.

Very disappointed! Service and food by what it use to be. DJ music was too loud. Disappointing eaving.

Food was extremely average at best, and for the prices they are asking that's not acceptable in my opinion.

Beautiful patio with live music. Good/average food, very poor service considering price.

It was a great Wednesday night out in town!

Waiter was awful, took over an hour to get our check. Food was sub par. Drinks were amazing. DJ Mike Swing was amazing.

We had a ladies brunch outside. The live music was fantastic, location great and private, food was wonderful and the service was fast and personal. We will definitely be back!

We go to the W Hotel regularly on Friday evenings for cocktails. We are regulars and do this as a predictable activity each week.
The service is great and we have transferred our Friday evenings to Trace given the closure of the main bar due to Covid 19 shut downs.
We highly recommend Trace as a great venue for patio seating in the evenings!

The food is five star. Delicious and presentation on point.

The entertainment of Zac Wilkerson ACL Live was mesmerizing adding the perfect complement to the ambience of the patio and outdoor dining experience.

The customer service was excellent. Staff gracious, attentive, and knowledgeable.

Highly recommend!

We enjoyed the live acoustic performance while we were dining. The food was excellent. The salmon dishes were beautiful as well as tasty. The mixed drinks were refreshing and unique, with a little bit of spice. The outdoor space is calming and green too. Basically everything was perfect including the service.

Great service, fun atmosphere!
Good for outdoor dining.

Great atmosphere and food

Came a few weeks ago for music happy hour and had a terrific time- hence most of the ratings.

Booked an outside table (2 weeks in advance) for same event on 9/30 - used booking option for outside table. (It was presented as seating type to select ie not just a request). Arrived with puppy and told we’d be seated inside and they just considered the outside booking as something they might do. Even without a pup we are only choosing to eat outside right now
Told probably 30 min additional wait - no promises. Not given any options RE where to wait, get a drink etc. we left.