I really like the atmosphere here, the lights are low, the wine keeps things interesting and the food is better than expected considering the mid-high price range. Sunday and Monday specials keep you from breaking the bank.
My family has many food restrictions (grains, sugar). Our waitress tonight, Jess, was absolutely phenomenal. She was kind, listened and then provided suggestions we may not have thought of. We loved our dining experience and highly recommend.
Great wine list and you can't beat the 10 dollar per bottle discount on Sundays and Mondays.
Lovely little restaurant/wine bar. Their bunch is really quite spectacular, and their wine list is well curated. The coffees are very good as well. This is a quiet and cozy venue, great for a date or to take the out-of-town-family to for a lunch. Staff is very attentive and super friendly. The owner is often working as well and likes to say hello to the guests.
Apothecary has been closed for almost a year. This listing should be removed.
Great little wine bar with a pretty rocking happy hour.
I went to Apothecary last night for the 2nd time to celebrate a friend's birthday. First off, the service is excellent. Because of the nature of the menu, and the relaxed way in which you can enjoy your food and wine, it means a server has to keep a constant eye on you for more wine and food orders. This is the kind of place you can go and have meals that last hours. Or you can just have a coffee or glass of wine with an appetizer or dessert. I believe our server's name was Cade and he was friendly, warm and informative. He anticipated our needs, and magically appeared any time someone in our party needed anything. Both times I've went, I feel more like I am at a lovely home being entertained by friends than I do a restaurant. The setting is intimate and warm. I enjoy the Eastern-inspired door carvings and wine holders, as well as the prints on the wall. Every wine I've tried there has been amazing, and a good price. I also enjoy the location of Rosedale, as it has a "this is where locals hang out" vibe. I like that they have a small patio out front, too. This is my favorite restaurant in Austin now. I love the fresh, high quality ingredients of the food, and the fact that they are creatively put together from the simple to the complex, whatever your taste. Perfect place for a date, or an intimate meal with your foodie friends. I think it would even stack up for coffee or wine 'snobs.' The atmosphere and the way the food is served encourages sharing, which I enjoy. There's lots of great stuff, but I highly recommend the Apothecary Cheese Plate for a starter. Or your entire meal! They have Happy Hour, too! Do yourself a favor and check this place out.
Great place to do some 'catching up' or low key date night. Amazing bacon wrapped scallops.
Awesome staff, amazing food!!! Really what else are you looking for?!?!?!
The staff actually seemed annoyed most of the time. I don't understand that. Is it a hipster thing?
Good wine. They have selection from all over the world. Their south american wine selection is off the beaten path
Great place for a low-key date in a cute neighborhood. The cheese and charcuterie plates were delicious (Sourced from Antonelli's). Waitress was very friendly and had some great suggestions for dishes that would compliment our wine selection.
Had dinner there for the first time last night. The place is not big, so it is pretty loud and if you have a larger group like we did, expect to wait or sit on the patio. We chose the patio.
Wine selection is great, the server suggested a red from Chile that was excellent. Food as well got high praise from everyone - I had the smoked chicken crepe.
Great place for a date, even if the wine is a bit spendy.
Pretty nice little hang out. The ladies seem to enjoy. Pleasant service.
My one complaint is that on one of my visits here the whole place was smokey. Perhaps the kitchen had burned something or maybe it doesn't ventilate well. It was as if we were at a texmex restaurant and a lot of sizzling skillet fajitas had been cooked. My clothes smelled like smoke and food afterword even though I didn't order any food.
If you're going to open a wine bar at least serve the wines at the correct temperatures.
Apothecary is a very chic tapas and wine bar where the food and service is good, but maybe not worth the high price. Where an average person can eat 1-2 of their plates, the bill can easily rack close to $100 for just two people. During our recent visit, we ordered a dozen of their oysters on half shells to start and then followed by their Spring Lamb, Mac & Cheese, and Pulpo.
Their oysters were decent, but limited with only having two options. Their lamb plate is by far the best dish we ordered. The lamb was succulent and the juice it was served upon made me wish it was a stew. The red potatoes were very soft and the pearl onions were fantastically sweet. The mac & cheese were good as well and topped wonderfully with crisp breading, but its heft could be felt after finishing half of the bowl. I felt that the least impressive dish we ordered was the Pulpo, which ironically was the dish I anticipated the most. The boiled baby octopus dish in the saffron broth was very underwhelming to say the least. While the octopus was tender and cooked well, it lacked a memorable flavor. Simply put, I preferred the baby arugula salad that accompanied the octopus than the namesake.
Overall this is a decent eatery, but at its price, I can't simply recommend it to everyone.
I came during half off champagne and didn't know it! We got the cheese and pear plate because, well, how can you say no to cheese (& champagne)?! The ambiance was perfectly quietly buzzing for a Saturday evening. The wait staff was very helpful and passionate about their menu/foods/wine. Unfortunately, I did not get to try the oysters that night, but I plan to be back for those (& more champagne)!
Helicopter View:
Wine place with decent food and romantic vibe.
Environment:
Romantic with that old-timey vibe. You know, Edison lights and floral wallpaper with the lights all dimmed.
Service:
Nailed it, no complaints but nothing extraordinary.
Wine:
Food:
Charcuterie was good but $$$. Chicken pot pie was good but I like a pie that has more crust---it was the crust only on top kind of chicken pot pie.
Summary:
Good spot for a date, but expect to spend some monies. Price was a little high for what you get.
Good food, but prices are too high for the "small plate" portions. If your looking for a casual place to snack and you don't care about the price, this is fine, but if your looking to actually have a meal, look elsewhere...
This is the darkest bar/restaurant I've ever been too. It's perfect for an evening first date when you're not feeling all that cute. :)
We got the charcuterie & cheese board which had a nice variety including a dash of honey that worked well with the soft cheeses. I also got the mac & cheese which I couldn't finish after sharing the board. It was the panko-iest mac & cheese I've ever had (but their breadcrumb situation was much tastier than panko). But I'm a super fan of that so it worked well for me. We had a French malbec which I didn't know existed but was delicious.
Sure there's a good selection of wine being a wine bar and all, but the Bread, Butters, Salts appetizer is AMAZING! I can never resist a tasty bread, but their combo of soft bread, two types of creamy butter (one goat's milk, one cow's milk), and interesting salts (one volcanic, one spicy) blew my mind. The only bad part was that I had to share it with my dining companions.
On the wine side, they had quite a few choices of wine by the glass for $8-12 each.
I've also stopped in for their brunch which is yummy and not too heavy. It's a short menu so check it out in case you were craving something in particular.
A great wine and coffee shop for a the start of a 2nd or 3rd date. Great selection and a laid back environment.
Fruit flies died in my drink... no comp or replacement beer...
I always forget about this place till I'm driving by it or a friend suggests going here, but no reason to avoid it other than I live on the opposite end of town. Wine and nibbles and such and it's all dimly lit so it has that romantic feel if you're looking for that sort of thang.
This used to be my neighborhood wine bar! Love the food and the wine selection. It can get crowded sometimes but worth the wait.
The recently cut down their menu and I miss some of their old items. Brunch portions are huge!
Their pear, brie and honey sammich is one of the best I've ever eaten, and the waitresses are all pretty knowledgeable about the wines.
Love, love, love the food here! The menu is unique and fun. A great place to chill out and start the weekend!
Wonderful location, amazing and knowledgeable staff and one of the best bunches I've ever had. I don't know if it was the home made tortillas, or the caramalized onions but hands down this was the best breakfast taco I've ever had. If you get a carafe of mimosas you get to mix the OJ and champagne yourself since, as they say, "no one can ever agree on how pale they want them". I can't recommend this place highly enough! The rotating, seasonal menu also means you'll be able to find something new to try each time.
This is the best restaurant in Austin. My husband and I would go here every other week when we lived in Austin. We try and eat here anytime we visit Austin now.
Really fun and quaint place. Feels very upscale, but the prices aren't bad. I'm not a big wine drinker, and I actually drank beer here, but some of my group received some really good advice on which wines to order with what.
Their food is delicious and wines are reasonably priced. Great place for a date or girls night.
Nice simple menu, great wine selection and happy hour specials. Romantic and inviting ambiance. Food was killer, too.
Hands down my favorite wine bar. There is a simple beauty in the bread and butter plate that you should not miss.
Went to a menu preview here for their new chef and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of food they can turn out in their tiny kitchen. Cozy neighborhood place with a great wine selection, knowledgable and friendly staff.
If you're trying to make a baby, but you struggling to get that spark, this place is the Fourth of July. I've been takin dates there for 3 years, and I've got 8 children under 2. You do the math. #oysters #frenchvanilla
Great food and a super wine list. A wide range of selections but most are affordable (or down-right cheap), and check the website as they have nightly specials.
[update]: Apothecary recently revamped their food and wine menus, elevating both to new levels. The truffle mac & cheese is still ridiculous, the new lamb meatballs are delicious, and the tres (cuatro?) leches cake is rich without being too sweet or heavy. The new menu was so good, we ended up going for brunch the next day.
First thought: whoa! The Pizza Portuguesa was loaded with awesome flavors like sun-dried tomatoes, caramelized onions, salami and mozzarella. The migas were top-3 in the city, easy. Not your typical Tex-Mex flavors, getting a lot of influence from Spanish ingredients. Next on the eatlist is the Death by Chocolate French Toast.
[end update]
And for the record, the House Special Iced Cappuccino is amazing.
Apothecary rocks! I want to give it 5 stars, but have to take one away because of how long it takes to get a table. The wines are delicious, the food is surprisingly excellent, but when you go in at 6:30-7pm on a weekday, you have to wait for 45 minutes because some of the tables are taken up by a college student with a laptop. They should really consider limiting "loitering" to only certain hours to get other patrons in and out. We have avoid Apothecary at times due to the anticipated waiting around. But once you do sit down, the food and drinks are awesome.
Great little wine bar that can get packed on certain evenings. As others have said, it can be a little dark, which I think makes it a nice date spot. I haven't tried any of the food, with the exception of a cheese plate, and have always been happy. I find the prices of the wine by the glass to be decent. Overall a solid part of the Rosedale food scene.
Great place to meet up for a date or happy hour. The staff knows the entire wine menu so well and can make excellent recs. Try the cheese plate!
One of the most underated brunch places in Austin! The prices are excellent and the food is even better. It is the best kept secret in Austin.
It's small plates, so don't come here with a big appetite. Come here with a desire to give your tastebuds a nice flavor ride.
The blue crab and avocado spinach salad was the worst of the three items we got and it was damn good! So yeah, the steelhead ceviche fantastic and the avocado hummus & flatbread was out of this world!
We were over at The Oasis when we realized all it had to offer was the sunset view. So glad we gave up on it and found our way to the Apothecary Cafe!
My partner's and my favorite date spot. Absolutely delicious every time we've gone. Mac and cheese is a must, but they always have really great seasonal options. Portions are small, but sharing is encouraged!
The place is very cute, the food is great, the service is wonderful. Everything we ordered tasted delicious.
I got the goat cheese mac and cheese, it was decadent and rich. Boyfriend got the wagyu steak and potatoes. His portion was TINY, but good enough I suppose. We got two glasses of wine each and an app to split. We split the bill down the middle and it cost us each $50!! Did not feel like it should cost that much, but what are you gonna do. I probably won't go back because the prices are too much for me.
Great wine and delicious (surprisingly) food. Pricey.
Meh, overpriced, food is OK. Great spot for wine snobs.
