[UPDATE: There’s a new Executive Chef: James Corwell, a 25-year restaurant veteran, who will be focusing on lighter dishes that honor the traditions of American tavern cuisine. The lighter, bistro-style dishes with some European influence will draw inspiration from seasonal produce and local proteins while also remaining true to the restaurant’s celebrated concept. Haddingtons favorites like hearty game meats, toast pots and rillets will remain staples. I can’t wait to visit the revamped restaurant!]
Haddington’s, which had already developed a strong following in Austin just a few weeks after its launch, beckoned on a recent sunny day. I’ve heard most about the deliciousness of the drinks, but I’m sad to report that I didn’t imbibe on this day.
The patio made for most excellent people-watching, next door and across the street from Sandy’s Walton’s and Bess, respectively, a nice vantage point on West Sixth.
I ordered the $14 burger + $2 for bacon. All happy meat, local. The waitress, who was a sweetheart, promised this would be the juiciest burger I’d ever eaten.
For me, the burger was WAY TOO fatty. Like chunks of fat were ground up in the beef, to the point where I physically removed one such chunk from my mouth. That is gross. It was juicy, to be sure, but the texture was chewy and lumpy, and I was not a fan. (My current fave? Either Second’s or 24 Diner’s)
My companion had the trout salad, which she liked a lot. It looked a little small to me for $12, and who puts potato salad on trout salad?
I think Haddington’s is an odd cross between English fare (which I don’t generally like to begin with) and gourmand, making it a foodie playground but a regular-person oddity.
For this reason, I recommend Haddington’s for drinks, even without having tried them, because of the great reviews I’ve heard and the legendary drinksligner Bill Norris (formerly of FINO) at the helm of the inventive menu.
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