County Line Barbeque in Austin on the Lake
Reviews
This is my favorite BBQ spot in Austin - amazing ribs, chicken, brisket, bread and everything else! The staff and management is friendly, helpful and provides excellent service! My granddaughter loves the balloon girls that are sometimes there on the weekends and the outdoor patio and turtles in the lake is also a favorite for her! This place is great for families, large parties, special events, small gatherings or an intimate dinner.
I wanted to try The County Line BBQ for the longest time. I heard about it in college, but I did not have a car back then. When we lived in Lubbock, there was one, but it ended up closing. There was even a location in Albuquerque, New Mexico where we would visit frequently to gamble. I finally ate there at the Hill location about four years ago and thought it was just okay. It was not great, but it was not bad. The only take away from the experience was that the homemade bread was the bomb. On this day, I met a friend at the On The Lake location after work. Although it was not nestled on a true lake, the view is still scenic. During the warmer months, you can find turtles swimming in the area. Sean and I sat outside and started the meal out with the homemade bread. We got a half loaf of the white and a half loaf of the wheat. I love the bread. It is dense and moist. Almost cake like. For dinner, I ordered the two meat plate with marbled 2nd cut brisket (moist) and sausage. It came with sides of beans, coleslaw, and potato salad. I then added pork ribs as a third meat for an extra cost. The prices are higher here, but you do get a lot of food. My plate came covered with a sweet barbecue sauce. The brisket needed it though. It was sliced really thin and was dry. It was like eating smoky roast beef. The ribs were decent. They were tender and could barely stay on the bone. It had nice smoke, but I wanted more flavor. The sauce helped with that. I thought the homemade sausage was good. It had a nice snap from the casing. The texture and the fat ratio were good. It was tasty and had a peppery finish. I have nothing to add about the sides. They were pretty boring and bland. I did get a ton of beans though. If you and your family want to grab some barbecue for dinner, I am not going to stop you from eating at The County Line BBQ. There is a lot of seating, and the views are not bad. They have smoked prime rib after 4 PM. There is even an all you can eat family style option. If I did that, I would still be in a meat coma. As I write this, all I can think about is the homemade bread.
County Line on the lake has decent barbecue, absolutely wonderful bread, and a pleasant deck and dock overlooking Bull Creek just around the curve from where it enters Lake Austin. For those with the luxury of a boat on the lake, you can cruise right up to the restaurant and dock while you eat.
This place has an amazing patio and great atmosphere but their BBQ is just ok. Their bread is super tasty and worth getting a whole loaf just to yourself. It's a great place for families and big groups--they even have a private area you can rent and use for weddings. The best part was feeding the turtles and fish right outside the patio.
Skip the cute social line at Franklins and come to county line...real tx bbq done right...never run out of meat...this is TX