Sunday 30th of September 2012 10:47:21 PM

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Approaching North By Northwest, you'll notice an outdoor grain silo decorated with their logo. There is plenty of outdoor patio seating. The exterior brick and stone masonry is impressive, and this place has an authentic southwest feel. At the entrance, copper brewing vessels are visible in a small room to the right. Their 14 chair concrete bar is straight ahead, and tall stainless steel fermenters are visible through windows behind the bar. In an adjacent spacious room there are plenty of dining tables and a high wooden beam ceiling. I love the architecture and inviting atmosphere. The restaurant is family friendly, the service is great, and the food menu has a terrific variety of options. When I visited they had 7 house beers on tap: Northern Light, Belgian Wit, Duckabish Amber, delicious Bavarian Hefeweizen, hoppy Py-Jingo Pale Ale, robust Okanogan Black Ale, and flavorful whiskey barrel aged Blackjack Ale. North By Northwest is an above-average craft brewery and restaurant.

Friday 21st of January 2011 02:59:45 PM

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This is a very good restaurant with a good on-site brewery. The atmosphere lends an air you won't find in most brewpubs. The food is excellent and I have never had a dish I didn't like. The menu has many fine selections (unlike most places where you are limited to pub fare).
The staff is excellent, though at times I have waited with an empty glass (though rarely).
They usually have music out back on a very nice deck out surrounded by trees.
Their house beers tend toward the lighter side, though they have cask night as well as special seasonals (and a mug club for regulars).
If you are in the Arboretum Area on business, this would be my first choice - where beer aficionados can enjoy a meal with colleagues.

Monday 1st of November 2010 03:31:10 PM

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Can't recall why I haven't reviewed this one, been here a few times. Really cool building, true Austin style. Semi-upscale, but like most nice places in Austin, shorts & flip flop friendly. Nice place to meet folks. On this trip I had the tri-tip pizza and it was good. Can’t go wrong with beer & pizza…

Northern Light - very light with a straw finish, okay, but not a do over.
Bavarian Hefe - spicy notes, orange & coriander, light and cloudy. But its a wheat so...pass
PY Jingo Pale Ale - light color, hoppy, grapefruit notes, gotta love those Cascade hops! In contrast to other reviews, this beer was hoopy.
Duckadish Amber - nice smooth amber, very well balanced, light and drinkable.
Seasonal: abw IPA ,brewed for the local Austin Beer Week - hoppy but balanced, preferred the Jingo. Black Jack bourbon barrel aged ale - very nice, oak notes and a hint of Gods elixir, I mean bourbon. Served in snifter due to alc. content.

All in all not a bad experience, although the wait staff could actually know something about beer and be a tad friendlier. It is on the pricey side.

Monday 5th of January 2009 12:46:35 PM

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Stopped in on our last day in Austin because it was close to our hotel. Ended up hitting the happy hour, which runs 7 days per week.
The place is very much upscale and does not really come off as a brewpub but, rather, more as the sort of pretentious restaurants the California migrants have opened up in Austin in recent years. Lots of ridiculous stuff on the menu with the idea of being creative, all of it was pricey, but also, in my opinion, much better pared with a good wine rather than a house-brewed beer.
We got a mushroom cornbread with goat cheese dish (yeah, I know, wtf?) to munch on with the beer. It ran $4 for the happy hour price. It was too saucy with too many mushrooms and way too little goat cheese and ended up not tasting too great. For $4, it was acceptable though.
For the beer, they have a cheap tasting tray: $4.50 for 6 samplers. And they were bad. Really bad.
The amber had zero taste. Seriously: nothing. The Northern Light had a little taste, but was too light and over-carbonated. The pale was really, really weak with no hops and not very much flavor. The only passable one was their Dunkelweizen, which was on tap in place of the Hef. It had a strong banana flavor but was too light and on the wheat side to be a good Dunk.
As we left, my girlfriend mentioned that the beer has to be pretty bad for her to pass up a $3.25 pint. 'Nuff said.

Monday 9th of June 2008 06:04:42 PM

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I was at North by Northwest for a business interview. Therefore, I have no idea what it cost, and cannot speak for the overall quality of the service or food (we had a special outdoor section, and the food and service for me was good, though the server did not seem to know too much about the beer).

I had a seasonal Stout, and it was amazing. Very smooth and flavorful, with no over powering characteristics.
I also had their Black Ale, which was also very good. Very smooth and a well balanced hop flavor.

Friday 21st of March 2008 10:57:16 AM

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NXNW is a restaurant serving some good food. There's something for everyone on the menu but the food can be a bit pricey. If you are looking to save a bit I recommend heading here for lunch to give it a try.

The standard beers here are just ok, they are certainly better then the larger brewers but they certainly haven't hit anything out of the park.

However, the seasonal beers offered are fantastic. The selection changes frequently and there's almost always something offered I really enjoy. My favorite offering is a version of their Black Ale which is aged I believe in a Scotch barrel - great stuff.

Anyway - I recommend stopping by and giving this place a try if you find yourself in North Austin.

Friday 8th of February 2008 06:33:41 PM

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This person needs 3 or more reviews on the site for their scores to start counting.

They have about six standard brews and a number of seasonals. I prefer the Black Ale but I like it all. The have a sampler which will get you all the beers on a tray - nice for an appetizer.

The wait staff turns over infrequently. It's been anchored by the same top notch gentlemen for years.

The menu is diverse. Each dish is superb. If you want a Big Mac (like the first reviewer) than go to McDonalds. This place excels at providing a meal with three portions that are equally excellent.

I've been here no fewer than 50 times. The hostess is ALWAYS beautiful. The beer is good. The food is excellent. You can't beat this place.

Sunday 9th of December 2007 03:17:54 PM

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This is an upscale, Northwest-themed resturant. Open, high beamed celings, huge log post supports, pretty much an oversized mountain lodge. If you are from Texas, you feel like you are in the Northwest. If you've actually been to the Northwest, you feel like you're in a Texas resturant that's hoping you'll kinda be reminded of the Northwest...

Again, this is a resturant. The beer is beer in name only. I went with the Pyjingo Pale Ale and the Northern Light Pilsner. I'll have the Budweiser next time, if there is a next time...

Annoynaces: Bring your wallet, this place is SPENDY.