Phil’s Icehouse

The area for the kids was perfect. They had tables for us to eat and watch our kids play. The service was very friendly and the price was reasonable.
I’m sure it was my lack of the menu, but I didn’t see many healthy options. But that being said, it is a burger joint, so I didn’t expect anything super healthy. Will be going again with the kids soon.

The playground is good and they offer veggie burgers + fries. It’s a little more expensive than I’d expect, based on there being no waitstaff.

Love their burgers and fries. Sweet bun and nicely season patty. And they have a great array of burger combinations. Their sweet potato fries are awesome. They have a great playground for the kids and Amy’s icecream is attached to it.

The menu is simple and no frills, but offers up some of the best burgers in this fair city. I love the sweet buns, almost like a hawaiian roll, paired with mixed fries featuring half french, half sweet potato fries. It’s the perfect meal and one of my favorite burgers, One of the great things about Phil’s is the passion for the Austin community.

Meh. The missus wanted a gourmet burger… checked the menu and said «Lets Go!» (Maine Root gets me errytime!)
Sunday — during the game. Not crowded at all. Ordered my food (bacon burger grilled onions fries) paid and sat down.
My burger was
— overcooked. That was TOTALLY my fault. I like em med/​rare and didn’t request it (Darnit!).
— missing aforementioned grilled onions (da’ fuq??)
— fries weren’t fresh — which @ the Scottish restaurant I’ve been known to frequent (Hey Golden Arches) it’s kinda okay; I mean for a 1.19 burger and 1.00 fries you can shut it… but when I am paying a premium AND have to wait for the burger anyway… party foul!
Since this sits betwixt (and close too) IFLY, Amys (and their newest endeavor Baked), Soup Peddler et. al; there is no shortage of people watching (and the streaming video from IFLY is kinda cool)…
But since I really cared about a gourmet burger, and this wasn’t it, I don’t have to go back.

Delicious burger (fries tasted reheated). I will definitely come back again. The bun and the pickles were amazing. The beef is fresh… it’s perfect! Fresh fries next time*

Food is awesome. Too damn loud. Too many kids. Get off my damn lawn. The restroom could use a good cleaning.

Delish burgers (I recommend the ‘sampler’ of 3 slider-​sized burgers to try a little of everything), and the convenience of an Amy’s Ice Cream next door.
It’s pricier than McDee’s but you get what you pay for. Highly recommended.
This place gets 4 stars on the ‘CTJ Scale’ as noted below.
5 out of 5 stars: Come-​to-​Jesus good. Would be OK passing on after finishing a plate here.
4 out of 5 stars: Come-​to-​Mary good. Would be OK being seen eating here by Mother Mary.
3 out of 5 stars: Come-​to-​Joseph good. Would be OK having a beer here with Jesus’ Dad.
2 out of 5 stars: Come-​to-​the-​Apostles good. Meh. Wouldn’t have my last supper here.
1 out of 5 stars: Come-​to-​Nobody good. I wouldn’t have my penultimate supper here, either.

Looking for a place with children entertainment? This is the place to be because of the playground set the have. It does get pretty busy since there aren’t that many restaurants with play area around town. I like how there’s food and dessert for adults and kids, so everyone is happy. The burgers are good, but I’ve had better. You get half sweet potato fries and regular fries with your burger meal but not so much. It’s like a taste sampler if you get the half and half fries. I mainly come here so my son can have some fun. Although he likes his nuggets and fries here so that is a plus! The staff here are friendly so that is a plus also!

A good place to take the kids if you want a good burger and an adult beverage. Kids can be noisy inside or play outside (though watch out on the spinning flower – many a kid has puked after this one). The beer selection is small but good (and local).
Do need to point out, however, that the men’s room was absolutely awful on Sunday afternoon. Really no excuse for letting it get that bad. And I mean it was really, really bad. If it’s that bad next time, stars will disappear.
A good laid-​back vibe and an Amy’s ice cream next door.

Casual burger and hot dog place, but nothing to write home about. Hubby had the mini burger basket, which came with 2 miniature (or slider) version of their regular burgers and a mix of sweet potato and regular fries. I had the corn dog along with the sweet potato and regular fries.
Well, burgers were pretty good, but not great. Fries were limp and not crispy at all. The corn dog batter didn’t have a lot of flavor, so it wasn’t anything I’d order again, but nice to have tried. Otherwise, they’re connected to an Amy’s Ice Cream, which is a genius idea, considering that this probably brings in more business. A playground is right out front, which makes bringing kids a breeze. Parking was adequate and we went on a Saturday during prime lunch hour without any problems.

This place is a parent’s dream: a play area with tables, excellent food, friendly service, and ice cream. My 3 YO loved the Frito Pie. He has celiac disease, so having several GF options is excellent. And the sweet potato fries rock! Of course, my DH prefers the regular fries, but what does he know.
WARNING: if you have never been there, it’s easy to miss. It shares a parking lot with iFly NOT Main Event and Google maps thinks it should be in the middle of 183, so it’s of no help finding the entrance. Once you pass it, it’s a pain to get back around since there aren’t any close under/​overpasses. You’ve been warned. Enjoy!

If I did have a Icehouse, it would be a lot different. When I was here this place was so damned smokey from the grill and it wreaked of old grease. Do something with the ventilation folks. The smoke was so thick you could see it just hanging in the air. Very unpleasant and made my eyes burn.
I ordered a cheeseburger with all the veggies and mustard. I wasn’t able to get a full slice of onion, just rings. «Give me extra» I said. They did. The burger came with a mix of regular fries and sweet potato fries. They both sucked. They were limp and cold. I’m not a fry person anyway, but, I do enjoy a nice hot and crispy one. These fell way short.
As for the burger? I thought I was at moonies. Just like a couple other Unilocalers pointed out, the bun is overkill. More focus needs to be given to what’s in between the buns. For me the bun is just the part that seals the deal. I don’t want it to be overwhelming, and it is here. The patty itself was ok. And they use iceburg lettuce for that nice chilled crisp. The burger has potential but the bread kills it. Would I go back? Probably not.

Well. we went back on an invite from the Manager… Although this visit was better then the first… I feel people only come here because of the Back Yard feature of a play ground… Yes, this feature may get us to come back on the fact my granddaughter Loves it… I caved on the fact that most kids dont like grilled Dogs… But…There was really nothing that would make me come back for the burgers… Wife Again, went plain Jane… Meat, Cheese and Bacon and lettuce… I went again with the 3 pack of mini burgers… Biggest flaw?.. My wife is simple. That is one easy burger too build… and it was. Her burger sat for almost 7 minutes (Yes she watched the window)…2 other orders left the window before mine was done, and when they called. At that time… she knew it was hers sitting on deck. It was Luke warm at best. Fries were ok… Burgers was better all around, but this adventure fell short…

Oddly enough I have not broadcast my thoughts on this place yet! We’ve been a billion times as evidenced by the boatload of Phil’s plastic cups that I have cluttering my cabinets.
The Good: Kid friendly. If you don’t have kids, ehhhh maybe don’t go, you’ll just get annoyed. I LOVE the mini burger basket. I get two totally different things and you’re not stuffed to the gills and feeling gross. The buns are great, soft and sweet. .. am I still talking about hamburgers here?
I love the Violet Crown and the 78 704.
I had the Balcones chicken sandwich once and it was deeeelicious! No weird chicken bits that have normally put me off of chicken sandwiches here.
The fries have never been anything all that exciting so if they could improve that would be something to consider.
Usually the burgers are cooked medium well ish — though there have been a couple of times that you get something that resembles a hockey puck and THAT is disappointing.
All in all it’s a great place to take the kiddos, because they have the fenced in play area and ice cream at Amy’s attached.
The Bad: It’s loud, sometimes a little sticky and ¹⁄₅ times your burger will be overcooked and the fries will be lackluster, but let’s get real — it’s better than most places that you can take your kids to.

I told my wife let’s take the kids to Phil’s and she said Phil what? I said feel deez nutz lol i couldn’t resist. Kidding aside the place is a nice place to take the kids. There is a playground outside and Amy’s ice cream too. I got the 78 704 burger. It was good. The burger stayed together really well. My boy finished all of his corn dog. There is a TV screen that showed what was going on next door at I Fly.

I’d been enjoying coming to this Phil’s location since last summer but my family and I have decided we won’t be going back anymore.
I would say that the last half dozen times we’ve gone our order has come out wrong, or food was burned/​improperly cooked.
Also, whoever the male cashier has been in our last couple of visits has been extremely rude and his bad attitude really makes dining there an uncomfortable experience.
Sorry to say we won’t be going back!

They have definitely increased their consistency since opening, and we’ve been back several times (and will likely be back more so in the future).
I would caution, though — stick with the fries. The onion rings have never been good. the last order we received was a wad of onion with a pile of breading on it. It may have been attached here and there, but not a single one looked like an onion ring.

It’s a good burger but not great. It suffers from what I call «Moonies» syndrome. A condition where a burger maker confuses the importance of the bread with the beef. The bread is a critical supporting cast member of the burger assembly but it should never overshadow the beef which is, after all, the star of the show. Isn’t it? There are many bun options which is great but all of them are so damn large in proportion to the patty which diminishes the correct patty to bun ratio that a true burger enthusiast demands. It’s practically a large ground beef kolache! The mixed potato and sweet potato fries is nice touch that differentiates Phil’s from the typical burger joint offerings. Beverages include Main Root beverages in lieu of conventional soft drinks. No thanks. Shakes and floats are ok. They also offer a small selection of local beers on draft and in the bottle/​can.
Phil’s partnership with Amy’s (all locations I’ve been seem to have Amy’s as a suite-​mate) makes for a great one stop shop for a meal and frozen dessert. The two locations I’ve visited also include an outdoor playscape which give busy parents an opportunity to taste and digest their meal while their kids get to act like kids as opposed to restless hostages of the restaurant. We frequently hold functions like post game celebrations and trophy distribution ceremonies with our daughters’ soccer teams here as the large bench style tables are conducive to hosting such events. Be advised that parking can be a pain at this location.
Phil’s has a lot to offer to make up for the shortcomings of their main attraction. If they could just fix the overgrown buns situation they would really be onto something.

After eating seafood all week, I craved beef. We hadn’t tried Phil’s yet so why not.
The décor is no frills. Long bench type seating and a counter to order the food. Huge windows to look out onto the Playground. The playground was packed with kids but the dining area was relatively empty.
I ordered the 78 750 and BF got the Allendale. We each order a different beer on tap. The girl asked our name so to call us when the burgers were ready. BF said Mickey Mouse and the girl giggled.
Off to find a seat with a good view of the TV showing the iFly training. I must admit the iFly was totally amusing. When they took a break, I took a gander at the playground people.
There was weekend Dad who was either on his cell phone or checking his emails instead of watching his kids. When their food arrive, Dad went to find his kids in the playground all the while still on his cell phone. Ten minutes searching and he found them. Yes, he stayed on the phone the entire time they were eating. Bad daddy, pay attention to your kids.
Mom with two small girl children, in 30 minutes she took them to the bathroom 4 times. Yes, I counted.
Then over the loud speaker you hear, Mickey Mouse, your order is ready. It was hysterical watching the kids look for Mickey Mouse.
My 78 750 was delicious. The Swiss cheese was melted perfectly, onion rings were crispy, and plenty of bacon. I will ask next time to only cook it to medium instead of well done. The fries, what can I say, Loved the sweet potato fries, well seasoned. The regular fries were okay. Since BF didn’t say a word until his burger was done. I assume he enjoyed it.
Headed to the restroom before leaving for home. Be forewarned, there is only one sink. Guess who was at the sink, Mom with 2 girl children. The 5 year old girl was washing (playing) her hands… for 5 minutes while the line behind her grew.
Enjoyed the food and beers but next time I will get it to go.