Firewheel Cafe

Had a hamburger the night before and salmon tonight. It’s good but not great. Service was fast and friendly. Had a good spot at the bar with 2 big basketball games going. But you don’t have many options here on site.

Hey there! First off, any review that says that you HAVE to eat at Lost Pines restaurants because everything is «so far away» hasn’t lived in Texas long enough. There are some fast food places (Panda, Chick Fil A, etc) and a Chili’s 15 minutes down the road. Leave the resort and hang a left at the entrance. Check a map for more places.
SHORT VERSION on the 3 stars: food temp and service is slow like old zombie movies.
Parties of 8 or more instant 18% gratuity added listed as a «service
charge» (sneaky bastiges)
LONGER VERSION: Anyway… I had read the reviews of Firewheel and the other Lost Pines restaurants and was full of trepidation as we came in on a Monday morning for the breakfast buffet.
I have to say, it was not as bad as some make it out to be. The major issue for me was not quality or taste but temperature and service. Everything on the buffet, although tasty (biscuits, scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, gravy) was slightly above room temperature. I like food that is hot, like it was just cooked, but that was not to be EXCEPT for the great omelet station they had, which was turning out omelets, eggs to order, and egg white omelets as well!
Yes they had fruit, et al, and fresh made cinnamon rolls as well! blah blah blah… BACON! I really liked the coffee, but my companions found it a little dark for their tastes (wimps)
The second problem was the instant 18 percent gratuity because we had a party of 8 or more. We actually had 5 adults, 5 teens and two preteens. Sometimes this is a chance for a server to shine and act like they are working for that huge tip (remember, it is $ 20/​person for the buffet, a $ 220 breakfast, so $ 40 tip)… but not here. Our server apparently left ½ way through our meal (at which point, servers, you would bring over the NEW server and introduce us so we know who to look for).
Getting refills was a challenge, including coffee. It got to the point where we just started getting up to get our own from the sideboards when the wait went over 10 minutes. My sister ordered hot tea and we are talking 13 – 16 minutes to get out some hot water and tea bags… not good, ESPECIALLY when you are being forced to tip by the number of people, not the quality of the service.
So… if you can get it hot, you still deal with the prices that are a higher than outside and it would be a good idea to split your larger parties into 7 or less if you want to avoid instant gratuities…

Been here about 7 or 8 times in past years and absolutely agree with the low ratings as I’ve seen the food quality both breakfast and dinner degrade over past years. However, this visit showed me either that it’s a blip on the radar or management hasn’t taken control of the situation, being, a total lack of dining option in this largely remote property. More important to know, the primary dining option is a buffet. There are many other menu items, in the past visits, greasy, and just bad given the $$$$ price. Let’s get on with it.
Service — remarkable, fast, didn’t forget anything whether it was an ordered drink, a fork, or a number of request made during my visit.
Buffet — unlike past visits, clean, organized, and correctly cooked, seasoned, and fresh. It was their Tex-​mex buffet. Both chicken and beef surprisingly moist and wasn’t over seasoned. All too often, line cooks over season through marinade, add green bell peppers which results in a salty, dried, and a pronounced flavor of bell pepper. Also had a shrimp casserole which was very good but would recommend using a much higher grade or combination of Mexican cheeses than a heavy dose of velveeta cheese. Guacamole, Queso, tri-​beans, corn-​hominy salad, and jicama salad were well executed.
Other menu items included a chicken pot pie kids and grandmas would be very impressed with a crust perfectly baked, light and flaky, with no signs of a doughy bottom, an all to often mistake. The inners included chix, peas, and carrots in a piping hot creamy soup. Best of all, it was served in 7min. What? Impressive. Another surprise was the BLTG, with G = goat cheese. Sizable, tasty with compliments of sweet potato fries. The fries could have been made a little more crisp and use either sea salt or chef seasoning to kick it up a notch.
And not to be left out, the bus boys were subtle but were doing a wonderful job keeping the place clean and tables available. These guys were quiet, efficient, and worked well with the restaurant staff — a team effort. No, reviews don’t speak of this vastly missing ingredient to managing a restaurant.

The food here is not bad. Overpriced, but what do you expect from a resort? What I don’t understand is how the service is so freaking slow. All. The. Time. Been to this resort 3 times now, and every single time I swear the servers get closer to the pace of a snail. Seriously! Just give me my Diet Coke and my check.

Very disappointing. Paying almost $ 600 a night to stay at the resort, and we’ve been sitting at this restaurant for almost 2 hours. Slow service, impersonal, food was cold when it came out. Will have to venture off of the resort for the future nights for dinner. The resort is such a nice property, very sad to see that the restaurant doesn’t live up to the prestige of this Hyatt property.

The food here is about as good as at a mediocre diner. Considering that they have a captive audience of customers staying at the resort, I guess they don’t really feel the need to serve quality food or have a good menu.
Very limited number of items on the menu, and it’s all greased up junk. Service was very good and the servers were very quick and courteous but that cannot makeup for having terrible food.
I’d make sure to make a good grocery stop before staying at this resort.

This place is fair. Food isn’t bad but it’s nothing unique. They don’t seem to cater to vegetarian/​vegan/​gluten or other special needs. The worst thing about this entire hotel is the service. I’m not a world traveler but I’ve been to my fair share of resorts and this place ranks near the bottom of the list for service. Just asking to be seated is a big ordeal with the hostess fiddling with an iPad when 70% of the tables are empty. The wait staff is inattentive and you have to chase them down for water refills and to get your check. Overall a very disappointing experience for a place we heard good things about. I doubt we will come back. You can easily find better value elsewhere.

I was not impressed. Appetizer was the crab and spinach dip. Super creamy, not much flavor. Needed seasoning or something. The bread that came with it was good.
Ordered the burger medium well. It came out rare. Sent it back and it was medium rare, almost medium.
Erick was a friendly waiter. I give him 5 stars. He was willing to work with me and allowed me to grab a little bit off the buffet. The grilled chicken in onion gravy was dry. The sweet potatoes were stringy.
So both of my stars are for Erick and his service. He invited us to come back because he didn’t like that we were disappointed.
5* for Erick. 1* for the food.

Food was ok, given a hotel restaurant the wait staff is very nice. Had the wings which were very nice. The next day we went to the golf course restaurant that is connected. The meal there was far better. Started with the water melon gazpacho which was delightful. Ended with the filet which was done to perfection. Enjoyed the views and overall it was a very nice place. Definitely go the golf course restaurant instead of inside.

If you’re already at the Lost Pines for a getaway from the world which this place accommodates nicely, then make your way over to the Firewheel café! They have an amazing buffet and if the buffet is not what you’re looking for then you can def check out the menu items. The food will not disappoint. Oh and the dessert bar will stretch your pants.
When you wake up in the morning not your typical continental breakfast of cold cereal and oatmeal like most places. The choices to grub on will keep you going back for more!

We had breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the Firewheel for three days. The buffets (a different theme each night) as well as the menu items were all good and the service was friendly. The four star rating is a comparison to other hotel all day dining facilities. Sometimes the number of unruly children brings the rating down to two stars! Eek!

My mother, sister and I ate here a few weeks ago. We were staying at the hotel and decided to try Firewheel. We had heard the bar next door had outstanding fried pickles so we asked them to oblige us and bring them to our table, which they did.
The fried pickles were awesome. Crispy, crunchy, seasoned but not too seasoned crust and a delicious dipping sauce. Definitely worth a try. We also had the Spinach Artichoke dip. That was pretty good as well, slightly tangy and creamy and the bread it came with was outstanding.
For entrees we shared the BLT and the Steak. The steak was really good, cooked well, juicy and tender. The BLT was a disappointment. The bacon was NOT crunchy, there wasn’t enough of it, and it was waaaay too sweet. I understand a hint of honey flavor, but it was drenched in sugar.
That night the salad bar was free with entrees. I expected better from a resort. The salad bar at Jason’s Deli is miles above the one here. Not many topping options in my opinion. If I had my choice I would give it 3 ½ stars, but for the money, its not worth the extra half a star to round to 4.

Nice breakfast buffet. Nothing special about the dinner. I give 3 stars because of breakfast and the well lit lay out.

Not my favorite place to eat but we are captive audience there. The breakfast is great. The pancakes are light and fluffy. Dinner leaves little to be desired. It was Tex Mex night Friday and I think my sleep away camp could do better. Very disappointed. They have a nice cheese and cold meat selection but there was no seafood. Also, as progressive as Austin is, I think they are missing a gran opportunity to feature local meats and organic selections. Chicken nuggets? Please aren’t we fat enough in this country? Chefs you can do better that that!

Great food, wonderful omelets. Cook «Eddy» went out of his way to serve specially designed pancakes for the children, delicious. He was so nice and the kids looked forward to his expertise every morning.

My wife and I spent a restful weekend getaway at the resort and enjoyed our dinner at the Firewheel on our first night. That night, the buffet menu offered a rich array of salad choices, seasoned rice, fish (both cooked and cerviche), chicken and beef fajitas, and pork loin at the carving station. There were other things on the buffet bar too, but those are the items I honed in on. It was all good and fresher than most buffet spreads. The rolls were delivered to the table hot with room-​temperature butter (a nice touch) to spread.
The dessert bar was quite impressive as well with plenty of choices that ranged from homemade cookies, to baklava, to cobbler, to cakes — you get the drift. A chocolate fountain to accompany plates of marshmallows, strawberries, and pineapples was the proverbial icing on the cake. Unfortunately, I noticed some kids putting their fingers in the fountain after I’d eaten my chocolate covered marshmallows — I only hope they were only ones.

If you happen to find yourself in the Hyatt Lost Pines Resort in Bastrop and wake up hungry. Stroll on over to the Firewheel.
I am a sucker for buffets — I love to taste a bit of everything which always results in lots of waste (sad) but my taste buds leave happy.
If you wake in the AM you can get eggs, bacon, waffles, fresh fruit and cereal bar, milk, juice, pastries and lots more. The only thing I missed by choosing the buffet was The Poached Eggs over Asparagus, Spinach, tomatoes and Ham menu item…
Go for a 4 hour hike and return for Lunch Buffet: salad bar with lots of veggies and nuts, beef and chicken fajita meat with all the fajita fixins including black beans and refried and lots of deserts.
I must add I was highly impressed that they serve Starbucks in a French Press…
Good Food and Happy Memories here…