Search for the Best Burger Joint in Austin: Crown and Anchor Pub

First Impression of Crown and Anchor Pub in Austin

A smattering of obviously happy patrons were seated on the outdoor patio with pint glasses and burgers laid before them as we arrived. The Beatles’ “Get Back” was playing over the speakers and the place was immaculate for a neighborhood pub. Great first impression as we walked up to the Crown & Anchor in the Hyde Park/UT area of Austin.

Located on San Jacinto, just off Speedway at 2911 San Jacinto Blvd, this local watering hole has been pleasing customers since 1987. Practically always open, the doors at the Crown & Anchor pub stay unlocked 365 days a year from 11 AM to 2 AM. When do these guys sleep?

When you first enter the Crown & Anchor pub in Austin, you walk past the outdoor patio and into a large covered patio that is dog friendly and smoker friendly. The covered patio boasts a large television that shows the Longhorn Network and other sporting channels around the clock.

Crown & Anchor’s outdoor covered patio

As you pass the threshold into the pub itself, you’ll walk straight up to the bar. Place your food order or choose from over 30 beers on tap and over 100 different bottled or canned beers. Quite an impressive selection!

To your left is the indoor seating area, which as stated before was immaculate during my visit. Neon bar signs light the walls and a couple of pool tables and dart boards are offered for entertainment.

You’ll definitely find neighborhood locals here, plus the regular barfly and a handful of college students.

Crown & Anchor boasts a large selection of beers

I ordered the bacon cheeseburger and fries to keep my reviews on the same playing field.

Laid-back entertainment options at Crown & Anchor Pub

Austinot Eric’s Burger Review Criteria

If you’ve read my other articles in this series, you’ll know that I rate burger joints using a 1-10 scale, with 5 being Average. (Don’t be a hater. If I rate you a 5, that means you were average.)

Roughly speaking, a score of 1 translates to “worst ever,” while 10 translates to “God handcrafted this himself.” Remember, you are free to disagree with me. This is just my honest take.

When reviewing a burger joint, these are my categories:

1. Burger Patties
2. Bun
3. Cheese
4. Messiness
5. Garnish
6. Burger Taste
7. Fries
8. Atmosphere
9. Cleanliness
10. Other Factors

Crown & Anchor Pub Austin – Burger Joint Review

Bacon cheeseburger with fries

1. Burger Patties = 6. Very thin patties and a bit too salty. They would have rated a 5, but the burgers came out piping hot and that bumped this score to a 6.
2. Bun = 6. Store-bought buns. But Crown & Anchor does something right here: toasting and buttering the buns bumped this mark above average.
3. Cheese = 5. Processed, sliced cheese. Not impressive. Just average.
4. Messiness = 6. The shredded lettuce, mustard/mayo combo made this an above average messy burger, which I like.
5. Garnish = 7. Shredded lettuce is always a good thing on a burger, I prefer it to huge slabs of iceberg lettuce. Tasty pickles gave the burger a bit of a tang. And though the tomatoes were thin, the two slices of flavorful and crispy bacon were solid additions.
6. Taste = 7.  Despite thin patties, a store-bought bun and processed cheese, the burgers were definitely tasty. The Crown and Anchor did two things very right that helped bumped this mark: the burgers were hot off the grill and the buns were buttered and toasted.
7. Fries = 8. The fries were really good. Kind of like Whataburger’s fries, only better. Think fast food style, with a neighborhood pub twist. Crispy and well salted. Both Brittany and I finished our fries, which is a normal thing for me, but not for Brit. Great side to a decent burger.
8. Atmosphere = 9. The Crown and Anchor Pub in Austin has a great local vibe going on. Locals love it, and we did too. Good music, dog friendly, smoker friendly (in a separated area), and neon/nautical decor makes this a very cool place to hang out.
9. Cleanliness = 9. I was completely impressed by the cleanliness of the joint. This mark would have been a 10, but we didn’t go during their busy time, so I had to take that into consideration. Regardless, every surface that I looked at was clean, even under the pool tables.
10. Other Factors = 8. The massive beer selection offset the lack of fountain drinks and the small size of the burgers. The staff was kind and even offered us some house darts so that Brit and I could enjoy a couple of games after our meal.

Enjoying some Cricket with complimentary house darts

Bottom Line on Crown and Anchor Pub in Austin: 7.1 out of 10

Overall Score = 7.1. The overall score is the average of the 10 categories.

Crown and Anchor Pub in Austin is a great local hangout with above average burgers, great fries and a huge beer selection. The burger patties are thin. I would recommend ordering a double of whatever you are getting. (Editor’s Note: Eric did order a double on our second visit and it made him happy!)

Austinot Brittany enjoying the paper on a quiet afternoon at Crown & Anchor

The staff is really cool, and the atmosphere makes it a place worth recommending.  The prices on the burgers were more than fair, cheaper than most national chains. So why go chain when you can go local?

I recommend you try out Crown and Anchor for yourself. If you do, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

And so my…

Search for the Best Burger Joint in Austin Continues

So far, of burger joints in Austin reviewed on the Austinot, here is the scorecard:

#1 – score 8.1 – The Tavern

#2 – score 8.0 – Your Mom’s Burger Bar (Tied for 2nd so far) CLOSED see below.

#2 – score 8.0 – Opal Divine’s Freehouse (Tied for 2nd so far) 6th Street location CLOSED see below.

#3 – score 7.64 – P. Terry’s

#4 – score 7.6 – Phil’s Icehouse

#5 – score 7.2 – Casino El Camino

#6 – score 7.1 – Crown & Anchor Pub

#7 – score 7.05 – Dirty Martin’s Place

#8 – score 7.0 – Billy’s on Burnet (Tied for 8th so far)

#8 – score 7.0 – Moonie’s Burger House (Tied for 8th so far)

#9 – score 6.9 – Mighty Fine Burgers

#10 – score 6.7 – Wholly Cow Burgers

#11 – score 6.4 – Nau’s Enfield Drug

#12 – score 5.9 – Old School Bar and Grill

#13 – score 4.8 – Cover 3

Burger joints that have shut down since they were reviewed:

1. Opal Divine’s (The 6th street location is closed but they have other locations so give them a try.)

2. Your Mom’s Burger Bar (The owners decided to buy an RV and see the country. But they did write a farewell letter to Austin. We’ll miss you Your Mom’s!)

Other places that have been suggested to review: 

1. 2nd Bar + Kitchen
2. 24 Diner
3. Austin Land and Cattle
4. Austin Java
5. Black Sheep Lodge
6. Blue Star Cafeteria
7. Burger Tex 2 on Guadalupe
8. Cain and Abel’s
9. Counter Cafe
10. Cow Bells
11. Dan’s Hamburgers
12. Dart Bowl
13. Foreign and Domestic
14. Fran’s Hamburgers
15. Hat Creek
16. Hill’s Cafe
17. Hideout Pub
18. Hoover’s Cooking
19. Hopdoddy
20. Hula Hut
21. Hut’s Hamburgers
22. Jack Allen’s Kitchen
23. Jackalope
24. Lambert
25. Luke’s Inside Out
26. Parkside
27. Ski Shores
28. South Congress Cafe
29. Sputnik
30. Top Notch

Got one you’d like added to the list? Comment and let us know! (Only suggestions of burger joints founded in Austin will be added.)

@EricHighland asks:

I’d love to hear what you have to say. Do you agree or disagree with me on Crown & Anchor Pub?  Do you know of any places that I need to add to my list?