Day Trip to Royers Cafe to Enjoy the Good Life and Great Food

In order to enter Royers Round Top Cafe in Round Top, TX, you have to pass through a happy collection of folks chatting away on front porch sofas and chairs. Don’t let the communal gathering deter you. You wouldn’t want to miss the experience waiting inside.

Eclectic Scene Inside

Stepping through the screen door, you’ll notice remnants of times past. There are mason jars filled with essentials, like toothpicks, silverware and–in case you forgot yours at home–a handy pair of reading spectacles.

In place of paper napkins, you’ll find a stack of neatly folded red and white striped vintage dish cloths, crisp and clean as though they’d been dangling from a clothes line moments before reaching your table.

Looking around the room, you may find it a challenge to identify the wall colors within the café. Every inch is blanketed by posters, t-shirts, license plates, post cards and knickknacks. Even the ceiling is hidden behind layers of memorabilia.

Just as varied and eclectic as the surroundings are the diners: bikers, retirees, mothers coddling babies, hipster couples and families. Tunes from the 60’s and 70’s float overhead and you begin to doubt the decade you’re living in. Neil Sedaka’s “Breaking Up is Hard to Do” and The Ronettes “Be My Baby” complement the wholesome vibe.

Service That’s All in the Family

One look at the menu and it becomes apparent you’re in a family establishment. The JB Chopped BBQ Sandwich became that much more special when it was delivered to our table by JB, our waiter and also one of four children of owners Bud and Dr. Karen Royer.

JB’s sister Tara owns Royers Pie Haven a few doors down, but you’ll often find her and her husband rolling up their sleeves, filling in where needed. JB, along with his wife, scooted around Royers with grace and ease. Supposedly family and business are like oil and water, but you can’t fake the happiness that courses through this café’s veins, resulting in happy customers.

Down Home Cooking with a Texas Twist

Arriving at our table was a basket filled with softball sized fried jalapenos bursting at the seams with a filling of Swiss, cheddar, cream cheese, crabmeat AND shrimp!

As if this indulgence alone wasn’t worth the trip, I died and went to heaven when the Grilled Shrimp BLT was placed on our table. Enormous shrimp and a thick slab of bacon were nestled on top of a bed of lettuce and garden fresh tomatoes. They all fit snuggly in a baguette of warm, homemade jalapeno bread. The combination of smoky mesquite mustard and the bite from the jalapeno bread complemented the Texas sized grilled shrimp. The combination, sublime!

A Sweet Ending

Our meal concluded with an assortment of pie slices (which can be purchased whole, too!) with dollops of Amy’s vanilla ice cream. These pies became so popular that Tara opened Royers Pie Haven four years ago, which is where we rolled ourselves after our meal in order to purchase a pie for the road.

The Royer family knows how to fill your stomach and, more importantly, your heart….which explains why they’ve been in business for over 28 years! You won’t regret the hour and a half drive from Austin to Round Top.

105 Main St, Round Top, TX – Website

 

@theAustinot wants to know:

Have you visited Royers Cafe? If so, what do you remember most about your time there?