Monument Cafe: Fresh Goodness in Georgetown, Texas

The Monument Cafe is an institution in Georgetown, Texas. Just a block from “The Most Beautiful Town Square in Texas,” owner Rusty Winkstern has created one of the most popular restaurants in this Texas Hill Country town. Locals and tourists flock to The Monument Cafe for breakfast and lunch, and to its sister restaurant El Monumento for lunch and dinner.

Location:  500 South Austin Avenue, Georgetown, [amazon_textlink asin=’1742201997′ text=’Texas’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’theyums-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’603762fe-cac5-11e7-9a6c-bf5d13daf3a3′]

Menu: The Monument Cafe offers a wide range of tasty dishes made with the only the freshest local ingredients.

Breakfast Items include:

• Cinnamon Raisin Pancakes: plate-sized pancakes with plump raisins, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, and drizzled with a glaze
• Housemade Corned Beef Hash and Eggs: a tasty meal with two fried eggs over chopped corned beef with crispy potatoes, caramelized onions, and poblano peppers
• Avocado Toast: scrambled eggs atop sourdough toast, with hand-mashed avocado, grilled tomato, caramelized onions, and sriracha sauce
• Tomato, Bacon, and Swiss Quiche
• Blueberry and Banana Waffles served with Granola and Yogurt
• Create your own omelet
• Migas
• Fresh hot brewed coffee

Lunch Items include:

• Shrimp and Grits
• Chicken Florentine with White Wine Mushroom Cream Sauce
• Chef Salad: mixed greens, turkey, ham, cheese, tomato, and bacon
• Monument Burger: Kobe beef patty, house-made pickles with onions, heirloom tomato, bibb lettuce, Monument spread on a freshly baked bun
• A wide selection of homemade soups, sandwiches, and salads
• Don’t forget dessert. Famous for their pies and homemade desserts, try one of the Monument Café specialties like the Lemon Curd Fried Pie or the Pumpkin Chiffon Pie.

Thoughts: The original Monument Café, located at 500 South Austin Avenue, as well as their sister restaurants El Monumento and The Monument Market, serve only the freshest meats, seafood, and produce. They take pride in the quality of every ingredient and every meal they prepare – the throngs of satisfied diners show Mr. Winkstern and his team have succeeded.

Even though the Monument Café is a large place and very busy, service was prompt, friendly, and unhurried. This restaurant has the feel of a small hometown diner, with ample smiles and friendly folks. And, of course, great food. The location is very convenient to the downtown square and there is plenty of parking.

El Monumento, just a few blocks from Monument Café, has great Tex-Mex food for lunch or dinner. El Monumento overlooks The Blue Hole recreation area, a very popular tourist destination in Georgetown. It’s a great place to grab drinks or a bite to eat after exploring downtown or The Blue Hole.

The Monument Market, conveniently adjacent to The Monument Café, offers a selection of sandwiches, smoothies, fresh produce, artisanal beer and wine, lotions, and other locally produced products. There is plenty of seating inside and lots of interesting merchandise to keep the active shopper happy.

We browsed through the intriguing Monument Market for an enjoyable hour. The market has a nice selection of fresh, locally produced products. They are only available when in season, are organic, natural, and unprocessed. The bright red heirloom tomatoes caught my eye, as well as fresh beans, carrots, and squash.  The Market also sells a wide variety of fresh beef, chicken, seafood, and eggs.

The Monument Café is the original restaurant founded by Rusty Winkstern. A New York farm boy, Rusty opened the doors to Monument Café back in 1979 and has grown his enterprise to include El Monumento and The Market Café. By paying attention to detail and using only the freshest local products, he has succeeded in creating some of the top eateries in Georgetown. So whether you are visiting “The Most Beautiful Town Square in Texas,” the refreshing Blue Hole, or the intriguing Inner Space Caverns, make The Monument Café one of your stops in beautiful Georgetown, Texas. You’ll be glad you did.

Prices: Breakfast:  $4 – $10, Lunch $5 – $17, with most in the $8 – $12 range.

Disclosure: The author received a complimentary meal to facilitate this review. The post contains affiliate links. Clicking through for additional information or to make a purchase may result in a small commission being paid to us, at no additional expense to you. This helps support this site and its authors, and we thank you.