Mongers
The East Coast tuna comes out with a real sear and a cool center, and it is the one plate to order in a room whose chowder, caesar and fifty dollar lobster roll all draw named complaints.1
Why go
It trades as Mongers Market + Kitchen, a fish counter with a kitchen attached on Guadalupe.1 The Infatuation rates it 6.0, and the tuna is the reason that number is not lower.1
Order this / avoid
- East Coast tuna.
One of the standouts that we've had at Mongers. The tuna tastes fresh and is cooked with a nice sear and a cool center.
1 - Avoid the caesar.
The caesar comes topped with very bready and underseasoned calamari, while simultaneously being tossed in a dressing that's way too heavy on the anchovy.
1 - Avoid the seafood chowder.
There's a generous amount of seafood in this, which is great. But it's pretty runny and extremely salty.
1 - Avoid the lobster roll.
A decent lobster roll that wants to believe it's better than it is, given the nearly $50 price tag. The meat doesn't taste particularly fresh.
1
What locals & experts say
- The Infatuation Austin rates it 6.0, bylined Nicolai McCrary, page dated 27 July 2026.1
- Nicolai McCrary, verbatim, on the raw bar and the soup:
Chowders have too much salt, caesar salads taste like they were doused in anchovy broth, and fresh oysters arrive with not-so-fresh mignonette that lightly fizzes when it hits your tongue.
1
Good to know
- Hygiene: no finding, and that is worth saying here. Austin Public Health scores the kitchen (listed as
Mongers Market & Kitchen
at 4119 Guadalupe St) 92 on 23 October 2025, 87, 95, 89 and 82 going back to November 2023. Nothing below the city's failing line of 70. The critic's complaints are seasoning and freshness at the pass; the inspection record does not corroborate a sanitation problem.2 - The counter is the other reason to come. It is a fish market as well as a kitchen, and buying fish carries none of the pass complaints above.
Verdict
listed — A fish counter with a kitchen attached on Guadalupe, rated 6.0, which is the lowest current Austin rating on this list. The seared East Coast tuna is the standout and the rest of the menu draws named complaints: salt in the chowder, anchovy overload in the caesar, mignonette that fizzes, and a lobster roll near fifty dollars whose meat does not read fresh. Order the tuna, buy fish at the counter, and eat the rest of your meal elsewhere.