The Esquire Tavern

Reviews 4

JA

James Golz

Let me warn any PAX Southeast attendees - especially those that may choose to cosplay - that you are *not* welcome at the Esquire. This came from one member of the staff - a man that I assume is the manager - who told my girlfriend (while she was alone, mind you) to "dont come back" (addressing our group). While I regularly use Yelp and Google to find out about all the great hot spots, night life, etc. whenever I am in a new city, terrible service and overpriced food aside, I signed up for Yelp (and posted here in Google) just to post this review. Mainly because I am *furious* that this staff member had the audacity to get in my girlfriends face WHILE SHE WAS BY HERSELF and say such a thing. Were not even sure what prompted this, as we were not loud, we stuck to our section (that we made a reservation for) and did not hassle any other patrons. All of that aside, the service was absolutely terrible. From what I gathered, the cocktails were bland at best and rather weak. Luckily, I ordered a Texas brewed Oatmeal IPA. Seems like I made a good decision, as the bottled beer didnt allow the Esquires inept bartenders to ruin my beverage. Beverage - singular - because our server only made 3-4 appearances at our table during our entire ~2 hour visit. Now, I know several that have worked in the industry - my girlfriend included - so I can completely sympathize with how difficult it is to serve two full tables of patrons. If youre going to struggle with serving that many people, I can forgive that as long as it is clear that you are trying to make things right. This "waiter" never once apologized for the slow service. In fact, he seemed to carry an air of snobbery; as if we should be lucky to be allowed to dine in such a fine tourist trap..er..piece of San Antonio history. I wasnt hungry and so I did not order food, but from what I gathered by the rest of the group, the food was mediocre and overpriced. Hmm... -Mediocre -Terrible (service) -Overpriced -Unwelcoming Are we seeing a trend here? I would say Ill never be setting foot in this establishment again from the service and quality of the product, but the guy cornering my girlfriend and telling us to never come back makes it that much easier to avoid the place. PAX attendees, youve been warned.

AM

Amy W.

Went here on Saturday 12/19. It is quite small on the inside and was VERY dark. The room was also VERY echoey. For a table, we would have had to wait 90 minutes. We chose to just grab a drink at the bar. We chose not to wait for our table because 1) we didnt want to wait 90 minutes, (2) it was just way too dark inside; it was bordering on depressing, (3) it was waaay to loud and echoiey, and (4) there was nowhere to stand where we werent constantly in the way. There is outside seating; however, only tables of 2, and there are only 4 or 5 of them, and it is VERY, VERY lacking in space outside. There is almost no room to stand inside at the bar and still allow people to pass in back of you in between the bar and the main row of booths they have inside the restaurant. (Which, the booths are very small. They could probably fit 4 VERY small adults if these adults lives depended on it, otherwise, just one adult on each side. No both had more than one person on each side when we were there.) The drinks on their drink menu are really just strange. They sounded quite unappetizing. The actual food sounded quite good, but well never know because we werent going to wait 1.5 hours for a table. I got an Amaretto Sour, which was very good. Someone else got a Mojito, which they did not care for. Also, the sign on the front of the bar is hard to read. It is written in cursive and does not say "The Esquire Tavern." It just says "Esquire," but because it is written in whacky cursive, it looks like "Esquiel." We almost passed it up because we thought this was something else called "Esquiel." In short, if you like dark, cramped, echoey, and loud places with weird-sounding drinks, and you have hours to spare to wait for a table, this might be the place for you.

RO

Roger Serna

I have been this place for 38 year and I still love how this place when I was young and I mean I was younger not give age so it was so cheap back then 90 cent for a beer there were no food service but you can bring in or order next door they delivery at your bar just let them know where u be sitting and staff too and they have DJ on weekend was very crowded and we had dance floor cheaper cocktails and mix drink and well drink to they had like forty of drinks crazy that time but we had old juke box and we can play nothing but oldies I have make a lot of friend back then but now today not the same and so boring and not many cocktails and beer is to very expensive but food are real good for lunch no loud music no dance well about staff is not enough and they NB take for ever to be back with u or if like they dont know you were sit at table same as bartender is only one that to do make mix drink for everyone and I have to wait like for 30 min for a beer wow that is not good what they are doing to other customer I feel sorry for them had to wait for long time as when we at the table we had one drink and I ask someone that keep walk by that I need Waiter and wait and wait so I decided to go get at the bar and to buy beer and the bar cant service is because of Waiter was serving us but I have money to pay cash when I want beer right sway no and just lack or service so that make me dont want come back I hope the owner read this and have good I mean the best service for other thank you

CH

chingy98

I noticed a fair number of poor reviews because of the service. Perhaps because it was a slow night, perhaps because I was lucky, or perhaps because those others were unlucky, but weve never had an issue. The food was fantastic. Yelp lists this place as a "sports bar," Esquire self-describes itself as a "gastropub," but Ill just call it "an awesome place to eat great food at great prices." We had chili salt fries ($6), waffle chips with texas onion dip ($5), a jalapeno bean burger ($10), and pulled pork empanada ($12), and finished off with a fried apple pie a la mode and bourbon caramel sauce. Yes, there were only two of us. Dont judge. All of the food was just tasty and flavorful. I was really impressed. And if you consider the prices, it has to be the steal of SA. The drinks are equally praiseworthy. A Moscow Mule, Bourbon Sour, and a Bees Knees (all around $9-10) were fantastic. Some people arent into mixologists, and think its silly to see someone labor over a drink - measure the gin, smack the herb, drip it over a spoon... These are people are likely to order a Jack/Coke or Long Island Ice Tea. No offense, as Ive ordered these drinks, too...when I was in college. I liked how deliberate and attentive they are in each drink. $10 may be a bit steeper for a drink, especially in SA - but I think there is value in it.