republic of texas bar & grill

management. the republic of texas is located in the omni bayfront hotel. i stay there on a weekly basis ands wish i could dine at this establishment. i have had nothing than sub-parserviceat this establishment. on more than one occasion there has been a extremely bad experience with the management, etta butz. i will not mention the first several times that i have encountered the experience in her restaurant that she manages. the straw that broke the camels back was when i was seated with an employee wanting to show him a good time. we were seated by a hoastess and after 20 minutes were not acknowledge. therefore, we moved to the bar thinking we would get betterserviceand it was actually demeaning. i ordered a $16 glass of wine and my employee odered a drink, too. then we proceeded to order dinner (it was 7:15 pm an was told we couldn't order until 8:30 because they were slammed with room service! since when is roomservicecome ahead of people actually eating in the restaurant? needless to say, i do not recommend this restaurant to anyone and wish i could dine at this establishment. unfortunately, the management needs to be addressed. until then, i do not recommend this restaurant.

wonderful. went with son and wife for mother's day. we are new to corpus christi, so this was our first visit. have to say.....everything about the place was beyond good. the atmosphere is excellent, theservicewas impeccable, and the food ranked up there with the best we have ever had. wife bragged about her swordfish dish for 2 days. didn't mind the lofty prices because it was so special. however, if it weren't so pricey we would eat there more often than just on special occasions.

i made a reservation for our
aniversary, using their website and confirmed by phone. we still had to wait, even though we were on time. the excuse was that the waitress was going to be few minutes late. we where sat in front of a column, facing the building, even though there were other tables available with a nice view. although my food was good, my wife's stake was bland and dry. we were expecting a nice dinner, but apparently there was a class reunion and the noise was unbelievable. prices are too high, for the quality andservicereceived. we don't expect to go back.

worth it. while i believe it's possible for a aaa four-diamond-rated restaurant like republic of texas bar & grill to have an off night, i also believe that anyone who says 'hostess was terribly rude,' is probably stretching the truth. either that, or the reviewer neglected to say 'customer was a horse's ass.'

still... the hostess was quite polite to us during our visit on feb. 19, 2013. but that could have been because we said 'good evening' to her. (we aren't the type of people who think we can treat people like garbage just because we're eating a $200 meal.) all of that aside...

atmosphere
it's probably the best restaurant atmosphere south of houston, if only because of the views of corpus christi bay. the warm woods, light linens and low light of the place make for a nice ambiance.

service
from the time we walked in the door, until the time we left,servicewas top notch. everyone was polite and seemed to care about our experience. our server (a college-aged kid whose name i cannot remember) was about as genuine as they come.

food
between the three of us, there was a filet, shrimp and a bone-in prime rib (me). the beef was lightly seasoned, as all good beef should be. (if it needs sauce or a boatload of seasoning, that usually means someone's trying to hide something. -- i expect such shenanigans at places like k-bob's or golden corral).

my prime rib was ordered 'medium' and was perfect. there was a nice char around the edges, and it was fork tender throughout. the same can be said for the filet. the shrimp, according to my wife, was some of the best she's ever had. (i thought it might have been overcooked by 15-30 seconds, but i still rate it high.)

we ordered asparagus and sauteed mushrooms to go along with our dishes. divine.

the ladies shared a creme brulee for dessert. my wife is still talking about it two days later. i had the bananas foster, served with banana bread. outstanding.

backing up a bit, i ordered oysters republic for an appetizer. in short, it is similar to oysters rockefeller, but topped w/ shiitake mushrooms, capers, spinach and a brandy cream reduction. the oysters were smooth -- like butter. some of the best i've ever had. even the ladies (self-professed oyster haters) had one each. both gave a thumbs up.

i honestly expected nothing less from such a highly-rated restaurant. and you shouldn't either. whether you want a seriously good steak, a fine view orservicethat is far beyond your local chili's, republic of texas bar & grill is the place.

great food plagued by poor layout/management. the food is exceptional, among the best, if not the best, in corpus christi; the wine selection is second to none (for corpus); and the view is incredible, especially at dusk.

what kills the ambiance, however, is what appears to be a poorly managed/laid-out restaurant;
a) the smoke area is located outside of the doors at the front of the restaurant, which means smokers are constantly walking through the middle of the restaurant through dinnerservice(and bringing with them the faint odor of burnt tobacco and inevitable gust of smoke when the door is opened) - it makes dinner a lot less appetizing (but i'm sure the view for the smokers is incredible)
b) every time i've visited this restaurant the wait staff appear to be very disengaged, almost robotic. even asking for something as simple as a replacement piece of silverware usually gets you at least a sigh of disapproval.
c) people who work downtown hang out at the bar, which separates the entry and the restaurant, and they usually crowd the bar area (at least every time i've visited) and are usually pretty drunk. it definitely establishes a certain vibe for the restaurant (i.e. walking through a bar scene to get to your table)

there are other issues with republic of texas b&g, but all minor. despite the issues i highly recommend the place, at least for one visit. they use opentable for reservations, i recommend adding in the comments to be placed at a table near the front windows if dining there at dusk.

i recommend the wedge salad (they use freshly cooked, warm bacon pieces instead of store-bought bacon-bits) and the steak (i think it's a bone-in rib eye).

wonderful food. averageservicebeautiful view

nice view from the 20th floor but otherwise old and unpleasant ambience. theservicewould've been considered poor at chili's so here it was just plain terrible. the food was ok but nothing spectacular. this is nothing more than an overpriced hotel restaurant with mediocre food quality. really corpus? is this the best "fine dining" you can do? i won't be back.

excellent meal, enjoyed the escargot, antelope & vanilla creme brûlée. view,serviceare superb!! will be back!!!

just okay. my husband and i went to celebrate our anniversary. everyone told us it is the best restaurant in corpus christi. we arrived early (before dark) to enjoy the view. don't make the mistake of showing up here for a late dinner. sadly, the view may have been the best part. the food was over-salted and just average. good steaks, but no "wow" factor. theservicewas cordial, but again, no "wow" factor. we finished our dinner and did not stay for dessert. probably won't go back again.

i absolutely love this place. my boyfriend took me there last year. everything from the food to theserviceand view was amazing. i hope to go back very soon!

overpriced. group really enjoyed the view and the steaks were super however the salads, soups andservicewere only average. we expected far more for what we were charged, especially with their valentines day special menu. we will not return.

its worth it !. been there many times for special occasions. food andservicealways good. the view is very good of course. not a bad dish on the menu. it is worth the price. if you want cheap dining, try the spid corridor.