the esquire tavern

i really wanted to like this place. there are lots of great reviews but...

we arrived around 6:45 on a wednesday night and asked for an outside table. there was a wait so we ordered appetizers and drinks inside and let our server know we were on the list for outside. after the first round we cashed out because our server told us it wastimeto go outside. there was no table available. we waited another hour and a half to sit outside.

after three hours there, the food was alright and the waiter forgot one of our drinks.

on a positive note, the margarita was good and we were given a small discount for our troubles. we still left good tips but would not likely come back. looks like communication between host/waitstaff/manager needs some work.

walking in, i was immediately accosted by the faint smell of vomit that tends to accompany most bars. the hostess was in the middle of a heated phone call, so we were left awkwardly fidgeting at her booth, waiting to be seated. after several minutes, we were finally seated and soon after we placed our orders. the wait was arduous despite the dining area being relatively vacant. we passed thetimeglancing around the room at the dark wood furnishings, unique light fixtures and hunting trophies that seemed to be silently judging passersby. finally, my fried chicken sandwich arrived and though i would love to say that this sandwich tasted half as good as it looks, i feel that this would be a gross overstatement.

really interesting history in this building. as my wife and i entered it very much felt like we fell back intime50 years to a much more interesting place. the atmosphere is loud but fun. low lighting and unique decorations make the space. then the service was outstanding and the food was impressive. we started out with the fried pickles, and they were the best fried pickles i've ever ordered. for the main course we had the bison burger and fritto pie. both were great but the fritto pie had some serious heat in the french onion topping. finally for dessert we had fried apple pie, covered in a caramel bourbon glaze. killer. the beverage choice of the evening was an old fashioned. made with rye whiskey of course and it was on point. will definitely be back again!

everytimei go to san antonio now, this is a must go to restaurant. the empanadas are amazing and even taste good when re heated at home. the burgers are amazing as well. i'm not a fan of the homemade ketchup for their fries but the aioli sauce made me a believer. this restaurant will cost you a little bit but it is worth the experience and taste of the food. i would suggest going through the river walk to get to this restaurant and not walk if you are alone and especially if you are a woman because parts of this area are not the best.

dinner was at the esquire tavern right on the river walk. i don’t have any food pictures here because the lighting was so low, but just trust me, their presentation was great...for entrees, i went with the short rib empanada, which was decent. the husband went with the shepard’s pie made with lamb. the lasttimewe tried lamb, on our honeymoon, we were not fans at all, but i’m glad we tried it again, because it was great in this dish...and a special shoutout to the french 75 cocktail. this is my new jam. i will be making these at home all thetimenow.

three words: short rib empanada. during a work trip to sa a couple of years ago, i wound up at the esquire tavern, drank a couple of local beers and ordered a few things from their impressive bar menu. one of those items was the short rib empanada, and i ended up walking back to the bar the next day in order to eat it again before leaving town. last month, some friends and i visited san antonio and i had to check in and see if it was as good as i remembered it being. yes, it is: organic short rib marinated in big red, served in a puff pastry with the esquire's unreal green salsa. i have got to find a way to get to san antonio more often!

i also feel like i should mention that our server, brandt, was fantastic. i was traveling with some craft beer guys, and brandt was able to discuss all of the local beer offerings like a pro. he knew a great deal about the cocktail menu, as well, and as busy as he was, he took sometimeout to commiserate with me about the cost of the bar's pappy van winkle stash (they had four different bottles during my visit, including the 23-year. all in all, we had fantastic service.

this is the secondtimei have had the pleasure of going to the esq. tavern. and once again it doesn't disappoint.
we were able to sit out on the patio overlooking the river walk and it was a very nice experience. our waitress, lisa, seemed to warm up to us after recognizing us from the firsttimeand realizing we were just busting her chops because we liked her.
we started out with the tacos con papas and the bloody mary shrimp cocktail. i loved the spiciness of the cocktail sauce. i'm not a big potato fan so i left those to the others at our table and they were gone in a minute.
our drinks ranged from a top shelf gun and tonic to a micro brewed beer to a bottle of red wine. all were fabulous.
for dinner i ordered the texas wagyu ribeye for the secondtimeand once again, it was cooked to perfection.
my companions went for the short rib empanada (loved it), the huitlacoche enchilada (huge portion) and the tried and true pulled pork sandwich which never disappoints.
we went there on a friday night and the atmosphere was pleasant and festive. all the staff seems to go out of their way to make sure that you're having a good time. something that is sorely lacking in a lot of the food establishments today. i am looking forward to going back to see garry and his staff on anice cool weekend night and enjoying myself once again.

complete junk. a strong title, but i had a strongly bad experience recently at esquire... and something tells me that they no longer care about the customer experience.

came in with friends from the wicked cast (after show), sat in a booth and waited for nearly 20 mins before realizing they don't pay much attention to folks sitting in the booths. went to the bar. stood there for another ten minutes before the bartender came over and rudely asked what i want.

i asked for three simple cocktails (gin, rum, with mixers). he immediately countered with 'wouldn't you just rather have beers? it's easier for me.'

excuse me? was i hallucinating? was i truly at the esquire bar and not the beer & wine limit of southtown's friendly spot?

i stood my ground, told him to do his job and left him a crappy tip. this isn't the firsttimei've had issues at esquire and it appears that nothing has changed much from thetimethey've reopened. the friends of mine couldn't believe the lack of courtesy and it'll be the lasttimei waste mytimethere. too many other great spots downtown and southtown to give my business to.


-----20 oct, 2011-----

one more shot. so, i went back to esquire the other night, hoping that my previous attempts at decent service/food were just flukes. i hit the front door at 11:15pm.

i was immediately yelled at by the bartender: 'hey, last call, so if ya want something, hurry up and let me know.' umm, last call 45 minutes before closing? okay.

the whole scene just left a bad taste in my mouth, so again, i walk out not being able to say anything good about this reincarnation of a once-great bar. it's all for show and no real service. even the garb that the employees wear appears costume-like and like a bad impression of what san antonio thinks the lower east side of nyc looks like.

thumbs down. not going back.


-----24 jun, 2011-----

ho-hum. great atmosphere. loud. good energy. that's about all the good i can say about the 'new' esquire. it's definitely changed and not particularly for the better.

tiny menu. the food is overpriced for what you get and calling this place a 'gastropub' is ridiculous. it's bar food... and not done all that well to begin with. while the cocktails were mixed very well, thetimeit took to get them to our table in a nearly empty bar was unacceptable. 20 minutes total per drink order. no excuse.

if you're sitting at the bar and dealing directly with the bartender, i'd recommend the esquire for a latenight libation. otherwise, skip the young, surly waitstaff and head elsewhere for better eats.

excellency in food, drinks , and live entertainment. we experienced excellent food, drinks, and music during ourtimeat esquire. this is the oldest bar in the area so it has some history and an eclectic atmosphere. would and will visit again. please see this place if ur in the area

cocktails are amazing. absolutely incredible, inventive, tasty, throw back to an earliertimecocktails. must try oxaca mule (similar to a moscow mule made with mescal). decor from the 1930s and 1950s, stuffed bobcat still above the bar...

the food is good. not great, good. the fried beets and fried pickles are excellent. burgers are good with hand pressed patties. bean burger is ultra spicy.

the exceptional quality of fare at the esquire doesn’t stop at drinks. the food is absolutely worth every penny you are going to pay for downtown parking. first, the appetizers: fried pickles, chili salt fries, and (from what i’ve heard) deviled eggs are all excellent introductions to your meal. for a main course, my top picks are the sirloin cheeseburger (go for gouda cheese on it) and bison burger. right now, you can get seasonal showstoppers like meatloaf (when was the lasttimeyou ordered meatloaf in a restaurant that wasn’t luby’s? probably never.) and pork belly with brussels sprouts (!!!). and finally, a dessert you should try: the snickerdoodle ice cream sandwich. i shouldn’t have to explain why you need to sample that one.

great place for crafted quality drinks. much respect to the bartenders here. the amount of detail andtimethat goes into making these one of a kind drinks shows the respect that a good spirt deserves. their food is a perfect selection to complement the drinks. deviled eggs - wow! this is a must try for the true cocktail enthusiast

so living in san antonio for the last 7 years, i never spenttimeon the riverwalk. we decided to last night and came across the esquire. amazing, awesome & cool! the place is just very welcoming, very friendly and knowledgeable staff. they knew the history of the drinks, why they were made, etc. we will be back for sure. the drink were great, a little pricy but worth it. we didn't get to eat but the food looks great will be back for that.

it's a tavern people!. we fell in love with this place from the firsttimewe sat down for drinks. we have brought several out of town guests in for drinks who have also enjoyed the gritty atmosphere. first off, anyone who is going into a tavern for an uplifting "wine" experience just makes me laugh! their wine list isn't something that is going to make you do back flips but they have some decent wines by the glass. as a matter of fact, they have even opened a new bottle of wine for me upon request b/c i didn't want anything that had jumped the shark. i will admit that our service hasn't always been speedy, but i didn't mind grabbing someone to get their attention. the food isn't bad for tavern food....we have eaten their on several occasions and i will tell you compared to some of the other tourist trap restaurants on the river walk....they have decent food, freshly prepared and good portions. all in all this is a great little place to relax, have some great drinks and soak in the ambiance. if you are looking for 3 or 4 star dining....this isn't your place; however, if you want some great drinks and atmosphere...this is the perfect place. in fact, taking some more out of "towners" to the esquire in just a few hours!

thanks, but no thanks.. this is going to be a difficult review, because i know i'm going to go across the grain a little bit. to me, this place is just a bar. albeit, a good bar, with some really fun drinks. almost too fun - the demimonde kool-aid crowd will love this place. and i get that. young crowd, & alcohol with lots of sugar - who would've guessed!?!
but along with the bar comes two well-known bar staples - sub-par bar food, and a really poor wine list. the menu reads interesting enough (ooh - that sounds good...), but just doesn't deliver. everything is doused in a salt/spice mixture (which goes really good with sweetened alcohol, huh?) and then gets delivered on blotter paper to soak up all the grease. it's been a longtimesince i've had such an exciting build-up only to experience such a crushing let-down. (houston, we have a problem...)
i wont even discuss the wine at length. my waiters look of petulance when he learned i wasnt ordering a sweet-water vermouth whatever was just priceless enough to be comical. "what wines do you have?". "gosh, i'll have to go look - we don't really sell very much wine." okay. got it. its a tavern. "well, please just bring me something red. thanks." and just to make sure i truly wouldn't enjoy my very un-hip glass of wine - it was chilled. unbelievable.
the atmosphere is - well - dark. transylvania dungeon dark. (in fact, i'm pretty sure the light bulbs are edison's 1st attempt - don't really produce any light, but they do look really cool) this is kind of surprising to me too, because the uber-cool that will want to haunt this place need to be seen. they'll just have to make do with the glow from their smartphone's, i guess. there is a balcony on the riverwalk - with 3 very small tables. please let me know how that works out.
parking here is non-existent. period. riding the bus here is your best hope. i did find a garage 2 blocks down, and all this did was add a $10.00 bill to my dining experience here.
in summary - its just a bar. which i am sure some will find enjoyable. but for me, there's just so much that it doesn't offer on so many levels. so, respectfully, thanks, but no thanks.