Barn Door Restaurant (The)

quirky interior - feels like you stepped back in time...steaks are good quality - salad and one side... more

quirky interior - feels like you stepped back in time...steaks are good quality - salad and one side included... more

PREVIOUSLY EXCELLENT - WHAT HAPPENED? Poor management evident - service haphazard - waitstaff rushed and disorganized.Potatoes served five minutes before entrees, therefore cold when steaks were ready. One order of steak not cooked as requested, had to return twice, and by that time everyone else had finished dinner. My vegetables showed up after dinner, without apology. It was a family birthday dinner and I was disappointed. It is an experience which I will never repeat, nor will I recommend this place to others. more

We were lucky to find this place, the atmosphere was nice and relax, the service efficient and friendly, and the food....just great. First they welcomed us with hot rolls and sweet butter. I ordered the lady sirlon, it was cooked perfectly, i had green godess dressing with my salad, it was so good, not from a jar, i whish i had their recipe. And the deserts...mmm, i had coconut cake, very fresh, i bake coconut cake myself and this one was much better, my daughter had coconut cream pie, just delicious. more

Truthfully, I love the overpriced food which is why we continue to TRY to eat here. Yesterday, I specifically asked the host if it was preferable we sat at a table because last time it seemed a little inconvenient for the bartender to serve food at the bar. I was assured it would be no problem. 20 minutes later, parched and craving a pre-birthday, blue-ribbon filet no one even acknowledged us. By no one, I mean the two, Justin Beiber wanna' be bartenders that casually discussed furniture with each other right in front of us. We must have had our cloaking devices on. I would love, love, to give gift cards to this restaurant and actually eat here....it's a block away from home! The food is excellent and so close...yet so far away. I highly recommend removing the ""newly remodeled, yet classic"" bar enticement from the website. The Barn Door should advertise free appetizers instead of 1/2 price during happy hour...no one takes your order anyway. more

I had read the recent negative reviews of The Barn Door, but wife and I are just sick of those gimmicky chain ""steak"" restaurants that line the highways with their flashing neon signs down here, so we tonight we took a chance on The Barn Doort; but we went with our eyes wide open. First, I would say you should take the really negative reviews of The Barn Door with a grain of salt. Anyone can have a bad dining experience anytime, anywhere, so let's assume that's what happened in the case of those negative reviews. Tonight we went to The Barn Door at about 8 p.m., but it turned out to be Prom Night. It was so packed around the cash register with girls in prom gowns and boys in tuxes that I couldn't find where to go to put my name down on the list to get a table. Fortunately, a member of the wait staff saw me wandering around like a lost sheep; she spontaneously took me in tow and got us a table after a wait of about 5-10 minutes. Looking lost didn't hurt any, because It seems I had also inadvertently ""bucked the line"" of folks waiting on their tables. The dining room is quite large, and even after 8 p.m. it was still very crowded, but with it's checkered (plastic) tablecloths it still looks quite homey. And thank God there was none of that irritating, cowboy-country or rock music that you find blaring in the ""chain"" restaurants. This restaurant is about real food for real people, and the only music, as far as I remember, was the conversation of the diners themselves. The clientele here struck me as sort of middle aged and family-oriented, with lots of tables taken up by whole extended families: grandma and grandpa. adult children and grandchildren. That's something you don't see in the chain places out on the Interstate. Being prom night, the wait staff was probably pretty frazzled, but our waiter did a good job serving his tables, though we did have to ask him for drink refills when we could catch him speeding by. Ideally he would have asked us, but he was very, very busy. There just wasn't the ability to be all that attentive to each table on Prom Night. My wife and I both ordered steaks, she the ""Lady Fillet"", I the ""Medium Fillet"". They both arrived cooked as ordered and were just fine. I can honestly say that while they weren't absolutely the very best steaks we've ever had in our lives, they were by far the tastiest steaks we've had in our 6 years in San Antonio. My wife ordered plain mashed potatoes with her meal, but she didn't eat much of them; tasted like ""instant"", she said. I had the usual side, a garden salad. It was OK, but the blue cheese dressing had almost no flavor. I also had a baked potato with my steak, and it was OK. But hey, it's a potato. In any event, unlike in the chain restaurants, it didn't come encrusted in unwanted salt, either. The skin of the potato is my favorite part, but I hate it if it comes smothered in those horrible, gimmicky, salt crystals. Too, as far as I could tell, the butter accompanying it was genuine butter. That's a rarity in these days of restaurants' trying to pawn off butter-like substances for the real thing. My wife finished off her meal with a chocolate mousse for desert. It was too much for her, so I helped her finish it. So, the meal was satisfactory over all - especially the real steaks - and I wish I had come here years ago and skipped all those touristy, highway chain restaurants. Dinner for two cost us $48. Not exactly cheap, but worth it, I think. Keep your expectations at a reasonable level, and you'll probably find The Barn Door a good place to have a meal. Bon appetit. Pros: Good Steak - And It's Not A Gimmicky ""Chain"" Restaurant Cons: Blue Cheese Salad Dressing Lacked Flavor more

My wife and I have frequented the Barn Door for many years. The last three times we have been there it has progressively gone downhill. Our most recent experience includes ordering $27 steaks that were not even similar to those in the showcase, in fact mine was about half the thickness and size, much of it was inedible due to grissle, our salads were half portion, no bread - although it was left sitting on another table and never served, an offer was made to make our potatoes and then she left off most of the toppings and things were cleared off immediately upon usage so no ability to add or alter anything. We were rushed and the server checked back only once when we were about to leave. The total cost of the bill was greater than $60 and this has to be one of the worst meals I have ever had anywhere. This facility has severe problems and there doesn't appear to be a way to let them know other than a negative review. Hope they can fix their product and service. Cons: Doubled Price, Poor Quality Meat, Bad Service more

First let me start by saying my Grandparents owned a restaurant for years, 90% of my customers are restaurants, and I have never had a restaurant tell me a party of 30 had to order from a 3 item menu, and the steaks had to all be prepared medium! After some argument it was conceded that we could have the steaks our way. Pros: Good steaks Cons: Extremely poor service!!!! more

One of the best steaks I have ever had at any price and for under $20 a remarkable bargain! The mashed potatoes are perfect! I had not been to the Barn Door for a couple of years, but have eaten there several times over the past 10 years or so when in town on business. The last review kind of scared me, but I wanted to know for myself. I got there about 5pm which beat the crowds. Service was excellent and very timely. The fillet just melts in your mouth, not hardly a need to chew. I travel all over the US and abroad and would hesitate to recommend this restaurant to anyone. Pros: Great Steaks and Very good price Cons: None on any of my visits more

This used to be the place for great steak now they make your steaks burned outside and raw inside with no flavor at all. The service is so flawed with staff they seems to be bipolar or manic depressant. Just a horrible dining experience highly recommend taking your craving for steak at a place like Texas Roadhouse, Saltgrass, or better yet Chris steak restaurant if you want quality. Sorry Barndoor you used to be good time for a makeover. Pros: rolls, tea Cons: service, ambiance, flavorable steaks more

big price for no service we are well traveled and always try for a local favorite, would not recommend unless you want to go where service or management seem to be concerned about whether you need drink refills or they have a problem with providing your meal in a timely fashion. we complained to manager on floor after waiting over 1 hour and people around us who who came much later had already been served never heard from manager after complaint meal finally showed up waiter seen we were upset offered free dessert, an apology and concern would have been whole lot more appreciated, will give them b+ on the steak.will not go back to many other places appreciate they're customers. rj1 Pros: good steak Cons: awful service more

I have only just recently discovered The Barn Door and have had two lunches there so far, but I intend to have many more. In fact I intend to take my son and his fiancee there for dinner in the near future. This place, in my humble opinion, is arguably the best restaurant in San Antonio. And what puts it over the top is the incredible service. My sweetheart and I have been the benafactors of one of the finest waiters I have yet met in this fair city. If it seems over the top I shall mention his name. It's Steve - and if you are lucky enough to get him as your waiter you are in for a treat. Don't trust to luck - ask for Steve... I recommend the Rubin sandwich. A taste to rival New York City and those skinny onion rings - you've got to try them.... Pros: Plenty of dinning room - Texas theme - great ambience Cons: Too many bags of ""ham"" hanging from the ceiling more

I was a bit frightened by the previous posts, but listened to the recommendations of a few friends and decided to go to The Barn Door while my parents were visiting from out of state. I was pleasantly surprised with our dining experience. Please don't expect an upscale steak house dining experience. The restaurant is decorated with traditional texas barn decor. Red and white table cloths cover the tables. The service is friendly but not fast. I do not recommend ordering the oysters. My family is from NJ, and we are used to oysters on a half shell... imagine our surprise when we were served oysters over ice that were from a can. We were willing to look beyond it. Once we past the appetizer, the meal was great. Salads come with every meal and the dressing is brought to you by the gallon... all the ranch you can eat. The biscuits come out warm. I ordered a ladies fillet (6 oz), it was tender and delicious. I liked how I could choose my baked potato fillings- sour cream, shredded chedder, and bacon bits. The rest of my family ordered steaks and everyone was very happy with their meal. We enjoyed the Texas experience, and I would definitely bring out of towners there again. While I think there are definitely better steaks out there, the experience of dining at The Barn Door is one unique to San Antonio. Pros: affordable steak Cons: little attention to detail more

You have to remember that managers are always taught to offer a free dessert. Normally if you refuse it -- they have an obligation to comp your bill. Pros: Decent Steaks more

Long wait for food following salad. Salmon was undercooked and sent back, Premier Filet was overcooked-ended up dry and tasteless, I gave up trying to eat it. Insect came out of the bread basket. Blue Cheese dressing had poor flavor--not sure it was even blue cheese. Food brought to table in 3 trips-with delay in between -- first the fish, then the steak, and later the baked potatoes (only two of us). After pointing out the dry overcooked $26.95 filet to mgr he offered a dessert to go to make up for it. Upon leaving I discovered I had been sitting on scrap of food from previous patron. Was looking forward to a good steak -- very disappointed. Cons: See Remarks more

You have to admire a Steakhouse that has been grilling for 50 years. You have to give props right up front for a place that makes Yeast Rolls from SCRATCH and serves them hot!!!! And, yup, it is very cool to watch the guys cook the steaks in their open kitchen in the dining room. And, it gets my attention every time when it's a Family Owned and Operated Restaurant, with World Headquaters behind the cash register. You can just flat out taste the difference and enjoy the whole evening all the more. I always find the one of a kind, unique places to be the special ones and this is it. All in all, this is just a Fabulous place. The food is exceptionally good and the service is very nice & friendly. The steaks & juju might be better at Morton's, but this place is on the other end of the stuffy scale. I love the filet, the Ribeye and the Chopped Steak con Queso. Portions are good, prices are reasonable. Relax and enjoy, you're in a Tofu Free Zone here! Pros: Steaks, Twice Baked Potatos and, oh yes more

The owners and Managers treat their staff horribly. I've heard managers yell at employees on numerous occasions. having been a waiter before; its stressful and i would stage an uprising if i was working there. The managers should work for the waitstaff - not the otherway around. And they can't cook a steak medium rare if their life depended on it. more

I'm a repeat diner at The Barn Door. Everytime I've been there the food and service has been excellent. The staff have always been friendly and attentive without being obtrusive. The food..... FANTASTIC!!!!!! I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone. I will continue to be a patron of this restaurant. Pros: Service/Quality, Value, Atmosphere Cons: can't think of any more

We have dined here for so many years. It is like visiting an old friend. You can depend on getting the same thing and it is just as good as the last time. While the steak is not the best it is as good as any you will find without taking out a loan for a meal. The service is great and friendly. Pros: Good food, Good parking, Good service more

We have been waiting for a good steak house on the NW side of San Antonio and thought that the Barn Door would be the one. What a disappointment. The blue cheese dressing was yellow and warm. The steaks average and the service non existant. When we asked to speak with the manager he acted like he did'nt care that we were dissatisfied. They have sent us coupons in the mail. We trash them. Were not going back. Pros: Location Cons: Quality of food, Service, Management more