Zinc Bistro & Bar Events Space — Local services in San Antonio

I am so excited to write this review. Yesterday, my wife and I had a show at the Majestic Theater we were going to and decided at the last minute to eat downtown. She found this place with good reviews and we could reserve a table outside. When you walk in, you are right at the hostess stand...might be nice to move that back a foot or two so people can at least walk in before immediately being greeted. Our table was prepared for us and we were able to walk back to their nice courtyard area. You pass the bar along the way and a nice indoor seating area that presents a calm and cool vibe to the place. Our server (Daniel - I think) was excellent all night. He told us about the food specials and was very informative about the menu and drink selections. My cocktail was very delicious (if I get a cocktail somewhere, it is typically going to be a Manhattan, I am no cocktail connoisseur but I know a good Manhattan when I taste it) and my wife had got a white wine. Their wine selection is very extensive here and they offer a taste before you commit to the pour. I will also say the glassware was really nice and did not feel cheap to drink out of.... its hard to explain this one, sometimes you go to a place and the glassware is really heavy in case it is dropped, it might survive, that's what I mean by "cheap glassware". Zinc did not have cheap glassware. We ordered the calamari which has a very unique twist of having avocado, thinly sliced jalapenos, and red cabbage. This dish was amazing. Our server gave us more details about his favorite dishes and popular favorites there. I ordered the daily special which was mahi mahi seasoned to perfection and on a bed of couscous with a cup of soup. My wife order the Zinc burger, a popular favorite and has been ranked within the top 50 burgers in texas several times our server told us. Our meals were excellent, the outdoor vibe was amazing, and we really enjoyed the excellent service this place provided. Finally, the food prices here are exceptionally reasonable for downtown. Bravo Zinc Bistro! I think we have found a new favorite downtown and we will for sure be back. I highly recommend Zinc to anyone that is looking for a relaxing dinner and stress free wait with making a reservation ahead of time. The majestic was only a 5 minute walk away. Well done Zinc! Well done! Well done Daniel, you was an excellent server! Keep up the great...

My fiancé and I arrived on time for our reservation and we were seated immediately. Our waitress was friendly but did not give us her name or take our drink order.(someone else did this). she pretty much sat us down and walked away. when she did return we told her this was our first time at this establishment, and asked for a few minutes to look over the menu(she was still friendly, but you could tell she was irritated). she LITERALLY came back 2 minutes later and asked if we were ready to order. we asked for more time, to which she disappeared for almost 25 min. eventually, we were able to order the Faux Gras, Escargot, Zinc salad, and a couple of drinks. The food was very good and we enjoyed it. But, the food and drinks were the only highlight of our visit. I ordered a second drink which took 15 minutes to be brought to our table even though there were not many people dining or in the bar area. Our waitress walked off so fast to get the drink order she did not hear me ask for the check as well. We ended up waiting another 10 min for someone to pass by to get the check. I Paid for our meal with cash and placed everything on the corner of the table for pick up, and a completely different waitress came by to pick it up. We were not informed that our waitress' shift was over and that someone new was taking over. I was expecting change back and the waitress never returned with my change. My fiancé had to get up and ask for someone to let our waitress know we wanted a receipt and change. The waitress came back and threw my change and receipt on the table and stormed off. My Fiancé attempted to talk to the manager about the Waitress' behavior and he was brushed off; a third and COMPLTETLY DIFFERENT waiter is who apologized to us about our experience and was helpful, but by then I was too upset to care.

food was great but its a shame there was such piss...

Let me start by saying, I work downtown. Myself and my co-workers eat here at least every other week. Burgers are good, truffle fries are great, fried fish is good too.

We always come back.

Today we were at party of 12 and made reservations to eat here during lunch to celebrate a coworkers birthday. I called and made reservations with Marie. She explained on the phone, I cant put you all together but I can put two tables right next to each other. That was fine. We arrive, well, the tables aren't "next" to each other. In fact, they aren't close at all. I asked her if we could put the tables together. She said no, she couldn't block the restrooms. Ok. There were tables outside, I asked if we could move those together. Nope she refused to do that too. And she was super rude about it. Said she explained when I called they would be separate tables. And she did, but clearly she didn't say they wouldn't be anywhere near each other. How does that make sense to sit a big party, separate where no one can speak to one another? So I ask to speak to the owner, Randy. I do, and let me explain how unpleasant and rude this man is. He's annoyed that I'm even bothering him with this problem. At this point, we should have just left and NOT given them our money BUT we've already wasted 20 minutes of our lunch hour.

So he dismisses us and tells Marie- "Just sit them outside in the lower courtyard." So finally they find us a table for 12 (I don't know why they didn't sit us there in the first place?)

We ordered, we ate. Food was good as usual. However, we wont be going back. Maybe they can rely on the tourist business, and that's ok, but you would think when you have regulars that frequent your place, you would treat them a little bit better and not be rude or dismissive.

Eat elsewhere folks. They are plenty of other decent places downtown to give your...