The Winchester — Restaurant in Alamo Heights

This is a nice bar and let me tell you about our experience. First we walked in for the 1st time and had no clue if it was self seating, we walked around looking for a table and not 1 person that worked there asked if we needed help. We definitely looked lost, all the other customers in the bar were staring at us walking around, we almost decided to leave but wanted to give this place a shot. Still not knowing what to do, we call the bar to ask how it works (since we couldn't get anyone's attention), at that time they were at full capacity and said "wait outside, when you see someone walk out then you will know a table is ready." We get a table, several servers pass us with no help, so I'm thinking maybe we need to go to the bar to order what we want, then I thought but why? There are servers here walking around serving other people, maybe they are in the weeds, we give it more time. Finally a server comes to us asking if we have been helped we say no and she says ok, sits down at our table pulls her mask below her nose and mouth to ask us what we would like. I let her know this is the 1st time visiting and we would like to see the menu. She comes back with the menu and immediately asks what can she get for us...um you literally just gave us the menu. I asked if we could have a few minuets to review the menu. I still had hope for this place, just thought it was a rocky start no biggie right? Server comes back asks what we want, my friend orders and I tell her I just need a few more seconds to decide between 2 things she says ok walks away. My friends food is brought out by someone else, our server quickly runs over asks if I am now ready to order (cause she hasnt checked on us since my friend gave the server her order). I order the lamb burger (AMAZING YOU HAVE TO GET IT IF YOU GO) however the server didn't inform me that it can take up to 20 min to cook. Mind you this whole time I'm calm still hoping for the best enjoying the atmosphere. With in those 20 min of waiting with now empty waters and an empty beer we are looking around to find anyone to help, my friend is able to get someones attention and ask about my food. They go check and then the manager comes to the table apologizing for the wait and explains that the lamb burger takes awhile to cook and tells me that he is going to discount my food. Cool, I didn't ask for it nor was I complaining so this is a BONUS! Our service was bad, the server hardly came to check on us, we didn't get refills on our drinks, when my food came out I didn't have silverware and had to go to the bar to ask for it. The burger was very good but the fries were crispy and slightly burnt. They did discount my food, they took off $1.50, I guess that is at least something. Thanks anyway. If the server was more attentive let me tell you I would have racked up my bill with drinks on drinks and she would have gotten a larger tip. However she clearly didn't care or had something more important to do cause she kept disappearing towards the back of the building where the restrooms are. I am a generous tipper but I wasn't this time. The service was just poor over all and the communication between the staff seems poor as well. This is a nice place, I suppose I just...

Firstly, when we walked in to eat we noticed that all of the dining area tables we DIRTY! There was leftover crumbs on most tables! There was FOOD, NAPKINS OR DEBRIS under ALL tables!The worst part about it, I could see a wet streak like the table was half wiped! The booth seats WERE COVERED IN CRUMBS! I literally dusted my seat off before REGRETFULLY sitting down!

Now let's get into the service! Firstly, our server knew nothing about the menu and very little about the liquor options available at the bar. Mind you as a server, ones job is to enlightening guests about the menu choices! To upsale where there's a need & help guests make a suitable dining decision! We were not bought water. She first started with asking us what we wanted to drink! Cool! That's route to start with in restaurant hospitality after providing waters for guests! I chose a blueberry mule! My friend asked if the bar had a particular liquor. She didn't know. Fine. So, she went to check & came back & said the bar had just gotten a new shipment of this particular liquor in. The bar lead then comes to our table & tells us that there is no more of it available! So, she ordered a tequila sunrise. She was provided a drink that was the equivalent of a watermelon pucker! No oj or grenadine!

I ordered the salmon med rare to med! It come well done! EVERYTHING was SALTY. I understand using salt, but to complement the food not to be the featured SEASONING of THE ENTIRE MEAL! I let our server know that my salmon was over cooked! She said she'll let the kitchen know! Jokes on me! She went back to talking & laughing loudly with the other bartender at the bar! 0 HOSPITALITY OR URGENCY!

My friend's fork WAS DIRTY! She had to ask the waitress for another CLEAN UTENSIL! Wow! The food was at best a 2 out of 5 stars! The mash potatoes, steamed veggies & rice were actually good! We dined in for about 45 min & still were not given water!

The entire time we were there we could hear the bartenders laughing & talking LOUDLY and using profanities! It was giving college kids with no respect for an establishment's reputation! On a Sat night an establishment should have a decent sized crowd! There were barely any people there & I see why! At this point they will be the reason why this business declines!

I spoke to the head bartender before I left due to there being no management on duty!! Make it make sense! Why is no one MANAGING the quality control! I told the lead bartender that the 3 women STANDING AROUND TALKING LOUDLY & mingling behind the bar could use their free time (paid company time) to clean up the facility! I also listed the other concerns! For what we paid the quality was not met! It felt more like a $15 dollar tab, if that!

Lastly, after getting up I walked to the other side of our booth TO NO SURPRISE there was a empty packet of gum left on the seat amongst a...

See updated below: It's ridiculous for a "review" not to have any actual review, especially if it's a 1-star review. Consider that when thinking about these early reviews.

We were happy to see a pub come back to the space where the Lion and Rose used to be. It's nice to be able to walk to the pub! We visited a couple of days after they started their "soft open" and it was not at all crowded, but not empty at 17:30. Staff was friendly but clearly they're still working on the rhythm of service. We knew it was the soft-open time so we didn't have expectations about super-slick service.

If you like poutines, get the poutine. It's huge, tasty, and the fries were perfect If you're eating by yourself, expect to take some home or get it as your entree. We also tried the fried cheese curds, which were nice but we felt that the tempura-style batter ended up a bit soft for our taste and the sauce needed a bit more zest to it. I had the brisket grilled cheese sandwich which was great, with a bit of an Italian flair to it. My partner had the fish & chips, and the fries with both entrees were as perfect at those in the poutine. He's a harsh critic of fish & chips, he described the fish as "good but they should be more crisp."

We'll be back to see how they develop as they move into full swing.

UPDATE: So, you can ignore my comment in my initial review about the size of the poutine appetizer. A couple weeks in they've downsized the dish to a more normal appetizer portion. It's still tasty but not "bring-a-friend" big anymore. They've added several taps on the beer selection, so I'll let the overall tenor of my review stand... maybe "somewhere in the middle" would be good for the poutine dish but it's still a place to return to.

UPDATE TO THE UPDATE: Like I said, this is a local haunt for us so we've been back a few times. They got the poutine size right, it's a good shareable app size without being as huge as it started out. Still worth stopping by to eat, still worth stopping by...