Trail Boss Steak and Grill — Restaurant in Bandera

Saturday around 5:00 p.m. My boyfriend and I went in for dinner and with hopes to watch the UT/Vanderbilt game. Waiter was very nice when he welcomed us. I asked him if he could put the game on. He checked and unfortunately they didn’t have that channel. I thanked him for trying to get the game on for us. He then takes our order. My b/f ordered the chop steak and asked if he could have fresh jalapeños in lieu of the gravy and mushrooms. Waiter said he could do it. Waiter brings out the order and while there wasn’t gravy & mushrooms, there was some type bell pepper mixture, no fresh jalapeños. My b/f doesn’t say anything until the waiter walks off. He comments to me there are no fresh jalapeños and I commented that I had noticed. We begin eating, he comments that it tasted fine and we continued eating. Later the waiter comes over and asks about the order. My B/F stated it was incorrect and said he had asked for fresh jalapeños. The waiter then said the chopped steak did not come with fresh jalapeños. My b/f said he understood that but he specifically asked for no gravy, no mushrooms but with fresh jalapeños. The waiter then said no my b/f did not ask for fresh jalapeños. My b/f said he did ask for “f-ing jalapeños” (yes he dropped the f-bomb ONE time but it was because the waiter kept insisting my b/f didn’t ask for fresh jalapeños). The waiter still insisted the chopped steak didn’t come with fresh jalapeños and he still insisted my b/f didn’t ask for fresh jalapeños. After that my b/f didn’t say anything but I did calmly state to the waiter that my b/f did ask for jalapeños. Waiter then asked if we wanted him to take the meal back and resubmit the order. My bf said no, we were fine at this point (he was 1/2 finished eating his meal; I was about 1/4 finished with mine). Waiter walks off. My b/f and I continued eating (and we made small talk and kept watch of the UT game on my phone….so we were not complaining or talking to others or being loud). After awhile a young lady and a guy approach our table. The young lady said something to the effect they heard we were unhappy with our meal. My b/f explains that he had asked for the chopped steak without the gravy and mushrooms but he wanted fresh jalapeños and the waiter said he could get that for him. He then went on to say the order came out incorrect but we were fine. The young lady did offer to exchange the meal. My b/f said we were fine and didn’t need to change out the meal. The guy then said the waiter was upset. I then said we were fine and we didn’t need anything now, and then I asked that we be left alone so we could finish our meal. (B/f was almost done and I was about 1/2 done). The guy then said because the waiter was upset he said we needed to leave. So b/f and I just looked at each other….boyfriend then asked for our bill to pay. The guy was getting us to-go boxes and told us we didn’t need to pay. So basically the waiter turned our order in wrong (or the cook didn’t cook it correctly but since waiter kept denying the jalapeños being on the order, I think he got it incorrect)….waiter was upset because he got the order wrong and when he asked us about it, he was upset because we told him the order was wrong….the guy comes over and has us leave because waiter was wrong and upset. Not sure I understand the logic. We didn’t complain when we noticed the order was wrong….when asked we said it was wrong….waiter starts blaming us saying we didn’t place the order correctly (combative on his part)….then the young lady and guy come over later on and asks us about the problem/issue - something we didn’t never brought up…..then we are asked to leave because the waiter is “highly upset”. I gave the food a 3 stars because the order was incorrect. Had it been correct, it probably would have gotten more stars. I gave the service and atmosphere one star each because waiter was basically telling my boyfriend he was lying over the order. And since the guy had us leave because the waiter was upset…not a...

I decided to review my last couple of experiences at this establishment for outside folks looking to enjoy a meal so you don’t even waste time or money like I did multiple times .

My first visit was so good raved about it to anyone who would listen and brought friends from San Marcos here two weeks later.

the stuffed mushrooms app was amazing the first time around- however the cooks decided use tiny button mushrooms (the kind you slice for burgers and steak topping) this time and when I mentioned it to the server she lied to my face and said, “that’s how they always are.” Ok, sure, no big deal, shrug, after all- “support local biz” is the motto here and I was hung ho to do just that!

The rest of the meal was just ok- the server was just ok. Lukewarm chicken cordon bleu, bun on burger was hard, lettuce was wilted. At least the margaritas were great once we ordered shots of tequila for them. Food dropped and server was a ghost until the check came… no check back, no offers of extra rounds, no training in the upselling department going on in this spot! $150 with $30 tip and not one plate was prebussed.

And… the Third time - (yes, I came back for more…) my gf and I went in and sat at the bar 40 minutes or so until posted closing time for a quick couple drinks and appetizers. 15 mins later, as we’re enjoying our cocktails- the bartender informs us the kitchen is closing and our apps were ordered after their “cutoff.” Since we’d ordered them together with the drinks and 15 mins had passed , My friend wasn’t having that and asked to speak to a manager. All of a sudden, they were going to make them after all. The times are exact btw- I was so worried we’d be “those “ customers if we stayed too long so Of course after that I felt unwelcome and I rushed us out the door quickly promising to get another round across the street.

Both times the place had hardly any customers so the only reasoning I can come up with is they simply don’t care about their customer experience. Forge is consistent, and welcoming. OST is always great with servers that make you feel they want you there. Dough Joe has a cool concept and cool vibes, and the new kid on the block Bdaddy’s has never let me leave their place unsatisfied at their...

Had a fantastic experience regarding service, and the food was 4.5 out of 5 as well!

Came in with a group of 4, were looking for quick seating anywhere, bar was available.

Got seated quickly: Barbara was a peach and came back to check-in on us a couple times throughout the meal.

Bartender (Ashley)was stellar, self-admitted blond, and any of her misses (2x) could be attributed to that. Food was exactly as ordered, came out in a timely fashion, and was great quality. Stuffed shrimp were unusually good; and the entrees ranging from chicken fried steak, to fettuccine, the Reuben, and the grilled chicken salad were all money. Perfectly prepared and showed up hot and great. The sides were good, though I wouldn’t write home about them, they were above average as sides go.

Bonus points for service: Ashley kept the running tab in her head for all four of us, and with 9 liquor drinks, 4 waters, and two soda’s with 3 appetizers, 4 entrees, 3 extra sides, 3 desserts with one “to go”, she managed to partition our tickets perfectly and assign everyone equal blame.

Great food, great experience, great service (hat tip Ashley, and Barbara gets some street cred) and will certainly recommend it to anyone.

*also, check out China Bowl...