Spechts Texas — Restaurant in Bulverde

My family of seven, as first time visitors, were so excited to celebrate my Brother-in-Law's birthday lunch here which happens to fall on July 4th 🇺🇸 (after seeing it pop up on IG). We did everything right or so we thought 🙄....

We made an inside reservation for seven (two days prior) for 1:00 pm on July 4th. We even asked if we could bring a custom cake of our own and were graciously told, "Sure"!! The person that took the reservation even commented on how cool it was that his birthday was on July 4th.

As it has been publicitized, July 3rd-4th had record rainfall. We traveled in 2 vehicles over 30 minutes in the pouring rain to get there and we were there before 1:00. The first group in the party arrived a few minutes before the other as the second group had the custom cake. I was in the second group that parked and sludged through the wet caliche parking lot balancing the cake. When I walked in, I was directed to my party at what I can best visually describe of the table 'provided' was ....imagine a children's table set up during Thanksgiving at your parents house extending out from a booth. My sister pointed to the table we had reserved (right next to our abomination table) and told me that they gave our reserved table to another party. I was furious because we arrived before our reservation time but I didn't say the words that popped in my mind out loud. My BiL looked frustrated but more disappointed. I said it's OK, we can manage... to try to salvage the situation but he said let's just leave and go to our tried and true

Richter's Antler Cafe (Spring Branch, TX)

I honestly don't know if it was a lack of communication between the Spechts staff to actually 'check' the reservation list or ignorance of how to run a restaurant or if it was a favoritism situation to give the large table to a 'regular' 🤬!!

We picked up the cake and balloons and gifts then told the staff that we were leaving and all we got was an insincere "sorry about that" as we were walking out!!

So they have lost seven customers that will never go back. We drove another 20 minutes in the rain again to Antler Cafe where we didn't have to walk through a wet caliche parking lot and we were seated within minutes at an 'adult' appropriately sized table. I asked if we could bring in the custom cake (since we hadn't cleared it with them prior)and they told us "of course no problem".

Well, we ended up having a fabulous time with great food to include Ribeye steak, huge Grilled Wild Caught Shrimp, a huge Hamburger, perfectly cooked Fried Catfish and Grilled Liver & Onions. Their sides were also scrumptious!!! The best part is we had a fabulous & attentive server!!

We had cake left over and asked our waitress if they would like to have some cake for the staff and she said, 'Sure'!! So we left her the remaining cake to share and added a very generous tip for her.

So at the end of the day, Spechts were the actual losers!!

Save yourself the disappointment and just go to Antler Cafe!! We learned our lesson!

Richter's Antler Cafe...

** EDIT: 05/17/2024 I changed my rating from 5 down to 2 stars. Our second visit here and it wasn’t great. My wife wanted to celebrate her new job and sales profits, by eating a steak at another place but I talked her into coming here instead. First they told us they were out of steak in which we would have left. But they came back and informed us they did have steak. So we ordered their steak and when they brought it to our table they forgot forks and knives. No big deal. The food runner said she’d go get us some. I then watch the food runner enter and exit the kitchen four times and serve other people. I had to finally get up and ask her again for a fork and knife while our steaks went cold. It’s unacceptable to sell steaks and forget, not once but twice, the cutlery. Needless to say, when we want a steak, we are not coming back here or even considering this place. They offered to comp the food which I refused. I don’t want free food, I just want a damn fork and knife with our steak. Not asking for a lot here. Service was not good tonight. Manager finally came by and I told her, and she even laughed about it. I didn’t think it was funny and they’re lucky I didn’t pay the bill tonight because they’d get no tip from me.

Another thing that bothered me was I forgot to ask for a 2nd beer. Never really saw our waitress again, so I went inside the bar to get my 2nd beer. Big mistake. 2 bartenders were so busy serving every single person except me. In fact I finally got my draft beer pour after waiting 10-15 minutes while they made every single margarita and mix drink for outside table orders. Then when I finally get to pay, someone calls up on the phone and wants to order so they can’t even give me any change until they get off the phone and put it on online order. I’m just sitting and waiting for what seems forever, just for a damn beer. Unacceptable really. I now know that if I need a steak or draft beer, this is not the place for me.

Also my chicken fried steak looked great but had no flavor. They could put some salt or seasoning on this piece of leather. I don’t think we will come back for a while.

Also the music tonight was way too loud. A full PA system is not necessary for the 10-15 picnic tables directly in front of the stage. The music was really great but way too loud to enjoy our food or experience here.

ORIGINAL REVIEW: We were driving in the neighborhood and wife said “I want chicken fried steak!” So I found this on Google maps and we were pleasantly surprised. The chicken fried steaks were delicious and huge. The sides were excellent and the service was friendly and very prompt. I did not like the flies or the hair in our beer but overlooked that. Plenty of parking, plenty of seating and food was fast, hot and delicious. We will definitely come back with friends and family.

Pros: Top notch chicken fried steak Draft beer Plenty of parking Plenty of seating Friendly service Kid friendly

Cons: Flies Noisy patrons and customers (children running loose like wild...

This is a great little place a little off the beaten past, but with some cool history and good food. We went here on a Saturday evening around 5pm before heading to the Tejas Rodeo just around the corner. We got there early enough we beat the rush, but too early to hear the live music offered that night. The kids thought the old gas pumps, old counter serve area, pictures, and antiques were pretty cool. The outside area in the back is where they host music, have a ton more seating, and where the bathrooms are located. I will say those bathrooms could obviously use an upgrade, but the rest of the place is awesome and it is a great place to eat outside because it is all shaded and has fans. We did opt for inside since it was still hot and there was no music. Our service was not bad, just very basic and did not stand out in anyway, but the food was mostly good. I grabbed the 12 oz ribeye with green beans and mashed potatoes and my wife got the pulled pork nachos. The kids got cheeseburgers, chicken strips, fries, and mac and cheese.The steak was cooked correctly and had good flavor, it was not a great sear, but had some grill marks and again the flavor and cook were a perfect medium rare. The green beans were great and the mashed potatoes were good. My wife enjoyed her pulled pork nachos, two kids enjoyed all of the food, but one said the kids burger was not great (to much like school). The kids and I liked the fries as they were very crispy and the mac and cheese was great. Overall I would eat here again and suggest it to anyone looking for dinner before the...