Crossroads Saloon and Steakhouse — Restaurant in Fredericksburg

To follow up on my wife’s review: We were on a weekend away from Houston without the kids for our anniversary. I had looked at every restaurant in Fredericksburg to pick the perfect spot for dinner, since it was a special occasion. I booked over three weeks in advance, noting on the reservation that is was our anniversary. Now, I have spent 25 years in the hospitality industry, 15 and a chef and restaurant manager, and 10 as a chef instructor, and any time someone with a special occasion came into our establishment, we would make sure we went the extra mile to make their evening memorable. We arrived early and checked in and the gentlemen said that there were a few reservations ahead of us that they were waiting to arrive. That was great because we had time for a drink in the bar area and saw that we would be enjoying live music after dinner. I told him no worries, we are celebrating and want to have a nice time. Now normally I don’t care where we are seated. It does’t matter, but on special occasions, I like it to be special, and since there were parties ahead of us that had not arrived yet, it was obvious that there were choices available prior to seating. So we were seated on the patio, which was an addition to the building next to a large group of loud and vulgar speaking people. I asked if there was another option and was told no. I looked around the restaurant and saw that several tables were in the process of getting their check, which meant tables would be opening up soon. I went back to our table, which was a wobbly outdoor wire type table. After ordering two bottles of wine and appetizers and listening to the table next to us get louder and louder, I was pretty much done. It wasn’t an enjoyable setting to order a $400 dinner. We got up before anything was delivered and headed out, once again noticing that people were paying their checks. As we left, I again told the gentleman about the table and the group next to us. He just said that they were full. I would have certainly waited for tables to empty and relocated. As I said earlier, normally I don’t care where we sit in a restaurant, but this was a special night for my wife and I and I informed them of that and it seems to them that it just didn’t matter and responded with indifference. There was an empty booth, but he said they couldn’t seat it because of Covid. I get that, but if that was the case, why was every seat in the restaurant—and bar, for that matter—occupied. Just an overall disappointment from the lack of...

Driving through town and stopped randomly with no reservations. No one was available when we walked in, and it took a crowd gathering at the door before someone finally arrived. We were told there would be an hour+ wait, so we hung out in the bar lounge while a band set up. They were out of the only IPA on the menu, but thankfully they had a substitute on tap; the missus ordered a rather strong Manhattan. The place has great decor, including a chandelier outfitted with revolvers that held the lights in place, and ceiling fans made to look like windmills. The maître d' was even in full-formal Texas attire (you know, the southern wedding type). Surprisingly, our table was ready around half an hour later. The prices are about what you'd expect from the atmosphere: around $60 a person, without drinks, so, not cheap. The Greek salad was good, but the NY Strip was bloody amazing - probably because I ordered medium-rare, and that bad boy was clearly rare, but I'm not mad about it (two asparagus only, for a side? Really? They were crazy-large, though). I can't say anything good about the Texas quail as it seemed slightly dry and possibly over-salted, more like small, expensive chickens. The baked macaroni and cheese wasn't anything to write home about, either (cold and bland), nor was the mushroom dish. In fact, my girlfriend barely ate anything. Our waiter sorta acted like he didn't want to deal with us. He wasn't unfriendly, just, neutral, I guess, and buzzed by our table quickly without showing us much attention. I'm not saying we were ignored or the service was bad; we weren't, and it wasn't, but it felt like asking if we needed anything was more of a rhetorical question as he walked briskly by. Maybe it was because we arrived (unprepared for the environment) in t-shirts and jeans, and seemed like we would be the type not to leave a good tip... so we didn't! (Just kidding, we're 20%'ers here). Strangely, we couldn't transfer the bar tab to our restaurant bill, so I had to go back after our meal to pay the bartender. It was inconvenient, since the band had started and the crowd was in full swing. I would have squared the tab before being moved to our table, but the other bartender told us not to worry about it as she'd pass the message along that we were being seated to our original server. We would have stayed for the show, but we had prior engagements. A few hiccups aside, we had a fairly good time, and the dogs will be eating some pricy leftovers when we get home. Pics are before the...

On December 7th, my boyfriend and I vacationed in Fredericksburg, Texas for his birthday. I made reservations for Crossroads Saloon for December 7th, at 8:30. We were on time for our reservation and were seated with the server “Dina,” (I believe). My boyfriend and I were the only black people in the establishment. The service provided to us by “Dina” was just okay. Upon receiving the bill, there was a large party automatic gratuity added for 20% of the bill. I always tip 20%, so that was not the problem. The problem was an automatic large party gratuity placed on a bill for two. I viewed this as a purposeful action by the server, who judged we would not properly tip her. Upon exiting the restaurant, I asked the Host what was considered a large party. The host responded, “with five or more people.” I then asked the Host why would a large party gratuity be added to our ticket. The Host retrieved the manager (white female, possible late 30’s). To the manager, I explained the automatic gratuity being added to our ticket. The manager asked if we wanted a refund for the gratuity. I insisted paying the gratuity was not the issue but the server possibly being biased was the issue and I wanted to make the establishment aware of this behavior. The manager stated, “Let’s not do that” in a rude tone. The manager went on to say she was positive it was a mistake on the servers behalf. The manager continued to invalidate our feelings on the matter. Meanwhile, I remained tactful and professional with her. Although I was doing all the talking, my boyfriend made one comment stating, “We just wanted to provided our prospective.” The manager continued to gaslight us by asking my boyfriend, “Why are you upset?” He was never upset, never raised his voice nor was he mad. Due to the manager being insensitive and gaslighting us, I immediately told my boyfriend “let’s go.” I do not know what she would have said next, to get a rise out of us. To lie and say my black man was upset was extremely distasteful much like the server adding an automatic large party gratuity to our bill.

My boyfriend and I enjoyed everything about Fredericksburg, TX (Brooke Bubble Bar, Barons Creek, Augusta, Signor, Sunset Grill, Felt Hat Boutique, and so on) EXCEPT The Crossroads Saloon. It is my hope that no one else receives the same treatment we did.

P.S. The only positive about Crossroads Saloon was the host who displayed professionalism and great...