Sanctuary Café & Bar — Restaurant in Lubbock

Sanctuary - A Local Spot with a Unique Vibe

Walking into Sanctuary, you might think you’ve stumbled into someone’s finished-out garage man cave. The decor is a mix of random motivational quotes, oddly edited pictures, and a DIY-style bar, but it gives off a laid-back, local vibe with a group of regulars who clearly enjoy the place. The bar area in the back was lively, while the table seating was open and comfortable.

We seated ourselves and were quickly greeted by our server, Sydney, who did a great job throughout the night.

Drinks

My wife started with a Cloudy Blue Skies from the daily specials ($3). We were surprised that it was frozen since the menu didn’t specify, but it wasn’t a bad surprise. Good flavor, but low alcohol content—as expected for a daily special. 6/10.

I initially ordered a Bahama Mama, also a $3 special. Same deal—solid flavor but light on alcohol. 7/10. If they added a bit more cheap liquor, the fruitiness would probably mask it well.

After that, I went with a Bud Light pint. Chilled glass, cold beer—no complaints.

My wife’s second drink was a Cotton Tail Martini Nitro Cocktail, recommended by Sydney. It had a nice coconut profile, somewhat similar to her first drink but better. The -320° nitro required reading a safety disclosure, which added a fun twist. 9/10.

Appetizer

We went with the Chicken Nacho Dip. The chips were a highlight—warm, fresh, perfectly salted, and a good thickness. 8/10. The queso, on the other hand, was a bit lacking in flavor, and we barely found any chicken in the dip. The addition of fresh pico was nice, and the unexpected flour tortillas were a pleasant surprise. Queso 4/10.

Entrées

My wife ordered Burtos Cajun Chicken Pasta, but without Cajun seasoning. The Alfredo sauce had a solid flavor, though a bit more would have helped. Otherwise, no major complaints. 7/10.

I went with the Dirty South Chicken and Shrimp—a dish with chicken and shrimp over rice, topped with mushrooms, onions, and Cajun butter. The chicken was cooked well, which I often find to be an issue elsewhere. The shrimp were a bit small, but still tasty. The rice was decent, though the Cajun butter was a little too much for my preference, giving it an oily texture. 7/10.

Service & Overall Experience

Sydney did a great job—she kept our drinks full and had good timing with each course. Service: 5/5.

Overall, it was a 4/5 experience. Nothing groundbreaking, but no major complaints either. Definitely a solid spot to grab a drink and try something...

Drink coasters were soaking wet when they put them on our table and had a terrible smell coming from them. Bahama mama was terrible and the beer I had, had a bug in it. The staff said I drank too much of it so they refused to take it off the tab. The atmosphere is grungy attempting to be classy. The drink menu says all drink sales are final for a reason, they know they're not putting out good drinks. Picture of the bug I found in my beer, I was able to pour it out into a plate for the picture.

The waitress made it obvious she had other people she would rather wait on since she acted like it was a burden to get us menu's, then took a long time to get us the tab when we were ready to leave and then when I finally got her to pick up the payment, she went around helping others and doing other stuff (the whole time, holding on to my card) and took her time getting back to me with it all. Worst experience...

This place is terrible I can't figure out how it has good reviews the place is bland on the inside live music was great but way too loud for that small area the food was super basic and over priced drinks were poured way too strong and tasted terrible hints way they print on there menu all drink sales are final obviously had problems In the past the servers are terrible and act like high-school girls having there friends at tables and worried about hanging with them and not tending to customers plus there were little baby Nats and mosquitos inside every where which really made it hard to relax and drink and enjoy the food definitely won't be back also if u like sweet tea with your food don't come here it was 7pm and they supposedly ran out ok well u close at midnight make some more lol this...