Books a Whiskey Society — Restaurant in San Antonio

We came in last night, on a Friday for happy hour and were impressed with the aesthetic, but a bit underwhelmed with the way the bar is ran. They were definitely not prepared for the amount of people who showed up. It wasn’t for lack of trying as the staff were constantly moving minus the bar manager who spent more time on his phone or addressing people he knew then stepping in to help his overwhelmed staff. It would have made an a huge difference if the bar manager would have stepped in to direct patrons or get drink orders instead of just socializing. Although I’m not sure if it was due to self absorption or just lack of management experience.

We waited 15 minutes at the bar without getting a drink ordered, but seeing my frustration an incredible bartender named Josh stepped in to assure me he saw me and were next. He quickly took our ordered with great recommendations then made our drinks with a swift hand off. Which truly saved our experience and ensured we stayed.

We were fortunate to find seats after a bit of a wait and enjoyed our drinks, but due to the amount of people waiting and wait time for orders, we didn’t feel comfortable to linger or order another drink. So, we made reservations for another spot and then requested our tab, that took about another 20 minutes just to cash out.

We are big whiskey enthusiasts and were checking out the atmosphere before we purchased a membership as we loved the idea. There isn’t anything similar here and the vibe was great, but we might need to hold off on moving forward with a membership until some changes are made to improve the experience.

It would be helpful to have additional waitstaff to take the orders for people sitting down, a designated area to order if you are outside or don’t have a seat and more bartenders to accommodate happy hour or busy times or even a host/hostess at the door to direct traffic or answer questions.

I truly hope more time in business and some strategic changes will help this place improve so it is a place we can come back to...

This place has so much potential and it’s sad that we’ve now had two similar experiences. My wife and I came in around 715pm on a Friday night, seated right away. Place wasn't too busy but hostess let us know that they were running a bit slower than usual. What an understatement!

We waited 45 minutes for a bartender to take our order. Of note, none of the highly allocated whiskeys on their menu are actually available, which was disappointing as a whiskey enthusiast. Went with a smoked old fashioned instead.

Another 30 minutes later the drinks arrived, 1 of which was incorrect. We asked for a replacement, and it never came. Sitting there for another 45 minutes with empty drinks, we finally got tired of waiting and had to ask the hostess for the check. Manager brought us the check, knew we were upset, just dropped it, no eye contact, no thank you for coming in, nothing. Another 25 min later we were finally out.

We watched numerous people complain about the wait and lack of service. While understanding they only had 3 bartenders, there were also 4 other staff members and a manager on the floor. It just appears that this establishment isn’t going to make the changes needed to provide timely service.

The drinks were good, bartenders were friendly, and the atmosphere is great. But the lack of availability of menu items And absolutely horrendous service and wait times are going to keep people from...

I would like to start by saying my criticism has nothing to do with the quality of the drinks or atmosphere.

My issue is this bar sets a certain precedent and has the aesthetic that it’s a chill place to have a glass of whiskey and smoke a cigar at a smooth pace, but ended up being over crowded, incredibly loud, and hard to fully enjoy.

We saw several people walk in, wait 15/20 minutes, and then leave. After 2.5 hours my husband and I managed to get in only 2 drinks and my food never came, though I saw several other people’s food come out the window. It even took is 20 minutes to get our check after asking for it.

I don’t blame the bar tenders, they were doing the best they could with their situation, but making a big social media push when you are not capable of handling a Friday night maybe isn’t the smartest move.

Drinks are great, keep that. Bar tenders are very skilled, this is a plus.

But I think they should turn down the music, staff more, maybe even get servers to take care of patrons not sitting at the bar.

I would love to come back and see improvements while maintaining the great drinks and vibe, but I might sit out coming back for a while. Sad I didn’t get to try the Tres Leches too, but waiting another 30 minutes at least for cake...