Snooze, an A.M. Eatery — Restaurant in San Antonio

Snooze does not owe its popularity to the swell looking nouveau art deco interior with curvy booths and its not so muted color scheme. Neither does it curry favor with the one and a half hour plus wait in line that still queues up on the weekends. So sleep in if you must, but be forewarned that the later you snooze in the longer you will be left out - of a chance at a reasonable wait time that is. Now being able to go on a weekday in late morning is a different story and a luxury reserved for the retired, those with flexible or shift work schedules, students, the independently wealthy and / or their spouses, or the ne'er-do-wells though I doubt you will find the latter most group among the mostly hip and / or monied patrons.

Menu choices are a pleasureable conundrum with quite a few mouth watering items to mull over. Order some of their very good house coffee, boutique Maine soda, or a breakfast eye opener from the bar while you agonize over your selection.

As I have a penchant usually reserved for savory breakfasts, I ordered the Eggs Benedict with my usual switcheroo of sausage patties for ham. The sausage just delivers a bigger taste profile for me and it does, believe it or not, go very well with the slightly lemony hollandaise - extra sauce please! The eggs were done just as I like them with a golden viscous flow of yolk when cut. Nicely done. Not to disparage the hash browns that came with the eggs, but they assumed the size and shape of a hockey puck composed of flat top griddled, slightly herbaceous seasoned, potato shreds that were compressed into their sporty round shape. These had the potential for being a little dry, but did just fine when dredged through the extra hollandaise sauce I had requested.

A modified order of sausage patty, scrambled eggs, hash browns and blueberry pancake was the other selection for our table which was a slight deviation from the Classic Breakfast menu item. I usually don't get too excited about scrambled eggs, but when they are prepared with the obvious chef skill and experience that these were, they are the magnificent Mona Lisa in a gallery of breakfast masterpieces. The smooth appearance of these ever so slightly ropey textured eggs hinted at the cloudlike lightness that was realized with the first bite. I am only infrequently moved to use a superlative in food description, but these were the best darnned scrambled eggs I had ever tasted - the stuff FoodTV shows with celebrity chefs are made of.

The hash browns are as previously described and the sausage patty is good with a sneaky latent hot pepper growl that you don't notice until after several bites. Luscious . . . that's the word I would use for the blueberry "pancake" if such a lowly moniker is even applicable. The light buttermilk griddle cake was good if not usual, but drizzled with a blueberry coulis and sweet cream, sprinkled with almond streusel, and center filled with a lemony cream cheese, it made me want to kiss Kim, a sweetheart of a manager, when she brought out an extra container of the blueberry coulis to further crown this royal fare.

By the end of the meal we had totally forgotten that we had to wait for 15 minutes to be seated (a pittance of inconvenience by the usual standard here). We were also now completely oblivious to the earlier noted, heavily crumbed floor under our table and a solitary piece of what looked like Captain Crunch cereal that lay next to me adorning my bench seat.

I sat there at the end of the meal sipping my third cup of java wondering how I would express the agony (my wife was not as fond of the herbed hash browns or the sneaky heat of the sausage as I was) and the ecstasy of the meal we just had in a review. So let's just say in contemplative circumspect and antithetical bromide that . . . Not to...

As we polynesians would say, cheehoo!! If they served food in Heaven, this place would be rated in the Top 5 places to eat!! I would say #1 but I've also rated other establishments with a 5 star rating. Bottom line? SNOOZES IS A MUST!!! And for the rest of you that enjoy details, buckle in and enjoy the review! After getting off the airplane from an early bird flight, to San Antonio Texas, my daughter and I were hungry and looking for the nearest restaurant; hungry and not too far from the airport, Snooze it was. Decor was very open, bright and tho I could not tell who the staff was, we were promptly shown to a table. I thought 2 points for friendly and comfortable atmosphere. The food? Was exceptional!!!! Ok, we were hungry, but without writing a 10 page post (lol), I was blown away! We ordered a Benny Duo; the Bella!Bella! Benny and the Chili Verde Benedict. THE FLAVOR COMBINATIONS were like a gazillion wows! Who knew Eggs Benedict would be more than just delicious! Each mouthful perfectly balancing the other; did I mention FLAVOR? Ok, add one more WOW! We also shared the Pancake Flight; 3 different choices of pancakes. Blueberry Danish Pancakes, Peachy Keen Cakes and Pineapple Upside Down Pancakes. I am a pancake lover and therefore am sooo...well, a somewhat nicer term for picky and critical would be aficionado? Call me crazy hehe. First thing I look at is height; too high, too thin then I check color. When they overcook it, it becomes drier, so I was super happy when I checked the underside, it was a perfect light brown color. Scoring 2 for 2; cuts through easily with your fork, 1 pt; did not stick to the roof of your mouth, 1pt become so hard to swallow, you needed liquid to help wash it down, 1 pt. And a final 5pts for flavor especially when they offering different types of pancake choices. 10 pts!! I had to save the last but critically important factor which is service. And I have never been to an eatery that wasn't listed as fine dining and yet, the service was beyond exceptional! And our server needed to be recognized. Snooze, if you read comments such as mine, please find out all about this phenomenal server and have her as a training consultant. Her name is Autumn and her attention to everything that was happening on our table was astounding!!! The first thing was her greeting us; friendly and bright just like the ambiance of the place. Second thing that caught my eye was when I opened a couple packets of sugar and it was cleared from my table shortly thereafter. I thought hmm, that's nice and it never stopped. This place was busy and yet Autumn made us feel like we were celebrities or her most important clientele! Thank you Autumn!Thank you Snooze for the most incredible dining experience I have ever had in a breakfast eatery! Everyone should have that same privilege to enjoy exceptional service and mouth wathering food that is now personally...

A Disappointing Visit to Snooze at the Quarry

I’ve been to Snooze at the Quarry before and always considered it a go-to spot for breakfast. Unfortunately, my most recent experience left a lot to be desired.

We arrived as walk-ins and were told the wait would be 30 minutes, which seemed reasonable for such a popular location. I decided to wait at the bar and ordered a Bloody Mary to pass the time. In the past, their Bloody Marys were fantastic—spicy, well-crafted, and garnished beautifully. This time, it felt like they had been pre-mixed in a pitcher with little care or craftsmanship. The drink lacked the bold, spicy flavor I was expecting. Hoping for a better experience, I ordered a second and specifically requested it to be spicier. The bartender accommodated the request but made it seem like I was a bother. While they weren’t overtly rude, the vibe was definitely not welcoming.

As I sipped my drink, I noticed multiple open tables—including ones for two—yet we remained eighth on the waitlist. This lack of table management was frustrating, but just as I began to feel agitated, we were suddenly informed our table was ready. It’s worth mentioning that I never approached staff to complain, so it felt like they might have noticed my frustration. They offered a free pancake card, which was a nice gesture, but by this point, the experience had already soured.

We were seated at a table for four instead of two, which struck me as disorganized. The table was wiped down immediately, but there was an unpleasant mildew smell, likely from a dirty rag. To make matters worse, I noticed a strong body odor, which I assumed was coming from the hostess. This was not the fresh, welcoming atmosphere I’d come to expect from Snooze.

When it came time to order, I chose the Habanero Benny Benedict, hoping for a flavorful, spicy dish. Sadly, it fell flat and lacked any kick. I ended up dousing it with Tabasco to get the flavor I was looking for, but even then, I couldn’t finish the meal. It just didn’t live up to my expectations.

At one point, we needed more napkins, so my wife went to request some. The same bartender from earlier brought them over, and once again, it felt like we were being a nuisance. The overall atmosphere during the visit felt unwelcoming, almost as if patrons were a burden to the staff.

The one bright spot was the coffee—it was delicious. But great coffee isn’t enough to make up for the lackluster service, subpar food, and general disorganization we experienced.

Snooze has been a favorite of mine in the past, but this visit was disappointing on nearly every front. I hope they address these issues, as I’d love to return and have the enjoyable...