The Guenther House - San Antonio

I really wanted to give this restaurant a 5-star rating, but the experience was so frustrating that I have to settle for 3 stars. First, we waited about an hour for a table. Once we were finally seated, we understood why—the kitchen was clearly overwhelmed. After we placed our order, it took 45 minutes just to receive our food. To make matters worse, our main course arrived before the soup, which tasted canned and contained only three small pieces of broccoli. Eventually, they brought out the bread, which was apparently the cause of the delay. The waitress was kind, and the atmosphere was pleasant, but it's unfortunate that the management is lacking.

This restaurant tends to be quite busy, so be prepared for a bit of a wait. However, the wait is definitely worth it! The food is sourced locally, which is a significant advantage since not many places do this. Both the food and service are outstanding. Be sure to try their house special coffee!

I really wanted to enjoy this restaurant more, but when I compared it to other brunch spots in San Antonio, I found the menu to be quite limited and predictable. The service was just okay; the host could definitely use some enthusiasm. The wait times were absurdly long, prices were high, and nothing truly impressed me. The building is interesting, the location has historic charm, and the food is good—but not exceptional. If the wait had been under an hour, the prices more reasonable, or if the staff had shown a genuine interest in serving customers, I could have rated it higher. However, in San Antonio, there are certainly better options available.

Amazing breakfast on a Thursday morning with my wife. When passing the front of the property I didn't notice the sign before the bridge showing where parking was located so we parked on a side street a block or two away and walked through the front of the house which seemed to be set up as a museum. There was an amazing, highly detailed, gingerbread house on display when we first walked in and gift shop down the hall with a lot of historical information about the Guenther House on the walls. The next room was staged beautifully with a Christmas tree and even reindeer. Upstairs seemed to be set up with a banquet room that had a great balcony with an amazing view down the river and back into downtown San Antonio. We then followed the noise down the stairs to the cellar where we found the dining area and the kitchen. There we were able to ask where we could find a host/hostess. We were directed past the pastry counter to the back of the building where the hostess stand was located outside a walkway. Apparently, the parking lot for the Guenther House is around the corner of the building past the stand. We were offered a seat outside immediately or we could wait a bit to sit inside. Since we had just walked through the packed, noisy dining room in the cellar we opted to sit outside under the pergola. It was a bit chilly (for San Antonio, low 60s) but fortunately each table had a heater aimed down at it from up above which was perfect. Additionally, each chair has a Guenther House blanket that you could wrap up in or drape over your legs if you felt so inclined. The staff was extremely welcoming, helpful, and kind. The house coffee was flavored with 5 different flavors and was delicious. Both my wife's meal and mine were so tasty. The biscuits were huge, fluffy, and baked to perfection. I ended up ordering a cinnamon roll to go because I had a co-worker say good things about them. I shared it with my kids later that evening and wow, perfection. I highly recommend The Guenther House!

Everything is good except waiting. Be prepared to wait at least an hour. Very nice small museum besides the restaurant.