Palenque Grill

Came in on a Sunday for lunch the restaurant had quite a few tables seated which is usually a good sign. Our waiter came over right away, our drinks came out right away. They brought out a tray with chips, some steaming hot salsa and a warm bean dip. A lot of people rave about this hot salsa but I actually didn’t care for it or the bean dip at all. We actually requested some normal salsa. They brought out some green purée with no flavor.
Since I was starving I ordered a tortilla soup which has no meat, they brought a cup with tortilla chips and cold cubes of cheese. They bring a little silver kettle and you pour the broth into the ingredients. Very strange, I just wanted to eat my soup not take all these extra measures to make a soup. Was quite frankly the worst tortilla soup I’ve ever had. The cheese cubes were cold in the middle and melting on the outside and the broth was to salty.
The actual entrée took a very long time to come out. I was happy with my entrée. I ordered a 6 oz fish I stated that I wanted the 6 oz twice. The fish was fried but not heavily breaded. It was crisp and fresh I would recommend it. My bae’ enchiladas were also very delicious the green sauce was tasty and had a lot of flavor.
The starters were terrible, our entrée’s were delicious and finally when the bill came out it was like $ 12 over what it shouldn’t been. We said something to our waiter and he politely fixed the bill. That was a little strange.
Overall I think this place is a little over priced, it was a decent experience because the main entrée was good and the server was friendly but the wait of the food and the overcharged bill – that we luckily caught left us not wanting to come back.

Table was not clean when we where seated. Took half the meal to even get napkins to our table. Ordered chicken fajitas and the meet was cold to the touch. Our waiter was so overwhelmed with three tables. Took another 15 minutes to get the check and run out of restaurant.

Really on the fence about this place. Chips, salsa, and beans that come with the meal were good.
Ordered the Al Pastor tacos. 4 come in an order so it was plenty of food. However, all that come with the tacos are the tacos and a bit of sautéed onions. No cheese, no salsa/pico…nada. Tacos were good but a little something to put on them (lime, cheese, salsa/​pico, etc) would have been a good thing.

Down in San Antonio looking for a good place to eat really good food, you have to try the beef ribs and the whole fried snapper. The atmosphere is good for a date or just friends hanging out. Every time I come down to San Antonio I have to visit this place at least once it is phenomenal. They also have mini stage off to the side with a piano and every time I’ve been, there has been live music.

Just as good as the original in Laredo, TX
Highly recommend !!!
FYI this is not Tex Mex, this is Mexican food !

This is for the new location in la cantera. One of the worst experiences I’ve had in years. Over priced, limited menu, poor service, mediocre food. For the money, go to any other restaurant in the area.

Expensive. And limited menu. We had a great server but in San Antonio there are many other better choices. Nice atmosphere.

Really good food.
Good service and nice place to hang out. We really enjoyed the live music and our server, Alberto. He was attentive and made great suggestions. He accommodated my special drink request. The tres leches dessert was very good as well.

As soon as we walked in we were offered booth or table, and we were seated in a booth (our choice) table was not clean and still had leftover pieces of food. Hostess wiped down some of it but it was not properly cleaned. Our waiter ERIK asked us what we wanted to drink and brought it to us in a timely manner, we asked for ceviche Tostadas, it was brought to us in a timely manner but no silverware was brought to us the entire time even though we asked twice, we even had to ask for Napkins because we weren’t given any and we only got three. We ordered tacos al pastor with a side of frijoles charros and tacos de trípitas. In my honest opinion my tacos de trípitas were good, but all it had was onions on the side, no other side the same for the tacos al pastor (no side) my husband said tacos al pastor were good as well but didn’t like how there was no sides but huge pieces of Onion on the side and the huge piece of bone he found in his meat. We were only given a little bit of salsa and beans after we finished our appetizer With our chips and salsa. Chips and salsa are given when you sit down not after your appetizer comes. My husband and I traded a taco and my plate was removed before I could eat my last taco!!! Wtf!!! We definitely won’t be coming back, I wanted something sweet but the service was terrible. Also I forgot to add my husband ordered frijoles charros and didn’t get him until I finally caught the waiter/​server and told him we ordered them and we weren’t brought our beans, he said «oh he did? «looked at his book and said «I’ll bring them, I’m sorry»
It wasn’t a good experience, I would give it another chance maybe with a better server but the plates come with no sides and it’s too pricey for what you get. I honestly wouldn’t mind paying 45 bucks for a place who actually served plates with sides.
ERIK you need to work on your server skills and MANAGERS you all should walk around asking how service is, that is what other restaurants do, and that is what managers are meant to do. .
PS. I NEVER GOT A REFILL ON MY COKE AND WE ALWAYS HAD TO FLAG OUR WAITER DOWN –_​– SMH

We absolutely love this place! The menu is huge so order a refreshing cocktail while you peruse the many pages of deliciousness. The first to come to the table is the tasty bean dip and roasted salsa with authentico chips… mmmm! I usually order the sarandeado fish which is baked to perfection with some type of buttery goodness and topped with sauteed onions and peppers. My hubs has tried the bacon wrapped shrimp, fajitas, and some sort of thin steak with peppers on top. I always grab a taste :) Our kids like to dance beside our table to the acoustic guitar and piano band! This place rocks, seriously!

This is not your typical Tex mex restaurant. This is your typical Northern interior Mexican restaurant with a great menu and friendly staff. It’s a favorite choice of Nationals and people who want very close to authentic cuisine. I always get the parrillada, a dish of chicken, beef and shrimp that is shared. The food is good and drinks art all right. Love, love, love the beans!

Too expensive for mediocre tasting mexican food.
If you want excellent service, go next door to Chama or down the street to Galpao Gaucho. Now THAT is real service. You will never see your waiter/​waitress here.
Either the hostess is not at her station or they don’t have one, so we always have to wait a little longer for a waiter/​waitress to get us and seat us.
Everything takes forever, empty or packed.

On my first visit during Happy Hour, I ordered a Margarita and appetizers. Also had their chips and salsa. I noted their chips were very greasy so I skipped through the basket. Their appetizers were not good and were so greasy that I could not enjoy it. Afterwards I got so sick for 2 weeks and could not eat Mexican food for nearly 6 months. It left me a sour taste for it and no Margaritas either for 6 months or longer. I will not go there again ever!

Great atmosphere, it reminds me of eating across the border (back when it was safe to do so)!!
Been here three times now and try something different each time. Have enjoyed every entrée I’ve ordered thus far.
Service is always good.
The place draws a big crowd and there is almost always a band playing.
I definitely recommend it.

Ok as far as Tex-​Mex goes. The service is good and there is quite a variety to choose from on the menu. Nothing outstanding, however. And I wasn’t particularly excited about my salad which was really the only thing that appealed to me on the menu. Ok if standard Tex-​Mex is your thing.

Good place to eat. Warm refried beans served with chips and salsa. The margaritas are very good. We ordered the beef fajita quesadillas which were very good! Will visit again!

I guess we are used TexMex both in flavor and price. I had fajitas which was $ 13 and served only with slightly grilled onions. Added rice and beans cost another $ 3.50 each. $ 20 for fajitas at our favorite TexMex place would be $ 12 for the entire plate including rice, beans and pick de gallo. My wife got flautas and they we only half cooked. We ordered queso and it was nasty and we waited like 20 minutes to get it. My wife put the queso on Her flautas just to eat them. Oh and the queso was $ 6!
For the same but better I would have gone to taco cabana and that place is low on the TexMex scale.
Do your self a favor and save your money.

This is one of the first places we ate when we moved to San Antonio. It is great Mexican food, the staff is always friendly and service has been quick for us. And they have a great variety of drinks!
On Friday and Saturday nights they have live music which is really fun, We like to take visiting family and friends here!

4 STARS! Your first time will be rough. This place specializes in authentic mexican comida and you must know what to order and what extras to ask for. Lets start with suggestions to help you out when ordering.
I highly recommend starting out with their chicken soup that comes with the broth seperate and the chipotle pepper and cheese on the side. Drop that pepper in and enjoy as the heat intensifies as you pour more and more broth in. If you have a cold or congestion this is the answer for you.
Next I recommend the pork brased tacos also known as el pastor! The meat sometimes includes a few fatty pieces so pull those out. Add the cilantro and onions but most importantly ask for the pineapple garnish. It is slightly smoked and is a must to truly enjoy the pork and fresh flavors.
I also recommend the taquitos and the mole. When you are full order a cup of Mexican coffee. Then head home for a big long nap. Enjoy!

I really want to like this place. I certainly enjoyed my experience at their Laredo location. This location is 0 for 2 with service.
We were seated quickly on a busy night as we called ahead. We were greeted by our waiter but that was about all we saw of him.
It took 10 minutes to get chips and we got them because we asked. The food was really good. I had shrimp fajitas which were overpriced but were good. My wife had ceviche and soup which she enjoyed. The band that was playing was very good, too.
For the number of servers wondering around we expected more attentive service. No refill on chips. We had been finished for over 10 minutes before we flagged our server down for our bill. My margarita was served about an inch and a half lower than full. When asked why I was told that they ran out of their ‘regular’ cups so this was the correct amount.
Disappointed. This place was packed so they have a lot of potential. Our waiter was friendly but not attentive at all. The experience would have been 4 stars at least if we would have had better service.