The Cove

Great food, however service, management in particular was deplorable. In my party of 4, 3 finished their food completely prior to me receiving my food. After 50 mins and several visits to the bar/​kitchen, a manager finally asked, «well what do you want me to do,» in a less than kind manner. They offered to cancel the order or put it in a to-​go box.
After be instructed by the GM (who was a corner and not a person at all) they comped the meal and it finally came out just over an hour after ordering.
Again, food was good, but they dropped the ball in a major way, and they’re attempts to make it right were feeble to say the least.
Oh, and when u order the ginger soda, you must take the receipt to the bar to get the soda. They failed to mention this. After 20 mins I decided to ask and made this discovery.
Oh, and so you know, my ticket hung in the window for over 50 mins, so for whatever reason they just never started on my meal.

Another Good trip to San Antonio and another great meal and super kid friendly place!

Wow. The Cove is the place to beat! We loved the atmosphere because it was fun, friendly, and relaxed. The food was ridiculously delicious. We shared the fish tacos, 09er, and sweet potato fries! Also, really excited to bring our sweet puppy! We will definitely be back!

Atmosphere is nice.
Wife and I came for a friend’s birthday. We waited for 31 minutes (I timed it) in line to order. Ordered a medium-​cooked bison burger. Another friend ordered the same. Both were about as rare as you can serve them. We had them both sent back and recooked. They didn’t make a big deal, but now we’ve been there for an hour and are just getting to eat. The bison burger was probably one of the worst I’d ever had, and my wife’s burger wasn’t anything exciting. Honestly would’ve rather visited Whataburger for that portion.
They get 2 stars because their sweet potato fries and chipotle mayo dip were awesome. Those were worth it, the burgers not worth the price in my opinion.

I love coming to The Cove, it’s perfect. You can bring your friends, a date, your kids, and even your dog. Sometimes the line to order your food is really long and in my experience the person taking my order is either grumpy or apathetic but other than that the atmosphere is really fun. The food is really good. I love the veggie burger, it’s my favorite. I’m always a fan of any place with a good veggie burger or any vegetarian option.

food: fish tacos and texas burger. i didnt like this burger so much. im pretty sure its the refried beans. it adds a layer of texture i dont like. the fish tacos made up for it. it was battered enough that you can still taste the fish. i love the combo with slaw. so good! ***4/​5
service: the location is neat. it’s outdoorsy. has a backyard feel to it. kids are running around the playground having fun and there was a singer/​guitar person going on indoors too. it was a bit of wait. taking the order was slow. not sure what was taking so long. ***3/​5
value: the fish tacos are totally worth it, but not for the burger. ***3/​5

Have you ever eaten at a restaurant that’s a laundromat and carwash??? Welp I can officially say I have. This restaurant had great customer service (operations manager was very helpful and funny), fresh organic food (onsite garden), and a comfortable atmosphere. Featured on Drivers, Diners, and Dives. One more check off for my Unilocal bucket list.

Wonderfully divey with amply indoor abd outdoor seating. Inside bar with bottles, outside bar with an impressive variety of local and regional beer handles. All ages and backgrounds here. I enjoyed the bison burger «naked style,» combining the blue bison burger with the Naked burger menu items to cut carbs. The counter man understood my off menu request, the kitchen got it right and it quickly appeared at my table.
A 15 piece jazz band with conductor started playing about on time. A great Wednesday evening.
The only glitch was the owner failed to order the kegs needed for the Unilocal event promoted Alamo Brewery Siege Week event.

After seeing so many great reviews for this burger joint and getting some word of mouth recommendations, my partner and I were more than excited to finally get ourselves over here to try a burger. Maybe it was partly our fault for hyping ourselves up but I really was not impressed with The Cove after eating here recently.
It all started when we arrived and ended up standing in line and waiting to order for over 50 minutes. When your restaurant has over 300 seats (estimated), I would expect a more efficient ordering process than one cashier at a counter inside. When we got in line, there were maybe 40 people waiting to order food and every table was occupied. The long wait time to order would not have been a deal breaker if the burger was life altering but sadly, the food did not reach legendary status.
On the bright side, after ordering, it only took about five minutes for our food to make it to our table. Speaking of tables, most of them were occupied (expect for the «carcinogen corner» which is exactly what I want when eating) so it took a while to find an acceptable seat. I got the bison blue burger ($ 12) and my wife got the texas burger ($ 9) and we both got an order of sweet potato fries ($ 3 each). The fries were very good and the sriracha mayo dipping sauce was a great condiment for them. I would have expected more mayo as they came in tiny medicine cups though. The burgers were ok. They had good quality ingredients but the patties were so compact and dense and overworked that it made it hard to eat by the end of the meal. I found myself forcing it down because of how dense it was. My wife didn’t even finish hers because of how packed it was. All of the patties were also cooked well done and they weren’t as moist as a good burger should be. I was truly disappointed with their burger delivery.
Overall, this place did not meet expectations. With close to 800 positive reviews, I would expect the burgers here to be close to perfect. The ordering experience was completely unenjoyable, the burger was so-​so and got more unappetizing as the meal went on, and the seating situation was a bit hectic. The sweet potato fries were a shining star on this places otherwise sub-​optimal record. As much as I wanted to enjoy this place, I can’t willingly recommend it to anyone.

Possibly a bit generous with the fourth star, but think it’s better than three stars. Like many places I’ve come across in my short time in San Antonio, the ambiance is nothing to write home about. It’s more of a dive bar with an extremely casual ambiance.
Yes, the sweet potato fries are good… Food Network good? That I’d argue, if I wouldn’t have known about the Food Network visits I wouldn’t have thought twice about the fries. Again good, but not «oh my gosh I have to go back fro the sweet potato fries» good. I got the Latin Lover burger which was tasty, but again not mind blowing.
The beer selection and the well beer-​educated bartender is what earned it the fourth star… the prices were good, the bartender was a huge help and was nice and talkative during my visit.
I’d probably go back after I visit all of the other places I want to try, or if visitors come to town and want to cross a Food Network restaurant off their list, but other than that it’ll probably be awhile.

Popped in for lunch and wish I could eat a second lunch immediately. Food orders are in one area, the bar is in the other. Food area staff was friendly and helpful in picking my selection by providing great recommendations about two items I was interested in. Ordered the Bella (marinated portobello burger) holy hell it was delicious! Perfect amount of heat and amazing flavor! I can’t wait to come back and try the vegan bacon cheddar burger — or get the Bella again!
They have a large selection of beer as well — 50+ taps outside and wall of bottle options inside. I was pleasantly surprised to see they have reasonable prices for bombers! So many restaurants charge insane prices for large bottles. Theirs were $ 10. Considering its 2 – 2.5 beers per bottle and other 12 oz bottles were $ 4 – 5 it was great price.
Mo & Tina behind the bar were also super friendly! Stop in here to have a bite & beer — I promise you won’t regret it!

3.25 stars. I feel like my world is being flipped on its head. I never expected to find better Sichuan food all over Texas in comparison to the East Coast and I certainly never expected to live in San Antonio for over 4 months and still be on the lookout for a 5 star burger joint. The quest continues after a trip to the vegetarian-​friendly Cove.
I didn’t come to the Cove for vegetarian food, but that will certainly change in the future. They knock it out of the park here. Definitely stop by for an absolutely beautiful plate of bean nachos or perhaps their kale salad adorned with a cute little tortilla star. If vegetarian is your style, by all means, the Cove is for you.
I’m a little more on the fence regarding the burgers. I ordered a medium rare Texas burger, and the patty was a bit thin for my liking. The meat was cooked right, but somehow, it just wasn’t juicy and flavorful enough for me. It was kind of surprising given that the other items we ordered were quite good. Still, in the burger world, I’d give Whiskey Cake’s OMG Burger top billing followed closely by Fattboy and Chris Madrid.
The Cove is really family friendly and veggie friendly, and frankly, San Antonio in general seems to have a number of venues that are great for all of that. My niece was surely entertained. All that said, I still found myself a little disappointed with the burger.

This place has been on my list of places to try in SA for a couple years now…
Glad I finally got to try it.
My friend and I came on a weekend night I believe.
FOOD:
–TEXAS Burger: Honestly, this burger was cooked to perfection. All of the ingredients blended perfectly. The Cove has a way of making you feel like the burger you just devoured was actually semi-​healthy. I thoroughly enjoyed the beans and avocados on the burger
–Sweet Potato Fries: WOW. Best part of my meal because they served it with siracha mayo sauce. I couldn’t stop stuffing my face with these.
ATMOSPHERE:
–I think this is the real winner on why the Cove is one of a kind. Plenty of seating outside, in the patio, and indoors. We sat by the bar and got to a enjoy a local older band play their hearts out.
COME HERE. GRAB A BURGER… OR TWO…

The girlfriend and I swung by for some fish tacos. I ordered the Seafood Sampler, it consisted of one fish, and one shrimp taco with a spinach salad. Man. it was good! I really enjoyed the sauces that come with the taco, definitely complements the meal very well. The bar had a great selection of Texas beers, which I’m a big fan of. I had a pint of the Stash IPA, some pretty strong stuff but I enjoyed it.
There’s an outside eating area which allows people to bring their pets, pretty cool concept.
Definitely recommend!

I remember when this place was just the small building were you order and hardly any sitting. It sure has come a long way thanks to shown on the Food Network.
We came on a Sunday when they opened at noon and already a large line to order! It’s worth the wait. I’m really a big fan that the cove cares where their food comes from. It’s sustainable and local food, which means great for the land and great for your body.
It is a bit on the pricey side, but you get what you pay for. My favorite go to is the Lisa special. A spicy two fish tacos with a spinach salad. I also LOVE that the salad is grown right here on the premises. I always get the sweet potato fries as well and it comes with a Sriracha mayo dripping sauce which is amazing!!!
They also have a large selection of unique fountain drinks made with real sugar cane. I really like to get the homemade ginger ale, which they’ll make for you at the bar.
If you come at night time they usually have different types of local live music in the large inside building. Although it’s surprising that their bar only serves bottled drinks, no liquor mixed drinks here.
A fun, relaxing place to chill out with friends and enjoy life! Cheers to you The Cove, keep on cooking with love!

I visited them again yesterday and had the fish tacos and sweet potato fries with the chipotle sauce.
I have had better fish tacos elsewhere, but the fries with the sauce were absolutely INCREDIBLE!
They have expanded the back yard area quite a bit since my last visit and it is totally awesome. Plenty of room for everyone and even a place to let the little ones run loose.
Beer selection remains quite varied and you can order beer outside now.
This is definitely one of those places that you should bring visiting out of towners to.

The Cove is the quintessential San Antonio business — a car wash, coin laundry, outdoor bar complete with live music facilities and a playground for children, and of course, hipster counter service burger joint. They offer a couple flagship vegetarian options, and have many vegetarian dishes on the specials menu.
I ordered the vegan bacon cheeseburger, a side of sweet potato fried and sriracha mayo, and a zucchini dish off the specials menu for lunch. The burger was good. The patty was not so impressive: not sure was was in it, but it tasted grain and seed based, not bean based. The cheese was made from a nut, and tasted more like a yummy spread. The vegan bacon was nice. The sweet potato fries were delicious. The spicy mayo was the icing on the cake, or in this case, the spicy mayo on the fries. The zucchini dish was not good. I didn’t expect the grilled zucchini to be served cold. It’s just not my kind of side.
The line here was painfully slow. Only 12 people were in front of me in line, but the line itself took more than 20 minutes. Multiple times, folks in military uniform jumped the line and ordered from the «to go» cashier line with large groups of non-​uniformed people, causing there to effectively be only one cashier for the regular line. Not sure what the system was here, but whatever it was, it was frustrating.
Also, my stomach hurt immediately after lunch. It only lasted an hour, but that’s something I’ll have to test for. I hope it wasn’t the spicy mayo!
I’d come back in the evening sometime to hang out with friends. I don’t know if I’ll ever bring laundry here, but I am a fan of the self car wash. Wish I was there for a live music event!

If you’re into organic and vegetarian eats, this is probably the place for you. For an avid meat eater like myself, you may not be too impressed. The food isn’t bad, but it is not great either.
I ordered the warm beet salad and added grilled chicken to it ($ 4 extra). It looked delicious, but looks can be deceiving. The salad lacked flavor. Even their homemade vinaigrette to go along side with it tasted like «nothing». Don’t judge me for ordering a salad here! Maybe I should have ordered the Portobello burger or the fish tacos. But if you’re a good restaurant, everything on the menu should be good not just a few items that are trending.
This place has a big nice outside seating area with an outside bar. They have a lot of events throughout the week so it seems like a fun hang out.
Maybe we will come back for when a live band is performing, have a beer or two and chill.

One of my favorite spots in San Antonio!
A laundromat, car war, bar, and restaurant! A totally unique place!
The Cove’s menu focuses on food that is sustainable, organic, and local! They’re most known for their fish tacos, but they have a ton of great vegetarian and vegan options! After I ordered their vegan bacon cheeseburger, I’ve never ordered anything else! It’s THAT good. It’s a house-​made brown rice patty with house-​made crispy tofu bacon, house-​made cashew cheese, vegan mayo, spicy mustard, spring mix, tomato, and onion! I actually know a lot of people who love meat but order their vegan bacon cheeseburger!
They have AMAZING outdoor space! Tons of tables, an outdoor bar (with more than 50 Texas beers on tap), a playground for kids, a basketball hoop, and a big TV near the outdoor bar if there’s a game you need to watch!
Their indoor space is awesome, too! Long, family-​style tables, a bar (where they have beers in can and bottles), and a stage where they have live music almost every night!
It’s an amazing spot! Don’t miss it!

Cove is a hipster-​ish spot. It’s pretty unique and chill. I’ve only been once with a friend and ordered the lamb burger and the sweet potato fries. They were decent but didn’t wow me. However, I did like the fact that all the ingredients were local and organic. I think that’s great. I always eat healthy.
The outdoor gardens were interesting to look at. I was amazed that they also had a car wash outside. Overall it’s a decent spot. But I’m not a hipster, I don’t like burgers much, and I’m not into divey places so I doubt I’d be back again.