Day 346 – Bandera

Bandera is one of the restaurants owned by the Hillstone Restaurant Group. They have several places such as Hillstone, R+D Kitchen, Houston’s, Honor Bar and some others. I think this is the best one out of all of them. I came here for my birthday and you must have reservations. I’m not usually that type of guy, but since it was a special day I figure “why not”. They were running late so even though our reservation was at 7:45, we didn’t get seated until 8:30. Normally that kind of thing would upset me, but I was having drinks with friends at the bar so it was no big deal. But their customer service was absolutely awesome. Not only did they continue to apologize but they gave us two free appetizers. I know this is supposed to be reviews just about the bar, but the bar doesn’t do justice for the food and service.

So this place was quite packed for a Wednesday night. You even need reservations to eat at the bar, hence why it was packed. But you don’t need reservations if you’re just coming in for a drink. What I didn’t like about the place is that it wasn’t easy to get a drink if they are busy, and they charge $15 for a nothing special drink. They have about 6-8 specialty cocktails, but I was not impressed. If you are looking for a place to take a date and want excellent food and great service with mediocre drinks, then I highly recommend the place. If you are just looking to grab drinks nearby, I’d suggest Mom’s bar. It’s definitely not a fancy place, but the drinks are stronger and cheaper and easier to get the bartenders attention. But Bandera is still an awesome place and would definitely go back for dinner.