I stopped into The Davenport for a cocktail before a long night out on the San Marcos square, and I…read morewish I had stayed there longer. The Davenport has such a relaxed atmosphere, from the Sade playing inside to the energy of the bartenders, that it feels comfortable as a cocktail bar. We all ordered one drink each, with some ordering the Jonestown Kool-Aid or a Barbie's Bathwater. I ordered a classic Aviation, which I believe is one of the best cocktails around, and it was great. It was a little sharper than ones I've had before, but I was asked if it was good or if he needed to make it sweeter. I enjoyed it for what it is, and I thought the price was pretty fair. I think The Davenport is a great starter or closer on a night out, or simply a great place to stay for a while. The patio is nice and comfortable, especially once the sun goes down, and the vibes are well worth it. RIYL: Creative cocktails that don't break the bank

Emily, Andy, and MC are the perfect bartenders and hosts. My friend and I have thoroughly enjoyed…read moreour drinks, experience, and time at Davenport!! We will be coming back for the friendly environment and customized experience and drinks. we had the best time.

Bartenders like to overcharge and say the drink menus are "not up-to-date." Double check your tab,…read moreit's happened three times by different bartenders.

Located in downtown San Marcos in the very heart of "college town, USA," Shade offers a picturesque…read morerooftop view of downtown and surprisingly good adult beverages with modest prices all in a safe environment. I wasn't told about this establishment, rather I happened upon it while meandering about aimlessly on a Saturday afternoon in April. All the other bars at 2am seemed dead, so I saw the sign and decided to ascend the "stairway to drinks" in the easily overlooked front entrance. After hitting the top of the stairs, the place opens up to a very interesting experience. There are two main covered areas, a thought to keep in mind as it was rigorously sprinkling when I visited. First there's a well-stocked open bar area under a makeshift roof with TVs there to grab the attention if the phone isn't working. Sorry, that's a pet peeve of mine as so many people go out nowadays to bars and sit on a phone rather than socialize. What's the point!? Ok, lets get back to the review shall we? While the bar has a 270 degree seating area, there are some open tables without a roof. This yields to the largest area with a shack like roof covering picknick tables, benches all not exactly the most comfortable seating but cozy nonetheless. The fellow patrons were extremely nice and represented all spectrums of life. As for the drinks the bartender was extremely helpful in suggesting drinks of the day while being fast in severing over 30 people by himself. Kudos to slinging suds at a lightspeed pace. I don't fault the establishment for only having one person scheduled as 2pm isn't normally busy but when an impromptu bridal shower shows up, Shade showed out (meaning they handled it well)! My bourbon cocktail was perfectly balanced while their special drinks weren't overpowering yet had enough alcohol to kick start a motor into 5th gear after sitting idle for too long. Overall, I love this joint as it's everything one could realistically want in a bar. Even though their cocktails varieties are somewhat limited, sorry I wasn't ordering a "pickle-rita" they're very good and reasonably priced. The view is great no matter where which seat is selected and the people are fun and delightful. I highly suggest giving this place a shot as it checks all the boxes on an impromptu list. The only pause would be if it's raining hard, let it end before heading up the stairs.

Love this bar! Come here for Cass she's the greatest. Love…read moreher and all the other staff members here as well ,great environment,good time ,fabulous cocktails. Couldn't see this bar for what it is without kas

Been coming to Chances on and off for a long time now. The main reason I keep coming back, is the…read moreoutdoor patio, the digital karaoke machine and the amazing bar staff. Shout out to Cass, shes reliably a calm presence and provides diligent service at Chance's, especially during the insanity that can be SanMo at 12am. It's the best place to end the night in San Marcos.

Was in San Marcos recently for football game and Zelicks was recommended by a friend…read more Man what a cool icehouse and great bartenders. Trevor was a good dude and tightened us up on the drinks plus he made local recommendations for food, etc that were spot on as well. Food truck out front looked awesome too but didn't eat tho. Will def return!

Only came for drinks. Will come back soon, for food. Loved the ambiance. The bar server was very…read morepatient as I requested my drink to be prepared with extra limes. Great place to hang out, grab a drink and sit and mingle. Plenty of outdoor seating.

I'm walking down the square looking for something to do and I see a warm light coming from a…read morebuilding to my left. I mistake it for someone's home because there's a few people inside and it looks awfully tiny to be a restaurant. Out of curiosity we walk into the building and upstairs where we've met by the backs of the members of a live jazz band. We have to walk past the band to get into the room and that alone almost stopped us from coming inside. However realizing that's the only way into we room we do. To our surprise in this room (think a studio apartment) there's a full bar and quite a few people. This room also held the members of the jazz band who were rotating themselves from bar to band every few songs. This is what you can find in the TheUpRoot every Thursday. Every other week there is a beautiful restaurant a floor below.

Cocktails are amazing and really great!! Location is wonderful! Atmosphere is top notch! Thank…read moreyou to Gummy the bartender that evening.

Ordered the Whimsey in a latte since they were out of cold brew. The coffee tasted high quality…read more It's also not too sweet which I appreciate. There's a lot of students studying with a large amount of open seating. The front has a garage door open to let in some fresh air while keeping it cool enough inside. Would definitely come back if stopping by in San Marcos!

Coffee is really good quality. Got it half sweet. It was a good amount to still really enjoy more…read moreof the coffee bean taste right over the sweetener that was used. Matcha was the reason for the 1 star off. I could not really taste the matcha itself. Does not taste terrible, but did not stand out. I think it would be better if there was more of the matcha itself in the drink. Ambiance is really nice and the decor is modern and high end vibe. Parking is limited with street parking, but doable.

Met up with an old friend. Just happens San Marcos is our half way point to meet. Neither of us…read morehave been to Freddy C's. The bar is like split in two. Not sure if the other half is the same bar or a different bar. But I walked straight in and sat at the bar. While I was waiting for him I ordered a drink. I said anything sweet and vodka based. He said do you like strawberry, I said, I love strawberry. Then he said he would fix me something nice. And he was right. Strawberry lemonade. The drink has a mellow strawberry flavor, so it's actually not too sweet. Had like 4 drinks. The bar was pretty quiet for a Saturday night. It's in the heart of down town San Marcos I would imagine. Looked like the town hall was across the street. There was a group of people that came in, maybe a dad and his son, and son's friends. Maybe a birthday celebration. they actually were doing shots and they ordered one too many and offered it to me. Thank you kind Sir! Sweet of you. No idea what the shot was when I joined their toast. Down the shot went and I was like, no way did I just do that. Like is this really a thing? Pickle juice? Seriously? Haha. Well, just popped my cherry, pickle back shot. Had a great night catching up. Laughs, drinks, memories, and well, it was just nice to step away for a short time. Parking situation. It's all street parking. Didn't have a difficult time finding a spot. And pretty much everything is walkable.

Left my purse at the bar, when I asked if I left it a lady told me she'd would go look and never…read morecame back to give me an update. I noticed all the bartenders were at the end of the bar laughing and joking so I left. As I'm walking out they walk out with my purse. Everything was there but my wallet with $100 cash, a vintage heart locket necklace, my debit and credit cards and my student ID was definitely stolen. When I tried to act upset about it they harassed me, laughed at me and shined a bright flashlight in my face. Not sure if it was the bartenders or another customer but they just handled the situation horribly, will not be coming back.

It has been awhile since I've been here. Great place to get a beer for sure. Also great place to…read morerun into people you haven't seen in a few years. There's a pool table, and plenty of seating, at the bar, tables, upstairs as well. Found out that they have food, which I didn't know. We got some burgers, to make sure they were good. And they were. Just good. I did love the fries, done week done, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I had onion rings with my burger, they were just alright. The service is good, plenty of bartenders. Super nice and helpful and patient, took me awhile to order. The bar has a mug system, not sure how it works, but they have discounts daily for mug owners. Pretty cool idea. Plenty of TVs on, music was playing.

Attentive bar tenders. Low key locals ( went 6ish on a Thursday the week after parents dropped off…read morestudents) crowd probably much different hours later& weekends. Didn't eat. Only had a few drinks. It's dive bar vibes.

They didn't let my friend in because he was wearing crocs, but they allowed another man inside who…read morewas wearing crocs because "he's a friend." Could be a coincidence that the person they didn't let in was a part of the LGBTQ+ community. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Went there and there was throw up all over the women's bathroom, Sink was full and so were toilets…read moreof throw up and other things. To many underage people asking if you can buy them a drink.

My friend and I came in here last weekend for some late night drinks. We were happy that the…read morekitchen was still open at 11! I had tried one of their pizzas, which was really just a flatbread. It was ok, nothing really special. It felt like it was just heated up and not made fresh. The couple next to us had a cheese plate which looked really good! I wish I got that lol! I had their blood orange martini cocktail and it was great. I wish it was a little more tart, but good overall! The vibes are very cute and I'm sure the patio would be great during the day. The bartender was super friendly and was super sweet when we asked her to grab a pic of us! I think it would be a good spot for a cheese plate and a glass of wine and I would go more in that direction when dining here!

Ordered the Bacon Apple Brie pizza, the Baked Brie with pecans and honey as well as apple slices…read moreand a blackberry mead cocktail - everything was phenomenal! The flavors paired perfectly together and the service was great! This place knows what it's doing and does it so well! I'm not from the area, but I will be back!