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Downtown Social

3.6 (183 reviews)
ModerateBowling, Bars, American
Closed • 4:00 pm - 10:30 PM

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Downtown Social Photos

DOWNTOWN SOCIAL ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Live music
Very loud
Happy hour specials

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Recommended Reviews - Downtown Social

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Reviews With Photos

Paloma and the DJ (Dat DJ)
Kristi M.

The food is consistent, the staff usually attentive. Tonight we've got "Red" who's been great and very personable. The drinks are always good. The DJ is nice but geez z could we turn it down a notch. After 830 this place becomes more like a "night club" Pretty cool that they have the local high school football game on TV!

Trio dips
David M.

Downtown social has an excellent atmosphere and vibe to the place. A very open area with multiple bars and games to play like foosball, basketball, and ping pong. The place gets busy and packed so the service can be slower but that is to be expected. All of the food we had was great and especially enjoyed the Brussels sprouts, wings, and jalapeño ranch dip with the trio dip. They have all of your favorite bar menu bites and I don't think you would be disappointed with what you order.

Bacon cheeseburger with Jalapeños
Scott B.

We decided to grab a burger before heading to the "Day of the Dead"festival in New Braunfels. Downtown we had several choices to choose from and we went with Downtown Social. We chose Downtown Social so we could watch some football and eat. Downtown Social is primarily a sports bar and event center, with a bar and restaurant within. First off, our beer was ice cold and we had two or three people serving us as we ordered from the bar and watched some football. Secondly, my bacon cheeseburger with loaded jalapeños was one of the best I have had recently. All our food was great. I am picky about burgers. When you order jalapeño's, most of the time they are over grilled. Today, I enjoyed freshly cut jalapeño's with fresh crispy veggies/ toppings and bacon. If you like custom burgers and you're in downtown New Braunfels, give this place a go.

Dirty Burger
Stanford S.

This is one of those lovely places that you don't know if it is a bar that serves food or a restaurant that has a bar. The food is consistently very good when comparing it to restaurant quality eats. I stick to The Dude and drown it in ranch, and I leave a happy customer every time. The service does its best to keep up with the rush, which is a big ask. That is the only thing that holds back a 5 star review for me. That being said, It's good for how busy the place gets. Perspective is very important y'all. If the restaurant is packed, service is going to be slower, and the food is going to be good because crowds of people wouldn't be eating if it wasn't. I regular this place on Wednesdays for Brando's trivia around 7:00. The vibe of the night is always up beat and a pleasure to be a part of. The host puts genuine effort into the entertainment and the questions and this effort is reflected in the quality of the night! All in all, the food is good, the service is good, and the events / general atmosphere are top notch.

Fried cheese curds
Katlyn C.

One thing I learned in our visit, do not go when they have trivia, unless you want to play! The sound system is SO loud, from the guy MC'ing to the intermission music, you can barely hear yourself think. I have been to DS a few times, but mostly for drinks. They have a large bar! Other features include bowling lanes, arcade games, a sitting area (for casual drinks with friends I assume), a large stage (I'm assuming they host some concerts?) and a decent dining area. The servers were all over the place, so I was sitting for a while before someone finally decided I was in their section. Foods I did enjoy; Brussels salad (if you like Brussels you will love this), and the fried cheese curds. Foods I did not enjoy: the wings (not crispy, strange texture, I've had better for sure), loaded fries (I would have enjoyed these without all the sour cream, for some reason I thought it was supposed to be drizzled with ranch) Overall, a huge place, nice place to get drinks with friends, but not sure I would go for dinner again. Annnnnnd don't go on trivia night.

Thanksgiving benefit at the downtown social 2022
Melanie R.

Every time is a great time at the downtown social! Been here numerous times for different occasions- after church for lunch, frequent Saturdays for group date night/dancing away to DJ Jesse's mixes, and even had our son's Top Gun themed first birthday (Brooklyn is an awesome manager to work with when planning big events!)- Needless to say they get our repeat business because they are a great establishment

This is the bowling booth for lanes 5&6 combined.
Amanda R.

Just wanted to give a shout out to Downtown Social! My two kid's birthdays are in April and they wanted bowling parties. We love Downtown Social so I reached out to see what they could do to help accommodate our parties. We ended up hosting two birthday parties there, one at the beginning of the month and one just yesterday. They were so accommodating, so kind, and our guests loved the party! I worked with the event planner they have, Renee, to get everything set up. She was great to work with. We did it all via email so that was super convenient for me! They offered many different catering packages for their in house events. I chose the one that was 8 pizzas. That was perfect for a kids birthday party! Plus, the pizza is delicious!! (And I feel the need to mention my all time favorite burger...the Green Chile burger at Downtown Social is the best, I sure did have one yesterday!) They reserved two bowling lanes for us as well as the area beside the bowling lanes for us to set up. They were just very thoughtful in what they allowed us to reserve in advance. It was THE PERFECT space for our kids (10 & birthday parties! (kids bowled one game, then had cake and presents, then some continued to bowl while some wanted to play the arcade games!). I just can't say enough great things about how great they were! Our waitresses both times were excellent! Yesterday we had Syndie and she was very attentive. I can't remember our first waitress from the first party but she was just as awesome!

Cheese curds with red pepper aoli sauce. (Dill pickle sauce.)  This is a TON for $12.
A V.

This is THE BEST place to eat Americano food!!!! AND, the only but still AMAZING family fun center we have in NB. I love coming here!!!! It's always super cold inside and it can't be beat for that on 100°+ days. The food comes out quickly, even when they are busy. My date said, it was the best take home box he has ever had. The brussel sprouts were fried and made our mouths drool. Hat off to the Cook! I love eating here as it is just a happy place to be. Everyone laughing and having a good time. It's a MUST for us!!!

Melyn G.

Fun place. No Minors after 9:30pm. Service was great tonight. Wings here not that great because I like them crispy but the chicken strips and fries are just okay, nothing too fancy here. Bowling is $40/hr after 7pm on the weekends so make sure you have at least 4 of ya to split that up. There is a shoe rental fee as well. Easy access from the street. Parking can be a challenge so be prepared to walk a block or two on weekend evenings.

Live music venue

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2 months ago

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11 months ago

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5 months ago

Great atmosphere, good music, great time bowling! Come early so you can get a lane or make a reservation.

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6 months ago

Service was excellent. Food wasn't great. Fun atmosphere. But don't come here to eat.

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3 years ago

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9 months ago

Not the friendliest place. I wouldn't recommend it. There are other options with a friendlier staff and better atmosphere.

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

Great food and so much fun. Great selection of game... shuffleboard, bowling, pool video games and more.

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6 years ago

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Ask the Community - Downtown Social

Anyone know if this place is good for gluten-free?

Do they do karaoke night?

Update: We will start having Karaoke beginning on December 20th! Will post more updates on our social media accounts.

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Review Highlights - Downtown Social

“She ordered the dirty burger, and the presentation looked amazing but she was too full off the cheese curds.”

Mentioned in 4 reviews

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Black Bear Diner New Braunfels

Black Bear Diner New Braunfels

3.9(153 reviews)
5.4 mi
•$$

Super good place, they need more places like this for breakfast and late night breakfast dinners …read more Super nice experience with a good Environment. The atmosphere was cute and the service was good .

My wife and I came in for breakfast. The portions were definitely generous, although the flavors of…read morethe food were a little off for us. That honestly wasn't a major concern, though. Our server, Betty, was absolutely wonderful! She welcomed us as soon as we sat down, was very kind and attentive, and explained that there may be a longer wait because they had several large groups and were also trying out a new system. We completely understood and appreciated her communicating that with us. Unfortunately, our interaction with another employee named darrell was very disappointing. My wife politely asked him for a couple of napkins. The first time, he completely ignored her without even acknowledging that she had spoken to him. She asked again, and while still facing away from her, he responded, "I heard you the first time. I'm dealing with something." I completely understand that the restaurant was busy and that employees can become overwhelmed, but there was absolutely no reason to speak to a customer that way. Even a simple, "I heard you, give me just a moment please," would have been completely understandable. I don't know if he was having a bad day or dealing with something stressful, but customers should still be treated with basic respect. Betty and the assistant manager, on the other hand, provided amazing service and were both extremely polite and welcoming. We really appreciated them. I just hope management addresses the way darrell speaks to customers because that interaction definitely put a damper on an otherwise decent experience. My ONLY reason for the 2 stars

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Black Bear Diner New Braunfels
Black Bear Diner New Braunfels
Black Bear Diner New Braunfels

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Gruene River Grill - Chicken piccata

Gruene River Grill

4.2(1.3k reviews)
2.9 mi
•$$

Allow me to start by saying I was nervous. Since the COVID shutdowns I feel good quality has…read moreplummeted. Because of that I don't really go out and eat, especially, to places in highly tourist areas, 9 times out of 10 you can expect, almost without exception for the food to taste generic despite at ambiance and visual appeal of the place. Tack on to that, I hate over paying for anything I can do better at home. And I'm pretty good in a kitchen. So with great reluctance I agreed to dinner at the Gruene River Grill. Like many places in a tourist trap the ambiance was good, nailed It. But I expected it. The service was good, as it often is. Unfortunately in a touristy area I don't give restaurants credit for those two pieces. I ordered the pork chaps and my wife ordered the pork medallions. They arrived at the table and immediately I began to realize my negative expectations were being challenged. The food was hot, not warm, hot. The plate visual was beautiful. Portion size, easily for two, at least the pork chops. I was sure this is where the positive experience would end. Then I took a bite. Negative expectations defied! I make a damn good smoked bone in pork chop, but this made mine seem like second hand at best. This was THE BEST pork chop I had ever had. I don't think I talked for the rest of the meal. Delicious! Beautiful. Handled with care. Did I say delicious. Did I say it was better than any other pork chop I had ever had? In case you missed it. It was the BEST pork chop I'd ever had and I just wanted to say, "thank you" to the GRG for such a welcomed and unexpected surprise! (My wife felt the same about her order)

Title: Definitely Not Their Best Night…read more I've eaten here at least four or five times and have always been impressed with the food. It's a casual, family-style environment, including the bar area, which is essentially one large communal table where anyone can grab an open seat. Unfortunately, today was completely different. The moment I opened the front door, I noticed a strong gas-like odor that became more noticeable farther inside. I mentioned it to the staff and was told a manager attributed the smell to being near sewage. That explanation didn't make much sense to me considering I've eaten here several times, they haven't relocated, and I've never smelled anything like it before. I stayed, but then my soup arrived cold and my made-to-order tacos were also cold. I eventually took my food to go. The waitress herself was pleasant, and I still tipped her 30% because these issues weren't necessarily hers to control. I've had enough good experiences here that I wouldn't write the restaurant off based on one bad visit, but between the unusual odor and cold food, this was definitely not the experience I've come to expect.

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Gruene River Grill - Tables with view

Tables with view

Gruene River Grill - Meoooow!

Meoooow!

Gruene River Grill - Chicken Guadalupe

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Chicken Guadalupe

Gristmill River Restaurant & Bar - Onion rings

Gristmill River Restaurant & Bar

4.1(2.9k reviews)
2.9 mi
•$$

There are plenty of great places to eat in New Braunfels, but few combine great Texas comfort food,…read morea fantastic setting, and a proper margarita quite like this place. Let's start with the chicken fried steak, because it's absolutely worth talking about. Texas has no shortage of restaurants claiming to make the best, but this one belongs in the conversation. Crispy breading, tender beef, and all the comforting goodness you expect from a well-executed Texas classic. It's easily one of the better chicken fried steaks I've enjoyed, and I'd happily order it again. But honestly, the patio might be just as big a reason to visit as the food. The rustic surroundings, beautiful trees, and relaxed Hill Country atmosphere make this a wonderful place to spend an afternoon. It's one of those settings where you sit down for lunch and suddenly realize you've been there two hours because nobody feels particularly motivated to leave. And that's where the margaritas come in. Excellent margaritas. Cold, refreshing, and perfectly suited to an afternoon on the patio. I'm fairly certain a good margarita, a little Texas scenery, and absolutely nowhere else you need to be should qualify as a legitimate stress-management program. What really makes this place special is the combination. The food is good enough to bring you in, the atmosphere makes you want to stay, and the margaritas make you forget you had somewhere else to be. It's a popular destination, and for good reason. Whether you're entertaining visitors, exploring the Hill Country, or just looking for a memorable meal, this is an easy recommendation. My advice? Request the patio, order the chicken fried steak, enjoy a margarita, and don't be in a hurry. That's a pretty great way to spend an afternoon in Texas. Five well-earned stars.

There was a pumpkin patch and wine festival today so the restaurant was pretty crowded…read more We elected to sit outside versus waiting for a table. The appetizers are huge. There were six of us and we couldn't finish either of them. I ordered the GristBurger, without a bun and fries. It was very good! Everyone really enjoyed their meals. My total for two with one drink, a side and onion rings app was $72. Not an inexpensive lunch but good food and a unique experience .

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Gristmill River Restaurant & Bar - Award wall

Award wall

Gristmill River Restaurant & Bar - Chicken Fried Steak + Gristmill Fries

Chicken Fried Steak + Gristmill Fries

Gristmill River Restaurant & Bar - There's always a wait, but they give you a shaded place to sit down.

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There's always a wait, but they give you a shaded place to sit down.

Downtown Social - bowling - Updated October 2026

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