We dropped by this place on the last day of Fiesta. We wanted to find a good place to eat that was not as packed as The Riverwalk. We walked in and we were seated right away. The bar was really packed with party revelers. We were seated in the restaurant portion. We had the kiddos with us. We ordered The Cheese Pizza which was very tasty. The House Salad was fresh. The meat in the Mini Tacos was cooked a little too crispy but they were good. The servers were attentive even though they were handling the busy bar. I would consider coming here again and trying it when they were not as busy. read more

See all

My friend & I stayed @ The Riverwalk plaza hotel & when we got back last night (05/08/2026) we stopped in here for one more drink & sat at the bar. It was a little after 11:30pm (closes @ midnight). There were a couple of out of towners @ the bar (apx 4) & my friend & I. Everyone was very nice & we all were chatting with each other. Naomi was the bartender & she was supper nice & friendly. My friend had a local IPA that she said was good & I went to with a White Claw Strawberry. This bar does serve food but the kitchen was closed when we were there. Area is very spacious, clean & with plenty of seating. If we were staying longer I would have definitely checked out their food. read more

See all

The service, chicken caesar, and lemonade were great! Would come back and check out breakfast and dinner. read more

The Gavel - Sorry, already finished the chicken caesar, but it was fresh and good. The lemomade was tasty too! Id come back;) - Cocktail Bars Near Me - San Antonio, Texas

This place was perfect for a good bite to eat and a great cocktail! The bartenders are very attentive and awesome to chat with. The chef makes these beans that are sooo good that I can't wait until I can get back to Texas and visit The Gavel!!! read more

The first time I went here, I just waited for my husband to be do e with work, but the way Naomi welcomed me made me come back repeatedly. We are having the best time here especially when Letty and Naomi work. They are a really fun duo. The Gavel has become one of our favorite spots to come after work. Today we stopped by kinda late for dinner and we ended up trying the food. It was great!!! Some of the best mozzarella sticks I have ever had read more

We had breakfast at this restaurant. It's a bit old and tattered inside, much like the attached hotel. The bacon was obviously microwaved. The biscuits and gravy came with only about a tablespoon of gravy on each biscuit, prompting me to order more gravy. The fruit cup was nice. The coffee was good. Service was just okay, especially considering we were the only ones there, it could have been much better. I wouldn't recommend going here for any reason. read more

The food was great & service was super fast! We are staying at the Riverwalk Plaza Hotel so the convenience of being able to grab a quick breakfast downstairs was perfect!! & the prices were very reasonable! Highly recommend read more

The Gavel - Both of us got the All American Breakfast! I added choc chips in my waffles :) - Cocktail Bars Near Me - San Antonio, Texas

Best part about this place is the staff. The food menu is limited but it has a little of the basics. The stuffed mushroom was so good!

Thankyou to Quin for the great service, enjoyed the food, drinks, and the environment. Will be back 100% if you come and get some drinks make sure to ask for Quin. read more

We came here late night to have some drinks! The staff (bartender) was super nice and ready to serve us. He recommended us some great drinks that were pretty cheap too! The vibe was pretty chill, they have lots of tvs too in case you want to watch the football game. We came here for breakfast the next day, the server was very quick and the food was really good and tasted fresh. The vibe is the same in the morning, fairly quiet and chill. It's inside of the Riverwalk Plaza which makes it is to eat and drink if you don't wanna walk or drive around. read more

The Gavel - Breakfast Bowl - Cocktail Bars Near Me - San Antonio, Texas

See all

So we went in and somebody came and got our drink order (water and Diet Coke). Then they took our appetizer and entree order. A few minutes later somebody swooped in with the beverages - literally half a glass of Diet Coke and left. 15 minutes later no entree; no drink refill; no staff of any sort stopped by. At the 20 minute mark we left. While a big group came in AFTER we were there and had ordered, really no excuse for the horrendous lack of service. We'll never know how the food might have been because with service like that - we won't be going back. read more

Service was SUPER SLOW, food was just okay. Nice atmosphere but I wouldn't recommend going here.

We patiently waited for over an hour because we saw that our waitress had a lot of tables. We ordered a salad and a burger. ALL the tables that came after us received their food before us. We paid for our drinks and left the establishment. Drinks were terrible! Not recommended. read more

Walked 30 mins in 97 deg heat for breakfast. Website shows breakfast and lunch served until 1:30pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Sat down at a table at 12:45pm and were only given lunch menus. I asked the waitress about breakfast and she replied, "No, we only serve breakfast until 11:00am." I suggested the website be updated and she didn't seem to care. There was something floating in my disposable plastic cup of water and the ambience was not welcoming. We left and had a delightful meal elsewhere. read more

Absolutely amazing food and atmosphere! Whether it is lunch or dinner, you will find an incredible selection of delicious food that will satisfy your appetite. The menu is simple as far as amounts of choices, however, it is designed for an array of palates. Plus, the presentation is a delight when you get your order. If you are in the Riverwalk in San Antonio make sure you stop by and enjoy your time! read more

The Gavel - Blackened Mahi and Shrimp - Cocktail Bars Near Me - San Antonio, Texas

Bar literally down the street from my apartment. It's simple and I love the integration with law. The menu literally says "Opening Arguments" I love it. There's a good chill ambience, great service and even better drinks that have a gavel on the ice block. They make a mean old fashioned that puts even the more expensive bars to shame. Not overly crafted nothing fancy but simple and effective. Haven't experienced the food yet but it looks good. I'm thankful they're my local go to bar. Cheers! read more

One waitress on a Friday morning is not enough. She is overwhelmed and the customers are suffering for it.

We are staying at the Riverwalk plaza hotel and stopped in for a drink before our walk. They're happy hour is on point and the service was excellent. The bartender Was perfectly friendly and sociable without being over bearing. It was happy hour so all the wells were four dollars and the draft beer was two dollars. The entrance is deceiving since it looks a little divey but the inside is very nice and clean which is something to be said for some of the restaurants around town. Would definitely recommend to stop in if you're in the area. We had a vodka tonic, Michelob ultra as well as a Washington apple shot. Total was like $14.50 read more

See all

We had breakfast here! It was amazing!! The French toast was so tasty! Th service was good as well, very attentive and friendly. Prices are reasonable as well. A few feet from the Riverwalk. Definitely have to try this place. read more

STEPH JUDGEMENT: Nice place to get some drinks and grub, and to also belt out some karaoke! We'd been meandering down the River Walk for a while and were starting to feel the need for some librations. We were down near the courthouse and saw that there was a bar nearby called The Gavel which looked pretty good. We bellied up to the bar (they also had an adjoining dining area), intending to just have drinks, but we looked at their food menu (which had amusing law-themed names) and that started to make us hungry, so we ended up ordering some food as well. We ordered a cheese pizza and a wedge iceberg salad (minus the bacon) to accompany our beers. The pizza was your basic cheese pizza but it was big and tasty--we ended up taking half to go and it was fine heated up later. The wedge salad was fresh and crisp with a good blue cheese dressing and made a nice counterpoint to the pizza. We thought the food and drinks were a good value here, and the service was efficient, if not effusively friendly. So of course we'd had NO INTENTION of doing karaoke, but the guy setting it up at the end of the bar approached us to let us know that it'd be starting soon, and that he'd buy a drink for the first person to sing! Well I couldn't turn that down, so I went with my go-to song: "Ace of Spades" by Motorhead. I don't think the good people of San Antonio were prepared for that to be the first song on a Monday night, but hey, singer's choice. I got my free drink from DJ Mike (we became friends, what can I say) and soon another brave soul grabbed the mike to keep things going. Before I knew it, I was singing backup to "Pour Some Sugar On Me" by Def Leppard, and as my swan song I did a tender rendition of "Panama" by Van Halen that, if I may be so bold to say, brought the house down. In case you couldn't guess, I have a karaoke genre (let's just say I have more enthusiasm than skill). I liked the app that they had for putting in your song requests--easy and efficient! We ended up having a great time, and certainly got more than we bargained for. read more

The service, food and atmosphere were outstanding in every way and I highly recommend stopping in for lunch, dinner or even just a drink.

Food isn't anything special, but the vibe is there. The service was great! Everyone was super nice and the bartenders made great cocktails!

Ehat a great bar/restaurant. The staff is wonderful. The singer truly does not.belong here. He does not belong here. He is that talented. We had the opportunity to apeaj with the chef and the bartender. Both are very talented as well. This is a musy.atop in place while in San Antonio. I am impressed. And, that does not happen often. Thanks for a great evening. read more

Shout out to DJ Mad Mike and Cassandra for their OUTSTANDING customer service. We stumbled upon this location while walking on the crowded Riverwalk. If you want to round a great weekend, Karaoke at The Gavel is a must. The drinks, the service, the music, and a atmosphere is a must. #KaraokeFun #DrinkAndBeHappy read more

First time here. In the hotel. Pizza was excellent!!! Wait staff the same. Nice relaxing atmosphere. Drinks were just right. If I stay at another hotel I would not hesitate to come to this place to eat..... read more

Excellent bar to grab some drinks and appetizers, Victoria was awesome!

Just had the pork chop with glazed bourbon sauce...tasty, tender and delicious. A repeat for sure. Kudos to Jeff and Reuben for a great meal and exceptional service from Victoria. Santiago H read more

This place was absolutely horrible. The drinks were nasty and the food took forever to come out. They gave us a tiny chicken breast nugget read more

The Gavel - a person holding a slice of pizza on a plate - Cocktail Bars Near Me - San Antonio, Texas

The Gavel has great happy hour in a nice quiet atmosphere. There were a couple of tvs on playing some sports but really enjoyed the conversation we had with our bartender. She recommended a list of things to do in the area which was really helpful. We had their tap beer and had their hamburger and fries from their Happy hour special. read more

So this isn't a review to just bash the place. Please read for a full review as we really did appreciate the service. I feel the issue over all is poor management. At nearly 7pm, we were told that there was not enough hamburgers for three people that one of us would need to change, NOT a problem for us. I decided to get a fried chicken sandwich as suggested by the waitress. It was weird that there was only one other family in the restaurant at this time and all the other places we passed were packed (which is why we decided to come back to our hotel to eat) After sitting for about 30min, the waitress came to tell us that TWO of the meat patties were not up to the kitchen standard and we would need to pick something else. Well ok then, we did. Please keep in mind, we are just rolling with it and really did the whole night. The kids got their food which was very bland for the way too over priced and overloaded menu, my wife got her kids chicken strips (sad but true) and I got the dripping wet, mess of fried chicken sandwich you see in the pictures. I tore off batter, soaked up grease and ate some chicken - some very very under cooked and greasy fries. I mentioned my plate to the waitress to which she laughed and apologized. Didn't expect much. Oh well. We will not eat at this place or stay at this hotel again. Stay at a place or dine in a place that loves itself or takes pride in what they do so they are proud to present it to you. Hope this helps someone make a better decision than we did. read more

The Gavel - Dripping wet, greasy fried chicken sandwich - Cocktail Bars Near Me - San Antonio, Texas

Our first time at The Gavel. The service was good and atmosphere quiet. My unsweetened tea was sour, so I settled for a club soda. We ordered the calamari. It was really salty. Unfortunately, we didn't read prior reviews. We will most likely not return. read more

Great place to have drink/appetizers. Quiet atmosphere with sports screens you can also get away from. Good personable service. Off the main strand but worth going to in the area! read more

We checked out this place as it was within walking distance of our hotel and the reviews seemed pretty good. We were disappointed though. We ordered wedge salad and chicken fettuccine Alfredo. Neither was very good. The salad dressing came out of a bottle and the pasta dish was just plain and dry. Nothing to write home about. The entire bar/restaurant was manned by one person and she was working her tail off with a smile. She kept apologizing for the wait. We weren't in a hurry, so it was fine with us. We overheard some of the other patrons getting frustrated though. One plus was we got there during happy hour and the drinks were tasty and a good price. I'd go again just for drinks, but not for food. read more

Large portions and delicious Plus friendly crowd and workers. The drinks are amazing especially the chocolate martini!!!

We were treated like family! Drank too much and had a great time! Hats off to the staff and Beau or Bo.... read more

Delicious food!! Our waiter Brandon was outstanding! I highly recommend if you are in San Antonio

Great drinks, terrific bartender. We enjoyed a before-dinner cocktail here and really enjoyed it.