Cafe Ole

Hubby and I wanted a drink so we randomly stopped at Cafe Ole's outside bar. We met Gina G., the bartender and she is amazing! Her knowledge of drinks and recommendations are on point. When she mixes up your drinks they hit the mark and presentation is perfect. 👌🏻 Highly recommend the King George Margarita with tajin on the rim and the Maria's Mango Fresca. The free tortilla chips and fresh salsa are the perfect compliment! Sit at the outside bar with a fresh drink at Cafe Ole and people watch...BONUS if you get to have Gina as your bartender!

Can't beat the experience of dining along the riverfront here. Fans blowing and shaded trees. I asked for grilled chicken for my small salad, which is still good size, and the chicken was cold and dry. The burritos are good size, however their frys are not crispy and just blah. Mark was are waiter and was attentive.

My boyfriend and I came last minute on Valentine’s Day, they sat us right away! And not to mention right on the river walk with an amazing view! From there our experience was only elevated, our server was AMAZING, 10/10 service, very attentive and food was so delicious, definitely made my night. Was the perfect date night on the riverwalk and definitely will be back!

Cafe Ole seems to thrive purely on its prime location along the bustling San Antonio River Walk, where foot traffic is guaranteed on any nice day. Unfortunately, that's about the only thing it has going for it—I'd recommend dozens of other Mexican restaurants in the area before suggesting this one to anyone. We started with margaritas, which were just okay—nothing memorable or worth the hype. The complimentary chips arrived stale, setting a disappointing tone right away. For our entrees, I went with the smoked brisket tacos, and I have to say, it was the driest brisket I've ever encountered in my life. In Texas, of all places, that's inexcusable; brisket should be a point of pride, not a letdown. Service was equally underwhelming. Our server took forever to even take our initial orders, and when drinks finally started arriving, they came out one at a time—with the kids' drinks served dead last. My wife ordered a beer, which showed up in a room-temperature can alongside a chilled glass; the server called it the "kitchen's compromise." We sent it right back. Then the food rollout was the same story: plates trickled out one by one, again with the kids' meals landing last. Most family-friendly spots prioritize getting kids' food out first to keep everyone settled, but not here. Needless to say, I strongly advise skipping Cafe Ole and heading to a different spot on the River Walk or elsewhere in San Antonio. There are far better options for authentic Mexican fare and decent service.

The restaurant has a lively ambiance and is located in a great spot on the river walk. However, the food quality could still be improved. I ordered steak and fried shrimp, which was okay but could have been much better, especially the steak. Despite this, the overall vibe was lovely and pleasant.

The elote and drinks were amazing! The view couldn’t be better and the service was excellent. The battered fish taco didn’t taste that great cause I think the oil they fry in it was maybe a little dirty but I still had a wonderful time.

We stumbled across this place and had such a great meal! Paul was a fantastic server and really went above and beyond. I would highly recommend if you’re looking for Tex Mex along the river!

Josh welcomed us and kept us on our toes. His charisma and enthusiasm is infectious. We really enjoyed our afternoon here. the frozen margaritas are delicious!

I have mixed reviews on this place, but overall it was a decent experience. The service was great -- very friendly and attentive from the time we sat down. No complaints there at all. It's located right on the river, and we chose to sit outside. The weather was beautiful and the view was really nice, which definitely added to the experience. The only downside was the birds -- they were everywhere and made it a little distracting while trying to eat. As for the food, we originally wanted fajitas for one, but that wasn't an option, so we ordered the fajita tacos instead. The fajita meat was excellent , super tender and practically melted in your mouth. The chips and salsa were also very good. Charro beans were amazing! The queso, however, was disappointing. It was very thick, and by the time we started eating it, it had already turned cold and hard. If you go, I'd recommend skipping the queso. I almost left when they brought it out. Glad we stayed. They need to rethink this recipe. Overall: great service, delicious fajita meat, beautiful river view, just be prepared for the birds and maybe pass on the queso.

This was my first time in San Antonio, and I just knew being so close to the border meant I was in for some amazing Mexican food, wrong! The first red flag? My queso dip came out yellow! I should've taken that as a sign to run. From there, it was all downhill. The fish tacos were basically fried batter with little to no fish, and the fajita tacos had all the excitement of a plain tortilla. On the plus side, the mariachi band was killing it, serenading a nearby table and my server was an absolute gem. Lesson learned, when you eat in a tourist trap, you get tourist trap tacos!

Great drinks, competent food. - 3.9 margarita, house, frozen, melon - 3.9 margarita, house, frozen, raspberry - 3.0 margarita, house, frozen, sour apple - 3.9 margarita, house, frozen, strawberry - 3.3 Queso - 3.6 Chicken flauta - 3.4 Fajita, beef - 3.1 Fajita, Chicken - 2.9 Rice, Spanish - 4.0 tortilla chips (V says 3.2) - 3.7 - Taco, soft shell , beef fajita. With queso.

So first time on river walk in San Antonio. Here for Airforce graduation . Hubby and I went for date night. Came here and eating on the river walk watching the boats go by so beautiful! Our server Andrew was amazing ! Service with a smile! Food was great! A must try. And you must have the mariachis play for you what beautiful voices brought me to tears. Can't say enough about this place. It was so relaxing and so nice and if you can get seated in Andrew's area for great serves !

The price adds up. Honestly worth it. We did a la carte tacos bc we didn't want sides and 3 margs and honestly the atmosphere on the inside doesn't match the vibe as outside. Feels like a college bar on the inside and the outside is a Mexican party. Service was okay at best but overall fine for it being a touristy area. The tacos needed a bit more spice and the onions had no flavor

Delicious food, friendly service, and amazing ambiance especially if you're sitting on the 'beach'. I'm surprised to see the ratings. We had a great experience and I heard nothing but good things about the food from my party. Prices were reasonable and they were able to seat a party of 5 with little wait. Highly recommend.

Cafe Ole we stopped in as it brought back memories of my husband's time working on the Riverwalk in the mid to late 80's. We didn't try a ton of food as had eaten earlier. What we did have however was pretty tasty. The service was good and location is great with views of the riverwalk. The next time we are in town, we will update our review.

We had just finished a walking tour of San Antonio and were looking for something cold to drink and a relaxing place to sit down along the Riverwalk. This place fit the bill. They had plenty of varieties of frozen margaritas as well as some on the rocks. We went with the Old Standard frozen margarita. It was great. Complimentary chips and salsa also came out pretty quickly. The menu had plenty of appetizers, salads, tacos, and other entrees . I went with a taco salad and added fajita chicken to it. It was plentiful and tasty. The refried beans under the shell were also a nice touch. My husband had the shrimp tacos. They came along with rice and refried beans. He enjoyed his meal as well. Service was good from Oscar.

After a cruise on the river walk my family deciided to stop for lun h here and it was a great decision. We were seated immediately and our server Alex S. Came over to take our orders and was very attentive throughout the meals. I had a margarita and it was really good with a good shot of tequila. Our chops and salsa was very good also and we didn't have to bother with an appetizer. I ordered the street tacos with carne asada and it was awesome and I really enjoyed it. My wife had the taco salad and thought it was very tasty and the right size. The very was very reasonable for three people with drinks. Definitely was worth the visit.

Complete transparency here: I've dined/drank at Cafe Ole on an annual trip to San Antonio (barring 2020) since 2019, mostly because it's festive and fun and the drinks are good, but the food in past years has been less than stellar. This time, it was different. I was a little disappointed that this place was chosen at first for our group, but we saw that the menu had been updated, and I saw what the servers were bringing around to the tables, and I became hopeful. Drinks were great as usual, and then we ordered food. Starting off, we ordered queso and guacamole for the table. The former was a delightfully flavored cheese that clung nicely to the crunchy and fresh chips, with just the right amount of spice. The guacamole was fresh and delicious, not too fussy in terms of additives, but I wish there had been more of it - it's a small portion. Moving on, we ordered the street roasted corn, which came as beautifully presented on the cob, with all of the touches including lime wedges. It was creamy and delicious, the corn was fresh and not overcooked, a really good starter. Next up, we ordered a new (apparently) menu item, which doesn't appear on the menu pics here on Yelp nor the online menu (why didn't I get a picture?). It was the birria quesadilla. Served in beefy quarters with browned cheese on the outside and a dish of consomme, it was a well executed example of the now-ubiquitous style, and oh so delicious. It was more than enough for my wife and I to share after all of those chips and the corn. Bottom line, at least for this one meal, Cafe Ole has turned it around and is serving good food, right on the Riverwalk.

This place is (pardon my French) f*cking terrible. The waitress is a retard and doesn't know how to listen, do her job, or anything. When the manager is asked to show up they are a chicken shit, they don't know how to make drinks, everyone was finna catch hands, my quesadillas were yummy I'll give them that but the other food tastes like an inebriated discord mods breath. This place is terrible I pray no one ever comes here again.

Jeremy took good care of us! Great meal!! He was friendly and attentive, we had great service!

Mexican food was not good. I don't think I have ever not finished a Mexican meal but I did in this case. I felt like if I continued eating, I would get sick. Wife ordered carne asada, and it looked like what I would call re-ground beef. Service was bad and seating options were terrible.

The food isn't bad. Great service and we were seated quickly on a Saturday night. The chicken enchiladas had good flavor. The loaded carne asada fries needed more cheese or queso instead. Adding salsa helped out a pot. The chips are super thick, not a fan.

First time. Beef taco was perfect. The beef was seasoned very well. Service was really good. The atmosphere was fun. Great music from all generations. Prices not too bad either.

Bree, at the bar, is amazing. On a very hot day, she even kept a fan pointed at us. The frozen margaritas are absolutely wonderful. They have great chips & salsa as well. Although we did not stay for a meal, our service here is always top-notch. It sounded like they are eliminating the outside bar, but I hope not. It's hidden and well-shaded with a cute view of the river and passers by. We love this hidden bar area.

Well... we were hungry and walking the river walk in San Antonio and found ourselves in front of cafe ole. We were seated in a nice location overlooking the canal and it was a great elevated spot to people watch from. We ordered apps and food, but none of it was noteworthy other than the guacamole was the worst I think I've ever had. The waitress came by very infrequently (the place was NOT busy...!) so the original cocktails we had ordered were all we had. Talk about missed opportunity...! If she had just stopped back by the table a bit more often, we'd have ordered another few cocktails, thus a higher bill and higher tip...! But, alas... it was not to be. If hungry on the river walk, suck it up a little longer and find somewhere else...!

The food was okay. It's pretty spacious & didn't really have a waiting time. The staff is sweet but I don't really recommend the food.

Slim vegetarian options I got the queso and it was ok It kind of had the texture of glue The salsa was pretty good and a little spicy The chips were not bad either they kind of tasted like Fritos Eating the chips with the queso made for a very salty bite I still ate a lot of it but I wish the texture wasn't so gluey and thick

Xavier was our waiter and he checked on us frequently. Food, service, and drinks were all great!

Google vs Yelp... what a difference... I should have listened to Yelp. The food is so bad. How a restaurant in San Antonio makes tacos with the same taco shell I buy at Walmart is beyond me. The waitress was lovely and the location on the river walk was nice. So disappointed.

Great food and atmosphere! Went on a weekend trip and loved the street elotes! Nice patio as well..

Service was nice, I feel bad for the s we servers , ordered the al pastor street tacos, they came out ice cold. Rice tasted like it was old and goin bad. Only good thing was the charro beans. I've had better quality at Taco Bell and FYI, I HATE Taco Bell

What could improve.. EVERYTHING! Food was was not good, school cafeteria tastes better! Everything was over cooked for what we paid for. Took them 15 minutes to get our drink order.. when we order it took them literally 5 minutes to come back with drinks and FOOD... it was very questionable how fast the food came out.. WILL NOT COME BACK

We all know the restaurants on the River Walk are all just good enough to stay in business. At this point, I think we've eaten at all the mid-level Tex-Mex restaurants on the River Walk, and our meal at Cafe Ole was the best one yet. I ordered the Taco Salad with shrimp added, and my husband got the Chipotle Ribeye. Both were hits, although I wish the Taco Salad shell was all flour tortilla, but it seemed to be a corn and flour mix. The French fries that came with the steak weren't worth eating. We'll remember to come back to Cafe Ole on our next daycation to the River Walk. The food is as good as the view!

Great chips, salsa, and guacamole. Everything else is OK, not great. Our party had the burrito (fair), street tacos (good), and chicken quesadilla (fair). Prices - for the river walk - are reasonable.

It has great ambiance. I sat next to River, with great views. The quality of food was good. I ordered Enchiladas, happy with it.

What a trainwreck tourist trap. The food is maybe school cafeteria quality. The chicken tenders aren't actually tenders, they're large chicken nuggets molded to look like tenders...congealed meat scraps instead of actual decent chicken meat. Service was slow and rather apathetic despite it being a slow day. Only upside here is sitting on the patio enjoying the view.

They were really slow and service wasn't good at all. Attitude was not appreciated. Food? Mediocre, nothing stands out. The river view from the restaurant was the only plus. I will not go back.

Customer service was super slow. The food was super expensive .Chicekn fajita cost us 2.5x of typical price tag at other restaurants. The serving portion was ample for 3 people Outside seating has a nice view and thats about it

7/2025. They didn't have their act together on the day we visited. We weren't sure at first who our server was? It took fifteen minutes to get ice water, salsa and chips and it was HOT out!! This is definitely a tourist spot as most places on the Riverwalk are! The server was not friendly or attentive. The team approach on this day was not good--much slower than it should have been for a quiet afternoon. The attitude of our server was poor and she didn't seem to care much at all about customer service. We had the guacamole and the fish tacos with margaritas to drink. All pretty average Mexican food. Definitely would not return when in area again. I'm sure there are much better restaurants here.

Food here was just okay, but the margaritas were great!! We were walking along the river walk on a super hot day and the prickly pear marg was super refreshing. I liked that they had complimentary chips and salsa at the table as well.

We came here for dinner. The 3 stars are for the yummy pina colada. The foods are less than desirable. My torta had minimal meat and there were super duper salty fries on the side. I think they meant to put salt onto my daughter's carne asada but loaded them on my fries instead because her street tacos was greasy with flavorless meat. My boyfriend said his burger was dry. His son said the enchilada was fine. The staff was very friendly, but I would only come back here if I wanted yummy pina colada.

If there was an option for zero I'd put that. I never knew people could make bad Mexican food! We took a few bites and left our food.just hoping I don't get a stomach ache. If Gordon Ramsey can see this, this place needs to be on kitchen nightmares

I can't speak for the food because we only stopped here for the giant margarita we noticed while eating at another restaurant nearby. The chips and salsa weren't too bad though. As for the margarita, my wife greatly enjoyed it. See more on our YouTube travel channel here: https://youtu.be/V6qbQnHAIU0

Our sweet waitress Emily was amazing!! She recommended the 64oz margarita (strawberry/mango mixed) to share, the Birria Quesadilla which is very filling if used as a meal. Definitely could have split this as a meal! Chips were fresh and salty, queso was great as well as the salsa! Such a cute atmosphere and couldn't recommend our waitress Emily enough she was on top of everything and made sure we had a great time and were taken care of!

The beef fajitas were amazing. The el patron margaritas were spot on. Would recommend this place

Stopped by to look for the football games and was happy to see multiple tv screens, my friend and I appreciated that. Service was decent, even at the busy times of the night. Food was okay.

Food wasn't good...brisket tacos were greasy/fatty and not much flavor; Shrimp quesadilla was bland. Wouldn't recommend, several other (better) restaurants on the river walk.

food was delicious, the weather was beautiful, our waitress's name was kaylee and she lit up the room! thank you for the great experience!

Horrible service! The host lady was very rude. We asked for a table close to the canal and she sent us inside. She said: "well if you want to sit in the sun go ahead" , commenting in a snarky manner. Then, when my son asked us to move, we asked our server to move to the table on the side, and she graciously said yes, but then we saw the host laughing at us! Pay in mind that we were by now sitting in the table closest by the hosting station. I just found the whole thing very disrespectful. We are paying customers and don't think that's a polite way to treat visitors. The food was meh and so was the tradition margarita. But overall what upset us the most was the host. Terrible manners! Please listen to the other reviews!!

Good time, good food, and great service! Laura and Angel were outstanding. Love coming here.

I should have read the reviews. This was by the river walk. So great location. Enjoyed sitting outside and having my lunch. I was not expecting great food but the food was total crap. I should have walked for 10 mins, gotten off the river walk. There are some great restaurants around.

Service was great, but the food was the worst! I ordered the enchilada combo Uno, and got Taco Bell served in a plate! They used ground beef that looked like dog food wrapped in red taco shell. The "Spanish rice" had carrots and peas! essentially a Chinese fried rice from Panda Express. Avoid this place. We should have gone the restaurant that was open since the 1940's- I forget the name.

I ordered the ground beef crispy tacos with rice and it was tasty! The tacos were crispy and fresh! The ground beef was seasoned to perfection with cheese and lettuce. The street corn was cooked perfectly and was tasty. The strawberry margarita was perfect with the right blend of strawberry flavoring and tequila. The salsa and chips were fresh and delicious! One of the best salsas I have had in a long time.

Waitress is polite but order a cheese only quesadillas come with add chicken with 4 dollar extra. Ranch is charged not being told. Food is overpriced.

Ambiance was great being right on the river and our server Xavier was on top of everything! I'd definitely go back and ask for him specifically!

"This was my second visit, and it was just as impressive as the first. The food continues to be excellent, with a variety of delicious options. It's also a great spot for families with kids, making it a perfect choice for dining out with the whole family. Only issue I have is service is a little slow. They are always looking under staffed

Tried to go to another place on the Riverwalk but service was horrible so we left. We then went to this place and I was skeptical by the reviews here on Yelp. Service was great! Unfortunately the food wasn't that great, the chips n salsa were my favorite part of the meal. :-) Would I come back? I don't think so.....