Restaurant Gwendolyn
There are no blenders, mixers, choppers, ice cream machines, deepfryers, burr sticks, nor anything else with a motor--nothing with a plug. Food machines with motors made possible an imbalance of diet that had never occurred before: we could suddenly fry enough food to make ourselves sick, we could preserve food longer than its last dangling vitamin. Refusing food-enabling machines is another way to keep the food honest, and in reasonable balance. There is not even a freezer.No perishable ingredient may travel further than a good, strong horse. The menu will move absolutely in lockstep with the seasons, as okra and eggplant taper off and leafy greens move in, we must change ourselves to suit the product--not the other way around. What is outside is inside.
73 Birthday celebration. It was highly recommended and it lived up to it. I want to eat here again and soon.
I’ve been dining here for years and each time I do, they take care of your every need. Super knowledgeable about food and how to serve it. Definitely give this restaurant a try any chance you get.
Great place to try something new, their menu is exquisite which compliments their wait staff’s service very well.
I had a great time trying this restaurant out, I’ll be back again soon.
I was excited to hand over the reins to the kitchen and get the 7-course prix fixe dinner. The dishes were creative and delicious with a lot of locally-sourced ingredients. My top 2 dishes were the venison tartare and the beef cheeks ravioli. What makes it even better is that the entire team treated me like a valued guest.
It was a great romantic experience for my wife and me.
The grand tasting was absolutely amazing!
Food was good, but not great. Had the 7 course tasting menu. Some courses were very good; others just OK. The venison pot pie was very good. The odd thing about the meal was that they brought my husband and me different dishes and really provided no rationale. I had the wine pairing; he did not. So they just assumed which one of us wanted which dish. And the wine wasn’t paired properly if we switched dishes between us.
The most disturbing part of our experience was that this restaurant is not doing appropriate social distancing. We were too close to other diners.
Final thing: no valet. This is not a problem only with this restaurant. All of them downtown have the same issue. Even pre-COVID. We moved here from a larger city and this parking problem is why we don’t eat downtown more. A fine dining restaurant should have a valet.
We celebrated Christmas Eve with the 7 course dinner with wine pairing. The meal was delicious and time went by very quickly! 3.5 hour dinner! The menu is innovative, delicious in every bite, sauce and we were impressed with the farm fresh ingredients all within 150 miles of the restaurant. Methods are 1800’s but totally fine dining worthy! The wine pairing was not especially fine wine most were $15-25 bottles but we enjoyed all of the choices paired with each course. Hubby and I each had different courses for most of the meal so we could try lots of things. We upgraded his entree to the tomahawk pork chop. Totally worth it! It was a special night!
This is a wonderfully quaint and intimate restaurant that provides top notch service and a phenomenal dining experience. Make sure to allow yourself plenty of time to enjoy each course and experience the whole event - my recommendation is to have no plans or deadlines for the rest of the evening. We enjoyed the 5 course with the wine pairings and it was superb. The kitchen knows exactly what they are doing and each plate is executed beautifully. Even though the courses are small, even my husband left the restaurant feeling completely satisfied (unlike some other restaurants where you have to hit up a drive through on your way home to fill up!) Great place for a romantic date night or celebration of any kind~
Food was interesting and flavorful, service was great and attentive, fun experience and the river walk was beautiful
What a gem! Quiet and located above the river, so it's not nearly as busy or crowded as the River Walk area by Commerce St. Romantic and intimate, with exceptional service and food.
Another fantastic meal and wine pairing! We highly recommend Gwendolyn!
Just a wonderful place and experience.
The chef's tasting menu was again exquisit. Just wishing that I could travel to San Antonio more often.
It was my mothers Birthday
Delightful boutique restaurant above the riverwalk. Extreemely talented and creative kitchen. Competent wait staff, who's only fault might be wanting to tell you too much about what they have just served you, rather than letting you simply enjoy.... and asking them about it after you're done.
A perfect experience for a special occasion. Food, ambiance, service were all topnotch.
A wonderful and tasty dining experience. The wait staff was attentive and professional, and the atmosphere was quiet and homey. It's impressive that they produce a quality dining experience using no modern equipment.
Our server Heath was outstanding. He was informative, friendly, and really took great care of us! Our table overlooking the river walk was perfect for enjoying the wonderful weather and beautiful Christmas lights. The meal was so memorable and we both enjoyed our food immensely. We would go back any day but sadly we live out of town. Our experience was a 10 out of 10!
EXPENSIVE...Food was OK, very strange, not for my taste. Save your money and go elsewhere.
A wonderful dining experience! Unique plates prepared in a traditional cooking style. Loved the seven course Chef’s selection with wine pairings. Don’t be in a hurry and enjoy a wonderful evening at Restaurant Gwendolyn! One of my favorite places to go for a special occasion in San Antonio.
For the price point, freshly prepared foods are expected, instead a lot of them are prepared ahead.
I thought the overall experience was wonderful. The food was well prepared and very well presented. We chose the tasting menu. My only negative was that that the portion sizes were so filling that we were too full to enjoy the last courses. Part of it may be our culture because most people perceive value in terms of the amount of food served. The result of that is another different conversation. That is why the best French and Italian restaurants in the world would have a hard time surviving here. The presentation and flavors of the very fresh food at Restaurant Gwendolyn is worth a big compliment and I commend the chefs on their creativity. I want to complement the servers who demonstrated really caring for their customers. We felt welcomed during our experience. The ambiance is very peaceful and quiet. A great experience and we will return the next time we are in San Antonio.
The food is on another level. I definitely recommend the 7 course meal experience if you've never tried it before. They don't use modern technology for their food which I thought was unique, and the indoor decor is beautiful. My only complaint was a specific occurrence that took place. The waitress accidentally knocked over a glass of wine which spilled onto my shirt and pants. The staff quickly moved my girlfriend and me to another table and gave me seltzer water and a towel to clean up. The place has low lighting everywhere so I cleaned up what I could see. The waitress offered me cash for dry cleaning, but I declined as accidents happen. By the end of the night, I noticed the bottle of wine was still charged to us at full price, even though I was wearing half a glass on my pants and shirt, and by the time I got back to my hotel and washed the shirt, the red wine had settled into the cloth. I don't blame the waitress because she works hard and I'm not trying to take her cash for a simple mistake, but management could've at least comped the bottle of wine from the final bill for my shirt, or at least one glass of wine. If it wasn't for that, I would've given 5 stars all across. I still recommend going. Just wear an old shirt you're planning to throw it anyway.
Menu is small but they keep changing it and always serve very fresh local ingredients. Food is great and so is the service
Great spot for date night or a special occasion for a small group of 2-4. Service was pleasant and polite, not overbearing. I felt taken care of. Food was delicious. The tasting menu was adventurous. It was hard to decide what my favorite bite was because everything was delicious and flavorful. Ambiance was perfect on the balcony <3 Absolutely recommend!
Felt a bit rushed when the next wine flight glasses would come out as we were chatting and not done drinking the current glass of wine. Didn’t recall that the last time we were there. Food was good, very expensive and won’t likely be back. Would rather enjoy signature instead.
We were here for our anniversary and it was outstanding. It was better than we could of expected.
This is by far the best restaurant in San Antonio!!!!
They called to confirm and they asked about food allergies etc. I said I didn’t eat meat... that didn’t get passed on to servers. They also confirmed celebrating a birthday... no one said anything to us when we arrived nor through whole service. Food was was ok. Bottom line for those prices everything really missed the mark.
Great location on the Riverwalk. Weather was comfortable as we were there in early October, so sat outside just above the riverwalk. Did the tasting menu with wine, and selections were very good! Thanks to the team of servers who kept our plates and wine glasses coming at perfect intervals during the meal.
Wonderful dining experience, the chef prepared the food perfectly with great care and the presentation and whole experience was superb. You can really tell the chef and his staff are committed to his vision of traditional preparation of high quality locally sourced food. This is dining experience for diners who really value the whole fine dining experience.
We thoroughly enjoyed our evening at Gwendolyn. The ambience was relaxing and romantic, Jen (our server) was outstanding, the wine list was ample, and the food was creative and delicious. If someone is looking for fine dining in San Antonio, we would highly recommend Gwendolyn.
Amazing experience as always! A favorite!!
Food was unique and delicious. Service was excellent. Was a bit pricey but for such an out of the box experience was worth the extra.
Everything was delicious; the service is friendly and efficient. They time each course perfectly. Well worth the cost for a meal that is truly a special occasion in and of itself.
I love this place... hands down my favorite restaurant and foodie experience in San Antonio.
I’ll keep bringing my important peeps here to give them one of the beat foodie experiences they can have. Period. mewp mewp 😻❤️
Excellent experience in every way. Treated my cousin to tasting menu to celebrate her birthday. Superb evening.
Outstanding from beginning to end. This place is unique and special. It knocked our socks off and we are hard to
Impress.
Amazing experience, love that they use no tools or modern technology. Get the Prix Fix and wine pairing, so worth it!
FAQs
Restaurant Gwendolyn offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (210) 222-1849.
Restaurant Gwendolyn is rated 4.8 stars by 594 OpenTable diners.
Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable. Due to local restrictions, this restaurant may not be accepting reservations at the moment.