Buckhorn Saloon & Museum

By far exceeded my expectations in regards to the museum. It was pretty wild. (No pun intended). If you get lunch their first you get 10% off your tickets. Food was meh, but I didn’t go in expecting a gourmet meal. My parents who love the outdoors were also impressed with this place. I’d see go back when in the area or with friends to show them how neat this is.

We LOVED this place! Justin the bartender made our visit amazing and taught us so much about new drinks, the local brews, the must see places during our stay, as well as the history of the bar itself. The museum is mostly a collection of mounted/​stuffed animals from around the world, with an oddities section and some interactive things for the kids (or just the kid in you!) You are allowed to get an amazing drink or giant frosty beer at the bar and take it with you while you tour the museum. The gift shop is super rad as well, we found cute gifts to bring back home for the kids and even some new décor & amazing BBQ sauce for us! The staff are all amazing & friendly, and exceeded our expectations. It was a fun, laid back place for us to feel at home in. Definitely recommend to anyone!

Teddy Roosevelt recruited Roughriders here! How cool is that?
This was a lot of fun to visit. It’s a real combination of many things, like a big saloon and restaurant, a Texas Ranger Museum with tons of law enforcement exhibits, and an outrageous collection of stuffed animals from every corner of the desert, jungle, forests, skies, and oceans of the world. There’s also exhibits on side show curiosities (Wolf Boy skull, anyone?), optical illusions, and a recreation of a sheriff’s office with a jailed snoring drunk behind bars.
You can see Bonnie and Clyde’s bullet riddled car, a mural made out of rattler rattles, shooting galleries, and video games.
Museum tickets are $ 20, but there are plenty of discount coupons floating around out there.

Yes, it’s touristy and the drinks are expensive but it’s also fun and worth a visit. Can’t go to San Antonio without stopping by for a drink in the saloon.

This saloon is over a 130 years old and its located right off the RiverWalk. Folks here are super friendly and we found that even the patrons were all conversationalist!
The Buckhorn Museum has been collecting wildlife trophies from all over the world for over 130 years; including fish from the seven seas and animals from every continent. Amazingly it houses animal trophies of some animals that are now on the endangered species list and it does so because they were trophied long before they ended up on the list.
This place is essentially a Bar, restaurant, Café, Gift Shop, Shooting Gallery and our two museums, the Buckhorn Museum and the Texas Ranger Museum.
Go in for a beer and a chat with the bar keep, and a gander at the saloons most prized record holder which is the famous ’78 Point Buck’ right over the bar back.

Stopped in again this time in town. Same bartender as last time and he was just as nice. He is very knowledgeable of the beer selection. He has Tried the jalapeño poppers and they were crispy on the outside and creamy inside. The catfish was good again. The burger was also a good burger. The cashier was very helpful and nice when I needed more tartar sauce.
The museum has so many different types of animals to see. It also might be the most antlers ever. The museum has some really good Texas History like the rough riders and things like Bonnie and Clyde’s car. I highly recommend stopping in if you are in town. Besides the Alamo this is the next best thing.

This is my kind of place!!!
We had a great time, the museum is odd, totally odd, but the people are great and the drinks are big, after all, it is Texas.
It’s not cheap to get in, find a coupon for at least $ 3 off, and if you have a kid, try to trade their admission price for the guarantee that you’ll by some drinks, it worked for us. We tried a couple local beers and you get to bring them as you tour the museum. They say it’s the only museum in TX to allow this, well it’s the first museum I’ve experienced this at any museum, ever.
Essentially, the saloon is open all day and into the night, the kitchen closes at 3pm with the museum closing at 5pm, so the drinks must entice more daytime business.
The museum is full of animals, like of the stuffed variety. Very realistic and lots of unique animals. My son loves Wild Kratts, so he knew more than we did. Then there is an old fashioned circus area, more oddities, and finally the Wild West throwback to Texas’ gunslinging past. It was all unique and fun and odd and really all I could have asked for for the afternoon: history, childhood entertainment and drinks. A must go to if you are looking to enjoy a beer and have the kids with you.

I’m sure the museum is cool. We decided to come back on a day not so busy so we could enjoy that. Had a quick lunch. Burgers and Fries. While eating I felt like I was eating at Sea World. LoL! Not fancy or the best food. Cool environment though. Be prepared to pick your table and order at the Counter. Look around while you wait. There’s some cool and exotic game around.

My favorite San Antonio attraction!
We decided to have a drink at the saloon before entering the museums. There’s nothing better than a cocktail after a full morning of walking and sightseeing. Justin was our bartender and he was very helpful. I explained to him that I wanted a margarita because that’s the popular drink here but they are way too sweet for me. I don’t like sweet drinks. He recommended a skinny margarita and it was by far the best I’ve ever had. Thank you Justin for showing me how to enjoy margaritas.
The ranger at the front door informed us that we could take a drink from the bar into the museums so I ordered another skinny margarita. This place is awesome! There were two museums to enjoy. We browsed the Texas Ranger museum first. It was full of interesting history and artifacts on the Texas Rangers. The second museum was the Buckhorn museum. It was full of many species of wildlife. I really enjoyed all the different animals. They even had some that I didn’t know existed.

Food and beer prices are high. They try to get you by offering discounts to the museum and vice versa. Food is avg at best, service is slow and zero follow up. Had the mushroom chicken sandwich and it had one mushroom on the whole sandwich, although it was a whole mushroom, wasn’t sliced at all.

Pretty cool. Bought some knick knacks at the store, had a drink at the bar, looked around the place. Will spend a little more time next time I am here.

After hearing about this place we had to stop in. From the beginning of the museum to the very end there were so many things to see. This is definitely a taxidermist paradise. If you like to hunt you would appreciate their antler collection. We learned a lot about history in the Ranger Museum. This kept us entertained for at least 2 hours and there were a lot of things for kids to do and see.

It you happen to be visiting San Antonio and are in the downtown area or by the Alamo then the Buckhorn Saloon & Museum is definitely a family friendly stop that is sure to entertain the group. I have been here before with the family and done the Texas Ranger Museum. If you are with the family and into that type of stuff I would absolutely recommend this tour. They also have a bar that is open daily with the museum. I found myself looking for a drink and happened to catch them on happy hour. Daily HH is from 3pm-​5pm. The bar closes at 5pm — fyi — this is a daytime activity. I had a tasty, cold margarita for $ 3.25 while I killed some time. I made some cool friends at the bar and the bartender was super nice! This is definitely a great spot to come if you are visiting SA.

Been here before. A little high priced for the quality. Today, however actually sucked.
Asked about the chicken plate. Was told two pieces of chicken. Got one piece. Veges were still partly frozen and partly hot. Potato salad was bland with a cold thin white soupy consistency at the bottom.
The wife’s food was barely «good». Catfish was crumbly and overcooked small pieces. Observed an employee walk out with a plate with a huge piece of catfish, which was why she selected that dish.
Not a pleasing meal. The tatted up cooks in the back didn’t seem to care much about their product and the server who brought this poor example out to us was uninformed.
Probably won’t come back.

Stopped in on a Saturday afternoon to get out of the heat and enjoy a cold drink. Sat at the bar and ordered a 32 ounce lone star. Enjoyed talking with the two bartenders there. The male bartender seemed very knowledgeable about different drinks. Being from out of town, they both suggested other places to try out while I was visiting. I didn’t try any food or anything but the beer was cold and the company was enjoyable! Overall good experience.

Worth the view of the saloon. But WORST. FOOD. EVER. No exaggeration. Was hoping a place that looked this awesome would serve up something that was palatable enough to eat. Go for the attractions but leave and eat elsewhere. Bleh!

For less than the price of a Ripley’s Believe it or Not ticket, you can enjoy fewer crowds, weirder stuff — AND walk around a huge museum space enjoying a cold beer.
I am not interested in big game, cowboys or guns, but I still was endlessly amused by this place, starting with the awesomely genteel greeter, Texas Bob. Apparently all the horns that decorate this place started because the original owner would accept them in lieu of payment at the bar.
Their oddity section is way more interesting than Ripley’s (we saw the two attractions back to back), plus you get all the crazy animal stuff. Our 4-​year-​old was engrossed, and we really enjoyed ourselves, despite our reservations about this «tourist trap.»

One of the neatest places you can visit. Great learning experience for kids and adults alike. Rich in Texas history. Lots of the museum is from the Lone Star Brewery Museum after it was closed

I’ve only gone here at night when the museum is closed on First Friday’s, but it’s a pretty decent place. Drinks are nice and cheap and they make some weird drinks that they have a special of. All the animals on the wall are real, and the collection started in the late 1800s. It’s quite amazing because they have an elephant, giraffe, zebra, among other things like elk, buffalo, deer, moose, etc.
Their bathrooms are usually always clean. They have a small arcade as well with some funny mirrors.
Eventually one day I will make it into the museum!

Yes it is cheesy… yes it is a tourist trap but this place has the best Chicken Fried Chicken that my wife and i have ever had. It is the size of your head. We ate it so fast that we forgot to take a photo. Well worth the visit. Unfortunately Chicken fried steak is off the menu for now until they get a better source of steak (no packaged frozen steak for them). I respect that.
Our bartender Justin was excellent. He was proud of his town and where he works. He gave us several off the beaten path suggestions for dinner.

I am able to comment only on the bar. The wife and I visited the Buckhorn during a vacation to San Antonio after seeing the Alamo and doing other tourist stuff. For $ 5 (or some crazy low price — not remembering now because I didn’t immediately write this review) you get a 24 ounce beer. Compared to where I’m from (Chicago), that price is basically giving away beer. I have Otto be back in San Antonio for work in February and intend to have as many 24 ounce beers as I can handle at Buckhorn as soon as work allows.
The staff was friendly and the décor is excellent. Yes it is a tacky tourist trap, but I don’t care. It’s also fun. When I return I plan to try the food.

I came here for a private event, so this review will only cover that experience.
If you’re having a conference at the massive nearby convention center you probably shouldn’t schedule a dinner at the Buckhorn Saloon & Museum. The former can probably hold 10x more people whereas the later is far too small for such an event. When the line for literally everything wraps around the room and dozens of tables, you’re going to have a bad time. Sure there was plenty of food and drink but the process of getting it was an absolute nightmare. So if you’re planning an event, please make sure there is at least some room for the attendees.
P. S. If you don’t want to see stuffed animals everywhere, this probably isn’t the place for you.

I’m old enough to remember when the museum was at the old Lone Star Brewery (the 2^nd brewery). I remembered it being a lot more impressive, but I was a lot smaller then.
The Buckhorn is definitely for those who don’t mind rooms and hallways stuffed with dead animals. The horns and stuffed animals aren’t just limited to Texas species; there’s even a stuffed gorilla and an elephant skull.
Besides the animals, there’s a PT Barnum-​style area with 2-​headed animals and an anti-​gravity room, and the tour ends in the Texas Ranger museum.
It’s definitely not a destination you’d want to travel to visit, but it makes for a fun afternoon if you’re already downtown.

Disclosure: We were here with a private event that had rented out the entire place for the evening. Just our group in the upstairs dining area as well as in the museums.
Food was great, and there was plenty of it. Drinks were standard catered selections, but the staff was friendly and willing to chat with us a little about the area. There was some western dressed characters running around occasionally «shooting» people, or having «wars» about various things. Tons of fun to watch and see who in our group would be commandeered to perform with them next. There was a live band, who would also take requests (Mind you they were country, and someone asked them to do «All the Single Ladies» by Beyonce. They obliged, and put one heck of a fun and interesting spin on the song! Loved it!).
The museum was really fun, and interesting. So much history, and facts… but a lot of abnormal history and facts that you wouldnt probably see in a «normal» museum.

What a very cool and different restaurant! There is animals literally everyone in the place. Almost every different type, along with cool science rooms and fun interactive things to do. Would definitely recommend someone stopping by this place, all kids wouldn’t absolutely love it.

This temple of taxidermy is unlike anything you have ever seen.
The Buckhorn Museum is a complete tourist trap, but still well worth seeing. The huge collection of stuffed game animals is overwhelming. The museum also features an excellent tribute to many famous Texas rangers, showing their guns, badges, letters of commendation, chaps, ammunition and all sorts of other memorabilia. There is a large collection of marshall and sheriff badges. If you are interested in antique guns, you should consider a visit an absolute must. There is also a fun house with some entertaining optical illusions and a creepy freak show.
The animal specimens come from all over the world and include every conceivable species. Two highlights are a pair of passenger pigeons and a full set of antlers from an Irish elk (see my photo), both are extremely rare items that would be coveted by major museums. In addition to stuffed hides, there are also many skulls.
Don’t plan on eating here, the food is terrible, but the bar is ok and you can drink as you stroll. My recommendation is to get really drunk and then visit the freak show.

A museum where you can walk around with a beer in hand? Sign me up!
The Ranger museum portion is nice, a little bit of history and some old trinkets. However most of the museum is a nod to taxidermy enthusiasts. Stuffed bodies EVERYWHERE. I mean, it’s okay, just not my thing.
The sit down salooning was the best part (that and the skeet shooting) — but I found $ 19 a bit steep — it should at least include a beer.

We never visited the museum section so I cannot comment on that but we did visit the «saloon». The saloon is without a doubt a big tourist trap. We did eat a very mediocre lunch there from a VERY limited menu.
While I am not a fan of taxidermy, the saloon was interesting to see, if only for it’s tackiness. lol
The saloon is definitely worth a walk thru so I would advise you to do just that. Walk-​thru, take a gander and keep on going.

Diese Bar ist nicht Disneyworld, sondern authentisch. Albert Friedrich gründete 1881 diesen Saloon einen Steinwurf von Alamo entfernt. Da nicht alle Gäste in den ersten Jahren solvent waren, akzeptierte Albert statt harter Dollars auch Geweihe und ausgestopfte Tierköpfe gegen ein paar Drinks. Und so entstand mit der Zeit ein reich geschmückter Saloon, der aber nur Geschmack auf ein noch reicher gefülltes Museum machen soll (was sich aber der Verfasser dieses Textes nicht antat, da er lieber auf sein Shiner Bock aus dem Fass aufpasste). Hier sieht es ähnlich aus, wie sich Ottonormalbüromensch einen traditionellen Saloon vorstellt. Bier schmeckt, Bedienung nett (Achtung beim Lästern auf Deutsch, von denen sind einige Kinder deutscher Eltern), Preise O.K., Ambiente klasse. Unbedingt machen.