El Bucanero

Amazing service & waiters are always polite an easy going. Always recommend friends to get the Ceviche Hawaino coming again

I’m not an easy sell and after experiencing Mexicali seafood in numerous countries– I have to say this little joint is a treasure. The prices are very reasonable and the portions are equally generous.
We opted for the shrimp/​oyster cocktail and I could not recommend it more. This ceviche comes in a large cocktail glass, that can easily accommodate three people. It was packed with both shrimp and oysters.
Equally good were the pescado plate that I ordered and the crab tacos my wife tried. All in all we ordered 4 full priced drinks, the cocktail and 2 entries for only $ 88. Outside of Bohanan’s steak house, this is our new favorite place.

When I normally think of Mexican food, are usually think of tacos, burritos and enchiladas. Of course, the holiday favorites of tamales are in a close second place, however, I don’t really think of seafood. But man was I wrong, when you get a chance to visit this establishment, you will be more than delighted with the selection of food that they have. Wait lines can be pretty intense, so make sure that you do not visit the place too late in the evening or Sunday after church without a reservation. Or else, you will be waiting quite a long time. Either way, this restaurant does not disappoint.

We are Tex Mex lovers and this place must be good as it was packed at 1:30 on a Friday afternoon. We did not like the style of food, but that is our problem. Just beware this is not a Tex Mex place (it even says «not Tex Mex on the menu next to the enchiladas). Food did come out lukewarm (and the plate was very hot??). They graciously took it back (and made new plates) and it still came back lukewarm.
If I had been in the kitchen and someone sent something back as not being hot enough, I would have made the second one super duper warm. As I said, it must be good, just not for us.

After hearing about this restaurant from many family friends. My family and I decided to go, being that I’m from California, I’m used to the best seafood by the harbor and caught freshly but against my better judgement, I tried this place out. Immediately after walking in, the hostess, seemed to have had more important things to do she wasn’t paying attention. After being seated, my waiter, who I don’t think spoke english, was being a little rude. He took an eternity to get us our drinks, and as I walked across the patio to get the mosquito spray, I over heard him make a remark in Spanish to he fellow coworkers. I know Spanish and quickly acknowledged that. The food was dry and not up to par with what everyone has been saying. I expected more, the customer service was terrible. Never coming again, and telling everyone in Texas and California to never try again.

This place is right off of Blanco and easy to find just look for the line of people waiting to get in! Much like the TSA advises arrive at least 2 hours early! We had the Ceviche Hawaiano and the empanadas! The ceviche was extremely fresh and the best I have had in a long time! We ordered the small but don’t be fooled it’s enough for 3 people. We had so much food to take home and enjoy a second day! Highly recommend! Servings are huge here so keep that in mind!

This this this!!! Why did I not know about this place sooner! It was awesome! The atmosphere, the food, the life… had a great time and this is definitely a new favorite. Price is not crazy either and you get so stuffed off of just appetizers. Will definitely be returning

The Bucanero off 281 is fantastic. the one off of Blanco. Is NOT! Slow service. and the food is not even close to its bigger counterpart. Shame that I have to rate it this poor…

This place could have been a zero star, the service was crap. 1 hour wait, then 15 minutes before a drink order was taken. Finally our food was ordered and an hour later delivered. Drink refills were s l o w. We asked our server if the other staff could help him out. He told us that he could handle our large party. He couldn’t.
Saving grace… The food was great. But by the time it arrived, we were full of chips.
Never to return.

El Bucanero has become our new favorite fresh seafood place. The dishes are amazingly decorated and the servings are huge. I don’t recall having such a great seafood experience as I did here on my visit. Makes it okay to live in SA now, I truly was missing my Florida seafood joints… Now I feel at home knowing I can come here and get what I’ve been missing.

We tried this place at the recommendation of an acquaintance of my husband, and were pleasantly surprised.
Be warned, the menu is all in Spanish, so it can be tricky if you’re like me and don’t have a good grasp of the language.
Hubby got bacon wrapped shrimp and I got the Mexican shrimp cocktail. Man, was that cocktail LOADED with shrimp! My only complaint is that it wasn’t spicy at all. I had to add quite a bit of hot sauce to turn up the heat a bit.
They serve these crazy Micheladas that have a giant Corona and the glass is lined with shrimp and cucumber. We didn’t order one, but saw another table get one.
I would love to go back and check out more of the menu.

Their food is delicious! I am not embarrassed to take my father here when he’s in town from Mexico. The margaritas are my favorite in the city. I’ve never gotten bad service there. Love it!

Wonderful seafood. I can’t wait to go back

OUTSTANDING SEAFOOD! This location makes authentic Mexican seafood dishes that are Devine! The plates are large enough to feed two and the prices are great! They as well have great drinks, which are just as delicious as there dishes. I’ve never been unhappy and the service is great. I recommend this place to all seafood lovers.

I love fried whole fish and I finally found a spot to enjoy it. The place was really loud inside, I could barely hear my conversation with my guest. However, the food was great and when my food is good I’m eating not talking. I had a mango strawberry margarita and fish ceviche to start. Both were very good. The ceviche didn’t taste super fishy and had a nice little bite to it. I loved the fried corn tortillas that came with it. I also ordered the fried tilapia which was so yummy. I added the red hot sauce to it and could only finish one side because it was so big. The charro beans are the best I’ve ever had hands down. I didn’t even get a chance to eat the rice. Then there was the salad with no dressing, just some greenery on the plate, didn’t eat that either. It was hard communicating with the waiter because it was so loud. We initially ordered water but didn’t get it until halfway thru our meal. Everyone we asked kept forgetting to bring it. They actually could have kept it because it tasted weird. But I was there for the fish not the water. I would definitely return and try another type of ceviche but most likely get the fried tilapia again.

The best seafood i have had in Texas! Would definitely recommend to anyone! The botana bucanera was my favorite and is really big! For like 2 – 3 ppl!

Super recomendable! Todo delicioso, excelente atencion
buen precio y agradable ambiente familiar definitivamente volvere por otra mojarrita al mojo de ajo

I have been to El Bucanero – or «Buca’s» as my circle calls it – multiple times. The fact is that they are one of the best hidden gems within San Antonio. Their service is impeccable and their seafood of the highest quality; always fresh and exploding with flavor.
Even though i’ve only tried the Ostiones preparados (ceviche prepared oysters) and Ceviche Mixta, i know that El Bucanero is a place that I can go to always push my limits by trying new things on the menu.
Don’t be intimidated by the Spanish-​speaking servers or robust mariachi’s, El Bucanero is very gringo friendly. It is a great place to bring friends from out of town or a date as Buca’s will definitely add a cultural zest lacking in seafood cuisine – a style of seafood from the Mexican gulf.
If you go, remember to order a Pacifico cervesa to properly enjoy this marine treasure.

What a total disappointment. Have been wanting to try this place for a really long time… And what a bad experience. First of all, went on a Wednesday night around 8pm and it was hella packed. The server was a joke. Wish I got his name to share so you wouldn’t have to have him if you tried this place out. Got the platter with a bunch of Mexican seafood on it including octopus, calamari, tilapia, random crab leg, Spanish rice, warm ceviche (I think), and juevos rancheros. The pachata was decent. Not worth $ 6. And the shrimp cocktail was ok. The total was $ 75 and so not worth it. The server barely came to our table three times. One to take our order. Second to drop off our food and third to drop off the check. My water was never refilled and when I asked for my ticket to leave, he was basically bulshitting around talking to other servers and picking up his receipts to see what tips he got. I swear he took about 15 minutes to bring us the ticket. Also the food was shitty. The fish was super mushy and was bland as hell. This place is a joke.

This place is very special — no other like it. It is Mexican seafood and is very fresh and a great value. The wife likes the enchiladas because they soak the tortillas in sauce so it is flavorful but not too saucy. This trip she had the bacon wrapped shrimp which I liked but were sans jalepeno which I wasn’t used to. Since it is a seafood place I like the seafood soup. It is a great broth and a ton of different kinds of seafood.
I also tried a pachanga which was a can of beer with a raw shrimp and peanuts covered in broth. I liked it. Not sure what the mark up was but it is a great snack with my beer.
In SA there are a ton of Mexican food places this is delicious, the most unique and a terrific value.

Super busy hectic on the weekends, even at 3pm in the afternoon! Parking is not the worse, but it can be a tight squeeze with all the Texas size trucks.
I was told the portions are big before coming here, so I didn’t go crazy and I intended to only try to ceviche. I got the Molca Campechana? the one pictured on the menu. It has shrimp, octopus, and conch (I believe) with pico and avocado. I like avocadoes, but I think in this dish made the liquid muddy and took away from the fresh acidic taste. Overall, I may not order this one again because it was slightly lacking the fresh taste. I would like to try the regular ceviche next time because I love, love conch and octopus.
The menu is very extensive and mostly in Spanish, best to go with your Spanish speaking friend! Pictures were helpful. There are some fried seafood options, I got to try the fried shrimp, which is typical tasting.
Yes, they were busy, so the service was lacking. We waited for water refill for a long time.

I had the grilled chicken plate (not a fan of seafood) and it was surprisingly delicious. Very moist and seasoned well. Husband had the tilapia vera cruz plate and if I were a fan of seafood, I would’ve had more than one bite. It was extremely flavorful and very juicy. On to the item they’re known for, whole fish. When they say whole fish, they mean a whole fish. I had a bite of my moms and it was right on par with the rest of our food.
The only downside of this place is the extremely loud mariachi band. I guess it’s not fair to call them extremely loud since I think the high volume is a requirement.
I definitely plan on coming back… When the mariachis are on break.

Absolutely the best ceviche we have ever had. I highly recommend the Hawaiian ceviche, it has shrimp, fresh coconut, mango and pineapple. Out of this world with flavours. Our server Alberto is a very nice man, what more could you ask for!

Yummy! Highly recommend. Large portions are enough to share.

An ok place, but not great. Good for cheap seafood. The whole fried fish just for $ 10.

As real as it gets. staff to the food. A real south of the border experience. A great and festive restaurant.

The Fried Fish and Shrimp were good. The salad was horrible! My daughter had the grilled shrimp platter and said it was good. The horchata was very flavorful.
The service was horrible, our waiter had a personality of a mime! He didn’t recommend or ask us if we needed anything at all. Too bad for them.

It was delicious! Our server was great, courteous and fast! You get so much food! The drinks were ok, more just pretty appearance and colors and kind of on the pricey side.

The food is incredibly good. Multiple sauces with fresh appetizers. I do not eat guacamole and I ate some here so probably the best in the city. With that said I want to warn you to not bring a large party (10+) because accommodations are not their strong suit. My buddy put in a reservation more than a week ago and when we arrived the we waited an extra 40 minutes while watching smaller groups wait like 5 and 10 minutes. Needless to say he was pissed and I was disappointed because the food was good and our server was kind.

I was looking for a mariscos restaurant in San Antonio and this was the closest to me. It was fantastic! I had the mixed ceviche and my friend got the shrimp quesadillas. We also had a couple margaritas that did not disappoint… Nice and strong. My only complaint here is that the service was not good at all… Anytime we needed a waitress there was nobody to be found.

El molcajete es uno de sus mejores platillos, tiene un poco de todo. vayan con hambre. Ceviche y las campechanas son de los mejores q he probado en San Antonio

We ordered the ceviche «mixed» was in a hollowed out pineapple half. It had fish, shrimp, pineapple, mango, fresh coconut, pico de gallo, avocado, cucumber. It was a mountain of ceviche in the pineapple half. Enough for 4 for just two that really love this kind of food.
It was by far the BEST ceviche I have ever tasted in my entire life. The sweetness from the fruit with the acidity from the lime and seafood flavor was outstanding. After the first bite I was actually speechless. It was 29.99 for the ceviche we ordered and it was worth every penny. The tostadas were great with the ceviche.
They also bring you 3 bottles of hot sauces and a bottle of ketchup to the table. They hot sauces were habanero, chipotle and jalapeño. All had good flavor and the jalapeño was the best tasting in my opinion. I will definitely be back to the restaurant.

I heard of great things about this restaurant. Unfortunately I did not enjoy my meal. We went to celebrate my father’s birthday and expected good seafood. I ordered the fish, shrimp, and oyster plate. All pieces were extremely dry and the batter was very rough in texture. The fish was so dry it looked like it was there for a while. Oysters were very rubbery and not good. Shrimp were ok but again I was not a fan of their batter. And to top it off I ordered tea and it tasted old.

For sure the part of San Antonio that made waiting worth it. Exceptional considering the diverse sense of it being a Mexican seafood restaurant. From the beyond excellent frozen margarita to the fried tortilla rounds with the special sauces to the appetizer of Molca-​Campechana; each continues to entice you to try something else. The appetizer was refreshing with definite flavors of lime, fresh tomatoes, cucumber, avocados and various seafoods that was so fresh tasting I could have bought another to take home! And the Mariscada de la Reyna fed all three of us and still had tons of leftovers to bring home. Recommend and can’t wait to go back to try something else!!! And our server was the best!!!

Fresh Mexican-​style seafood, best with a beer or two. Prices can get high fast but quality is good and portions for some dishes are quite large. The aguacate and molcajete dishes and ceviches are my favorite dishes. Grab the tostada mixta if you’re on a budget, the $ 8 dish gets you a massive portion of ceviche with crab, cucumbers, and avocado. Toss the accompanying tostadas if you’re on a diet, but if you’re not they make the meal stretch into two or three. If you don’t do raw/​cold fish dishes, the shrimp with garlic sauce and veggies is superb too.
The service is fairly good, and it seems like all are fluently bilingual. There are signs posted that they won’t seat incomplete parties, probably because they’re always busy. Get there early or call in a reservation for their covered patio seating. Don’t forget to grab churros for dessert from their food truck in the parking lot!
TIP: Eat the oysters at your own risk. I’m not really a fan, but friends I’ve taken have been less than impressed with this particular menu item.

Is it legal for food to be so damn delicious?!! If you find yourself in San Antonio, treat yourself to some fresh and exquisite seafood at this place. You deserve it. The portions are generous and the flavors are on point. I ordered the shrimp in garlic sauce. Ridiculously good! Lots of garlic, but cooked to that point of sweet perfection.
If you are hungry but not really starving, the shrimp cocktail is for you. It is refreshing, cucumbery, creamy with the generous amount of avocado and of course the shrimp is cooked perfect. It was a full house Saturday evening so plan to wait in line to be seated. The waiters are really good at what they do. Our waiter was welcoming and friendly. I will most certainly be coming here the next time Im in San Antonio!

I was looking forward to my first visit because of the many favorable reviews. However, I found the restaurant to be overrated. We had the dozen oysters on the half shell and found them to be just ok not tender and juicy. We had to ask for horseradish.
I had the shrimp with bacon and the oysters were small, bacon too crunchy not chewy. Rice was fair and beans did not seem authentic but more bean dip. Chipotle sauce and habanero sauce were nice.
Don’t think I’ll be back. I tried it and was not impressed. Made me long for oysters from Lukes.

Why is this place packed all the time? The prices are high and the food tastes like regular Mexican dishes. Nothing fancy nothing great.
My advice, find somewhere less expensive and with better food. Moving on.

DEFINITELY Recommended!!!
I have to say «El Bucanero» has redeemed their service and food with me. It has been a while since I ate here. It looks like they are reading the reviews. Because, this time was the best of ALL. I’m in SA for my JW convention and decided to give them another chance. Well I’m glad I did. I was NOT disappointed. I LOVE their mixed ceviche! (fish and shrimp) is DELICIOUS. My waiter Edwin was very attentive. Keep up the great work!!! I’ll be visiting more often.

I have mix ceviche, it taste really fresh actually but for me was a bit too sour so i added side Avocado and become just nice
My friend ate tilapia, it was soo fresh that gave a perfect taste
The price is also reasonable, i would recommend to try this resto if you are around in san antonio

My sis and bro in law took me here while I was in town. I really like the shrimp taco things I got. The guacamole is always a sign of a good mexican restaurant. I wanted to swim in a giant bucket of that guacamole, and the ceviche was almost to die for.
I will be back most definately.

Hoy fui y pedí 2 ceviches para llevar melos dijeron a la mitad y pedí un plato para niño y pusieron el dulce en el plato el dulce se derritió adentro yo voy a comer al bucanero nuevo y nunca me a vía pasado esto Hasta hoy ke tuve esta mala experiencia

Back after a year, and it’s still awesome! Lively, friendly, live music, and amazing food!