Tommy’s Restaurant 2

A little disappointed. We were looking forward to grabbing our breakfast here after reading all the reviews. Walked all the way over to find it closed… The sign on the door said they would be closed 11÷23−11÷27 for the holidays… Today is ¹¹⁄₂₁. What gives??? La Jalisco gets our breakfast business today.

Take a walk through downtown San Antonio and you’ll find a little Mexican restaurant on almost every block. Some are tourist traps and some are hole-​in-​the-​walls, some sit on the Riverwalk and others are located on the side streets. My four favorites downtown are Mexican Manhattan, Poblano’s, Casa Rio, and Tommy’s.
Tommy’s is located across the street from the courthouse to the East, and from the City Hall to the North, which makes it a great choice for lunch if you find yourself serving jury duty or visiting the local government offices. Unfortunately, when visiting from either building you’ll need to run the gauntlet of bus stop patrons who line the sidewalk about 20 feet from the entrance to Tommy’s. The people waiting for the bus are usually a friendly bunch, but on occasion it can be challenging to squeeze between all of them on the too narrow sidewalk.
Tommy’s is famous for their barbacoa and Big Red. Actually, there are several places in San Antonio that are famous for barbacoa and Big Red, but Tommy’s serves some of the best.
The restaurant is very informal — seat yourself and pay at the register when you’re done. They frequently have a few minor customer service issues such as failing to keep your drink glass full because they are so busy, but the food always comes out quickly and because of the layout of the restaurant, it’s always easy to get the attention of a server if you need one.
The chips and red salsa are fresh made, served shortly after you are seated. Every table has a small container of green salsa. The green salsa is hot, really hot. Not burn-​your-​tongue-​off hot, but still, you’ll want to be careful with it. Did I mention, the green salsa is hot?
All the traditional Mexican food staples are here — enchiladas, tamales, soft /​crispy and breakfast tacos, barbacoa, and of course beans and rice — and they do them all very well. The food is very fresh tasting and by varying the amount of salsa you use, your meal can be just as mild or spicy as you like.
While Tommy’s makes a great choice for lunch when you have business downtown, it’s also worth a trip here (or any of my other three downtown favorites) as an excuse to find out what real TexMex food is all about.

Finally made it in for lunch and was not disappointed! Had the enchiladas con carne guisada and the food was so good. The enchilada gravy tasted just like moms. Meat was tender and tasty. Wash it down with some sweet tea.
Place was clean and got busy fast. Wait staff were super friendly and prompt. Definitely coming back!

I can’t think of too many dining experiences where I can sit next to an officer, a lawyer, or a probationer all at the same time in the same room. But at Tommy’s restaurant, as far as their downtown location you get a unique opportunity to do just that.
It is located downtown right across the street from the Bexar County Courthouse; convenient for patrons but maybe a little too close for comfort for others. Inside it is bustling with the chatter of lawyer speak, police fueling up for the long court docket or potential jurors devising excuses to get out of jury duty. The place itself is quite spacious. There is ample seating for everyone but it does get packed.
In regards to my experience here I came in on an early morn, seated myself down and was handed a menu by a waitress. I briefly surveyed it. It’s basic Tex-​Mex fare with food cheaply priced. I settled on a few tacos and a cup of coffee.
One thing that I immediately noticed while I was waiting for my order was the motif of the place. As far as downtown locations are concerned it does seem a bit dated. It definitely would benefit from a touch up or a complete cosmetic overhaul by its owners.
Another thing I noticed and rather prominently, to say the least was the smell of the room. It had a musty, stale odor. The odor made the place feel even more dated. If a business is rustic by proxy, to appeal to a specific demographic I wouldn’t mind. Instead it would be more in keeping with that location to hang: vintage pictures of older business buildings, a Pearl Brewery neon sign or antler horns on the walls to drive that point across.
As far as their food is concerned it is good. Their tortillas are fresh and billowy. The coffee was good too, but as I was waiting for my next refill the waitress seemed a bit predisposed. This is where I must interject in the service. While the waitress was somewhat attentive, it seemed at times that more focus was put on filling out to-​go orders as opposed to tending to already seated patrons.
In addition it is missing that personal touch that could make it pop into a downtown haunt. In my humble opinion the traffic of regular customers, mostly from the courthouse creates a sense of familiarity so «Hello’s» and «Have a nice day’s» from the staff can feel a bit disingenuous. The food is good and the service is adequate, but it needs some fine tuning, as far as their vibe and service to work. At least for me.
Tommy’s Restaurant is now three places wide: one in the South side, another to the North and one in the downtown locale. The food is good, the service is adequate and you share the same space with cops, lawyers and probationers. If you want to enjoy food in a safe environment, this is your place. But if you owe money to the city for outstanding parking tickets, I’d probably go elsewhere.

Breakfast tacos are so-​so, but incredibly greasy, to the point they are difficult to eat if you don’t want to stain your clothes. I know Tex-​Mex isn’t healthy, but the grease is excessive.
Lunch…had no flavor. I ordered a combination plate and a side of guacamole. The guacamole was basically smashed avocado, nothing else… I added salt, pepper, and a little salsa to attempt to liven it up. The tacos tasted good but again, super greasy. Rice and beans were comprable to a frozen dinner version.

Saw this place while on break for jury duty, hope it was like wurzbach location and to my delight it was!!! Carne guisada!!!

[this review is for breakfast and breakfast tacos only]
Uninspired, even for local Tex-​Mex. If you find yourself in the heart of SA in the morning, there are few options: La Jalisco next to the court house; Bill Miller’s across from Municipal Plaza; Poblano’s at the cathedral courtyard (formerly «on main»); and Tommy’s across from the justice center. Slim pickins every one of them.
I’ll start with the salsas. Really f n good. Both the verde y roja are exceptional specimens of salsa perfection. The texture is like they make the salsas a day ahead and then throw them in a sieve over a food service bucket to let most of the water drain away for other purposes. The result is a cohesive blend of tomato, pepper, garlic and cilantro without the flood of ‘juice’ to drown your tortilla in a lake of blah. You’ll still get the water component, but it is easily tamed by a single napkin on your plate to protect the the tortilla vessel.
The tortillas are hit and miss. One day you will find a perfect flour tortilla. The next, under cooked. or over salted. or under salted. It seems they can’t figure it out.
If you know my reviews, you know that I’m not a portion nut. But Tommy’s portion control drives me absolutely batty. A standard SA breakfast taco consists of approximately a half of a scrambled egg with [fill in] ingredients. Yet, Tommy’s will happily serve a one egg taco with [fill in] ingredient or an all egg white taco with [fill in] ingredient. Or even a one-​tenth egg taco with [fill in] ingredient. I never know what to expect.
The bottom line? An absolute commitment to zero portion control wouldn’t work anywhere else except in the big rents in downtown SA. Which is why this #2 is probably the cash cow for #1. Couple this review with the move to 16oz to go cups (taqueria standard in US is 32oz) spells buh bye.