Newton Gang’s Getaway Saloon & Eatery

After our adventure in Driftwood last week, the office lunch bunch went to knock off the Newton Gang’s Getaway. The heist didn’t go quite as we planned. We expected to getaway with a good lunch. Instead, the Newtons made off with our lunch money.
On the inside, the place really hasn’t changed much since it was Hill Country Bar & Grill. The bar, the player piano, the antique Burroughs posting machine, the bank vault, and the teller windows are all still there. Suffice it to say there’s not much more that you could do to recreate this historic landmark. Even the period tables seem to have carried over from Hill Country, albeit a little worse for the years of wear. I do have to say that the thin-​yet-​elegant veneer of the former establishment seems to have worn off in the interim and now big screen TVs are their advertised main draw (and annoyance). They seem really out-​of-​touch in this otherwise retro theme. Fortunately, for us, they weren’t blaring the news of George Steinbrenner’s demise – just his visage.
The menu is basic pub grub, perhaps slanted more to the short-​order grill side than to the pub side. Yes, you can get burgers and hot dogs here, as well as some basic blue plate entrees. The menu didn’t exactly inspire me, unfortunately.
I wound up choosing the daily special, as a last minute collision avoidance maneuver based on other Unilocal reviews of the salads here. For my effort, I was rewarded with a very tasty meatloaf, some nothing-​to-​write-​home-​about garlic mashed potatoes, and some unappetizing cold and overcooked sweet potato fries (see photo). An unexpected surprise was a decent slab of white cornbread, although no butter or margarine was provided or offered. I will note that I encountered a significant piece of bone in the very last bite of meatloaf, but that isn’t the fault of the restaurant in all likelihood.
Service was very slow, considering there were three waiters and about six tables seated. It took what seemed like 10 minutes before our drink order was taken, another 10 minutes after drinks were delivered before orders were taken, and at least another 30 minutes before the meals were delivered to our table. By the time we made the five block trip back to the office, we were significantly past our allotted lunch period. Fortunately, our consultants were with us and we could talk about the project we’re working on, so, unlike the Newtons, we had a good alibi.
Our waitress’ service can best be summed up as benign neglect. She failed to bring water without ice as I requested, and, upon realizing she had «forgotten something» (after a co-​worker pointed it out aloud), offered to bring me some lemon (which I hadn’t asked for and which never materialized). A straw would have been nice, had she thought to offer one. Also, not checking on our table for satisfaction after food was delivered and not offering beverage refills until the table was being cleared added up to a bad experience.
The clincher was when our waitress provided no coin change for the cash-​paying customers at the table for mid-​dollar tabs. You’d think with the whole bank theme going on, they’d at least have change, right? To her credit, she returned singles rounded in our favor, but, to me, that hinted too much of hope for a more generous than deserved tip. She still netted a tick over 20% from me, even after paying her back the change, but it certainly wasn’t earned.
The more that restaurants flail in this location, the more you wish the Newton Gang had become arsonists instead of bank robbers. I expected better and don’t see the point in a return visit. I would only return with a group and not of my own volition, and, to me, that’s the personification of «meh».

Husband and I went for lunch today. Blue plate special is priced right if you can tolerate bad food. I had the meatloaf with a side of mac & cheese and a side salad. The meatloaf was moist in a fatty ⁸⁰⁄₂₀ grade B beef kind of way. The mac & cheese was bland and runny. Absolutely DO NOT order the onion rings as they arrive both soggy and burned tasting. The best part of the meal was the salad from a bag and the homemade biscuit that came with my meal. As for service, it was ambivalent at best.

Good food. I had what they called a «hogleg» basket. Basically it was BBQ pork surrounding a bone. I was interesting.
Service was friendly. Though I will admit that for a majority of my time I was the only one their.
Prices are fair.

A calm warm Sunday afternoon, the best time in the world to try a new restaurant. (New to me, it’s been open for about a year or so in this, its most recent form). The place has historical significance, as it was the site of one of the Newton Boys’ bank robberies. (If you haven’t seen the movie «The Newton Boys», this part is pointless, but I am still going to write it.) The atmosphere of the place is pretty good, the layout even feels kind of like a step back into history. The layout is reminiscent of the bank it once was in the earlier part of last century. The front of the menu has a vintage photo of the building from what looks to be the time period of the town’s famous bank robbery. Lots of neat stuff on the wall, too.
The food is comparably priced to most other establishments of its kind. I ordered the portabello mushroom burger. It was juicy and messy, some of which may have been due to the grease or butter they used to sauté’ it in. But it was absolutely delicious.
My only complaint was the speed of service. They were packed. I initially thought it was awful slow service considering how few people were in there, but I noticed later that there were areas that I had previously not seen, so apparently the slow service was due to the lack of sufficient wait staff. Which seemed a bit unnecessary. If they were new, I could understand them underestimating the after church crowd, but they’ve been in business for a while. They only had two waitresses, and a lone waiter who was more busy packing serving utensils.

Didn’t think this place would be good, and it was decent. I wouldn’t go here unless I had to as it is limited on options and really only the location and the interior design is all it has going for it.

I’ve been to Newton’s Gang several times now, and really like the place. Their service is generally good, the atmosphere is nice, the prices (especially the lunch specials) are quite good, and I really enjoy the food.
The last time I went, I took the Lovely Bride, and we tried to find a quiet corner to be able to talk — a bit of a challenge, since they’ve sprinkled TV’s all over the place and there was a football game on. However, the hostess stashed us in one of the old bank vaults and turned down the TV that was in there, so conversation was quite doable.
The menu includes a variety of different items, but I was especially excited to discover Chicken Fried Venison there. While I’m a big fan of venison, I’ve found very few places that actually serve it. Theirs is both ample and tasty, especially once you add the sides and the big biscuit with which it comes. Everything I’ve had there has been well-​prepared and seasoned, with no evidence of heat-​and-​serve food service fare. Be sure to try the sweet potato fries — delicious, and you can convince yourself that they’re good for you!
Their adult drink selection is, as other reviewers have mentioned, a bit meager, but given how much I’ve enjoyed all the food, it’s a small issue. Given its central location and affordable lunch specials, I expect this place to do well.

we stumbled upon this place on our first visit to san marcos; we live in austin and wimberley. tried to eat at the tap room and they don’t allow minors after 6 so we stopped at newton’s. seduced by the live music…
the location is nice, music was good. I was hoping for a decent beer selection but selections were meager, really slim and all bottles, nothing on tap. I settled on a shiner.
I requested a Caesar salad and got that dreaded response from the server, «what dressing would you like»? C’Mon! if you are going to serve a Caesar salad in your restaurant please do the research to understand that Caesar dressing goes on Caesar salad!
service was very friendly and efficient. but the food… OK, the nachos were good if you like the pile it all up on a plate variety of nachos. the fried green tomatoes were good but a bit salty, the soup was good…
the Caesar dressing obviously came from a jug and was not good, the salad was also topped with croutons that came from a box. salad also had tomato and onion. I got shrimp with buffalo sauce on them, they were SOOOO SALTY! really, somebody at this place needs to scale back on the salt. it is easy for patrons to add salt, but impossible to remove it from their food.
the sweet potato fries were good. we won’t be going back.

I’ll give this place a second chance but I was not please with the first visit. I’m an average guy who doesn’t care about presentation of the food. Just wants a warm fairly priced meal. The history of this place is interesting and that is it. Don’t be fooled. It’s a bank, that’s it! Our food seemed like it was precooked then microwaved. My girlfriend got the hot dog which was served cold with cold toppings. I’m sorry but how do you mess up a hot dog! The ranch dress had to much mayo. Granted that’s what i get for choosing ranch I didn’t have a drink but my partner did order a long island ice tea, which seemed watered down. At least give them a chance. Daily drink specials seem attractive. The website gets 5 stars which is important. If the target market for this company is tourist then fine, but if this company is try to compete with local business, good luck. Also, close the doors to the bathrooms when your open for business. i don’t want to see the inside of your bathrooms while eating.

The Newton Gang’s Getaway is housed in the «Old State Bank» that was robbed by the Newton Gang in 1924. With wide-​plank flooring, teller bars, and bank vault dining areas, the building is a very intriguing place for a restaurant. Hopefully, one of these days a good restaurant will open up there. The chicken-​fried venison drew me to this place, but it was not enough to make me want to come back.
Call me crazy, but I assumed a «saloon» would have a decent variety of alcohol. Maybe after the restaurant has been around for a while, they will purchase some more, but for now the selection is pretty small. One pet peeve of mine is when Shiner is described as an «import.» I might expect that kind of thing in Oklahoma, but a Texas beer brewed a mere 60 miles away is not an import.
Dinner started off with a salad topped with some awful Kraft-​ish balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing that tasted like it had expired three years ago. The came the main meal. The green beans, chicken-​fried chicken and venison, gravy, and home fries were all over-​seasoned.
The interior and history of the place is really neat, but atmosphere does not make up for bad food.