Palmer’s Restaurant Bar & Courtyard

I had the Hill Country Caprese as an appetizer. The balsamic dressing kind of ruined the whole plate for me. A bit disappointing. For the entrée I decided on the Blue Cheese and Spinach Pasta which honestly didn’t have a good taste to it at all. So overall the food was very mediocre. The service, on the other hand, was fantastic. Our waitress, Jessica J., was very polite and friendly. Will be back for that as well as the beautiful courtyard setting.

Sunday brunch.
Large carafe of mimosas. $ 18 Yup. VERY large. Very FRESH orange juice. Good bubbly. Went down fast.
Eggs Benedict with roasted potatoes. Yum.
No wait. We were fortunate to get a table in the bar area — otherwise the wait would’ve been a half hour, and we were starving.
The bartender doubled as our waiter and he was great!
You bet I’d go back.

I was in town with a group for a conference. I had seen this place on Unilocal and we decided to go try it. The place had a great ambience and a beautiful patio. I wish the weather had been warm enough to enjoy it :) the food was amazing and had great big portions. Between the 6 of us, we had a wide variety of food and everyone loved what they ordered. Out only complaint was the service. We got there at 7, and not late. They were not very busy, but out service was so slow. When they brought out our food, they brought only 3 plates, and we had to wait another 12 mins for the rest. You never bring a table ½ of their food, because it is improper for the others to eat, who did have their food.

well years ago this restaurant was called hansel’s and gretels. back in the 70’s.great dark beer and german food and reasonable prices. sadly, today the most recent owner has jacked up the prices. for mostly mediocre food. and booze.
so tonite, I had a friend in town and decided to try palmer’s again. it is kind of a nice setting. I decided I just wanted a good hamburger but was told they aren’t serving hamburger because of Mardi Gras (HUH?) so I decided chicken fried steak. it was grissly cheap cut of meat crap.
my friend ordered the salmon. which was uninspired under cooked crap…
san marcos needs a nice fairly up scale restaurant. sadly Palmer’s is not the answer… really you get a better meal all around at Chilis…

The wait staff does a great job. Just hope you don’t run in to the manager. Celebrating a co-​workers birthday is fun until the manager comes and tells you to be quiet. Avoid this place for celebrations but go here for the beautiful wait staff.

Easter brunch, Bloody Mary burger, queso, steak salad, it’s all amazing. I am a regular here and have never had anything less than amazing.

I love this place. The patio is beautiful and relaxing. Service has always been good. The drink selection is great. I’ve liked everything I’ve ordered on the menu. I highly recommend this place to anyone.

Bad vibes at this place. It was 12:30 pm (lunch time Saturday) and the hostess said there were no tables available. She said I’d have to wait 40 minutes. I looked back and there seemed to be tables available. Supposedly they were closing down a dining section (at noon?) If they don’t want to seat you, don’t eat there. Very strange vibrations. We’re a family of color and something seemed off here.

Found this wonderful spot on Groomer’s. (a commercial seafood distributer) website. What a find! Beautiful setting not too far from the Texas State campus. Food and house specialties were deliciously prepared. Immaculate and unhurried table service. Great environment for a casual dinner with friends where you can actually hear the conversation. Can’t wait to try the patio in the Spring.

Unfortunately my receipt does not list the name of our wonderful server, unless his name happens to be Bar A. He welcomed us back as we walked in the bar and was just as friendly and attentive as the last visit, which made my night.
Mr. R preferred the Rumhattan over the Texas Fuzz, but he tends to sing the praises of whatever he’s drinking in the moment and hates admitting he likes fruity drinks. I loved both my citrusy South Texas Sipper and the Strong Hand. A fruit & cheese plate and order of jalapeño cheese flautas managed to disappear in the course of these drinks which was not part of the plan, but that’s how good evenings transpire.
Thank you, Palmers, for facilitating another relaxing break at the end of a long day.

This is a new favorite for me when visiting or passing by San Marcos. Me and a guest dropped in for Sunday brunch a few weekend’s ago. The staff is pleasant, the ambiance is perfect (especially for a Sunday morning), and the live guitar music softly playing Christmas tunes was nice as well.
I found the wait for our food a bit longer than should have been. However, when the food arrived, it was not disappointing at all. My guest ordered a Spicy Mary Burger with regular fries. I ordered a Turkey Pesto Sandwich (delicious!) and sweet potato fries. YUM! I could eat only half of the Turkey Pesto Sandwich and sweet potato fries. The serving sizes are fairly large for brunch fare. My guest said the Spicy Mary Burger and regular fries were very good as well. I tasted and agreed.
Did I mention the great ambiance? I plan to return and try other items on their menu, but I really enjoyed my sandwich.

Best place to sit down and eat in San Marcos! If you want the best dining experience, ask for Olivia! Super sweet and a super fun person to add to your dining experience! Becoming a regular for sure!

Very nice ambiance!
Exceptional wait staff!
Great food!

So impressed with the service here. We had a reservation for a large group (14 of us) and were seated immediately. Our server took drink orders and flawlessly brought water, tea, mixed drinks and wine to all of us, offering exactly what each ordered. Dinner orders were taken; I don’t think any two of us ordered the same thing! Our meals were all served promptly and all 14 were brought out together. Kudos to the kitchen and our waitress. Drinks were refilled quickly and she was most attentive. Excellent server!
Now for the food: fantastic! I had the pecan– crusted salmon with asparagus and macaroni and cheese dish. Beautifully plated and so delicious. Every entrée looked awesome and everyone at the table was very pleased. We finished up with that sublime chocolate chip bread pudding — oh, my! So decadent.
All in all, this was an excellent dining experience. I can’t thing of one thing to improve on. Highly recommend.

Very cool older building. Beautiful outdoor space. A little pricey but you get what you pay for. Delicious!

Beautiful place. Gorgeous foliage and excellent food. I ordered the crab cakes with jicama slaw and grits. We chose to sit outside and had a nice view of the water feature and all those mature trees. The indoor layout is cozy and intimate. If you want to impress someone, this is the place. The attire is supposed to be resort casual, but I am not sure what that means. You’re fine in jeans but if you were less casual, you wouldn’t get a side eye. Our waiter Andrew was very knowledgeable and friendly. Try the queso. You won’t be sorry.

The spicy Mary burger here is phenomenal. So much flavor and cooked just right! I wish it came with more fries but the chips and queso more than made up for my lack of French fries. You get this big cereal bowl filled with queso, it’s amazing. The service was really great. Our waitress was very nice and personable.
I would definitely recommend this place and will come back here again!

This is my special occasion go-​to restaurant when in San Marcos. For those familiar with Austin restaurants, the setting is much like you’d find in Hyde Park: an old converted house under huge heritage oak trees, with a cozy bricked patio and fountain out back.
The food is similar to that found in downtown Austin restaurants: steak, fish, and chicken dishes delicately prepared in foodie fashion and nicely presented. The prices are on par with downtown Austin fare, as well, which puts this restaurant in the «most expensive» range of San Marcos restaurants. For me, that keeps it in the Special Occasion category. I’ve noticed that they seem to have a robust happy hour crowd.
Nevertheless, there is always a wait for tables, and reservations consist of a «call ahead,» which doesn’t guarantee you a particular table, just helps them plan for guests somehow. I learned the hard way not to be in a hurry and to plan meals for off-​times when dining there. There aren’t that many places to wait for tables, so the bar area (about the size of someone’s living room) can quickly get crowded.
The hostesses I’ve experienced could be friendlier, but the servers have always been on point as far as helpfulness and efficiency.

Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 4.5
Cleanliness: 5
This restaurant is what I envision when I think of dining in Texas. It’s a steakhouse. There are a TON of good options on the menu here as well as incredible specials both times I’ve been. Would I recommend eating here on a diet? Probably not…
Their blackened shrimp is amazing. Pecan Pesto (made in house) with ciabatta felt like dessert before dinner. Guacamole (made table side) is the greatest guacamole I’ve had all month– with fresh ingredients and thick, chunky texture– serves at least three people, maybe four.
Their interior décor is kind of old fashioned with wood paneled walls and low wooden tables and black leather padded chairs. I thought I would’ve wanted to sit on the patio when I saw how pristine and welcoming it looked in January, but with a sweltering 96 degrees outside, the last thing I would have wanted to do while sitting in that heat is dine, so we opted for the main dining room.
Both times, the service was impeccable… and the building is older, but still clean and well maintained.
Would I return?
Absolutely!
Enjoy.

Palmers is excellent. Everything about this quaint, romantic, peaceful atmosphere is awesome.
The décor is sorta rustic shabby chic. The restaurant itself is located on a rather secluded corner which is ideal. Parking can be tricky if the lot is full but the street is open, always. For free.
The staff are all very friendly minus the two hostesses at the front but they have a «stressful» job. *cough cough*
Now to the food, it was super yummy. Rich, decadent and delicious. I would return solely for the pecan crusted goat cheese. Ya. I said that.
The drink menu is also on point. If you’re wanting to explore some craft beer or perhaps a cocktail, you found a great spot.
PRO TIP: if the wait is too long, the bar area is full service. So if you see an open table go grab it!
You gotta check this place out. Patio seating is clutch especially during those summer nights.
Cheers.