The Reel Seafood Restaurant

The Reel is our «go-​to» place when we want a relaxing casual night out. The Cajun Enchalladas are my standard while my wife likes to order ala cart.

Nice restaurant but not 5 star. Very loud. Not conducive to relaxation or conversation.
Our server was very friendly but obviously still learning about food. No problem. We all have to start somewhere.
I had shrimp and grits and it was very yummy except the shrimp had a slight un-​yummy flavor :(Perhaps if they’d been grilled? They offered blackened but I don’t care for it so I declined.
Took a bite of hubby’s stuffed flounder and almost couldn’t swallow it.
Very fishy tasting :(
He said it was good but fresh fish doesn’t taste fishy.

Unless you are a white person, don’t go here if you want to be served!

We went here for lunch with our neighbor whom we gave a gift card. He thought it was a absolutely wonderful! Good service great food! What else would you want?

I Ordered the Shrimp Brouchette, it must have been dropped in the salt bucket!!! Didnt have jalapenos, it did however have something that resembled bell pepper in 2 of the pieces, cheese was nowhere in sight, and did I mention the saltiest thing I have ever eaten?

We’ve been to the Reel twice in 2 weeks. Both times the food, service and drinks were great. I had the Trout both times w/​different sauces. My husband had the Snapper w/​Pontchartrain sauce both times and loved it. We also had oysters which were nice for this time of year. We also tried the crab cakes & some of the Shrimp & Grits. The 2 desserts we had were awesome too. This place is a jewel in this area. It will definitely remain our favorite.

Great lunch specials. Fresh seafood. Love their fish tacos.

We stopped in one night after seeing the reviews here. We had amazing service– our waiter was attentive, the manager made sure we liked everything, and because we were there for the first time, they gave us a free dessert :) Which was delicious bread pudding.
We both ordered tilapia– one with the Boudreaux Sauce recommended by our waiter, the other with the Zydeco. Both were good, the boudreaux was amazing. Sides were done well and super tasty. I also tried their sangria– the white sangria was some of the best I’ve had. The red was a bit boozy (but, come on– it’s sangria), still done well.
Definitely recommend eating here.

Delicious seafood… bartender was our waitress for a Christmas dinner and she was great !!! She recommended drinks and appetizers… Not to mention we are not an easy group… I enjoyed peal and eat shrimp, calamari and gumbo., would definitely visit again

Excellent dining experience. Wonderful service and food was terrific. I had shrimp and sausage pasta and my hubby had the lunch special. Both were delicious and plentiful. Our server Michael was awesome. This is my second time to eat here and we will definitely be back next time we are in the area.

a rock solid 10 stars!
made the drive to new braunfels just to have lunch here, and it was worth every minute of my aching butt. ooops, too much information.
Jordan was our server and he was awesome. so helpful and such a pleasant disposition!
we had the lobster bisque and coconut shrimp for starters. the bisque, though a tad salty, was super flavorful with plump chunks of lobster. heaven! the coconut shrimp was perfectly battered and fried. still so tender, and the taste of coconut really came through. the shrimp was fresh and fat and juicy.
hubby had the New Orleans combo. it was blackened tilapia with crawfish etoufee and jambalaya. man! it was incredible! good sized fish, so fresh, bursting with flavor and just the right spices. made you want to lick your plate after all the food was gone (because there was still some of the zesty zydeco butter sauce left. oh my my!
I had the Costa Rican Mahi Mahi, grilled, with Cajun dirty rice. I asked for the dinner portion but the cook made a mistake and sent out a lunch portion. maybe he thought I was better off with a smaller portion? haha! gee thanx! it was pretty small, but if you have a soup and appetizer, then it’s filling. alone, it would come up pretty short. it was another winner. spicy but perfect done, tender, fresh, and crazy tasty.
we enjoyed ourselves immensely and I’m trying to get the hubby to take me back there next week! (fingers toes and eyes crossed!)
you will most definitely have a great time here. if not, it’s on me! but I’m only saying that you fool! GO!

Just ate lunch here today. This place was awesome, great food great service. Our waiter Tyler was excellent also. Highly recommend this restaurant for great seafood! Thanks

Wow what a surprise. Came to town for the Wurst festival this weekend and found this place. Their Blackened catfish smothered in shrimp ettoufie was better than anything I had in New Orleans. Gumbo was pretty decent too
Will definitely come back.

Excellent fish. I had the stuffed flounder and my husband had the almond crusted fish (can’t remember, it’s Australian). Also ordered the lobster bisque and spinach salad. Everything was delicious! Lots of food.

First time eating here. We really liked it. Great service and menu. We have peel and eat shrimp, wedge salad, wifey had a platter with fried shrimp and other goodies and I had the shrimp and grits. It all was very good and recommend this place. We went on Sat night kinda early and got a table fine but by 6:30 it had filled up good.

Love the new lunch specials! Price is right and the food is excellent! Looking for a change from the Antler! This is your place!

I took the whole family and everyone loved their food and ate way too much. We all commented that they could lower the amount served along with the prices and it would be great. Next time we will definitely split a plate. We had fried catfish, fried shrimp, stuffed shrimp, stuffed crab, shrimp & andouille on pasta, the kids had chicken tenders and mini corn dogs. Everyone loved their food. It was a beautiful day so we sat on the patio. The wait staff was excellent and very friendly. It was great. I didn’t note that the interior of the restaurant smells like an old basement. Not sure if I would want to eat inside.

We treat ourselves and our guests to the Reel quite often. All the meals are the best Cajun seafood experience to be had in the hill country. The bar serves a wide selection of beer wine and mixed drinks. This summer I enjoyed the sangria on several occasions. My favorite meal is the fried shrimp with roasted new potatoes.

Wow, this place has a lot of room for improvement. I feel like it would be a perfect candidate for one of those «fix my restaurant» shows.
First, the sign out front said Happy Hour Drinks & Food Tue-​Sun 3 – 6:30pm (see the pic I posted here on Unilocal). Tuesday through Sunday… that would include Saturday, right? I asked the hostess when she seated us and she confirmed that yes, they have happy hour specials and she showed us the menu on the table with the specials listed. Our server came and had no idea about happy hour (he wasn’t even old enough to drink himself!). He checked with someone and we were told that no, they only have happy hour Monday-​Friday. Huh???
Second, everyone working there appeared to be in high school. The servers (obviously) had no idea about wine offerings. They couldn’t deliver our drinks, so it took forever for 2 glasses of wine to arrive. Then we ordered a second glass and never received it. Luckily, we were not charged for the second glass that never came, but still. By the time our server re-​emerged and was within close enough proximity of our table to ask about it, we were finished with our meals and it was too late. Lost profits and tips for them.
Third, the décor is extremely outdated. The wooden chairs had wood chipping off with tons of nicks and scratches. The carpet on the floor is gross and the whole place has an old, mildew-​y smell.
Fourth, the food offerings sound good on paper but they had some issues. We ordered the soft shell crab special and it had so much cajun seasoning that it was extremely salty and the seasoning completely overpowered the crab. All the legs on the crab (grilled) were extremely burnt. The seafood salad was pretty good, but not worth the $ 17. The dressing was all clumped on one side and not blended.
I imagine that in this area with few restaurant options, this place kills it. But it was totally overpriced for what it is.

This place is one of the best seafood restaurants I’ve been to away from the coast. So if you aren’t dining near the ocean, this is the best place to dine away from the sand! The wait staff has always been very friendly and helpful. I’ve dined there several times now and every time we go I love it more. Everything I’ve tried is delicious and is served with attention to detail. It’s no wonder they are so popular!

Have gone here twice. Both times the food has been good. The seafood fondue is the best thing I’ve had here! The Sangrias are pretty good too. The fried seafood is decent. The red beans and rice are «ok». Good atmosphere. Overall good restaurant!

We stopped at this seafood restaurant on our way back to San Antonio from Austin based on the reviews here at Unilocal.We arrived late afternoon. The place was quiet except for a couple other tables.
We order the catch of the day which was the stuffed flounder and a half shrimp po boy sandwich. The fish came out perfectly cooked and hot. It was wrapped around some very delicious seafoodstuffing, sat on a bed of cooked spinach, and was drizzled with a crawfish at ettouffee. The dish came with a side of jambalaya which was also very tasty and loaded with andele sausage. All this for $ 9.99.
The half shrimp po boy came out hot and tasty as well. one of the better, but not the best, ones that I have had.
Atmosphere was nice and quiet. Service was prompt and attentive.
This place has mixed reviews. However, most of the negative reviews seem to stem from acute confusion over opening hours.

1^st off, I have to apoligize to my fellow Unilocalers for not believing their reviews. I mean, a 5 star restaurant in Spring Break? Give me a break.
Let me just say that this place is awesome!!! I can’t believe that it took me this long to try it.
I went with a coworker at lunch today. Walked in and were welcomed and seated immediately in really nice surroundings.
We were offered both the lunch specials and the full menu. I went with the «pick 2» option while my coworker went with the «pick 3». I ordered catfish and shrimp and she ordered soup, fish taco, and seafood enchilada. While our food was being prepared they brought out fresh bread and butter — SOLD!
In a short period of time, our orders were delivered exactly as we had ordered. Both of us were very happy, and my coworked already posted on her facebook account that she has a new favorite restaurant in San Antonio.
I’ve seen reviews where people have said it’s worth the drive from San Antonio. It difinitely is. This place is now on my regular rotation of places to eat.
Fellow Unilocalers, thanks for enticing me to try this place. Don’t forget the dessert:)