Texas Reds Steakhouse & Saloon

I am a little biased because I despise big chain restaurants, so I am always looking for good local restaurants. They usually have more character and Texas Red's doesn't disappoint. The steaks were good, but I really enjoyed the grilled salmon, although the option for cedar plank salmon would have been nice. Staff was ok, but the owners were pretty nice so that made up for it. I read some of the other reviews and they seem split, but one thing that surprised me was people complaining about the price. If they want a cheap steak go to Montana Mikes, if they want 5 star dining then go to Austin and pay for it. I think this is the best restaurant in San Marcos, true there is not much competition, but all in all it was good food and a good experience. Pros: not a chain restaurant, steaks good, fish surprisingly good Cons: hard to find more

If you like frozen foods heated and served up for $$$$, this place is for you. Terrible quality. Steaks are way undercooked. Ice tea is old. more

I live in Austin, but went down to San Marcos to take my brother out for a really nice meal. We happened on Texas Red's steakhouse, one of San Marcos' most expensive restaurants, and here's what happened. . . Pros: historic building, nice bar, honest and professional wait staff Cons: bad cost-benefit value, poor quality steak, inappropriate management more

No disrespect to the last review writer, but haha - no, Texas Red's is NOT the best steakhouse in the country. If you think otherwise, you really should travel more to other places; and no, it's NOT romantic. Any restaurant that has bowls of peanuts on each table and the shells shucked all over the floor is NOT romantic - but enough about what Texas Red isn't - here's what it is: It IS a very pleasant surprise in the small town of San Marcos. All I could see here at first was row after row of generic chain and franchise-owned restaurants. I got online and starting looking for ANYTHING that was original and unique. Texas Red stood out because it was a local favorite and I had never heard of it. We went and were a bit surprised when we arrived. Although a bit rusty and run down on the outside, inside the restaurant was furnished with warm decor. It was very inviting. The menu consists of several burgers and sandwiches, plenty of steaks, and a lot of premium seafood (i.e., lobster and shrimp). I ordered the 12oz. Roasted Prime Rib ($22) with a baked potato and a dinner salad. The salad and baked potato were nothing special, but were prepared well and tasted great. The prime rib was ordered medium rare but came a bit more rare than I would have liked. It was also incredibly fatty. I'd have to say at least 5oz of my prime rib was fat! But it WAS good - almost sweet. My wife ordered the char-grilled quail. ($18) Definitely something you have you try if you haven't had quail. Tender and moist, the quail was seasoned and cooked perfectly. The highlight of our meal though, was definitely the service. Our waitress was never hovering over us, but managed to always be attentive and refilled our drinks almost as soon as they became low. We were extremely impressed that this kind of service could exist in a restaurant this small. Definitely the place to eat when you're in San Marcos. more

And no one outside the US has good steak to even compete. I travel 190 miles every few weeks to San Marcos from Corpus Christi to enjoy my 18 oz medium rear T-bone, always cooked the way I like it. Almost 400 miles for a great steak in which I have never been dissatisfied. Of course you can not forget the tasty bread and fun peanuts that I force my wife to keep away from me so I do not over do it before I have my steak. And the girls always providing Texas style top quality service. Some times we make a weekend of it, sometimes just a day trip. Always worth the ride for the best steak dinner in the USA! Pros: Good prices, Never too crowded, Always Excelant more