Consumer Review of the Buckhorn Saloon, San Antonio Texas

The Buckhorn saloon is located nearby the Alamo, inside a historic building. This unbiased review will provide a first-time visitor's opinion of the property, including attributes, cleanliness, friendliness of staff, and other factors.

Here is a link to the official Buckhorn saloon website:

The Buckhorn saloon has been open for business since 1881. According to local legend, trappers in the area used to bring in an unusual game and other wildlife, slapping them down on top of the bar and saying, "hey barkeep, what can you give me for this?"

Depending on the type and size of animal, the hunter may receive a large amount of whiskey or one beer. In some cases, his entire hunting party, friends, family, and acquaintances received drinks on the house. Thanks to these gifts, as you can imagine, the Buckhorn saloon's reputation grew like wildfire. Soon people traveled from miles around to see the bar that hands out free beer for dead animals.

To this day, the Buckhorn saloon continues to honor this reputation. Visitors will be able to get free whiskey, beer, and even mixed drinks in the same bartering tradition.

Because so many animals have been brought to the Buckhorn saloon, a virtual wildlife museum has been erected on the walls and surrounding the bar. Along with this museum visitors will find that there is a Texas Rangers museum, unusual wildlife museum, and other attractions which have been added in recent years.

I have created a short slideshow of some of these animals, the inside of the Buckhorn saloon, and a picture of the gift shop. You can see these pictures by following this link:

One thing is for certain: this is the only bar where children would be welcome! The only distinctive off-limits area is right at the bar itself. Everywhere else is fair game.

When my husband and I entered the bar we were highly impressed with the large variety of wild game and exotic animals were. All of the walls were covered with trophy heads, primarily of the deer and antelope variety. We inquired about the price of entering the museums and found that $17.50 was a bit too pricey for our budget. The sales clerk was friendly, however, and mentioned that we might want to check online for some coupons and come back later.

We walked over to the small snack bar area, where visitors can enjoy sandwiches, soda, chips, and a few other items. We did not purchase anything ourselves, but we did observe two transactions with other customers. We saw that the food was fresh, the service was friendly, and every place was very clean.

Ample seating was found throughout the Buckhorn saloon. With chairs in the main bar area as well as in the café, visitors found that they could rest their weary legs for as long as they desired.

I took the time to speak to one of the workers to inquire about the dead animal bartering tradition. The young woman told me, with a smile, that I could bring in any hunted animal that had unusual qualities and get something for free. We joked about strange looking frogs in sewer lagoons and past attempts to trick the bar owners by using spliced together animal parts.

The gift shop inside the Buckhorn saloon is quite large, and has many unique items as well as traditional Texas souvenirs. I was impressed by the prices as well, which were more than reasonable.

While we did not belly up to the bar during our stay, we are certain that the customer service in that venue would be just as friendly and courteous as all other areas. We were encouraged to take as many pictures as we wanted. Some of the staff even mention to us where we should stand for the best photo ops.

Here is a short video of the saloon, taken from the vantage point of the front doors:

Overall we were highly impressed with the Buckhorn saloon. If we had more time to stay in the San Antonio area, we would definitely return. I for one would like to enjoy a cold margarita sitting at the historic bar, reminiscing about how many other people have been sitting right where I am.

Source:

Our vacation to San Antonio and the experiences there.

Source of information about the Buckhorn Saloon:

http://www.buckhornmuseum.com/
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/9181
http://www.visitsanantonio.com/visitors/play/attraction-details/index.aspx?id=2007http://www.associatedcontent.com/video/670968/view_of_the_historic_buckhorn_saloon.html?cat=37http://www.associatedcontent.com/slideshow/49436/pictures_of_the_buckhorn_saloon_san.htmlhttp://www.buckhornmuseum.com/

The Buckhorn saloon is one of many attractions near the downtown / Riverwalk area of San Antonio. It is known for it's historic values, especially in their offer to provide free beer in exchange for unique hunting trophies or roadkill.

During Spring break 2010, my husband and I traveled to San Antonio Texas. During our visit we stopped at the Buckhorn saloon, which is one of many touristy attractions near the downtown and Riverwalk area of the city. The Buckhorn saloon is especially known for its historic value and continued presence in the San Antonio area.