by lorena l.
My boyfriend and I decided on the Cool Cafe because we paid $10 to park near the Municipal Auditorium for a concert and it was the only place (as far as we could tell) that was within walking distance, and we only had an hour before the show started. The patio area was pretty cool, they enclosed a portion of the sidewalk by the river in glass so it was nice to kinda feel like you're outside without having to suffer the heat. We took a long while to decide as the menu was fairly extensive and the waitress was nice about giving us enough time. Finally we decided on the Shrimp appetizer, $5.95 and ordered Warsteiner, a German beer neither of us had tried which turned out to be very good. The shrimp came out pretty fast, 5 kinda smallish shrimp covered in butter and saffron. The were so disappointing! They had no flavor whatsoever, they tasted like shrimp and nothing else and they were dripping in oil (I seriously don't think it was butter). I was kind of afraid to order after that but when the waitress came back we went ahead and ordered the Hot Appetizer plate, $29.95, which included the shrimp. Again, it didn't take that long for the plate to come out, but then again it is just appetizers. The 3 falafel on the plate were pretty gross, no crunch at all, they tasted kind of old and had a weird grainy texture. The badjeman, charred eggplant with the skin on covered in mint sauce, was okay because while the eggplant on its own was pretty good, the mint sauce lacked a grain of salt. You may not eat as much salt as I do but you still DO need a wee bit in food to bring out the flavor! The dolma was really mushy and the pita was terrible, it tasted store-bought and more like bread than pita. The best things on the plate were the potaj, which tasted like saltless red skin potatoes in an unidentifiable cream sauce with tasty fried bacon, the mierza-ghasmi, and the garlic bread. Pretty sad for a so-called "Mediterranean" restaurant. Once we got our food, the waitress never came back. When she finally brought us the check, she walked right past it standing on the table with the credit card sticking out so we had to wait for her to come back again, just to watch her almost walk past it a second time, had my boyfriend not stopped her. I did not try the hookahs or the crepes and I probably never will because the food was so awful and expensive for what it was and the service turned to crap in the end. Never again!!
by Dave H.
They should rename themselves the "Hotter Than Havana" restuarant. The aclaimed seating area in the back patio may be fine for the winter, but not during our early start to summer in San Antonio. I recently went there for a luncheon and the temperature was a balmy 88 degrees on the semi-enclosed patio. To make matters worse, there are no fans to stir the slightest breeze. The food was okay, but not reasonably priced as advertised on their web site. I had a gyro pita with salad that cost $11. The "salad" was half a cup of romaine let accompanied by a thible of dressing. You get more lettuce on a couple tacos at Taco Cabana. Service was fair, but not attentive.
by Adhana T.
Unike Dave, I went to Cool Cafe in the early evening of a hot (100+) San Antonio day. The temp inside was fine. The sun was just behind the trees and after I was captivated by the gorgeous enclosed glass veranda with wrought iron chandeliers. I sat near the glass and watched the riverboats go by. The ambience was peaceful and aesthetically enchanting. The food selection was varied -- I'm coming to the conclusion that most non-Mexican ethnic restaurants have to cater to everyone to survive in SA. Cool had everything from buttermilk pancakes for breakfast to lamb omelets. Overall, it had a good taste of mediterranean cuisine options with standards like hummus and dolmas. Additionally, I couldn't throw a stick in the restaurant without hitting a kalamata olive, tomato, cucumber or red onion. I had the firenze salad topped with four grilled prawns. The prawns were super succulent. I suggest a double order of prawns on the salad -- they're just that good. The hummus was tasty, but a little small for $5. The portions were not typical Texas overwhelming. More like eating out in any other part of the country. The waitstaff were very polite and responsive. The restaurant gave off a family-run nice restaurant vibe, but the prices were just right. This Wednesday, they're running a special for a three course meal with two glasses of house wine for $25. Good eats. Good service. Good deals. Beautiful space. They get my vote.
