Edit for second visit:
Thank you so much for listening about the ice!
They are now using ice that does not taste like chlorine. I very happily paid for the iced tea this time :)
The food was every bit as delicious as it was the first time. I am not normally a person who orders burgers in restaurants. That said, I ordered the mushroom swiss burger and it was absolutely delicious!
Raymond's is definitely a staple for us now. We will be back often.
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I've been meaning to try this new location for a while--it opened close to my house and seems to get a steady stream of business.
My mother and I went for lunch yesterday, and we were pleasantly surprised. The interior was very clean, though quite small. There were several outdoor tables available for anyone wanting to enjoy the beautiful spring weather in San Antonio.
Upon entering, we were warmly greeted by the staff, handed menus, and told to sit wherever we liked. There were approximately five tables in the main dining area, with another room offering four to six more. We chose a high-top two-seater by the window.
A friendly server came over quickly to take our drink order. She was knowledgeable and very nice. She returned promptly with our drinks and took our food order efficiently.
They were advertising fried and grilled chicken sandwiches on the door, so we went with those. My mother chose grilled; I went with fried. We both swapped in tater tots for the default side and decided to split an order of fried mushrooms.
I expected the usual bagged, frozen mushrooms--but we were shocked (in the best way) when we received thick slices of fresh mushrooms, deep-fried in hand-battered deliciousness. They were very well seasoned and definitely made in-house.
When our sandwiches arrived, we were equally impressed. My fried cutlet was huge, served on Texas toast with mayo, lettuce, and tomato (I declined the raw onion). It was hot, juicy, and fantastic.
My mother's sandwich was a marinated thigh, cooked to perfection--tender, moist (sorry!), and absolutely delicious.
The tater tots were smaller than your typical frozen variety--possibly house-made (I should have asked). They were perfectly crisp on the outside, tender and volcano-hot on the inside. My only suggestion: a touch more salt right out of the fryer, but that was easy enough to fix at the table.
A few suggestions:
#1 I love the idea of offering to-go cups for 50 cents. We try to avoid Styrofoam, and we really liked the little pitchers our tea came in. That said, $4 for iced tea--which costs pennies to brew--feels steep. The tea itself was good, but the ice gave it a noticeable chlorine flavor. I'd happily pay the $4 if you used filtered water for the ice.
#2 The front steps are very narrow and feel a bit hazardous--you have to almost contort yourself around a table to get down them. I'd recommend blocking those off and installing a railing on the porch instead. It's easy to imagine someone slipping or even hitting their head on the roof overhang. Removing the steps would also make the "Watch Your Head" sign unnecessary, and the ramp provides safe and sufficient access for everyone.
#3 Please consider adding more descriptive text for the ingredients on your specialty burgers. There's currently no explanation of what comes on each one, which means customers have to ask--and that can be frustrating for both diners and servers. A quick description under each burger would save everyone time and help customers make more confident choices
Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Raymond's and will definitely be back soon to try the burgers. read more