Staff not friendly to new paying customers. Drinks and shots are not made very good. I will not return.

My favorite local bar. I've been to multiple bars in the area and have left disappointed so many times. I love JW Bracken. Tina is a fantastic bartender and you can tell she has some fans. They do not really serve food here. The popcorn is salty and delicious as hell. They do have Schwann's Pizza you can buy. I've had food delivered here and that's totally okay with them. If you love Karaoke, come here on a Friday Night. We had a blast! Everyone outside was signing and cheered for each other. This place is definitely a hidden gem. read more

JW S Bracken Saloon - Bars Near Me - San Antonio, Texas

We Go several times a month for free poker and great ice cold beer ! Bartenders are always friendly and prices are right at average for the area , maybe even a little cheaper ! read more

Hell yeah! Let's start out with the fantastic service you'll receive from the peeps at this bar...absolutely phenomenal service all the time! The decor here is legit kick ass old school bar theme (they're after my heart.) Bartenders Erin and Jessica round out any imperfections in this little gem and make the stop even MO betta than it would have been possible. You'll hear a great variety of music from all genres, so something for everyone! Great little place nested in to the Bracken/Garden Ridge area! Please stop by and show them some love! read more

Love Bracken Creekside. Playing poker today. Yeah! Good times every time at this place!

Now I just love as soon as you walk in this place you get hit with the American pride of being an American. The decor of this place let's you know that they love and support the Armed Services. Being a veteran myself I just love the Patriotic Pride of this place. Nice little place to go and enjoy some cold adult beverages and a live band. Being small let's you experience live music up close. This place is also very well kept, nice and clean which is a plus. What I did find a bit of awkward is that there is a tattoo shop located in the back of the building. Don't know if this is a plus or not but I guess it depends on how people see it. All in all a nice place to visit if you ever in the area. read more

See all

Country Dive Bar? Yup. Who knew. Went on a Sunday evening during and there were about 10 people there, including the bartenders. Standard selection of beer. The most exotic beer they had was Krombacher. Nice patio area outside that I'm assuming would be great during spring through fall. Smoking allowed inside-yeah, I thought the same thing ("they still have those around??"). If you're in the vicinity and thirsty, not a bad place to stop for a cold one. read more

See all

This review is for other bands that might be thinking about playing at this venue. Directions: Finding this venue is quite easy. Get on Loop 1604 going toward the east side of town. Take the Nacogdoches exit. Turn onto Nacogdoches headed outside the loop. Pass Evans Drive and Bracken Drive. JW's will be on your right. Stage: This venue has two stages, one indoor and one outdoor. You have your choice of which stage to use. The indoor stage is very small and built into a niche in the wall facing the front door. As a trio, we were able to fit on it, but we had to make some adjustments in our usual physical layout to fit the small space. We had to put the PA stacks on the floor but were able to fit all the monitors on the stage. If you set up on this stage, you might want to allow extra time for setup when planning your arrival time since access to all parts of the stage is restricted by your band-mates setting up their gear. The outdoor stage is in a fenced-in area in the front of the club. It's an irregular shape, but is much larger than the indoor stage. Load-In: Load-in is about average. If you're playing on the indoor stage, you will load in through the front door. It's just a short distance from the door to the stage. The outdoor stage is even closer. If you're lucky, there will be a parking space available in front of the entrance door in which case you'll just have a short transport distance. If you have a trailer, you'll probably have to move it after you unload. There's plenty of parking for a tandem rig on the parking lot. Lighting: I don't remember the venue having any stage lighting. You'll need to bring your own. Sound system: I saw what looked like some sort of very small mixing board mounted on the wall at stage right. There are what look like stereo speakers mounted above the stage, so they might have sufficient gear for a single or duo act. If you're a full band, you'll need your own PA. We noticed no special acoustical issues. Layout: This is a small venue but they've wisely placed the bar to the right of the stage. That way, you're not blasting the bar all night and interfering with their ability to take orders. The room is just a simple rectangle. Note: what appears to be a door in the back wall of the bandstand is just decoration. Volume: We were able to bring our volume up to what we considered a comfortable level for a classic hard rock band with no issues. Comfort: We were there in the fall with outside temperatures dipping into the 50's by midnight. The room temperature was quite comfortable. We did have our little squirrel cage fans running the entire time. Miscellaneous: We broadcasted this gig via Facebook Live and had no trouble maintaining an Internet connection during the broadcast. By the way, I believe JW is the venue's leporine mascot, a rabbit named Jack Wabbit. Parking: the parking lot is just dirt and gravel, however, there is plenty of space. You can park a truck and trailer rig with no problem. Venue Management: Pleasant, helpful and very easy to work with. Our compliments to the staff. Overall: A very pleasant gig. The crowd was enthusiastic and very communicative. We enjoyed ourselves and look forward to another gig at JW's. read more

See all

I can't say more about how well we have been treated in this establishment, from The bartenders to the owners! Well done FIVE STARS IS NOT ENOUGH!!! Thank you for all you do again...! Well done! I will keep coming back for multiple reasons the environment to the music the food not to mention the cold drinks! Hats off! Thank you. read more

Love this place! My husband and I have been coming here for years! The bartenders are always friendly and welcoming. We especially love the bars hospitality in hosting our pool league nights! Love that they have the AMI music system. Allows us to be our own DJ! We highly recommend this bar for any night of the week! read more

First bar I got to stop in after getting to town and got welcomed with amazing service and an ice cold beer! Rad environment too. Highly recommended!!! read more

My name is Jason and before I post this review, I need to make something extremely clear. I dont do reviews. Too subjective. But I am today. And it's because if the customer service and a smile beamed from a stunning, very unique, intriguing bartender I've ever met. She made my day in less than 30 seconds. I sound like an obsessed weirdo. Point is, Erin, you are something special. And you turned my day around with a simple, warm, beautiful smile. I needed that. I would like to propose creating a pool team in one of our local leagues. I will be happy to head that up. Just a suggestion. Everyone was so friendly. Art and Kristen...great people. Art...you are a lucky man. And you know it. . Anyway, it's a great place. Matter of fact, its Thursday night at 9 :10. I'm rolling up there. I look forward to a long relationship with the patrons there. read more

My favorite local watering hole chrap cold drinks in a relaxed atmosphere ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh read more

JW S Bracken Saloon - Bars Near Me - San Antonio, Texas

Bracken Saloon is now under new ownership, and the place is a fantastic hangout. I've heard a lot of bad history of the place, but the new owners seem to be turning that all around! read more

Day drinkin' and date night all rolled into one. Then we found out there is a new owner! Winner, winner.

This is one of my favorite local bars in the area, usually here at least once or twice a week. Bartenders are awesome, lots of great drink specials, and live music and food truck events are scheduled most weeks. Come on out! read more

We had a great time until the 20 year old 'owner' (aka the kid waiting for an inheritance) called the previous customers 'bitches.' When I asked the owner about it he lied and then blocked me. There are too many bars within 5 miles that are better.. go to Luckys or Hanging Tree. Don't waste your money at this bar. read more

Erin was our bartender. She was warm and inviting, she had great conversation, and she was quick with her serving. I would absolutely visit this place again to see Erin! read more

JW Bracken is amazing. there is no other way I can put it. my family recently hosted a baby shower for me and this was the perfect place for it. We had 49 guests, food, decorations and it was seriously one of the best days of my life. JW Bracken had an area for the kiddos to hang out so it made th affair completely family friendly. the outdoor area was a perfect place for the shower, and then we had the indoor area for others to enjoy watching tv and just relaxing. thank you so much katie for allowing my family to have our celebration at your establishment. I promise this will not be the last time we host a party here or just drop on for a few drinks and a good time. read more

JW S Bracken Saloon - Bars Near Me - San Antonio, Texas

See all

Great little bar, good bar staff... owner has an attitude and thinks customers are easy come/easy go. She's right about the 2nd part. Thumbs down. If I want that kind of attitude I'll watch judge Judy....at another bar. read more

Awesome bar owned by a great veteran!! Always good cold drinks and good times!! Stop in and enjoy this great bar!!!

Used to go there until the owner left a rude message/remark on FB. During this coronavirus she still had OPEN on FB and bands with dates. I simply asked if they were OPEN like it says on FB. She proceeded to blast me that I should know better considering the news,etc. My point was, EDIT your FB to show you are closed and show the bands have been cancelled. Instead the owner pointed fingers at me instead of taking any responsibility for her FB showing she was OPEN,etc. All she had to do was apologize or thank me for letting her know but instead she was so rude. Obviously places are closed, that is not the point. The point is, EDIT your FB and show you are closed accordingly, etc. She has now fixed her FB page in the mean time. read more

Went there for the first time last night. I met Friends that live in that area. 6 of us total The bar tender was very rude and unfriendly! Then tried to charged a $2 convenience fee for using my debit card. What's that? so I paid cash Then about 15 minutes later she told us she was not serving us any more. We ordered one drink! I was drinking water. One person in our group was dancing the rest of us sitting around a table. It was a Saturday night and there was a total of 4 people there before we got there. Now I know why! read more

Cool bar, good beer, what else could you ask for. And trivia on Wednesday. Beer is ice cold.

Great feel, like your out of the city and in the wild. Ranch/Country atmosphere with a twist of modern facilities. This place is pretty darn cool. My wife and I started attending this join regularly we like it so much. Great Place for a drink or 10 Cheers! read more

Great drinks and friendly staff. Fun trivia night on Wednesdays. Cool, laid back atmosphere

The Bracken Saloon is a great place. It's exactly what I'd want in a Texas bar. Animal heads on the wall, great drink specials, karaoke every Wednesday and Sunday by the wonderful Tony and Linda! They have pool tables, too...and tvs over the bar...and great bartenders and servers. There's a patio out back, although I haven't been out there, YET. It's likely we'll be going back often, though, so look for me! I won't be singing...I leave that up to my boyfriend. While I'm on the subject of the singing...this particular group of karaoke singers is worth just going to listen to. It's not even a LITTLE painful like so many others I've gone to. Go by and check the place out...you'll have a good time! (Also, since it is in the town of Bracken, and not in San Antonio proper, they do allow smoking in the bar.) read more

went out last month and saw a band called half past one and they were very good, several people were on the floor dancing, then I came out last Saturday ,they had a different guitar player that was half as good as their old guitar player and didn't sing as well either..... I hope the club didn't have to pay them!!! read more

I recently watch a Cowboys game at JW's with friends. I loved the friendly staff and patrons at this bar. The best feature was the playground area in the back that allowed kids to play and parents to drink. Drinks were affordable and the wings were awesome! read more

Came in for a drink around five o'clock, happy hour is 50cents off on most drinks. Ordered a Deep Eddy and soda and sat outside, cute covered patio and outdoor area with fire pits. The drink is usually a light pink color from the vodka, however mine was not and also tasted like mostly soda and lime. I finished and asked for another, however asked for a little stronger of a pour this time since I couldn't taste any liquor in my first drink - the bartender informed me that here they only pour one ounce drinks and use a measuring cup on top of that. So although a cute bar, can't say I'm happy paying a full price for a one ounce cocktail - typical pour is at least 1.5 ounce and even chain restaurants pour two. read more

Went here last night for my first time for a comedy open mic night. Have to say, this was a really nice place, real kept and clean, very comfy and I'll go back. I wouldn't make a special trip just to hang out, but if I lived nearby, I would frequent this place. Bartenders were very nice and efficient, I didn't drink, so not sure about their drink specials. They had enough TV's to watch sports, had a pool table and some video slot games and of course, a small stage. read more

I have performed there and the service that we received was outstanding. It is a moderate size facility and offers great drink specials as well as good conversations set in a small town setting. read more

We hosted a wedding event at JW over the weekend and it was just awesome. We all had an absolute blast and the service was amazing. Everyone was so attentive, kind and cheerful. Heavenly Q was there with great BBQ, the drinks were awesome and we had so much fun with the karaoke and dancing. The event was a huge success in large part due to the great service we received. Many thanks read more

great staff, reasonable prices, and huge screen TV. Great atmosphere