Our waiter was really fun- my 4 and 6 year old kids had a blast. I agree with some of the postings here that the food wasn't great and the furniture seems old (my chair was wobbly/broken). There was a bit of a musty smell. But we still enjoyed the fun experience. I was a bit confused about the signature booklets my children were given for waiter autographs. They received signatures happily from army man and Nacho Libre but they were sad when they asked the pirate over and over again to sign and he ignored them. read more

Drove 2 hours to experience this and it was the worst experience I have ever had. My family and I waited 25 minutes and we were not spoken to one time. No drink order , the only thing the waiter said to my step mom was for her to get off her phone. Which I know he was in character but how about at least taking our drink order first. He was giving the table next to us the best experience ever and that's what we wanted but we did not get that. I don't want to play the race card but them being white and us being brown it showed that we were not even on the radar for good service. And then we walk out and tell them to cancel our table because there was other people waiting and they didn't care to fix it. Don't recommend this place at all. Thank you for making my families experience on Xmas eve the worst one ever. read more

Nacho Libre is amazing. My girlfriend and I were visiting my parents and they took us here. It was a great experience. It is a extremely fun place for children and adults. I was having a ton of fun and when I finally started eating the food I was surprised that a place like that had good food too! I wouldn't say the food is amazing, but the experience of the place sure was. We ended up leaving and there was a guy painting caricatures. He calls his business Rowser's World. He ended up asking if he could draw me and I agreed. He said it was no charge. We still gave him a tip because the drawing was fantastic. I will definitely be coming back for more fun. read more

Absolutely horrible, I came here with my best friend and her mother as they are out of towners and wanted to take them somewhere unique. The booth we sat at was disgusting and hadn't been cleaned up. The waitress looked as if she had just smoked some meth on her lunch break. Yellow teeth, eyes hung low, airhead persona. Would not stop talking about how her vacation went and how much she wanted to get off work and go home. Would stick around our booth while we ate and made it super awkward. The food was gross and way overly priced. Pretty sure they just microwaved our plates. Couldn't understand anything our waitress was saying. If you're going to act a character, you need to look and act the part. Needless to say one of the superheroes had very noticeable nipple piercings through his clothes. I feel as though MTM was great back in the day and just deteriorated over the years. read more

I wish I would have listened to yelpers on this place. We took the kids here tonight and I was very disappointed. The menu was limited, food was bland and boring and salad bar wasn't very fresh. The total bill for two kids and two adults was almost $70 with tip....and soooo not worth it. The staff terribly attempts charactors from movies and/or cartoons. It's like the Disney Theme Park rejects- the ones that didn't make the cut. Shit they weren't even B squad material. Our server was an over-weight Dora the Explorer. She was pretty funny and kept the kids happy....she can take the two stars home. read more

Server made the night very memorable for us. ( Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland ) Even though we went just for sweets since the time prior we didn't care to much for the food. Which then leads me to point out the obj, you come for the entertainment not the food. The deserts were delicious though. Give the banana split a try! Also the captain Morgan, strong but good. Will keep making this a family destination each time we visit San Antonio! read more

I went to the Magic Time Machine a while ago with my then-boyfriend and his friends. It's cheesy as can be, with waitresses and waiters dressing as cartoon characters and movie characters that are mostly really kid friendly. It was kind of fun, until I realized that the waitress and my bf were flirting big time. At one point she put him in "time out" (they make you do all sorts of silly stuff like that, and announce when you go to the toilet), and he *said* they made him sit in a closet for those 10 minutes, but I've always wondered why he folded her (really generous, maybe $20) tip, origami style into a ring. I had the "salad car" only because there's nothing veggie on the menu, and they had rotten cucumbers. I didn't eat cucumbers for a year after that, it grossed me out so much. It'd be a fun place to go with kids, especially if you got one of the cartoony-acting waitresses. It's pricey for a restaurant aimed for kids. It's pricey for crappy food, but it's an interesting experience. They need an update to the ugly '70s decor and a better menu with more interesting options. The over-hyped fizzy and colorful drinks are not very good, and the alcoholic versions are overpriced. read more

This place is great any day of the week, from live shows on the weekend to beer pong on mondays, to rockband tournatments during the week!!

I was hesitant to take the family here, as I read many poor reviews, but was really pleasantly surprised at the quality of the experience, service, & food! 4 of us ordered the Roman Orgy, which came with a ton of delicious brisket, not-so-delicious chicken, corn on the cob, and a plethora of delicious fruits! I purchased a $50 certificate from restaurants.com for $5 with the promo code "BONUS". The only catch was that I had to spend $100 minimum and leave an 18% gratuity, but the service was great & I fed 6 people for under $90. BARGAIN! & an awesome experience if you've never been! read more

It's great place! The steak is amazing, the ONLY thing I kind of want to change is letting the guest have the option to pick their waiter or waitress character that they have available, with the price of the food we really didn't want to get Alice twice as we wanted to experience more characters...we even wouldn't mind waiting a little longer for someone we'd rather sit with read more

Harry Potter girl 's Very Rude !!!! 1St we came in the Potter girl tells guest bye they said nothing she made a face at them and sarcastic bye. Steak was great . 2nd visit HORRIBLE my wife called in for my dad and Baby Sister birthday Reservation for 4 she asked if we can please have a hut area they said just ask server when you come in ODD but okay. My father text me he got there earlier he was seated awesome. Potter Girl : I come in said had a Reservation 4/24/16 kim if we could have a hut , she said NEXT TIME ASK ON PHONE!!! I Said my wife asked 2x Yall told her ask server she looked at me like I was lieing then Reapeated her self ya well nxt time ask on phone , I should have walk out but my dad was seated . So she says oh I have to wait some one to seat you , okay fine . My baby sister and i waited about 10min-15min , server comes out seats nxt guest group . Potter girl goes away few min comes back takes me to my table ! Really ???? Waited for what she had already knew my party was there . We get to booth , cow one and it was sticky table and menu seats need good cleaning its filthy I was so disappointed and grossed out . Rude staff . The idea of this business is worth a Million $$$$$$$ , Bad Customer service can bring it crashing all down. read more

We were so excited to come here! The hostess had no personality at all and was so rude. So rude! Our 4 year old was having a birthday so out waitress, Snow White, had everyone sing to her and at the end she shoved a whip cream cookie in her face. It was so inappropriate. Our daughter of course started crying. Snow White just shoved dessert in her face! She walked away.. Not even an apology. Her heart was broken!! It was not a good experience at all. Food wasn't even good. So mad at Snow White ! read more

This is so sad. I called and all I got was a rude person on the line very sarcastic. Didn't even offer reservations. She actually told me"like I said"..twice when I asked how busy it was on a particular day and if we could choose a character. She giggle and agh..and said "it can be slow it can be busy so I don't know what it will be like so you know" ... I asked to speak to someone else that could help me and her response was "they're gonna basically just tell what I just did", oh and when she answered the phone she was playing around with someone in the back ground telling them to "stop it" laughing then said magic time machine.... I didn't feel comfortable to ask anymore questions.. I wanted to speak to someone else to see if I would get the same treatment and to see if they would bother providing customer service skills. I hope that the customer service level is not the same in the restaurant as it was on the phone. ( although she didn't give me her name) she sounded very young. This was so disappointing.. We decided that we will celebrate my sons bday somewhere else. read more

My favorite place as a kid, the Magic time Machine is still a great part of the San Antonio landscape. warning: If you're not looking to have extreme, sometimes inappropriate, fun then don't go here. This is a place for good times, laughs, and even a mess. The wait staff is friendly, though flamboyant and the food is tasty. Bring a group and order the Roman Orgy... and warn all the introverts before you get there... read more

How is this place still open? Ate here for a birthday party for my friend daughter. Obnoxious screaming waitress "Barbie". Ridiculous prices for the most disgusting food I may have ever eaten in my life! The salad bar? Are you kidding me? How do you screw up salad? Depressing is all I can say. It was like a white-trash restaurant for carnies who couldn't make it as actors at Disney World. And it seemed like their families were the ones dining there. Oh the ribs are NOT babybacks, btw, Barbie! I know you told me they were, but no not even close! No they were cheap fatty pork ribs for $23 a plate! Fries were literally cold. But wait? I ordered a baked potato! No one seemed to enjoy their food. It was more like they endured this place is dark, dingy and depressing place to make the kids feel happy about the experience. The "fun" character antics were not worth the miserable food, DISGUSTING BEYOND DESCRIPTION RESTROOM, and the ridiculously overpriced food. If you go here...well...DON'T! But if you do you may want to bring some Pepto, a Xanax and loads of anti-bacterial wipes. Don't say you weren't warned. read more

UGH. Spare me. I have been here twice and it was not by choice. It's complete chaos here regardless of your age, but I wouldn't go unless you like seeing people dress up as actors/actresses/cartoons and being completely overly enthusiastic about god knows what. I really do try to keep an open mind and experience new things but on the real, this is not my scene. It has a "psychadelic" decor, rowdy in a kids way atmosphere, and their food is pure shit. They hardly have anything to choose from, and then when you finally find something, it's not that great. The wait is ridiculous, even if you do make reservations. And for what? Our waitress was Raggedy Ann and god was she a ditz. She couldn't remember a single thing we were telling her. It's so loud in here that you can't even think straight, and it sends you into a borderline psychotic meltdown. The only good thing I had here was the bubbling magic potion drink- adult version. The only thing good about it was that it smoked and fizzled. Other than that, I may as well have been drinking the kids version. No alcohol at all. UGH. People say this place is good for kids? It is, but when I have children, no way in hell am I bringing them here. 1 star- and no mercy for this place. read more

I am a fan for the novelty value. Great place for kids / pre teens. Expect to be entertained at a sophomoric level. This is simply a fun restaurant for the kids; in fact they will never forget it. The staff will work hard and deliver an entertaining performance around the diner quality food. I always have MTM a top the list for places to entertain guest with kids. read more

I had my doubts about this place after reading various reviews. I had read it was over priced and the food was awful. This was NOT the case at all. I took my daughter and 7 of her friends here for her 16th birthday and it was awesome! We had Ace Ventura as a waiter and Capt Jack Sparrow would come over from time to time! There was also a fellow with a monkey that would sneak up on us and scare the crazy out of us! It was a lot of fun and the food was really good and decently priced. All the kids got wither Chicken parmigiana or the Chicken Alfredo and the plates are around 12.00 each I think they all came with the salad car which was very fresh and so good! The place was clean and fun, a very nice unforgettable birthday that will not be fogotten! read more

This place was awesome! My husband and I went with some friends and their kids. The kids loved it. We had Ace Ventura as our waiter, and he was spot on! The food was average. Some people claim it's terrible and inedible, but I would disagree. It's not the most amazing food but it wasn't bad either. I will say, you will spend a lot of money here if you aren't careful. Me and my husband each got an entree and a drink and ended up spending close to $100. My friends spent about $160 for them and 3 kids. I will for sure be back to this place. I plan on taking friends and family here when they visit! read more

If Disney and David Lynch got together and said "Hey, if we opened up a restaurant in Texas..." I used to go to this place as a wee one, the food was lousy then, too. Profoundly so, even then with my barely advanced pallette. A caveat, don't ask any staff where the bathroom is, unless you like public humiliation. (It's in the back. Keep looking, you'll find it.) Although I do want to avoid slamming the staff in this review. The mileu can have an ironic appeal as an adult, and I always recall a fair amount of hustle on the waitstafffs' part, and the "costumed fail" has it's charm. If you like clowns because they are terrifying, you will probably get a kick out of this place. (alcohol helps) I'm sure I will return. It's far too absurd to ignore. It gets an extra star because of that If only the owner would outsource his/her pallette, let *that* person find a decent and talented kitchen staff, and let them do their thing. That will be the difference between eveolving into a landmark versus remaining a mere novelty. read more

Fun and must-do for families with kids! There is no place like it! They really love to use dry ice for fun dining effects. The kids love it. The wait staff stay in character and provide great entertainment throughout the experience. The atmosphere is wonderfully enticing. The food is way over priced and the quality is terrible, but you're paying for the experience and it's worth it if you have children. In fact, the food, in particular the sea food alfredo, was so bad that I was only able to take 2 bites. That's a pricey $17 for 2 little bites. The others at my table felt the same about their food. No one even wanted a box to take it home. But the experience makes the trip so worth it. And the salad "car" was filling enough to replace the meal I couldn't eat. Like the other user said, the concept of the restaurant (the menu, the maze of a restaurant, the experience) is a little confusing, but I do think it's worth it and I would recommend you visit. read more

This is such a fun and unique experience for families! I have a brother that is 8 and I went with him and my family and we all absolutely adored it! The waiters are famous characters from movies! It was amazing, they also have a "magic potion" drink which was super cool and free ballon animals! Food was fairly good but the bread and special butter was amazing! Highly recommend! read more

Would definitely come back if I'm ever in town. This was close to where I was staying. The name caught my attention so I had to check it out. The outside looks iffy but the inside is a fun house. Tried the Parmesan chicken, it was better than Olive Garden (but then again not an Olive Garden fan). Prices are pretty good. I had Thor and Buddy. Buddy was so funny but a little forgetful but Thor was on top bringing everything we needed. We had fun. read more

In a nutshell.....My kids will NEVER forget this place, for all the right reasons. It's a BLAST. Don't expect the food to be very good, or the drinks for that matter. The business end of the restaurant is pretty lame. But the young people that work there work their butts off and are completely charming both to kids and parents. And the interior is CRAZY. Probably unchanged since 1973, but boy did they do it up then. And parents, be sure to check out the bar/disco. I don't think I've seen a '70's disco that's as 100% timewarped authentic as this one is. In a way this place embodies one of San Antonio's greatest charms--its wonderful cluelessness. Hard to explain, but I wish Austin had some of that these days. We lost it long ago. Summary: we go to SA about once every few months and if the kids are with us, we know where we're eating that nite. read more

This place is the bee's knees! My husband and I were in town for a day and had no idea what to expect from this place. We found a brochure in the lobby of our hotel and it was just cryptic enough to catch our interest. It's located right off I-410 so it's easy to get to and parking was ample. Once we got inside it became very clear that someone decided back in the early 70's to take a little bit of money, a boatload of acid, and run with an amazing idea for a steak house. King Julian was our server and he was fantastic. He handled 6 tables full of families like a pro. On our field trip to the salad CAR (a brilliant functional, sculptural pun worthy of entry into the canon of Dadaist artwork), King Julian danced with a group of ladies and shook his tail at the tables we passed. We never had to wait for anything and he even took the time to chat with us because we love lemurs. I got the bacon-wrapped grilled shrimp, bacon-wrapped steak with broccoli on the side. The shrimp was HEAVENLY. I had to bite my tongue so as to not let out a passionate whimper of delight. The steak was also cooked to perfection. Even the broccoli was bright green, still slightly crunchy and seasoned with a pinch of Parmesan. All around the meal was divine and having it served to us by the king of the lemurs just made it a perfect experience. If you are in San Antonio and you want to eat the best tasting bacon-wrapped shrimp a lemur will ever serve you, you could do worse than MAGIC TIME MACHINE!!!!! Thank you MTM read more

We brought our two year old son here for spring break. We had a blast!!! The little things they did to entertain him were so much fun! I had the ribeye steak and it was absolutely delicious!! My husband had the catfish and said it was really good. The atmosphere was relaxing and funny! We will definitely be back! My sons favorite part had to be meeting all the characters, the bubble machine, and the fog water/bubbling soap! I'd recommend this place to anyone with or without kids! read more

Food is mediocre. Idea is cool. Good place for children and maybe a 4th or 5th date. Waiters are all friendly and engaging. They don't take reservations on the weekends unless your party has more than 8. I had the chicken parmigiana it was honestly not so great. However the experience was pretty cool. read more

We were here tonight. Our first time since we live in Utah. Very friendly staff, very theatrical. The food was good, but a little spendy. Just the four of us, with two kids meals was $75 dollars!! Kind of expensive if you ask me. The decor is really dated by decades. Dirty chairs, walls, floors and I wouldn't want to see the kitchen. I suppose it's a fun place to bring the kids, but only once a yr if we lived in the area! I say it's a restaurant where anything goes...I would of given a 4 star, but the place was over priced and kind of dirty!! read more

The Magic Time Machine is a fun filled extravaganza. Lots of atmosphere. Crazy characters. Love love looooove Capt Jack Sparrow, Dr Evil & Ace Ventura. Food could be alot better. Its been better.(note to mgmt pay attention...you could do ALOT better. You're getting lazy. Step up your game! !! Your goal for the next three months should be to improve this restaurant. Shake up staff in the kitchen. Hire some new people. The food prep should be better than it is right now. Someone isn't doing their job pal. Quality control! Pay.attention to details bc this is affecting YOUR reputation. Comprende??? In the end...the patrons will be happier, the wait staff will be happier getting higher & better tips from customers, the kitchen will be run better, you will have a better restaurant overall. Its a win-win. This SHOULD be a top rated restaurant. It once was a top rated restaurant...it could be again with a little work) Still....its worth coming here for a night of entertainment. read more

It has not changed to much from 1987. My children had a wonderful time and the kids dry ice drinks were awesome.

This is one fun restaurant.. great family environment and good management.. Major Payne is one of the best

Every time we are in San Antonio we must stop in. It is my children's favorite all time restaurant- even my 16 year old.! The food is good but the unique ambiance and interaction with the characters makes it magical. I also get to enjoy my meal in peace while kids run around collecting autographs from all the characters. They also have face painting. My kids want to come again tomorrow! Than the creators of this place!!! read more

My mom took me here when I was 7 years old. I don't remember what I ordered but when the food came I didn't want to eat it. I guess the atmosphere is fun if you're not a shy child (like I was). I remember walking out of the bathroom with my mom and getting "she didn't wash her hands" yelled at us. If I'm ever in San Antonio again maybe I'll go back but not unless I have a few people with me. Two stars for the costumes. read more

This place is always a good time! It's really fun to bring your "stick in the mud" friends and watch how uncomfortable they get. Lots of laughs, food is good, always have at least one drink to loosen up and be a silly human being read more

It's great to bring the kids but that's all you're gonna get at this place. As soon as I walked in I knew it was not going to be good because of how dirty the place is. The food is way overpriced. The kids food was horrible. I got two cheese pizzas with fries for my kids and the pizza was not cooked all the way, and the fries were so soggy my kids wouldn't even eat them. The "salad car" was unkept and extremely dirty without a good selection. The food took forever to come and was not worth the price. I will not go back to this place. I could have spent $25 bucks and my kids could have eaten like kings at chic fil-a. Instead I spent $90 for nothing. read more

We went because we'd heard it was a fun experience. I ordered an "ugly" bubble potion to drink. Loved it. Our appetizer was the southwestern eggrolls. They were delicious. Hubby had the New York strip with shrimp. He said the shrimp were perfect and the steak was really good. I had pasta primavera with Alfredo sauce. Sauce was perfect and noodles were great. The entrees seem expensive, but they load you down with food. Every entree has bread and unlimited salad bar. Lastly, we had a strawberry shortcake that we shared. It was huge! Definitely the best strawberry shortcake I've had in a restaurant..ever. Our waitress was Wednesday Addams. Since we love the Addams Family, it was awesome...and she did great in her role. So much fun! We will return. read more

I had Sargent as my waiter today, and he stayed in character the whole time and was very charming, I think me and my son both learned a lot from him today, luckily he didn't make me do push-ups although maybe he should of made me. Anywho he was great, food was very good as well but there should be a little more variety to choose from in the whole food menu. Me and my son got lost in the maze of different seating areas, it was super interesting nd he loved observing every bit of it. I hated the elf, he was funny at times but loud, I don't enjoy loud niether did my son,I don't think allot of people do.Oh and there could be more familiar characters too , I'm excited to go back and see my waiter in a diff costume, I know my son would love bat man. The stars are mostly for my waiter!!! read more

My husband and I went to the Magic Time Machine for a friend's birthday celebration. The place has lost much of its luster and excitement since 1973. This once 70's entertainment destination is now a tired relic. Tradition aside, a good cleaning is in order. The salad bar is bizarre. Lettuce, cheese, tomatoes and onions are the only selections. Remnants of croutons in a bowl alongside messy salad dressings, one of which looks like watery white stuff, are your selection. The soup was OK. The entree we ordered and split was 3 X 4, three items heaped on mashed potatoes. The steak was all right, the shrimp was rubbery and wrapped in under cooked bacon, and the chicken breast was the proverbial hockey puck, tough and tasteless. I could never identify the character of our 'entertainer/waiter.' He graced the celebrant with a special birthday dance of strange gymnastic movements which should have never been allowed in such a constricted area. He flung his legs (and I mean full force into the air) and writhed, almost hitting me in the face with his foot, which I'm sure would have given me a broken nose. Sing, tell jokes, but don't flail your bod wildly around in the proximity of guests. Many of the decorations were the stuff of any Dollar Store. The place was empty by 9:30 on a Saturday night. I would NEVER go back. read more

Kid friendly environment but...the place was dirty, like sticky and gross. the waitstaff's costumes were shabby and they didn't stay in character. The food was terrible my kids didn't even eat the pizza and the salad bar was a joke. It was REALLLY hot in there which we were not warned about or apologized to for. also, it looked like there was water leaking down from the ceiling.dont recommend at all. Instead try the rainforest cafe downtown by the riverwalk it's nice in there not shabby and gross. read more

My family had so much fun here last weekend. Decided on this restaurant on a whim and really glad we did. Our server was great and my son really enjoyed joking around with him. He was also happy to see some of his favorite movie ant tv characters. Our food was pretty good as well. Yes, a little pricey but not terrible and we were also paying for the entertainment. Also, all four of our plates were hot unlike some other reviewers stated. To me the restaurant seemed more cluttered than "filthy", but the clutter for lack of a better word was supposed to add to the uniqueness of the place. Overall, we had a great experience and would love to come back on a future trip to San Antonio. read more