Old Pal is pure perfection and of course it is as it comes from the owners of Nickel City…read more(beloved). Centrally located in downtown Lockhart, the vibe here is on! Craft cocktails: A+ Food: A+ Live Music: A+ Decor: A+ Ambiance: A+ Service: A+ Basically, I'm in love.

Our first stop for a drink and a quick bite on our little mini staycation. Is it a dive bar? Yes!…read moreFriendly staff and locals. Does it have high end drink options? Also yes!! Does it have a simple yet elevated menu? ALSO YES! First I was like alright dive bar. Then you realize it is an upscale dive bar in a sort. Drinks come out of a cooler filled with ice OR are perfectly crafted in front of you. We started by sharing the recommendation of the DEVILED EGGS (5 pc) with the Korean Chili Crisp. Was a curious as it seems like a dive bar?You betcha. Was it maybe the best deviled eggs I've ever had. Absolutely! Get these for sure! Then we shared the JOJOS "Seasoned Potato Wedges" with Boom Boom Sauce. The crunch and flavor of the potatoes was spot on. The boom boom sauce is house made and has a lovely kick to it. We couldn't eat them all because our next item came... We both had a SMASH BURGER: Double Double, Beef Patties, American Cheese, Boom Boom Sauce on a Potato Roll. I am going to say when I want a smash burger this is what I am thinking of. This is what I want. The only thing, some days I may want just ketchup and not Boom Boom sauce but that is by day and mood only. Damn they did good! I'll be back. I will need to eat all of this again!

Awesome place that's been around forever- burgers are to die for and you can taste the care put…read moreinto the food ! A lot of the food is made in house like the catfish, wings and sauces. I also love the rewards system I get free dessert all the time lol

Still amazing. Their beer selection never lets you down and their holiday specials make it a novel…read moreexperience while still keeping their classic, burger & brew dive vibe. The service is still on point and food is perfect.

Ok, so I'll start by saying that I am not typically a fan of Irish Pubs but I really enjoyed this…read moreone when a friend proposed we go here after encountering lines at a couple of S 1st options. I'll start by complimenting the staff! Everyone we encountered - bar tender, server both - had a great sense of humor and were a pleasure to engage with. They treated us to a round of shots after we had a few rounds. Generally the vibe of the crowd is very friendly and we made some new friends to hang with part of the evening. I did not have the opportunity to eat anything as we came from dinner BUT I did hear from three separate people that the carrot cake is to die for. Who would have thought?

The reason I'm writing this review is because of the TERRIBLE SERVICE. Dining out should be a…read morepleasurable experience, especially since it's become so expensive. Regardless of the food or ambiance the server is the face of the establishment. Bad service can easily lead to a bad review. In this case the waitress, when she finally showed up, was not friendly. She was indifferent, like we were bothering her, and had a borderline RUDE attitude. The clincher was her assumption on who was paying the bill. We waited a good ten minutes for her to initially show up. When she got to the table the first thing she asked for was a credit card to cover the drinks we ordered; which I thought was strange since our family was sitting at a table and ordering dinner. After the food was delivered she never returned to check on us. Other servers had to get us refills and were happy to do so. When she finally returned at the end of the meal with the bill , all smiles of course, she had already run the credit card without ever giving us the bill to review??? The card she asked for, for the drinks, was NOT meant to pay the bill. We were going to split the bill but since she already ran the card the cardholder didn't feel comfortable asking her to rerun the card. This was VERY awkward!! None of us have EVER experienced anything like this ever!! I wish I had gotten her name. I'm giving a 2 star review because everyone though the food was good.

Well designed brew house with a beautiful interior and picturesque outdoor seating…read more They had a friendly and knowledgeable staff. Nate was behind the bar and was very helpful. Their selection is not large, but they have delicious options. We are looking forward to many trips to here and the other brewery down the loop.

Cute place. Good brews. Clean bathrooms. Family and dog friendly. There is a small covered porch on…read moreone side and a rooftop patio as well. Keep in mind, there is zero coverage in the rooftop so it is hot af up there. But the views are lovely. Friendly crew.

Service slow and the gravy on the chopped steak was gray and flavorless! On a positive note, my…read moreson enjoyed his blackened catfish po-boy!

Came in town for our girl's Texas State graduation that wkend and ate here. It was good. The queso…read moreis delish!! I got the seafood (fried catfish and shrimp plate). My shrimp were fried nicely but my catfish was fried hard and greasy tasting. But overall, it was nice. Great view! Right on the river! Try them out if you're in San Marcos or near by.

Food here I don't really grab much food, but their wings are pretty good. Service is always great…read morebehind the bar. This is the old new Braunfels and a lot of people love their service that they bring to the table. Ambience is like a cheers bar. Everybody will know your name eventually

For several years, I have been the person responsible for cooking the family Thanksgiving dinner…read more Although it is not a task that I dislike, it does take some energy to get it on the table. Fortunately, if it can be considered fortunate, I had a total reverse shoulder replacement surgery a week before Thanksgiving this year. That gave me a "get out of kitchen" pass. We decided that Thanksgiving would be held at my son's house in New Braunfels. He and his wife have an 11.5 month old baby, so it's easier to do it there anyway. To simplify things, they shopped around, looking for a ready to serve, prepared Thanksgiving dinner. They selected the Black Whale because it was the most affordable, and they had heard good things about the place. The dinner package came with a turkey, gravy, dressing, mashed potatoes, greenbean casserole, and a pumpkin or pecan pie. They chose the pecan pie. When my daughter-in-law went to pick up the meal, the Black Whale had also thrown in a loaf of bread and a small loaf of cranberry cornbread. Altogether, they more than gave us our money's worth for this meal. Everything about the meal was good. The turkey was moist, juicy, and flavorful. I don't know how they cooked it or how they prepared it before cooking, but it definitely had flavor throughout. The dressing came in a little round foil pan and looked like some kind of rolls. It was absolutely delicious! It had a little bit of turkey meat in it that gave it a great mouth feel. But the seasoning was what really made it great. The mashed potatoes were very buttery and delicious, even though they were a little runnier than I like. The gravy over all of it was very good. I am not a very big fan of green bean casserole. I liked it back in the day when it first started showing up. But, after so many decades, I'm kind of over it. This was really delicious. It had lots of extra flavors in it. I'm pretty sure they used bits of ham. Since I am a boomer, the green beans could've been cooked a little bit more. My generation likes them cooked to death. I really don't remember my mother using fresh green beans for anything back in the day. I wish they had given us a much larger loaf of the cranberry cornbread. It was amazing. I had never tried a cornbread with fruit in it before. This was moist, sweet, and tart at the same time. The pecan pie was very good. I only wish I had had some whipped topping or vanilla ice cream to put on it. It could've been homemade. I don't think there's really much they could have done to make this a better Thanksgiving feast. Our family was very happy with it. Kudos to the Black Whale for a job well done!

Great food with amazing atmosphere with great views. Been going here since I was a kid and it…read moreamazing every time.

My brother and I have been riding our motorcycles all over the Texas hill country and we happened…read moreto find this cool little bar out near the Lake Buchanan dam. Motorcycle parking right up front, great views from the covered patio area in the back, and ice cold beer. They also have TV's, a pool table or two, lots of bar seating, nice restrooms and a very friendly bartender. We needed a snack and the fried mushrooms that would normally be about $11.99 at any restaurant/bar in closer to the city were priced attractively at about $6 and served piping hot. We will definitely be back on a day when we have more time to hang out and enjoy the nice weather at this cool indoor/outdoor bar.

Sad review as may be their last, 1/4 is set to be their last day of being open for business. I…read morealways forgot this place was here, it's super convenient to us but the location was easily forgettable as it wasn't really visible from 79. Ticked away in a little complex without 79 visibility along with a couple of other places that don't seem to get much traffic either. Finally made our first visit so we could try "the best fish & chips" in the Austin area. I was surprised how big it was, they have a patio, a bar area and lots of tables I was shocked as from the outside it looks tiny. Service was fantastic which was shocking with them closing soon. The service was enough to want me to go back hopefully for us in this area they end up somewhere close by as I know how hard it is to find good workers. Pretzels were good! Onion rings were our favorite! Their version of the Philly was just okay, was very plain with not much flavor hubby didn't even finish half. But the star of the show was the fish and chips. My son was over the moon! Couldn't even finish half of it and he wanted to haha. Sad to see they will be closing their doors but hopefully the owner has something else up his sleeve as they were onto something with this place.

Service was good, and the ambiance was fun. Lots of sports on the multiple tv screens. My friend…read moreenjoyed her beef curry, and the portion was so generous that she had leftovers to take home. I ordered the fish and chips. The piece of fish was enormous! It was cooked well, if a little too much breading for my taste. The chips were really good. The tartar sauce was different than I am used to, a little runny and pink tinged, but it was good. The mushy peas were yummy and added an authenticity to the dish. I didn't really use the curry sauce that also came with the dish. To me it doesn't go with fish or chips. I did taste it, and the flavor was great.

Ordered the Grumpy Old Fashioned and another drink. But the old fashioned had me blown away. Forget…read morethe other drink... If that's what grumpy tastes like, sign me up. Rich. Smooth. That hint of chocolate bitterness sneaking in like it has secrets it's not ready to share. Strong, confident, and completely unbothered -- the kind of drink that doesn't raise its voice because it doesn't have to. No unnecessary frills. No overcomplicated theatrics. Just a perfectly crafted cocktail that respects tradition but adds a little dark, sultry wink. It lingers just long enough to make you lean in for another sip. 10/10. Grumpy never tasted so good -- and I wouldn't mind getting into trouble with it again. The bar itself? Classy without being stuffy. The kind of place where you can show up dressed up or dressed down and still feel like you belong. Dim lighting, great vibe, zero pretension. I'll absolutely be back, service was stellar. No food items this time, but definitely will be back!

What a delightful night. This was the first time we been here since shortly after they opened. Our…read morefirst visit wasn't fantastic. This visit was much much better. The place is narrow and can get loud. We were still able to talk at our table. The food menu is somewhat small. There are options for most tastes. I had the chicken Caesar. It was excellent and I highly recommend it. My wife had the fish and chips and was very happy with it. I do recommend finishing with the sticky toffee pudding. It was a great finish to the meal. Lots of options for cocktails and beers as well. Looking forward to going back