Schilos Delicatessen

Read the reviews and decided to come in for a try. We were pleasantly surprised. Our family of 4 (kids 8 and 10) ate breakfast.

Coffee hot and fresh.

Kids ordered Root Beer for breakfast. (Why not, we were on vacation.) It was served in an ice cold frosty mug. Everyone enjoyed it.

Son had a bagel and cream cheese. *****

I had over easy eggs, bacon, cottage cheese (they were out of hash browns) and sourdough bread. *****

Daughter had scrambled eggs, bacon, sourdough bread. ****

Mom ordered scrambled eggs, ham, potato pancakes. ****

All in all very good.

First, they serve breakfast ALL DAY!  The decor is rustic but clean.  The breakfast was delicious.  Make sure you have the sausage.  The links have blueberries in them and the breakfast patty is huge and has a bit of heat.  Yum!  Every single server is happy and pleasant.  They keep the coffee coming.  Not your chain restaurant and we loved it!

We had a few hours to kill in San Antonio before a flight. This little hole in the wall has a constant line at the door. Be sure and put your name in the list before waiting in the line.

I had the Reuben which was made just right! Swiss cheese, premium corned beef all of the ingredients tasted very fresh. My husband had the club which was also very good. HAVE THE ROOTBEER!!! It's amazing!

Service was fast considering how busy they were. Waited about 30 minutes to get in the place! I knocked them down a star because the place could really use some remodeling. The floor is falling apart and the vents above our heads leaked water in us while we ate.

Overall, would return.

Alright then. Here's the deal:

I was nervous about making this my last stop with my family and friends on the way out of town to go back home. I read the reviews and some of y'all had me really worried about service, wait times and basically the whole experience. If we hadn't already decided to visit here a few days in advance, I would have tried to go somewhere else. There is a life lesson in here somewhere...

We came in on a Thursday around 0930. Reading the reviews, I became nervous when I saw a line of people waiting outside along the restaurant wall. It was already hot and we had a party of 8. I figured we would be waiting until Saturday at noon until we were able to be sat. We were quoted a wait time off 30-45 minutes even after we offered to be spilt into two groups of four. Typically, I would have, "thanks but no thanks" it, but everyone wanted to try it and honestly, I don't think anyone wanted to be "that guy" to complain about it. I was surprised when at about the 20 minute mark, our name was called. The interior is about what you'd expect a German restaurant would have if it were trying to keep it close to the old school German decor. The place was full and there were only two servers that I could see working. My expectations on anything less than a 30 minute ticket time seemed to be a wasted wish. Either way, we're in it now, so let's press on, yeah? We all ordered basic breakfast foods. I ordered an omelette with cheese, green chilies and tomato. Not everyone can cook an omelette properly, so I asked our server how the chef did with them. She said, "we only have one cook working, but he can do a great omelette." I'm sorry, ONE cook for all these people?! She said they can't get anyone to apply for jobs. The omelette  came and it was cooked perfectly! So, within about 20 minutes of our ordering, we all had our food. It was cooked well and tasted good. Everyone was happy.

Those that are upset about the waiting times and ticket times, I get it. But I saw two servers and they only had one cook! Some room for grace would be a good thing here. They can't get help. Unfortunately, until those that can and are able get some gumption and start wanting to contribute to society again by way of employment, businesses like this are going to continue to suffer. In the same respect, people who enjoy hospitality services, like all of us on Yelp, will have to deal with the repercussions.

Be kind, pack your patience and throw out job applications to your friends or acquaintances who have gotten too comfortable with being unemployed. Come to this restaurant and support it. If my experience was common place, you'll be glad you did.

I would recommend that management offers cool water to those customers waiting outside for longer periods.

So here's the thing...

The food was good but the service was not ok.

The people in line before is to get into the restraint had been waiting for 15 minutes (or so they said) just to be seated and no one had even approached them. I went to the back and found someone and they seated us right away.

Overall I would say if you have plenty of time to kill and aren't trying to hurry and eat this place is a fair choice.

Fantastic service! The indoor space was rustic and charming.

We got the papa fritz with bratwurst and it was very filling. The biscuits were fluffy inside and slightly flaky/crispy on the outside which was perfect and the cinnamon rolls were large and flavorful. And just as the meal was starting to taste too conventional, bratwurst made it a slightly more unique experience.

I would definitely come back again

The years change some things... It's been almost 10 years since we last visited San Antonio (ugh, I feel old writing that..), and we were SO excited to bring our kids to Schilos on their first trip to the city!

First of all - the good stuff. Walking distance from the Alamo so that was a plus considering our car was parked far away at a motel.

Their house root beer is still amazing and I'd probably come here again just for that!

But everything else left a bit to be desired... our service was decent considering they were slammed, but the food was just... okay. Nothing stood out as spectacular. Except the root beer!

This is the oldest restaurant in San Antonio. My breakfast was small but filling and pretty good. The biscuit was fresh and warm. The ham was thin but good. And my egg was cooked as ordered. I would come back to eat here.

Food was good however they were out of everything. We got there 3 hours before closing and the were out of deviled eggs and potato pancakes. The food wasn't actually German.. It was more Tex/ManThe waiter brought the drinks and forgot one. It never arrived. Prep and cook time were excessive and pretty disappointing. That does explain the long wait to get in. All in all not that impressed and wouldn't reccomend. Update: waiter worked hard to make up for errors. I still probably wouldn't come back but he did make the effort.

Friendly staff and outstanding breakfast. We were told to be there early to avoid a long wait so we arrived just before 7 AM to find out the restaurant opens at 8:30 - kinda late for breakfast. But there was a wait line right after they opened. Get the pancakes!

Only open from 8:30-2:00. I Had a pretty good BLT with extra bacon on white toast. (hard to screw up a BLT). Fries were a bit soggy and not really hot. Pretzel came out hot and the beer cheese sauce was good. They make their own root beer with real sugar. That was good as well.