Best Bar Menus in Austin and San Antonio Steakhouses
Dining in a lavish steakhouse is all well and good, but sometimes you just want the steakhouse experience in a more casual format. That’s where bar menus come in. The perfect way to indulge your steak cravings without breaking the bank, steakhouses across Austin and San Antonio offer a variety of interesting, affordable bar menus with snack-able dishes and drinks not offered on the regular dinner menu. Here are some of the best bar menus in the Texas cities.
Vince Young Steakhouse: From crab cakes spiced up with jalapeño aïoli to shrimp cocktail and charcuterie boards, all the bar menu classics are well represented at Vince Young Steakhouse in Austin. But well beyond the basics, the steakhouse offers inventive bar menu options, like crispy deep-fried Texas quail with bacon-infused tangerine marmalade, pork belly with spicy plum chutney and roasted bone marrow with citrus gremolata. Added bonus: all bar and lounge menu items are just $10 from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m.
III Forks Prime Steakhouse: At each of its steakhouse locations across the country, this Texas-bred institution is renowned for its bar menus. Not only does the casual menu offer lots of options, but they go above and beyond the call of lounge duty with eclectic offerings that appeal to a wide variety of clientele. In addition to steakhouse staples like steak tartare, cheese and charcuterie, the restaurant rounds it out with ahi tuna, beef croustades with Creole mustard sauce, lamb meatballs and sliders with miso-glazed salmon or short ribs on blue cheese biscuits.
The Palm: At this classic institution, they’re raising the bar on bar food by implementing a decadent menu of gourmet comfort foods at bargain prices. A nice alternative for a casual steakhouse meal in San Antonio, the “bar bites” menu contains fixtures like ancho chile- and espresso-rubbed filet mignon ahi tuna tataki, grilled short rib and Irish cheddar sandwiches, cornmeal fried oysters, cottage fries, calamari, cheeseburgers and more. Select items are also discounted Sunday through Friday from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m.
18 Oaks: At this San Antonio staple, an expansive bar menu is available on a daily basis from 2:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m., also served on the patio. Snacky dishes run the gamut from fried pickles and spicy sausage bites to barbecue pork quesadillas, crab cakes, hummus with lavosh and more.
Trio: Back in Austin, Trio is a particularly convenient spot for bar snacking, thanks to its central downtown location. Available from 5:00 p.m. until the end of the night, the restaurant features a pretty wide array of casual and contemporary bites, from spicy arrabiatta meatballs and mini shrimp po’ boys to rosemary-scented steak frites, fennel sausage pizza and even deviled green eggs and ham with avocado, crispy pancetta and chile oil powder.