I felt lucky to be chosen to be a part of the soft opening I have been a server opening establishments and it was nice being on the other side I was excited to try some moonshine! The experience left me unimpressed The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly The Good Friendly Staff… from the servers, to managers, to one of the owners. Outdoor Patio… but needs outdoor patio heaters… it was chilly and I wasn’t dress appropriately for outdoor seating. We were seated right away sharing a table with other Unilocalers on the patio although there was a line out the door… that was special! Mussels were delicious! The Bad I wanted crabs. That is all I really wanted was the crabs I was told I couldn’t order crabs until it was time to order dinner … so we ordered Queso made with Abita Amber(my favorite beer) with chicken(since we heard the chicken was really good) for our appetizer which was only ok… all I really wanted was crabs… I ordered crabs but I was also told to order the ribs because they were so good, so I did Crabs never came, good thing I ordered ribs. They were only ok. I wanted crabs. The Ugly Understaffed. Long wait on food and drinks. Many people left angry. Under ordered food and alcohol as they kept running out of things Drinks took forever. Then we were cut off after our first drink because they were backed up By the time I was able to order my second drink, they were out of Pineapple Bomb so I ended up with Bootleg Mule, wasn’t impressed. Parking is ridiculous. Good luck with this one. I would only go back again if they offered me the crab dinner complimentary. I love crabs! Thank you Unilocal for the experience… even though it wasn’t the best, I met some great new friends as the company and the people were absolutely the best!
Anna J.
Tu valoración: 5 San Antonio, TX
This was fun! Let me start at the beginning, I did have a little difficulty finding the place. Then finding parking was tricky also. But once I got in it was all good. This was a soft opening… one more time… a SOFTOPENING! Definition: working out the kinks, learning from mistakes and getting their butts kicked. The staff did a great job! They were communicating to us at different times regarding setbacks and mistakes. They apologized a number of times for periods of dropping the ball and running behind. But no joke it was worth it cuz it was free! I sat and visited with other Unilocalers and had a grand time! And give great big cuddos to the servers for keeping a positive attitude despite the place being super busy and trying to learn all the ins and outs of opening a new restaurant. Plus all the hiccups that come with that awesome endeavor. The food was delicious and the drinks were spot on and I’ll be going back once some of the new wears off and try out their lunch menu. Big thumbs up! Thanks Tomas for the invite and thanks Mash’d for a great night!!!
Ruben C.
Tu valoración: 5 San Antonio, TX
Jesus Hernandez Christ*: –Bulgogi Tacos –Shepherd’s Pie –Crab and Shrimp Volcano –Legit Gauc –Bbq ribs –Clams which we didn’t order but gladly ate –Moonshine based cocktails were potently delicious(or deliciously potent) Everything was exceptionally cooked/crafted/presented. I’m impressed at: –How they were able to crank all these delicious plates out, even though this was the busiest and most chaotic time they will experience. –The servers were still professional and continually apologized for the delays and miscommunication; props to them for keeping it together! One more thing. If you go to any business on their opening day, there will be hiccups. If you are expecting everything to be flawless, good luck with that. Yes, there were long delays. Yes, there was miscommunication between managers, FOH and servers. But you know what? I had an incredible time. While we waited for our drinks, appetizers, and food, I got to know better some of our Elite Unilocalers from the ATX and also met some new, local, Unilocalers. From the looks of it, we were at the«fun table.» And that’s before the booze started rollin’ in. Great event so those that don’t agree, please stop bitchin. It was FREE. *Appropriated from Aja V. w/o her consent.
Amber L.
Tu valoración: 3 San Antonio, TX
Was very excited to hear that Mash’d was offering a full menu and bar to their fellow Unilocalers, upon arriving I was surprised how many Unilocalers were there! I felt for the staff and servers right away, this was going to be a super busy and stressful night for them. A manager greeted us at our table and just reminded us this was a trial run for the restaurant and they wanted to learn to work the kinks out. We had great service the entire night and our waitress really kept her calm with all the people in the packed restaurant. The restaurant is in pristine condition and much larger than I pictured. We were seated quickly at a booth and our waitress took our drink order right away. Started out with the agave heat and bootleg mule. The agave heat had a big kick to it, they definitely didn’t skimp on the tequila! The bootleg mule tasted very fresh with hints of lime and a strong kool aide flavor.(Kool aide plus liquor equals happy!) A lot of time went by before the food arrived so I tried the berry smash drink next. Again great drink choice, I could really taste the berries in the drink and it came in a great presentation inside a mason jar! Based on the number of people we ordered very strategically. I knew right away they over booked this event, so we didn’t order our first choices, we ordered things we knew wouldn’t take to long to cook. Started with the PEI mussels appetizer. It had a good amount of heat to it but a bit oily because of the chorizo mixture. We order another appetizer but it never came out. The main dishes we got were the meatloaf and shepherds pie. My husband order the meatloaf, he said it was very fluffy like they whipped the meat. They put this newspaper like lining under the meatloaf, it was just to thin and pieces of the paper got into the food. Mine was the shepherds pie and was very greasy for me. The meat at the bottom was covered in grease. So for me between the grease in the mussels and the pie my belly was hurting badly later that night. Of course if we visit again I would try something else besides these dishes. I think Mash’d would serve as a great get together with friends for a few drinks but I sadly didn’t enjoy the food I ordered.
Leila R.
Tu valoración: 4 Austin, TX
Taking into consideration this was not an official Unilocal Elite, but rather a soft open that Elite Unilocalers got to be a part of, tonight was a blast! There was definitely some snafus and confusion, but passing the time laughing with SA Unilocal friends(old and new) until the drinks started flowing and the food hit the table was what made for a great time! All of the drinks we had(moonshine fly, Pineapple bomber, S&S Tea, Berry Good Lemonade, Moonshine Sangria, Firewater, Bootleg Mule, and the Line 39 Cab Sauv) were stellar! Everything we had foodwise was delicious as well(mussels, legit guac, fried chicken, ribs, shep pie, bulgogi tacos) and worth the wait. I know a lot of people were upset about the chaotic feel of the event and the long wait for drinks and food, but it was important to keep two things in mind: 1) a restaurant has a soft open to work out the kinks(and, yes, some things probably could have been done better, but that’s part of the opening learning curve) and 2) it was free! The staff, especially the waitstaff, made the best of a difficult situation and the mgmnt were gracious enough to keep us informed on the delays. In the end, me and my fellow ATX elite were glad to have made the trip down as SA Unilocalers always know how to have a good time and laugh it up!
Caitlyn S.
San Antonio, TX
It was an utter fiasco. It’s very easy to say, it’s «free so there is no reason to complain.» But I’ll base my review on overall experience and food. Mash’d is yet another trendy gastropub. Seriously? Another one? At this point, I’ve seen so many I’m no longer impressed by the chalkboard signs and mason jars as drinkware. General public, which is across the street and equally bad, is essentially the same restaurant with less moonshine. When you take away the moonshine, it’s just another overpriced restaurant reinventing things that don’t need reinvention(ketchup+fries go together! Not fries+weird sweet sauce). We were told to arrive between 5−8pm. Luckily I was stuck in traffic and didn’t make it there until about 6:15pm. Sadly there was still a wait while the restaurant appeared to be getting one last inspection. The manager stepped out and apologized and let everyone in. It was a small stampede crowding into the restaurant. I sat with 5 other people at a high table. We placed our drink and food orders together, knowing that the kitchen would be slow. Our kind waitresses consistently checked on us and told us she knew it would take a long time for food to arrive. I don’t normally drink but I ordered the fruity flight of moonshine anyway for the table. I thought everything except for the moonlight berry(which was death!!) was very sweet. Others commented that the drinks were incredibly sweet. They were presented nicely though. I always love copper mule mugs. We ordered quite a few appetizers but none came! We waited and waited and finally someone mistakenly ordered a shrimp volcano and we were lucky to get that. It tasted way too sweet. No one at the table wanted seconds. We were all starving but we asked the waitress to take it away. After 2.5 hrs, my order arrived, the fried chicken. The menu described it as double breaded. I definitely did not receive that. I got thin slices of chicken with thin slabs of breading slipping off the meat. The oil smelled horrific… Like it had been used repeatedly to fry multiple items. And the worst part — the salt! Whoever is back there is generously salting everything! The chicken came with cheesy mashed potato and this disgusting, thin sweet sauce. Seriously… the lighting was dim, can someone tell me what was in that? The cheese on top of the mashed potato made it look like rubber. The texture was absolutely hideous. I tried using the mashed potato to temper the salt in the chicken but it was an impossible task. I understand the kitchen was backed up so they did what they could to serve the most people. But as they say, «haste makes waste,» because I could not finish that chicken or the potatoes. My friends never received their food and left hungry. We ended up going to a fast food joint to salvage our evening. For me, after leaving the restaurant I threw up everything I consumed. My stomach was clearly unhappy. People who received food seemed generally a lot happier than people who didn’t. Even though I received mine, my friends didn’t and that took away any enjoyment. And there was nothing to enjoy. I didn’t like any of the dishes we had. After my chicken came, our waitress got switched and we were informed that the kitchen shut down. Hearing that made us so sad! No mussels? No guacamole? They offered us more drinks but we came for the food! It was an incredibly disappointing experience. I realize that the owners were very kind to let us in and give us free drinks and food. It was very generous. But poor planning and general disorganization made this the worst dining experience of 2015 for me. Tomas, as always, you’re a superstar. I know you were really concerned for us. You seemed so hungry and tired but your optimism never waned. Even though it was disappointing, thanks for inviting us!
