March 21, 2017

Bohanan’s Prime Steak & Seafood – San Antonio, TX

Bohanan’s Prime Steak & Seafood is my favorite restaurant in San Antonio and arguably the highest quality one as well. They epitomize the top quality of food as well as classic unpretentious service that can only be found in the best chop houses across the country.

Our first visit to Bohanan’s was on an early Friday evening. We walked up to the host stand and attempted to get a table. This was an unplanned visit, so we had not made reservations. Luckily, there were two seats available in the dining area bar within a 20-minute wait. We happily spent that time at the main bar sipping on some of their great craft cocktails and absinthe. Yes, Absinthe. That’s another story for another night.

We were seated at the bar between two other couples, but I didn’t mind – we got a seat and we were hungry. Every visible table in the dining room was occupied so we were a bit concerned at how the service would be, especially sitting at a service bar. We were wrong. Not just wrong, but the service was even better than I would expect at a table. With only three ‘two-tops’ sitting at the bar all having dinner, the service from the bartender and support staff felt extremely personal.
The bartender was equally knowledgeable of the menu as he was of the libations he was crafting. We inquired about wine with dinner and he called over the Sommelière. After speaking with him, we asked if they had the Silver Oak Napa Valley Cabernet somewhere in the back to accompany our A5 Akuashi steaks. That particular wine was not on the wine menu, but he was able to find a bottle in the back somewhere upon our request.

Bohanan's San Antonio, TX — Strawberries Imperial

Our first course was the Seared Tuna with a ponzu sauce and aioli. Our dinners were the Akaushi Filet with Shrimp and the Akuashi Strip. The filet was perfectly prepared medium-rare with my strip being Pittsburgh medium-rare. The flavor and quality of the cuts really stood out. The marbling made for such a buttery texture that the steaks just melted in our mouths. We finished dinner with a bar/table-side flambeed cherries jubilee which was delightful.

We have tried all three dessert flambés (on separate visits of course) – Bananas Foster, Cherries Jubilee, and Strawberries Imperial. All three are basically the same preparation and recipe but my favorite by a long shot is the Strawberries Imperial. Don’t take my word for it – go try all three!

The downstairs Bar at Bohanan’s is a shining star. After an extremely disappointing dinner at another San Antonio ‘restaurant’ that shall not be named, we decided to take in some live Jazz at the Bar at Bohanan’s. The host sat us at a two-top about fifteen feet away from the stage area – the mood and setting were superior. We sat while enjoying cocktails and satisfying our stomachs with a wonderful selection of meats, cheeses, and fried brie. You can’t go wrong at Bohanan’s, upstairs or downstairs.