The Granary Cue & Brew

This restaurant is located in the popular Pearl Brewery area, which is a fun place to visit and enjoy in and of itself. My family decided to try this bbq place since we all love bbq. We were eating a somewhat early lunch and decided to get a smoked chicken sandwich and the brisket. The chicken was nice and tender, but the brisket had a lot of gristle. The sandwich bread was good and the peach ginger soda was refreshing. We have tried a lot of bbq places and this one was good but not memorable.

Had the lunch brisket sandwich, burnt ends beans and smoked collard greens. Starting with the sandwich, brisket was tender a little more fatty than I’m used to eating. The homemade pickles are a plus! The collard greens were ok I think they needed some salt. Burnt ends with the beans, is actually a mixture of 3 beans: kidney, pinto and black beans with chunks of burnt ends. Don’t forget to try the house brews, the stout is a must! 3 starts, no turkey. $ 15, 3 meat plate with no ribs option and to charge extra to swap sides (I’m not a fan of coleslaw) was a little bit of a let down.

I don’t understand why this restaurant doesn’t have an over 5 star rating because that is exactly what it deserves. The ambiance was wonderful and the menu was like a masterpiece. The chef took real risks putting together unique foods, many of which I had never seen before in any of my many outings, like smoked strawberry ice cream I had (which was amazing.) The iced tea had a hint of lavender and lemon which was so good I couldn’t stop drinking it. My pulled pork was the best I had ever had and the bread it came with felt like a cloud from heaven. I’m not even exaggerating. This restaurant is absolutely amazing.

This is not real BBQ in my opinion. It’s a cool place but sooooo expensive. we went once and didn’t go back. The food wasn’t bad just different. The portions are tiny. I think it’s a tourist place.

I checked out The Granary tonight for dinner based on a recommendation from a friend and he was right… this place is legit! The old house it resides in oozes charm… the kind of place I could imagine living in. The service was quick, but our server was so quiet that we could barely understand what he was saying. I tried the barbecue plate with pulled pork, brisket, potato salad and baked beans — everything was super tasty and freshly made. This is definitely worth a visit while in the neighborhood!

Absolutely amazing experience. From the very knowledgable and friendly staff to the impeccable food– there really wasn’t anything to complain about. An overall amazing experience.
We started out the with roasted pork belly as an appetizer paired with one of their amazing home-​brewed ale. It was to die for. For an entrée I had the quail and my friend had the rabbit. Both were cooked to perfection and had amazing flavor– not too «gamey» which can easily happen with both quail and rabbit. We topped off the meal with both the chess pie and strawberry cream dessert. Again, both were great and had a sweet yet smokey flavor. Again, one of the best meals I’ve had in San Antonio. We will be back soon!!!

I took a sightseeing tour. The tour guide told as that the Pearl Brewery section of town is THE place to eat. I was hot so I decided to try the Granary.
I was there for lunch so I ordered at the bar area. I was a bit perturbed at the guy in front of me because he was asking 500 questions. I was just hot and thirsty so I was getting a bit annoyed.
first off, they potato salad is German and I am not a fan of German potato salad. It is not that it is not good, It is just not me. I really did like the pulled pork and chicken I ordered. For $ 14 though I wish I would have gotten a little bit more meat. I did like the baked bean with burnt ends. The BBQ sauce was very good. I spilt a good portion down the front of me. The sauce is in a large bottle and it slipped out of my hands.
The sweet tea was good, but I think they feel that everyone likes citrus in their tea. It did not taste bad, but I am not a fan of lemons either. The tea tasted like is had lemon Lysol in it. I know iit did not but I don’t like lemons and I think their tea had lemon flavoring in it.
I would go back for lunch the workers were very friendly. I’ll order diet soda instead.

I don’t care who you are or how much money you have-​nobody would’ve enjoyed spending the money I spent for such small plates. $ 15 for 3 tiny pieces of cheese and crackers and $ 26 for a leg of lamb portion smaller than my fist and maybe 8 quarter sized slices of potatoes. It was good, but not the best lamb I’ve ever had. Aldino has a lamb plate to die for and isn’t nearly as expensive. 5 star prices for a non 5 star place and set up.
96 dollar tab between my boyfriend and I, and we left hungry. We actually went to Central Market to buy small dinner plates afterwards. They either need to chill out on their prices or put some more food on the plate seriously.

I came early to dinner with friends. Really early. 4pm early. But hey, I figured I could grab a drink and an app and wait, right? weeeeellllll, not quite. They serve lunch until 4pm, and after that they bring out the barstools and another menu til 530 in which dinner reservations are taken. So I made reservations, got a drink and a side item off the lunch menu. When 530 dinner arrived, we were able to order. Don’t ask to substitute items, the chef won’t allow it. We ordered the grit fritters and the charcuterie. It was explained that they had a 3 meat charcuterie and a 5 meat as well for a few dollars more. We ordered the 5 to split among the three of us. The grit fritters were 7 small marble size fritters. Small but tasty. The charcuterie was the best thing we ordered. But it was $ 7 more than the 3 meat plate.
I ordered the beef ramen. Not impressed. The broth was good, and the noodles were ok, but the rest was left wanting. I guess I’m used to ramen having more vegetation than a single collard leaf and a few shallot chopped pieces.
My partners had the barbeque board. Both hated it. The beans were sweet, the brisket was dry, the pork was fatty, the sauce was simply okay. And yes, the portion size is small. Come on, at a BBQ place you serve such small portions of meat? I was surprised because my companions have very different tastes from each other, and yet on this entrée they both disliked it.
Two observations — it seems the reviewers who liked The Granary also ordered the brew, but those who didn’t partake of the brew did not like the food. So you have to drink to enjoy the food? Interesting. Perhaps they acknowledge their own lack of barbeque greatness and couldn’t rightly name themselves a barbeque joint and instead settled for the ‘cue nomenclature.
So skip this place if you want barbeque. Eat here if you like fine dining or the brew. But then who wants fine dining while sitting on a bench seat? meh

I had been wanting to come here for a while now because people kept telling me how good it was. I finally got a chance to try it, and I was not disappointed. I had the Jerk Chicken sandwich with pickled pineapples. The meat had a subtle spicy flavor, that was just right and the pineapples were delicious. The bread was amazing too. You could tell it was fresh. I also had the burnt end beans which were also incredible, as was the ginger peach soda and the pie. Everything I had I was very pleased with. It was a little pricy, but I’d gladly come again.

Wish that 3.5 stars was an option here but 3 will have to do. Stopped here today for lunch based on the fact that they are a top 50 joint according to Texas Monthly.
Unfortunately I would have to disagree with all things being considered. If we were going strictly off the quality of the meat then I would say it should absolutely be 5 stars. The brisket (the little I had) was excellent. Beautiful smoke ring, tender, and juicy with a nice marble glaze. The smoked sausage was also absolutely incredible.
However my big gripe… much like others is the portion size for the price… the 2 meat plate came out to over 15 dollars and I got 2 pieces of brisket one of which was seriously a quarter of straight fat!
At most BBQ places you can’t even finish your plate there is so much food. At this joint I left feeling a little hungry and overall just disappointed. I won’t be back during my time in San Antonio.

I first found The Granary Cue & Brew back in October 2013. I was visiting San Antonio on a work trip with two other coworkers. We walked in to the unpresuming establishment with mediocre expectations. We left two hours later having become life-​long fans of all things Granary. I’ve spent the last two and half years advertising for them, to anyone I knew was headed to San Antonio. Everyone I’ve sent has enjoyed their experience!
I ended up back there this past March, 2016. This time I intentionally went to San Antonio to be able to experience the Granary again, with the same group of coworkers as before. Each visit I’ve had to the Granary in my trips to S.A. have all been excellent. Their Brown Ale was the first brown ale to win my heart, and I’ve never looked back. The BBQ is both innovative and timeless. Each time I’ve been here I’ve had excellent service, and have enjoyed my time.
Thank you to the chefs, brewers, servers, and owner of The Granary. You have a good thing going, and I wish you best of luck for years to come!

The brisket was a thick cut of deliciousness. The marble char and glaze that was on it made it taste amazing. You could easily eat it without any sauce because of the moisture.
The side of burnt end baked beans was different than I expected, in a good way. It was a mixture of a couple different kinds of beans versus your traditional sauce-​drowned baked beans. They had excellent flavor and complimented the brisket well.
The HOMEMADE bread tasted very fresh and was immensely satisfying. You could really tasted the freshness. The thick cut gave it nice texture and the crust was just crispy enough.
The coffee IPA was a nice find as well. Usually coffee flavored beers are stouts and I was skeptical that an IPA might be too hoppy, but once I again, I judged too quickly. You could smell the coffee scent as your brought the beer up to your mouth which got my taste buds excited. The flavor was perfect with the bold hops texture.
I will definitely be eating here again!

For quite sometime now, I have heard mixed reviews of this place. and it seems that the reviews are on opposite sides of the spectrum; either you like it or you don’t. I didn’t, lemme tell you why.
We got there a little after lunch time. they had NOTHING. like…, ive been to places where things sell out toward closing time. This was the afternoon and dude told me upfront that they only had a pound of brisket, and a little bit of sausage. Again, it was only like 12, maybe 1pm. I just find it absurd that at this time of the day, they ran out of food and neglected to have more prepared.
so wanting to try it because we were there, had never been and we were hungry, we both got the 2 meat plate (sausage and pulled pork), smoked greens, and the beans. My girl said when they put the meat onto the tray, she saw the dude use his bare hands. She didn’t like that.
We got the trays pretty quickly, and sat to eat. the portions were small. Like.small. The portions we got were NOT worth spending 15.99. The meat was warm… not hot, not cold. but somewhat warm. No real flavor to the brisket. The sausage was tough to chew. I got up to go get something and I overheard one of the guys behind the counter say (to another worker)…ive got one piece of sausage left. someone should come and buy it. I was like damn… knowing that you had barely anything left to sell when we got there, you should have just given that to us. But no, they kept it to sell.
Don’t get me wrong, the waitstaff wasn’t bad at all. The guys behind the counter were nice and accommodating. The ambiance of the place is nice too, great looking décor inside and out. The food tho… I was very disappointed, and I don’t really see a reason to go back. After the two plates, a beer, and an iced tea, the bill was like 50 bucks. NOT WORTH IT. She didn’t finish her food, and I almost did. not because it was that good, but ill be damned if I spend that much money and waste it.

Do NOT mistake this is a traditional Texas BBQ joint. I’m really on the fence about GC&B for a few reasons, particularly the drastic change in menu from lunch to dinner. They quote their lunch as being «traditional market style barbeque» and dinner as «progessive, seasonally-​driven» fare. Basically flops from strictly ‘cue to dishes such as P.E.I. Mussels, Quail, Smoked Pork Chop, so on… and even Charcuterie and a Cheese Board. Two VERY different approaches and experiences, that frankly seem oddly disjointed to me… both by cuisine and price. I guess it’s working for them because the place is always busy.
The LD: If you’re going to do Q I would recommend the brisket. Moist, good, not the best ever, but maybe the best Q at GC&B. If visiting for dinner, please try the Brisket Ramen. One of a kind. If you can’t get a table (45 minute wait on a Wednesday at around 8pm) in this adorable, little converted house with its tiny separate dining rooms, try to snag a few seats at the very small bar (took 5 minutes)! Sit and enjoy a cold one while you wait on your food. The waitstaff is really friendly and some quite funny! Be sure to say hello to the young Col. Sanders. :D
— — — — — -
Lunch offerings include BBQ brisket, pulled pork, sausage, SL ribs, and smoked chicken by the «plate,» half pound, or on a sandwich. Sides to choose from, that might be considered traditional, on the menu are German potato salad, baked beans, collard greens, etc.; however, they are a million miles away from any Q «fixins» I’ve ever had — not just in Texas, but also from the other 3 states bbq is popular in… at least not the sides I had on the Barbecue Board off the dinner menu.
If you want to sample some of Cue’s Q at dinner, the board is your only option. I called prior to visiting and ask what meats came on the Board and was told «whatever we decide to smoke during the afternoon to serve that evening.» Right after I hung up, I thought «no way.» Smoking is a slow process. I made an educated guess at that time… we’ll call it a personal assumption… that whatever ended up on the Board was probably what was left over from lunch. After having ordered it and sampling it, I’m going to say IMHO my «assumption» was correct.
Two very small pieces of lean brisket, nice thin smoke ring, and actually quite tasty and on the moist side. A small handful of pulled pork, very dry, little flavor. Tried dipping in BBQ sauce… slight gag reaction. As any self-​respective Q connoisseur will tell you, sauce should never be needed. Nonetheless, I always try what’s offered so I can provide some feedback. GC&B’s sauce was sadly some of the worst I’ve ever had. Can’t exactly explain, simply not good flavor combos and heavy on the vinegar. Board came with 2 sides, a few pickle slices, and 2 pieces of buttermilk bread. So-​called burnt end baked beans consisted of a compilation of under-​seasoned, al dente white, black, and kidney varieties (no, not kidding) with tiny bits of chalky, dehydrated burnt eggs. Not good. «Potato salad» was definitely not German style. Boiled potatoes with NO seasoning and apparently completely undressed… naked (see pic). Huh? Bread was a-​ok and pickles were… well…pickles (although I believe they’re made in-​house). Hmm…
And then there was the «must try» (so I had been told) Brisket Ramen. Fantastically rich, vibrant, salty brown ale broth, huge chunks of yummy brisket, delish fried collard garnish, house-​made noodles (VERY impressed by this, even if the bartender didn’t know the noodles themselves are actually called Ramen… bless his heart!), complete with a slightly poached egg. Very interesting, very inventive, very good, not very large for a solo entrée… at least not for us hungry folks. Still highly recommend trying… perhaps be certain to get an app as well. ;) Tip: easy fix for lackluster pulled pork and pots from ‘Que Board… drop in leftover broth, let sit, enjoy! ;)
Lastly, the BREW. Enjoyed one of GC&B’s own… the Brown Ale. Tasted remarkably like New Castle, but slightly sweeter. They typically have about 4 – 5 of their own craft beers on tap at any given time. I’m all about craft beer, so the fact they «brew» is icing.
Cheers to beer and Brisket Ramen! Who would’ve think it?! Will return. Just BARELY crossed the 3 star mark; mostly in part to good service, the atmosphere, the fact the the few ‘lil pieces of brisket were edible, and the broth… oh, the broth! If BBQ is what you seek, go someplace else to eat. Just sayin’…so many other options. BTW, over $ 70 plus tip for the aforementioned goods for 2 peeps.
[191 in 2015… not 365 like 2014, but «that’ll do pig, that’ll do» :D]

All the barbecue joints I’ve been to focus on the classics: perfecting the art of cooking a beautiful piece of meat. Granary works to achieve this perfection not just with classic barbecue but also other barbecue-​inspired dishes as well.
As expected with Pearl, Granary is a trendy and modern restaurant, but it also manages to be cozy with a down-​home feel to it. Our server had a magnificent moustache (that sentence isn’t really relevant, but I just wanted to comment how excellent it was).
I split a barbecue board (brisket and pulled pork, classics) and brisket ramen (definitely not the classics!) with my sister — everything with the barbecue board (meat, sauce, beans, potatoes, pickles, bread) tasted great; the meats were really quite tender, and the beans and potatoes were quite addictive.
The brisket ramen was so unique! It’s sort of changed my view on fatty pork in ramen; people should use fatty brisket instead. The onion garnish was killer, too.
We also split a French toast, with smoked banana ice cream, bubblegum gel, and strawberry dust. It was a nice way to end my meal, especially since it wasn’t too sweet, but it could have used more ice cream!
A perfect complement to my meal was my half-​cut iced tea — floral, with just enough sweetness. Free refills on it just make it worth glugging down a couple of mason jars’ worth of it! They also brew their own beer, which is pretty neat.
With the meal being so good, be advised that portions here aren’t particularly large but come with a hefty price tag. My barbecue board was $ 18, and for $ 18 I could have gotten a LOT more food at other nationally recognized Central Texas barbecue joints.
Overall, there’s some good stuff going on at Granary — unfortunately, that good stuff comes at a premium.

The Granary has been on my list ever since I moved to San Antonio. I heard great things about it but after my first visit, I didn’t share the same warm fuzzies about it as others. I grabbed a quick bite with a friend for dinner. Immediately I noticed that the restaurant is clean, spotless in fact but I was disappointed to learn that the menu will be limited due to an event occurring on the outdoor patio.
Luckily they were still serving the BBQ board and after considering our options for the meats, our server informed us that they ran out of everything except the pulled pork and brisket. Crushed that I wouldn’t have a chance to try the burnt ends or ribs, I ordered both the pulled pork and the brisket. The brisket was good, very tender but the pork lacked flavor. I lost my enthusiasm by then because the meal was not what I pictured when it comes to Texas BBQ and for $ 18, I felt robbed.
I later learned that their lunch menu features more traditional BBQ and their dinner menu is more non-​traditional and healthier. I do hope to go back for lunch because the ambiance was pleasant and the beers are a hit!

I went to grab a quick bite with some friends after happy hour. The menu is very different at dinner than at lunch, where I roll out of the restaurant stuffed and happy sick from eating too much.
We decided to share 2 appetizer plates and an entrée — the cheese board, the charcuterie, and the barbecue board.
Don’t get me wrong, the food was delicious, but I should leave the restaurant full. The size of the appetizers and entrees are much smaller than at lunchtime, and I left hungry. And with less money in my pocket.
I’ll come back to the Granary, but probably only during lunch, when I can eat $ 14 worth of food and feel full.

Dined… er drinks with appetizer on 10/​07/​2015
Based only on bar experience.
The bar area has a warm and relaxing atmosphere with about 6 or 7 stools. Everything is visible, clean and inviting.
I love Brew Pubs, and this one is no exception. They brew all their beers on premises as well as carry other craft /​micro’s from the western US. The barkeep was extremely helpful and very knowledgeable about the Granary’s brewed beverages, and allowed me samples of anything I thought might be interesting.
I settled on two different beers here, the 1^st was their Barleywine (9.8%) and the IPA (6.5%), both were quite delicious. I would have had a second Barleywine but it was hitting me a little too hard and I wanted to try another place for drinks and food.
For an appetizer I settled on their house made and smoked charcuterie tray, in which I enjoyed 3 different preparations of pork (see photo). The pork belly rounds were delish!!!, and so was the pork neck. This was also the first time I have ever had head-​cheese (not real cheese, but a type of loaf of meat parts)… all awesomely good!!!
I definitely plan on returning here when I’m in San Antonio again!!!

NOM NOM NOM ! I love me some BBQ! Made a reservation because I thought this place would be hopping on a Friday night. Well, we got there, and it wasn’t packed at all. The building is a house that was converted, and the deco and ambiance is very chill and inviting. They have a great big patio off to the side as well. Hubs and I ordered 3 plates to share, and their beer menu is amazing! The menu (and the server) suggests 2 – 3 plates per person. We had plenty (but ate every bite) of 3 plates between the two of us.
The BBQ plate had brisket (amazing!), pulled pork, beans and potato salad… All really really good. We also ordered the Beef Shoulder, which was slow cooked as long as the brisket, with a coffee crunch quinoa on top with some veggies. The beef just fell apart and essentially melted in your mouth. It was delicious! Lastly, we had the steak, which was the least favorite of both of ours. It was a very thick cut, and although it was lean, it was cooked well with great flavor. The steak plate was double the price what the other two were, and maybe half as good. I would not order that again, but rather 2 BBQ plates or try something else.
Also, the tables and chairs are like picnic style with no back or comfort on the chairs. If I had to be picky, I’d say that this was something I did not really like.
I can’t wait to bring out of towners to the Granary.