MalaFama Social Cantina

I was so excited to try this place. Looking at the website it made it seem so nice and yummy. I was extremely let down. Don't ever go an hour before close because you will get terrible service. The waitress was unbelievably rude, basically mad that we came in for food instead of just drinks. I ordered the Birria tacos (on the menu stated it comes with consume) and didn't receive the consume. When I asked the waitress about it she rolled her eyes and responded with, "yeah we don't have that." Well that should have been stated to me... I have never received birria tacos without consume. I would've understood if it wasn't stated on the menu but it was. Other than that, the actual meat on the taco was cold like it's just been sitting out, so that was just overall frustrating. I ordered the drink with empress gin, after waiting for it they finally came and told me they were out of the empress gin. The diet coke was gross. The street taco outside across the street was 1000000 times better and way cheaper. don't waste your money.I will say the shrimp quesadilla was really good.The lady downstairs (with red hair) that was trying to get people in, was the nicest part out of the whole experience. She should teach the servers how to treat people with respect.

Do not get fooled this place is a nightclub ... it's not a restaurant. I gave one star for trying. For the price your food comes out in plastic baskets... service is slow... and $5 margarita is just gross! The ambiance is that of a sports bar/ night club.

We waited 20+ minutes. There where 3 bartenders. One just leaned on the register, the other 2 made drinks. They saw me waiting, I was told to hang on. That's fine, I can understand. It got to a point there was nobody ordering and they just grouped up and spoke with each other with me right in front of them. I kept saying excuse me, but I just got a finger in my face to wait. Horrible service, especially for the price. Try Howl at the Moon directly across the river from Mala Fama, excellent service, better environment, people actually looking like they are having fun. I'll never go to Mala Fama again.

I was in San Antonio for a quick weekend trip and was looking for a happy hour spot along the Riverwalk. A lot of places were either not doing specials or already setting up for dinner or didn't have spots overlooking the river. Mala Fama it seemed like had recently opened and there was staff down by the river asking people to come in. I decided to give it a shot when the staff member told me there were $5 margs, tacos, a good balcony spot overlooking the river and other snacks! It is upstairs so you do have to take the elevator or stairs up. Inside, the decor is actually super cool, very Day of the Dead themed and super trendy vibes. The bathroom was also super clean and BIG. We chose to sit on the balcony so we could overlook the river and it was actually a great view up and away from the crowd! Unexpectedly, the best part was that after sunset, bats came out and we were actually able to see them nearly at eye level swarming above the river!My friend and I ordered a couple margs (we tried both the prickly pear and mango) as well as the choriqueso. It is a super tiny menu and this place seemed to be more of a bar rather than a restaurant. The margs were pretty good (our second round definitely was heavy on the alcohol!). The queso was alright, it wasn't queso blanco which I prefer and it wasn't the creamiest texture but it hit the spot and I did LOVE the veggies mixed in. Overall, pretty cool spot for a drink and snacks on the Riverwalk!

Sarah was awesome tonight! The calamari and the guac apps were AW-MAZ-ING. The drinks were as expected for MalaFama. I think next time I'm come up Tuesdays for 2$ wells!!!

Visited on Thursday early evening (7:30pm). There is a tip bucket at the entry door which security mentions as you walk in. I ordered their "Mala Fama" margarita which I assume is their signature drink. The drink was extremely sweet (thick & syrupy) and didn't taste like alcohol. I told my waiter about it & asked if they could remake it less sweet. She returned quickly with what looked like the same drink and it tasted worse. They appeared to have poured a ton of concentrated lemon juice into it. It was completely undrinkable. Waiter never returned. I took 2 tiny sips of my drink during my stay. My friend who also had a different drink from their menu didn't like hers either. The place has a nice view (we sat in their rooftop patio) but that was the only thing great about it.

Let's start with the good. The service was awesome and the restaurant is huge. I think it doubles as a club. The food however had no flavor and was bland. Drinks were watered down and over priced.

The margaritas were very syrup full. Couldn't even finish them...they were HH prices, so maybe that what you get...anyway the only response we got when we brought it to our attendant's attention, was "Oh. Hmm". Saddened.

Best happy hour specials on the Riverwalk! 5.00 ritas, bloody mary's, micheladas. Can't beat the specials or the atmosphere. Great music too.

Food was expensive for small amount. Had chicken fajitas with cold charro beans. About 2 pieces of grilled onions, some red & green peppers. Corn tortillas were cold and hard. Mom's baked potato was hot and large. She shared with us. One other group in restaurant and our order took 30 minutes. Probably won't go back here.