George’s Keep

This might be my favorite bar. Drinks are always on point. Atmosphere is chill and a bit dark. Great vibe and awesome bartenders. There speciality drink menu is one of the best and delicious every time. Always busy but never over crowded.

If your looking to go somewhere nice and classy but good times as well this is your place. The drinks are great and the vibe is nice. It’s pretty dark inside. Everyone dresses nice here so don’t come in looking casual.

Not sure what happened here but sat down early for a drink. six bartenders on ten people in the place and no one wanted to help us. The sewer smell was overwhelming. Bartenders with attitudes… they wouldn’t work for me and the smell will make you vomit.

Classy bar, crafted cocktails, stylish clients… what more can you ask for!
Located in the Eilan complex, this bar is hidden from plain sight. With an entrance fit for a Hobbit and a low-​key sign, upon entering the bar, a calm ambiance will greet you. There is an outside area with patio seating and the inside bar is divided into two different wings with plenty of seating area.
George’s Keep offers their signature cocktail menu, but proudly serve other beverages. Upon ordering your drink, your bartender will craft you cocktail with great care. Watching them make your cocktail is an art. During my last visit, I ordered a Tequila Honeysuckle which consisted of three easy ingredients: tequila, honey, and lemon. This sweet but tangy drink, served in a rounded style martini glass, was delicious — it is easy to drink more! Also, they make a good Brown Derby and Sidecar.
If you’re looking for an upscale bar with amazing cocktails, this is the place to go!

Pleasant surprise! Didn’t expect a cool laid back place to be here. Our bartender was Mike! Dude is in a class of his own. They make some complicated drinks here. His old fashion was great with knob creek. I highly recommend this place. Great atmosphere. We will be back!

Great place To have Awesome drinks! Is not your simple, boring drinks place; they actually make delicious old fashioned, pisco sours, royales, you call it! Ask for a drink and they can probably make them for you. The service is amazing, friendly bartenders and very skilled at making delicious drinks. The place has this little hidden bar vibe and they also have a great happy hour that last until 8 pm (specialty drinks for $ 5.50!!!). They have a little terrace so it’s your choice to be inside or outside, no matter where my friends and I always have a good time.

Not the best. Thursday night pretty busy with only two bartenders. Drinks are too complex so it takes too much time to make. Didn’t even know old school drinks#rustynail. Over 20 minutes to get a drink and way over priced. Great atmosphere but super under staffed

I enjoyed this place very much. The drinks were beautiful and they tasted even better. I love the round ice cubes. I also like how hidden this is. We got there early enough in the night no wait at the door. There were plenty of places to sit.
The reason I did not give it 5 stars is because the door guy (who was very polite) asked my husband to take off his cap (that is not the problem) he also checked his tattoos (which was odd but also not a problem because he was polite) but once we were in a man walked in with a cap on. He happened to be the same race as the door guy. Disappointing.
I don’t mind establishments having rules to keep the riff raff out. Even if that means we are mildly discriminated against. But please don’t pick favorites. Treat everyone the same.

I love this place!!! Great place to relax and network after work!!! Not to mention the Best Old Fashions in town!!!

We were a party of 8 sat in the back at a round table — first of all it was hard to find a space big enough for all of us. We literally sat there for 30 min and there was NO service what so ever. We never got approached for an order. If we were all squished in this small table we would have to go get our drinks at the bar every time we wanted one. The space was too confined and we as a group prefer being waited on and we pay and tip accordingly. I’m surprised that it’s not about service there because of their high end location. But like someone mentioned their were a lot of twenty something year old people in there. It seems as if they cater to a much younger crowd — we are all in our 40s and prefer service.
All eight is us walked out together without ever having 1 drink and no one stopped to ask us if they could fix it. The few people that worked there barely gave us a glance. (I realize the hotel and the bar are two separate businesses…) Our buddy usually goes to the JW every year for his bday and they tried the Eilan hotel this time. Because of this experience, I’m sure they will chose the JW next time for the bar so we can celebrate till 2 am like we always do with impeccable non stop service.
This place looks nice but needs to hire more staff to take care of the entire bar.

Atmosphere is great… you just don’t expect it within the newer complex where it is housed. Feels like a cozy pub. Drinks are good, if falling slightly short of great. For $ 5 during happy hour, they are a great value. If they had some good bar food, I’d be there every weekend.
If we can’t have The Esquire in NW San Antonio, at least we have George’s Keep!

2.75 stars. I haven’t been impressed with the craft cocktail bar scene in San Antonio, and sadly, George’s Keep was in line with my previous experience at Hidden Dragon Cocktail Lounge. Basically, expect tiny variations on classic cocktails in an extremely busy room coupled with loud music. The best drink I tried was the Jack-​a-​lope which basically was like a Whiskey Branch where ginger was switched out with cantaloupe juice (which was odd because the drink already had enough sugar). The Brown Derby wasn’t half bad either (bourbon, grapefruit, simple syrup).
What was bad is that I nearly had a cricket jump into my drink on the outdoor patio where I was forced to retreat based on the god awful music selection within the «lounge». Also, it’s just odd that they have to crowd control this place with a bouncer. I get that this isn’t the East Coast, but the biggest culture shock by far in San Antonio has been the inability to find anything even remotely similar to a more exclusive cocktail bar. Does this scene simply not exist in this entire city? Overall, it wouldn’t matter because the city is great, but I can’t say I’m not slightly disappointed.
If you aren’t really into cocktails, and if you like your expensive drinks with a side show of meat market, George’s Keep is an excellent choice.

One of my favorite bars! Really enjoy the drinks and the atmosphere! Highly recommend! Menu changes which is great. Music is comfortable and you can actually have conversations without having to scream. Service is excellent!!!

Been several times– since my review. Service can sometimes be a little spotty when they are very busy.- loses its bar quality and feels more like a club. Clientele can be from very young 21 year olds with the Lycra dresses to people in their 40s who enjoy a good drink.
Go enjoy.

Showed up early and sat at the front bar. Best spot in the house. Jeremy took good care of us. Gave him an idea on what to name a drink. Let’s see if it makes it to the menu.

A nice hidden gem of San Antonio located in the 1604 area. George’s Keep has had their doors opened since 2014 and is a great edition to the Eilan Hotel & Estates. Tucked away neatly on the main terrace staircases you’ll find some lovely patio seating before walking inside. During the evening hours the ambience is intimate with the lights dimmed. There are two separate rooms within GK. you can expect to find them infusing their own house made shots such as Banana-​infused Jameson and Pear vodka. Part of the Blue Box family, you can expect some great handcrafted drinks. If you’re a jack and coke type of guy no worries they have you covered as well. They have a dual bar concept as I noticed there was a slight differentiation of drinks offered between the two bars. Super neat in my opinion. With an ever changing menu, they’re adaptable you can expect to find some fun and unique drinks. If you’re not too sure what you want don’t hesitate to ask the bar staff to whip up a fun drink. Just be nice enough and give them some direction for what type of drink you want.

³⁄₅ For this trip to George’s Keep.
Finding this location was definitely worth it for the stunning view of the Eilian and its surroundings. Upon entering George’s Keep I was brought back to a nautical den like feeling with family photos displayed around the bar. There is no waiter service so you are in charge of seating, and retrieving/​returning your glass. I had ordered the Latin Lover, the taste to the pallet was minty and had nice kick to go along from the distilled sugar cane liquor. What tossed it off was the cream in my opinion. This is not why I rank my experience ³⁄₅. To the point I had felt this place will deserve a second chance from me, my experience was mediocre and I’m sure my next experience will be better than the last.
Latin Lover $ 11

Good drinks, great atmosphere, friendly bartenders. What else need I say?
Well, I’ll elaborate a little more. It was my first time there. My friend lives in the apartments at the Eilan and has raved about this place. I’ve never had the opportunity to go until last Friday and what a cool place. You walk in and feel like you’ve jumped back in time. I absolutely love the look of the place. It has that old speakeasy kind of look. Just different than any other place in San Antonio. You can tell the moment you see the front door.
We looked at their cocktail menu which was another breed of its own. True mixologists. We tried several different drinks but my all time favorite was the Latin lover. It was simply delicious. Fell in love at first sip!
The bartenders were very informative and helpful. Even with them being as busy as they were they were all smiles and on top of things.
Just a great spot. We went on a Friday and there was a good crowd. Loved it. Will definitely be back.

All my San Antonio friends rave about this place and I just don’t see it. I’ve been dragged to this place twice on my last two visits and both have been mediocre at best, much so that we end up bouncing to nearby Bar Louie after a round of drinks. Ambiance is very quiet, even on a weekend night at 11 pm. The place is very small and the ceiling is low, so I feel super claustrophobic when I’m in there and we always end up sneaking back out to the terrace if its not boiling hot and humid outside. Prices are high but then it’s La Cantera so it’s to be expected. Which brings me to one of the few good things: clientele. Very sexy, so if you are a predator on the prowl you will definitely have your choice of prey.
Again, there are better options around the area, this just seems to be the cool place for now.

Omg… they did it again. Great space. Awesome atmosphere in the perfect area. Already in love.
The drinks are awesome and the bartenders are super sweet. Not gonna lie, it’s a little difficult to find at first but now that I’ve found it… I’ll be here every day. Super stoked about my new hangout. If you are in the area… and…even if you’re not. Come by!!! I’ll be here. Yay for new places in San Antonio.