Highway 16 Diner - Helotes (Fredericksburg, Howe: restaurants, prices, airport)

[majormadmax]

The other day I was driving down Bandera Road in Helotes and I noticed the Italian restaurant that was almost across from Babes was now called the Highway 16 Diner.

So today the family piled into the Honda minivan and we made our way over there to check it out. Well, first the place was pretty packed but we still were seated after a few minutes. Our waitress showed up quickly afterward and took our drink orders. The menu had a decent selection on entrees and I decided on the chicken strips while the wife chose a cob salad and my oldest went for a burger. My youngest doesn't usually eat restaurant food so he got rice and corn. The food came within a reasonable amount of time, but it certainly wasn't fast.

I will work backwards here, my wife thought the cob salad was "pretty good" and my son thought the burger was "awesome." He also liked the fries which we just like the kind you get at Popeye's.

My chicken strips were "good" but I did have two criticisms. First, the creme gravy had a distinctive smokey taste to it; which my wife attributed to the bottom of the pot it was being cooked in having burned. It wasn't a slight flavor either, it was very noticeable. Secondly, the chicken was a bit overcooked (dry and chewy). Not too bad, but noticeable as well.

Despite my less-than-stellar meal, I do think we will return. Unfortunately, the decor is nowhere near that of a traditional dine (you have to go to the Fredericksburg Airport for that). As a matter of fact, it still looks like an Italian restaurant inside. But as my wife and son enjoyed their meals, and it appeared that most of the other clientele did as well; there is no reason not to go back. However, we won't rush back as there is a plethora of other great places to eat nearby (Bobby J's, el Chapparal) and while good, the Hwy 16 Diner doesn't quite reach the same levels of excellence that those places do...

Here are a couple of other reviews...

Hwy 16 Diner serving up road-tested recipes (http://www.mysanantonio.com/community/northwest/Hwy_16_Diner_serving_up_road-tested_recipes.html - broken link)

Highway 16 Diner - Northwest Side - Helotes | Urbanspoon

Cheers! M2

[CameraGirl]

Labor day weekend we were heading to a small street fair in Old Town Helotes and stopped at the Highway 16 Diner for a late lunch it was around 3:30. First off, the place is not a diner in the least. The menu is not a diner menu at all either and as the OP mentioned- the decor is actually just small town restaurant. That was our first disappointment. Our hostess was nice enough- she told us our waitress would be [deleted] and she would be around in just a minute to take our drink orders. A nice guy, not [deleted] eventually came and got our drink orders explaining that [deleted] was very busy training people and straightening some problems out and so he was just filling in for a minute. When [deleted] finally came to our table she breezed by our table and set a bill on our table on her way by. My husband and I were like what (?) we haven't even ordered yet. [deleted] comes back by and grabs the bill without an explanation and gruffily says this is mean't for another table. We try to joke with her and say- yea, we figured since we haven't even had our order taken yet. She just fixes us with a look like- I don't care. She comes back and takes our order and we also get our orders somewhat slowly, but an entirely different person brings out the order and we never get refills on our drinks. Eventually, another waiter walks by and my husband asks to have his coffee topped off and the waiter takes his half-drunk coffee mug with him instead of bringing the pot to our table and comes back like 10 mintues later and says that he is going to have to brew a new pot- we say forget it, but that he took the cup away and DH only got half a cup and considering all the long waiting we did in this visit (only 2 people at our table and an hour & a half later) we felt they should strike the coffee charge from our bill. He goes back to the kitchen area and tells [deleted] and [deleted] now hustles out in an angry way to confront us about the coffee situation- we explain the scenario and she say's but you did get half a cup. [deleted] was definitely railing for a fight!! But, we were too shocked by her rude ways to actually come back with anything clever on the spot- like [deleted], you've ignored our table for over an hour, but you sure hightailed it out here when we ask to have the coffee charge stricken. She goes back to the kitchen and runs in to tell all the employees about our altercation and we know this because we were sitting like 20 feet from the kitchen doors but parallel with them and she opens the kitchen doors and points us out to approx. 5-6 employees and is glaring at us and without guile & pointing us out . She pulled a similar treatment to the table right next to us. It was actually shocking. When we left we made sure to get the restaurants number so that we could call the owners to let them know- just how badly we got treated.

[onlysourcherry]

I've been there once with my family, a few weeks ago. The menu is alright but it's mostly stuff like chicken fried steak, meatloaf, etc. My grandmother and mom enjoyed their chicken fried steak. My aunt, great-grand and I had salads. The salads were horrible. The Cobb salad had everything stuffed on the side instead of in rows on top. Hardly any egg, a bit of chicken and slices of American cheese do not make a Cobb salad. And for $8.00 left a lot to be desired. I had to ask the manager to refill my glass of water.

While we were there, another table near us was complaining about their food and waiter to the manager. Another table was complaining about their food not being as on the menu.

The manager was nice enough and so was our waiter but we all agreed we wouldn't be going back.

[Lee W.]

Thanks for the info on that place! We were thinking about trying it sometime, but it sounds like that restaurant will be going down the tubes just like the Italian place if they don't straighten out! BTW, I didn't like the other place, so wasn't surprised it closed so soon. The restaurant business is a sink-or-swim type of business in normal times, but in this economy...well, the odds are not good for any new restaurant. I read all the comments on this place and it doesn't sound good.

[majormadmax]

Although I didn't have the greatest experience there, I am quite surprised at all the less-than-stellar reviews as the place was packed when we were there and the rest of my family quite enjoyed their meals.

We may give it another try, but unless I have a better meal than the one I experienced, we won't be going back again...

[Ellabelle1298]

While i was reading these replies to the experience at Highway 16 Diner i was wondering if we went to the same place. Before i walked in there i had to take a couple things into consideration. First this is a new restaurant with new owners. Second it came from a less than perfect reputation that was the Italian place. I could not judge based on the experience i had with Colonnas. When i walked in, I was politely greeted by the wait staff. It was like seeing an old family friend that i had not seen in years. Plus all the wait staff seemed to work together to make sure that everyone was taken care of. i surprised to see that the prices were very reasonable. Places in the area don't give you what you pay for and you can be cheated on food, service, and experience. After being informed that the food was cooked to order i quickly understood that there would be a slight wait. When the food hit the table i quickly asked myself where i was going to be putting it all. I knew i would need a to go box. Our server was polite and attentive considering all the other tables she was handling. She kept up with my husbands obsessive tea drinking nicely. She was in no rush to kick us out and even after we had paid she was still refilling the tea until my husband could not drink anymore. Walking out i was sure to mention that i would be back soon. Since then i have taken family, friends, coworkers etc and everyone has seemed to enjoy it. I would recommend Highway 16 Diner to anyone who asks.

[dmarie123]

Ellabelle...
Since this is your first and only post ever... I'm going to assume you work for the diner.

[soccermom2]

My family went there a few weeks ago and didn't have any problems at all. It was a Sunday evening and place was packed. Our waitress was friendly and efficient.

[Seguinite]

Originally Posted by dmarie123

Ellabelle...
Since this is your first and only post ever... I'm going to assume you work for the diner.

Why? Didn't you ever make a first post?

[PopsGuysRule]

Originally Posted by dmarie123

Ellabelle...
Since this is your first and only post ever... I'm going to assume you work for the diner.

hahaha, was my exact thoughts, as well.... LOL