Riverwalk Cantina – The Gaylord Texan

9 Reviews on “Riverwalk Cantina – The Gaylord Texan”

• Livin The Good Life

  While staying at the Gaylord Texan, we actually dined at the Riverwalk Cantina for both dinner and breakfast. Dinner includes a set menu, but they also have a buffet. I chose the buffet and thought it was pretty good, although a bit pricey. My wife had tortilla soup and my kids got spaghetti. For breakfast, we all got the buffet and it was very extensive. They have bacon, eggs, sausage, potatoes, biscuits and gravy, grits, French toast, pancakes, waffles, omelettes, fruit, various pasties, and many other items that are too extensive to list. The service was spectacular on both visits and during breakfast, the waiter even brought my daughter a chocolate boot for her birthday. We enjoyed the food and the service was excellent, but felt it was al little overpriced for what you get. That being said, this place is a relaxing and causal place to go dine with family or friends. livinthegooodlif.blogspot.com

  October 31, 2016, 11:29 pm

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• Stephanie Jan Dorn

  This Easter my family took a break from our usual tradition of a low key mexican buffet and decided to get all gussied up and have Easter Brunch at Riverwalk Cantina, nestled in the coziest corner of the atrium in The Gaylord Texan Resort.There, I got to experience my dream in real life and it was so much better than my imagination could ever conjure up. In my dream-come-true, I got to have all of the little deserts as well as a sampling of some of the best New American cuisine I’ve ever had.Riverwalk Cantina @ The Gaylord Texan Resort1501 Gaylord Trail, Grapevine, TX 76051We are a buffet loving family, us Dorns’ and I consider myself to be a well qualified connoisseur of the genre. I love a cruise ship buffet, a country club buffet, a cafeteria style buffet, a well stocked salad bar- I’m all in as long as the food is delicious and well prepared.This Easter Buffet was, without a doubt, one of the very best- if not THE best- buffet I’ve ever had. I was even able to meet and chat with the Executive Chef, Zeb Hartline and he gave me a personal tour of the whole operation.Chef Zeb is a brand new Texan who just moved here a little over a year ago having graduated from Le Cordon Bleu in Orlando. It sems that Texas suits Chef Zeb just fine. He’s even part of the Texan Smoke Bandits, an award winning, Gaylord-Sponsored, competitive BBQ team. Chef Zeb brings a classic and refreshing culinary point of view to Dallas.His Easter buffet menu is a masterpiece. It is creative and ambitious, delicious and totally relatable. I would love to see more Chefs like him in Dallas.When it was time to make my first plate my head was spinning. Culinary sensory overload was at a ten. Luckily, I had everything all planned out ahead of time.Jans Easter Buffet Action Plan1. Avoid the bread, pastries and breakfast items. I’m sure they’re all wonderful but I cant have a Texas shaped waffle taking up precious space in my stomach.2. Save desert for last so I can have it with coffee.3. Eat two bites of everything until my spanx give out.Right in the heart of the Cantina were three huge caldrons of shrimp, oysters on the half shell and crab claws over ice. I decided to start there.Shrimp, oysters and crab clawsShrimp, oysters and crab claws, oh my!I limited myself to two shrimps and two crap claws. If that’s not self control than I don’t know what is.Then, just past the seafood, lie a table of awesomeness the likes of which, I’ve never imagined. Stretched across a twelve foot table, piled up in adorable, please eat me pieces, were eight different kinds of cheese.Eight perfect little, deliciously stinky, cheesy mountains interspersed with rustic loaves of bread, jars of house made pickles and hills of Texas chorizo, capicolia and prosciutto.Heaven, y’all. It was cheese HEAVEN.I took one piece of each cheese and one slice each of the prosciutto and capicola. I stopped at the soup table, got a ladle-full of the lobster bisque and headed to the table for round one.It was almost impossible to not eat and walk but I restrained myself.So, you know how sometimes, you bite into a piece of cheese and it’s so good that you kinda forget how to think for a few minutes?No? Just me?Well that’s absolutely what happened to me when I tried the Red Dragon whole grain cheddar. This cheese was on another level.Arsenio wants to know how good the cheese is, well in advance.The shrimp and crab were cooked perfectly. I’m definitely adding cold crab claws to my own party appetizer menu.The lobster bisque was so rich and creamy, that I was mysteriously incapable of eating it without closing my eyes. My bowl should have had a bit more lobster in it but unfortunately, the gentleman in front of me had fished out all the big lobster chunks before I could get to it.At this point I was feeling pretty good and nowhere near full. Main course(s) time.In the main courses area, Chef had different action stations set up. At one station chefs were preparing Pan Seared Scallops with sweet corn puree, brussels sprouts with ghost peppered caviar. At another he had Braised Chicken Tinga and Rock Shrimp Salad Tacos. Fancy yet, familiar.They added a nice touch and made the place feel so much more lively than your standard, Easter Buffet Snoozefest.Chef Zeb had the basics very well represented. The ham, prime rib and lamb were absolutely perfect. This is not an overstatement. All of it was perfectly seasoned, perfectly cooked. Perfect sauce pairings.I was beyond impressed.Of all the main dishes, the Pan Seared Salmon with faro, fava bean, rainbow chard and vegetable mole was my favorite and I ate every bite of it. I’ve never eaten or cooked with fava beans before and Chef told me of the painstaking process involved in double peeling the beans for close to one thousand diners.Well bless the mans heart, I sure do appreciate the effort. I cant wait to incorporate them into my own recipes.Finally, finally, finally it was desert time.The Executive Pastry Chef at The Riverwalk Cantina is Chef Arthur Surman. This man literally made my dream a reality.Little mango mouse tarts. Little key lime pie. Little chocolate brownie. Little cream puff. Little chocolate eclair.Next to my wedding day and the births of my two children, this was like the greatest day of my life.I put one of everything on my plate. I got some funny looks from folks on the way back to the table but I didn’t care.I was about to enjoy 15 different deserts and my spanx were holding up beautifully.Best day ever.I cannot thank Chef Zeb enough for the amazing food as well as the time he gave me in person and over the phone. I also want to thank him for going the extra mile for us parents by setting out a very impressive kids buffet.I appreciated the consideration so much as did Chloe and Haley.Chef Zeb couldn’t have been kinder and he is a Talent that I will be watching closely from now on. I cant wait to see how he grows in the future and I will definitely be back to The Riverwalk Cantina.visit my site for more Dallas area reviews and original recipes. CanMamaDoIt.com

  June 29, 2016, 8:00 pm

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