The arts district south of downtown along S Alamo and S St Mary's, mixing Mixtli's tasting menu, Rosario's two-storey Tex-Mex, and the Blue Star coffee crowd.
Mixtli is San Antonio's first Michelin-starred restaurant, where chefs Diego Galicia and Rico Torres build a rotating tasting menu around one Mexican region.
Order: Whatever region the rotating tasting menu is exploring this season.
Tip: The menu changes every several weeks and focuses on one region of Mexico at a time. Book on Tock well ahead; seats are limited.
Rosario's is a two-storey Southtown Tex-Mex room with a rooftop bar, where enchiladas verdes, fajitas and frozen margaritas anchor a buzzy First Friday crowd.
Order: Enchiladas verdes, fajitas and a frozen margarita on the rooftop.
Tip: Head upstairs to the rooftop bar for downtown views. First Friday in Southtown turns the place into a party.
Little Em's Oyster Bar brings a proper raw bar to Southtown, with Gulf and East Coast oysters, a seafood tower, and Louisiana-leaning plates.
Order: Gulf and East Coast oysters, the seafood tower and gumbo.
Tip: Happy hour is the value play for oysters. The gumbo and the seafood tower are the kitchen's standouts.
Battalion is an Italian restaurant in a converted downtown fire station on South Alamo, where house pastas and wood-fired pizza lead a small-plates menu.
Order: House pastas, wood-fired pizza and Italian small plates.
Tip: The room, a converted fire station, is part of the appeal. Lead with the pastas and a bottle from the Italian list.
Maverick Texas Brasserie in Southtown is a New American room known for steak frites and a strong burger, with a mimosa-service weekend brunch as the draw.
Order: Steak frites, the burger and weekend brunch.
Tip: Weekend brunch is the social draw, with mimosa bottle service. The burger holds its own against any in town.
Halcyon Southtown flips from a coffee shop by day to a cocktail bar by night, where the patio s'mores are the after-dinner move on a Southtown evening.
Signature drink: Espresso by day, s'mores and cocktails by night
Tip: It flips from coffee shop to bar as the evening goes on. The patio s'mores are the after-dinner move.
The Guenther House in King William bakes Southern goods with Pioneer Flour from the historic mill next door, with sweet-cream biscuits and cinnamon rolls.
Tip: The sweet-cream biscuits use the mill's own flour. The store sells baking mixes to take the recipes home.
Worth the queue: Sweet-cream biscuits and cinnamon rolls
King William Wine Co. in Southtown is a shop and bar in one; browse the retail wall and open whatever catches your eye, a relaxed alternative to a restaurant.
Signature pour: A by-the-glass discovery from the shop wall
Wine focus: Curated bottles with a retail shop
Food: Cheese and small plates
Tip: Browse the retail wall and open whatever catches your eye in the bar. A relaxed Southtown alternative to a full restaurant.
Bar Loretta in King William is a restaurant and bar in one where wine pairs with modern Texas plates; the happy hour is the value entry, with bottles to go.
Signature pour: A glass to pair with the Texas-inspired plates
Wine focus: Choice wines with proper cocktails
Food: Modern Texas cuisine
Tip: It is a restaurant and bar in one; the happy hour is the value entry. The adjoining market sells bottles to go.
Stella Public House in the Blue Star complex pairs a selected international wine list and 20 rotating taps with Neapolitan pizza, a relaxed Southtown room.
Signature pour: A glass to drink with the wood-fired pizza
Wine focus: Internationally curated by-the-glass list
Food: Neapolitan pizza and Italian plates
Tip: The wood-fired pizza and a glass off the international list is the move. The patio overlooks the Blue Star complex.
Hola! at the entrance to Southtown is a Spanish tapas bar with a wine list to match, with a patio looking out to the Tower of the Americas and Hemisfair.
Signature pour: A Tempranillo with the patio tapas
Wine focus: Spanish-leaning by-the-glass and bottle list
Food: Spanish tapas and small plates
Tip: Order a spread of tapas with a glass off the Spanish-leaning list. The patio with the Tower of the Americas view is the seat to want.
Bar 1919 hides downstairs in Southtown's Blue Star complex behind an unmarked door, a Prohibition-styled speakeasy built around whiskey-forward classics.
Signature drink: Whiskey-forward classic cocktails
Food: None
Tip: It is downstairs in the Blue Star complex; look for the unmarked entrance. Whiskey classics are the strength.
The Friendly Spot is a family and dog friendly Southtown ice house with a huge beer list, where a frozen margarita and a taco under string lights is the move.
Signature drink: Cold longnecks and frozen margaritas
Food: Tacos and ice-house plates
Tip: It is family and dog friendly with a huge beer list. The frozen margarita and a taco is the order under the string lights.
Liberty Bar is a genuine Southtown institution that is equal parts restaurant and bar, where the cocktails and the enchiladas both more than hold their own.
Signature drink: Cocktails with Tex-Mex and American plates
Food: Tex-Mex and American cuisine
Tip: Equal parts restaurant and bar; the cocktails and the enchiladas both deliver. A genuine Southtown institution.
Bar Loretta in the King William district is a bar, restaurant, and market in one, with proper cocktails and a choice wine list behind modern Texas cooking.
Signature drink: Proper cocktails with Texas plates
Food: Modern Texas cuisine
Tip: The happy hour is the value entry point. The adjoining market sells bottles and provisions to take home.
La Tuna Icehouse is a Southtown ice house on Probandt whose shaded outdoor yard, cold beer and live music are the whole formula on a warm evening.
Signature drink: Cold beer in a historic ice house
Food: Burgers and Tex-Mex plates
Tip: The shaded outdoor yard is the draw on a warm evening. Cold beer and live music is the whole formula.
Künstler Brewing is a woman-owned German-Texan brewpub in Southtown, off the tourist path, pairing house lagers with hearty German-leaning food.
Tip: The German-Texan food pairs naturally with the lagers. A welcoming, woman-owned brewpub off the tourist path.
Dos Sirenos Brewing on East Cevallos is a Latino-owned Southtown taproom voted San Antonio's brewery of the year in 2024, with a dog-friendly patio.
Tip: The brewery sits a short walk from the King William stretch. Rotating IPAs, lagers, and stouts; the patio is kid- and dog-friendly.
Maverick Texas Brasserie does a Southtown weekend brunch with mimosa bottle service, where the omelette du fromage and the salmon bagel are the orders.
Order: Omelette du fromage and the salmon bagel.
Tip: Weekend brunch comes with mimosa bottle service. Book on Resy; the brasserie room fills by late morning.
The Guenther House sits in the 1860 home of the Pioneer Flour Mills family in King William, serving sweet-cream waffles and biscuits made with Pioneer flour.
Order: Sweet cream waffles and biscuits with the Pioneer flour gravy.
Tip: It is walk-in only with a weekend wait; the sweet-cream waffle is the order. Ask for a table on the garden patio.
Bar Loretta in King William turns its modern Texas kitchen toward a weekend brunch with proper cocktails, a polished neighbourhood room with a market.
Order: Brunch plates with proper cocktails.
Tip: The cocktails are as serious as the food at brunch. Grab provisions from the adjoining market on your way out.
Halcyon in the Blue Star complex runs an easy all-day brunch where you can pair eggs and pastries with a coffee or a cocktail, a relaxed Southtown room.
Order: Brunch plates with a coffee or a morning cocktail.
Tip: It works for a casual, no-reservation brunch with coffee or a cocktail. The Blue Star setting draws an arts crowd.
Rosario's is a two-storey Southtown Tex-Mex landmark whose weekend brunch leans on migas, breakfast enchiladas and frozen margaritas, with a rooftop bar.
Order: Migas, breakfast enchiladas and a frozen margarita.
Tip: Head to the rooftop bar with a frozen margarita and the migas. First Friday in Southtown turns brunch into a party.
La Tuna Icehouse in Southtown keeps its oak-shaded outdoor yard going past dark, where cold beer and live music are the late-night draw in mild weather.
Try: Cold beer and bar plates under the oaks
Tip: The outdoor yard is the late-night draw in mild weather. Cold beer and live music keep it going past dark.
The Friendly Spot runs its Southtown beer garden late, with hundreds of beers, frozen margaritas, and tacos under string lights, family and dog friendly.
Try: Frozen margaritas and tacos in the beer garden
Tip: The string-lit yard runs late with a huge beer list. A frozen margarita and a taco is the late-evening order.
Rosario's two-storey Southtown room keeps its rooftop bar and Tex-Mex kitchen going late on weekends, especially on First Friday when the area fills up.
Try: Tex-Mex and frozen margaritas on the rooftop
Tip: The rooftop bar runs late on weekends. First Friday in Southtown is the night to come for the full scene.
Rosario's Rooftop Bar sits above the Southtown Tex-Mex landmark on South St Mary's, a lively open-air perch for frozen margaritas over the neighbourhood.
Bar 1919 hides in the basement of the Blue Star Arts Complex, a Prohibition-styled speakeasy with dark wood, leather seating, and a deep whiskey list.
La Tuna Icehouse is a Southtown ice house on Probandt whose shaded yard, cold beer and weekend live music keep it busy late into the night.