Hi-Tones is a bar in Tobin Hill, San Antonio.
Hi-Tones is a beloved Tobin Hill dive and live-music room just off the St Mary's strip, with a patio, cheap drinks, and a steady run of indie and local bands.
Food program: None
Tip: A patio dive with live indie bands most nights. Cheap drinks and a young crowd; cash is easiest.
Address: 621 E Dewey Pl, San Antonio, TX 78212
Roadmap Brewing is a rare downtown taproom within walking distance of the Pearl, pouring its own wide-ranging craft beer with a rotating food truck out front.
Signature drink: Craft beer in a downtown taproom
Food: Food-truck fare
Tip: A rare downtown taproom within walking distance of the Pearl. Check which food truck is parked before you go.
Pastiche pours playful European-leaning cocktails from a 1920s cottage in Dignowity Hill, a quiet east-side bar with charcuterie boards and real charm.
Signature drink: Reimagined European classics
Food: Charcuterie and bistro snacks
Tip: The cottage setting on a quiet street is half the charm. Order a riff on a European classic and a charcuterie board.
The Modernist near the Pearl runs without a menu; tell the bartender a spirit and a mood. It was named San Antonio's best cocktail bar in 2025.
Signature drink: Made-to-taste classics, no menu
Food: Snacks
Tip: There is no menu; tell the bartender a spirit and a mood. Named San Antonio's best cocktail bar in 2025.
Sternewirth is the bar inside Hotel Emma at the Pearl, set beneath the old brewery's restored cast-iron tanks, one of the most atmospheric rooms in the city.
Signature drink: Cocktails under the brewhouse tanks
Food: Bar snacks from Hotel Emma
Tip: Come for the room as much as the drink; the converted brewhouse is spectacular. Snacks come from the Emma kitchen.
Hugman's Oasis is a river-level tiki bar on the River Walk where tropical cocktails meet mid-century flair, named for the architect who designed the river.
Signature drink: Tropical tiki cocktails
Food: Island-leaning snacks
Tip: The river-level patio is the tiki seat to want. Go for the rum drinks; reservations help on weekends.
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.
