Paramour is a bar in Pearl, San Antonio.
Paramour sits on the rooftop of the Phipps building near the river just south of the Pearl, a glamorous open-air bar with skyline views, shareable plates.
Food program: Shareable plates
Tip: Go at sunset for the skyline. It draws a dressed-up crowd; arrive early to claim a railing spot.
Address: 102 9th St Floor 4, San Antonio, TX 78215
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.
Faust Tavern is a Tobin Hill dive with stiff pours and a craft-beer list past sixty, cash-friendly and busy with the St Mary's crowd on weekend nights.
Signature drink: Stiff pours and 60-plus craft beers
Food: None
Tip: A proper dive with stiff pours and a deep beer list. Cash-friendly and busy with the St Mary's crowd on weekends.
The Esquire Tavern downtown keeps the longest wooden bar in Texas upstairs and a cocktail room by the river below; a burger soaks up the drinks either way.
Signature drink: Cocktails at the longest wooden bar in Texas
Food: Burgers and bar snacks
Tip: Sit at the historic bar upstairs, then drop to the downstairs cocktail room by the river. A burger soaks up the drinks.
The Cherrity Bar near downtown's east side pairs craft cocktails and comfort food with a charity model, donating proceeds to rotating local causes.
Signature drink: Cocktails that fund local causes
Food: Vegan and comfort plates
Tip: Your tab supports a different local charity each cycle. The vegan kitchen and live-music nights make it a full evening.
Double Standard is a downtown American tavern with a serious cocktail list, chef-crafted burgers and small bites, and fresh Texas oysters on ice.
Signature drink: Cocktails with burgers and Texas oysters
Food: Burgers, small bites, oysters
Tip: The cocktails come with a real kitchen behind them; the burger and oysters hold up. A reliable downtown option.
Bar 414 is a downtown speakeasy stirring 1920s-style cocktails with house-made ingredients, named for the Gunter Hotel room where bluesman Robert Johnson recorded.
Signature drink: Prohibition-era cocktails with live jazz and blues
Food: Snacks
Tip: Named for Robert Johnson's Gunter Hotel recording room. Come for the live jazz and a properly stirred classic.
