The San Antonio cheese enchilada is corn tortillas rolled around shredded cheese and onion, blanketed in a brick-red chili con carne gravy and more melted cheese, then baked. It is the plate that defines the city's Tex-Mex combo, usually served with rice and refried beans.
The chili-gravy enchilada descends directly from the Chili Queens' chili con carne and the combination-plate tradition that San Antonio's Mexican restaurants codified through the 20th century. Where interior Mexican enchiladas use a salsa or mole, the San Antonio version leans on a flour-thickened, cumin-scented chili gravy, a distinctly Tex-Mex creation that long-running rooms like La Fonda on Main and Mi Tierra still serve daily.
4 editor picks for Cheese enchiladas with chili gravy in San Antonio, ranked by editorial score. All San Antonio signature dishes · Cheese enchiladas with chili gravy across every city.
Mi Tierra Cafe y Panaderia ★ 4.4
market-square · 218 Produce Row, San Antonio, TX 78207
Mi Tierra has run 24 hours at Market Square since the Cortez family opened it in 1941, a Tex-Mex landmark with strolling mariachis and an in-house bakery.
La Fonda on Main ★ 4.2
tobin-hill · 2415 N Main Ave, San Antonio, TX 78212
La Fonda on Main is the oldest continuously operating Mexican restaurant in San Antonio, opened by sisters Virginia Berry and Nannie Randall in 1932.
Rosario's ComidaMex & Bar ★ 4.1
southtown · 722 S St Mary's St, San Antonio, TX 78205
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.
El Mirasol ★ 4.0
north-side · 10003 NW Military Hwy, San Antonio, TX 78231
El Mirasol is a north-side Mexican kitchen where the chiles rellenos and enchiladas are the orders to make and the weekday lunch specials are the value play.