Chili con carne is a bowl of beef simmered in a deep, dried-chile gravy seasoned with cumin and garlic, traditionally without beans in the Texas style. San Antonio claims its commercial origin, and the dish remains a Tex-Mex anchor, served on its own or as the gravy ladled over enchiladas.
San Antonio's Chili Queens sold bowls of chili con carne from open-air stands in the downtown plazas from the 1880s, feeding workers and visitors by lamplight for decades. Their stands effectively introduced chili to the wider United States before the city closed them over sanitation rules in the 1930s and 1940s. The chili-gravy enchilada plate that defines San Antonio Tex-Mex descends directly from that tradition.
3 editor picks for Chili con carne in San Antonio, ranked by editorial score. All San Antonio signature dishes · Chili con carne 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.