Nicosi is a fine-dining restaurant in San Antonio.
Nicosi is pastry chef Tavel Bristol-Joseph's dessert-only, phones-away tasting room behind Pullman Market, a multi-course menu that won a Michelin star.
Tip: It is desserts only, phones away, 20 seats. Book the alcohol pairing if you want the full arc of the tasting.
Address: 221 Newell Ave, San Antonio, TX 78215
John and Elise Russ run Clementine in Castle Hills, one of San Antonio's most ambitious New American kitchens since 2017, best seen through the Feed Me menu.
Tip: Order the Feed Me option and let the kitchen drive. The dining room is small, so reserve ahead.
Bohanan's is downtown's defining steakhouse, an upstairs white-tablecloth room from chef-owner Mark Bohanan serving prime steaks and Gulf seafood.
Tip: The downstairs bar runs a more casual menu and a strong cocktail. Upstairs is the white-tablecloth steakhouse proper.
Signature is the tasting-menu restaurant at the Signia by Hilton La Cantera Resort, where chef John Carpenter builds a seasonal menu on Gulf seafood.
Tip: It is a resort restaurant, so dress for the occasion. The tasting menu shows the kitchen at its most considered.
Brasserie Mon Chou Chou is a French brasserie at the Pearl from three French-born partners, serving escargot and steak frites on a patio over the plaza.
Tip: The escargot and the steak frites are the brasserie standards to order. The patio overlooks the Pearl plaza.
Ostra is the riverside seafood room at the Mokara Hotel downtown, an upscale dining room built around a raw bar, whole fish and a terrace over the River Walk.
Tip: Request a riverside table at dusk. The raw bar and the whole fish are the dishes to anchor the meal.
Las Canarias is the fine-dining room at La Mansion del Rio on the River Walk, a longtime special-occasion address known for its riverside Sunday brunch.
Tip: The riverside terrace is the seat to want. Sunday brunch here is a downtown institution in its own right.
