Mid-Range in San Antonio

Theory Coffee Company

• ★ 4.8
• Coffee roaster
• $$
• Alamo Heights

Theory Coffee is an Alamo Heights roaster-cafe that has ranked among Yelp's top US coffee shops, known for a rotating single origin and a dialled-in espresso.

Merit Coffee

• ★ 4.7
• Coffee roaster
• $$
• Alamo Heights

Merit Coffee, founded in San Antonio and now across Texas, is the most widely available local roaster, with cafes around town and a bean subscription at home.

Estate Coffee Company

• ★ 4.6
• Coffee roaster
• $$
• Dignowity Hill

Estate Coffee roasts on East Houston Street in Dignowity Hill with the roaster in full view of the espresso bar, and supplies about 30 wholesale accounts.

Shotgun House Coffee Roasters

• ★ 4.6
• Coffee roaster
• $$
• West Side

Shotgun House Coffee Roasters roasts on the near West Side inside a former sewing factory, brewing single-origin coffee in a stripped-back warehouse cafe.

The Jerk Shack

• ★ 4.5
• Caribbean
• $$
• West Side

Order Jerk chicken, curry goat and festival dumplings.

The Jerk Shack is a Bib Gourmand Caribbean spot on the West Side where jerk chicken is the signature and the curry goat sells out; the lunch lines build fast.

Fierro Coffee

• ★ 4.5
• Coffee roaster
• $$
• North Side

Fierro Coffee is a bicultural roastery split between Guadalajara and San Antonio, specialising in traceable small-batch Mexican single-origin beans.

Mi Tierra Cafe y Panaderia

• ★ 4.4
• Tex-mex
• $$
• Downtown and Market Square

Order Enchiladas with chili gravy, pan dulce from the panaderia, a margarita with the mariachis.

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.

Cullum's Attaboy

• ★ 4.4
• American diner
• $$
• Alamo Heights

Order The smash burger, champagne brunch and a malt.

Cullum's Attaboy is chef Chris Cullum's retro diner near Alamo Heights, serving breakfast, a champagne brunch, and one of the best burgers in town.

Pinkerton's Barbecue

• ★ 4.4
• Texas Bbq
• $$
• Downtown and Market Square

Order Brisket, beef rib and jalapeno cheese sausage.

Pinkerton's Barbecue brought Texas brisket downtown; get there at opening before the beef rib and brisket sell out, and order by the pound to a nearby bench.

2M Smokehouse

• ★ 4.4
• Texas Bbq
• $$
• South Side

Order Brisket, the smoked chicken and Mexican-influenced sides.

2M Smokehouse on the South Side smokes brisket and chicken with Mexican-influenced sides, a Michelin-recommended pit open Thursday to Sunday until sold out.

Indy Coffee Club

• ★ 4.4
• Coffee roaster
• $$
• North Side

Indy Coffee Club roasts in house near UTSA and pulls dialled-in espresso in a punk-leaning room; the student crowd packs the north-side cafe during exams.

Best Quality Daughter

• ★ 4.4
• Brunch
• $$
• Pearl

Order Crab rangoon dip and the brunch dim-sum spread.

Best Quality Daughter does an Asian American weekend brunch at the Pearl, with a crab rangoon dip and a dim-sum spread; book ahead and request the patio.

La Gloria

• ★ 4.3
• Taqueria
• $$
• Pearl

Order Street tacos, ceviche and elotes on the River Walk patio.

La Gloria brings Mexican street food to the Pearl's River Walk patio, where a shared spread of tacos, ceviche and elotes beats ordering individual entrees.

The Esquire Tavern

• ★ 4.3
• American Tavern
• $$
• Downtown and Market Square

Order Esquire burger, fried pickles and a cocktail at the long bar.

The Esquire Tavern has poured downtown since 1933 and keeps the longest wooden bar in Texas, serving the Esquire burger and cocktails over the river.

Folklores Coffee House

• ★ 4.3
• Coffee roaster
• $$
• Alamo Heights

Folklores Coffee House is a Beacon Hill roaster-cafe whose Latin-flavoured signature drinks are the draw, with house-roasted beans to take home.

Dos Sirenos Brewing

• ★ 4.3
• Brewery
• $$
• Southtown

Dos Sirenos Brewing on East Cevallos is a Latino-owned Southtown taproom voted San Antonio's brewery of the year in 2024, with a dog-friendly patio.

Southerleigh Fine Food & Brewery

• ★ 4.3
• Brewery
• $$
• Pearl

Southerleigh brews 15 beers in house on the ground floor of the historic Pearl Brewery, bringing brewing back to the campus where Pearl beer was made.

The Modernist

• ★ 4.3
• Cocktail bar
• $$
• Pearl

Try Made-to-taste cocktails

The Modernist near the Pearl runs late as a menu-free cocktail bar where you name a spirit or a classic and the bartender builds the drink to your taste.

Pollos Asados Los Norteños

• ★ 4.3
• Mexican
• $$
• Dignowity Hill

Pollos Asados Los Norteños is an east-side strip-mall mesquite-grilled chicken counter; order a whole bird with the charro beans and tortillas.

Carnitas Don Raúl

• ★ 4.3
• Mexican
• $$
• Downtown and Market Square

Carnitas Don Raúl is a michoacán-style carnitas shop a few blocks north of downtown, sourced from a 1991 morelia family operation and rarely on tourist lists.

Magnolia Pancake Haus

• ★ 4.3
• Brunch
• $$
• North Side

Order German pancakes and the apple-cinnamon crepes.

Magnolia Pancake Haus is a walk-in-only north-side breakfast institution off Embassy Oaks, scratch-making German pancakes and apple-cinnamon crepes to crowds.

La Fonda on Main

• ★ 4.2
• Mexican
• $$
• St Mary's Strip

Order Cheese enchiladas, mole poblano and a margarita on the hacienda patio.

La Fonda on Main is the oldest continuously operating Mexican restaurant in San Antonio, opened by sisters Virginia Berry and Nannie Randall in 1932.

The Smoke Shack

• ★ 4.2
• Texas Bbq
• $$
• Alamo Heights

Order Brisket, the mac-daddy stuffed baked potato and pork ribs.

The Smoke Shack grew from a food truck into a Broadway BBQ joint near Alamo Heights, smoking brisket and pork ribs and piling them onto loaded baked potatoes.

Tlahco Mexican Kitchen

• ★ 4.2
• Mexican
• $$
• North Side

Order Breakfast tacos, chilaquiles and birria.

Tlahco Mexican Kitchen serves heart-of-Mexico cooking on San Pedro Avenue, from breakfast tacos and chilaquiles to slow-cooked birria, all day long.

Akhanay Coffee Roasters

• ★ 4.2
• Coffee roaster
• $$
• Downtown and Market Square

Akhanay Coffee Roasters imports Southeast Asian beans from Thailand and Laos, a small downtown cafe known for Hanoi egg coffee and Thai milk teas.

Barrio Barista

• ★ 4.2
• Coffee roaster
• $$
• West Side

Barrio Barista on Culebra Road builds Mexican-flavoured coffee, from horchata lattes to cafe de olla, a West Side cafe and roaster worth the trip.

Freetail Brewing Co.

• ★ 4.2
• Brewery
• $$
• North Side

Freetail Brewing is a north-side brewpub off Loop 1604 with a full kitchen, pouring adventurous sours, barrel-aged beers and IPAs alongside a sit-down meal.

Tacos El Regio

• ★ 4.2
• Taqueria
• $$
• St Mary's Strip

Try Al pastor and bistek street tacos

Tacos El Regio is the St Mary's Strip's late-night taco truck, griddling al pastor and bistek tacos for the bar crowd well past midnight, Monterrey-style.

Pastiche

• ★ 4.2
• Modern European
• $$
• Dignowity Hill

Try Cocktails and charcuterie in a cottage

Pastiche keeps its Dignowity Hill cottage open late for European-leaning cocktails and charcuterie, a quiet east-side nightcap away from the louder strips.

Maverick Texas Brasserie

• ★ 4.2
• Brunch
• $$
• Southtown

Order Omelette du fromage and the salmon bagel.

Maverick Texas Brasserie does a Southtown weekend brunch with mimosa bottle service, where the omelette du fromage and the salmon bagel are the orders.

Supper at Hotel Emma

• ★ 4.2
• Brunch
• $$
• Pearl

Order Seasonal market plates and the pastry basket.

Supper inside Hotel Emma runs a market-driven weekend brunch at the Pearl, leaning on the adjacent farmers market and the hotel garden for seasonal plates.

Box St. All Day

• ★ 4.2
• Brunch
• $$
• Downtown and Market Square

Order Brunch plates with a shortlisted brunch cocktail.

Box St. All Day at Hemisfair is a downtown brunch room between the Tower and Yanaguana Garden, with brunch cocktails, a selected espresso bar and plates.

Rosario's ComidaMex & Bar

• ★ 4.1
• Tex-mex
• $$
• Southtown

Order Enchiladas verdes, fajitas and a frozen margarita on the rooftop.

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.

Schilo's

• ★ 4.1
• German
• $$
• Downtown and Market Square

Order Split-pea soup, the Reuben and the house root beer.

Schilo's is a German-Texan deli downtown where the house-brewed root beer is the thing to order alongside the split-pea soup and the Reuben; cash or card.

Tong's Thai

• ★ 4.1
• Thai
• $$
• Alamo Heights

Order Pad see ew, curries and bubble tea in the koi garden.

Tong's Thai has anchored Austin Highway near Alamo Heights for years, serving Thai curries and noodles plus sushi, with a serene koi-pond garden for bubble.

Soluna Cocina Mexicana

• ★ 4.1
• Mexican
• $$
• Alamo Heights

Order Chispa margarita and traditional Mexican plates.

Soluna Cocina Mexicana on Broadway is a colourful family-run room serving traditional Mexican cooking since 1979, with the Chispa margarita signature.

Bakery Lorraine

• ★ 4.1
• Cafe
• $$
• Pearl

Order Macarons, quiche and a croque monsieur.

Bakery Lorraine grew from a Pearl farmers-market stall into a full cafe and patisserie, with macarons, quiche, and croque monsieur from a bright counter.

Local Coffee

• ★ 4.1
• Coffee roaster
• $$
• Pearl

Local Coffee is one of San Antonio's early specialty-coffee names, well placed at the Pearl for an espresso before the Saturday-market rush.

Künstler Brewing

• ★ 4.1
• Brewery
• $$
• Southtown

Künstler Brewing is a woman-owned German-Texan brewpub in Southtown, off the tourist path, pairing house lagers with hearty German-leaning food.

The Friendly Spot Ice House

• ★ 4.1
• Mexican
• $$
• Southtown

Try Frozen margaritas and tacos in the beer garden

The Friendly Spot runs its Southtown beer garden late, with hundreds of beers, frozen margaritas, and tacos under string lights, family and dog friendly.