The restaurants worth a reservation in San Antonio, from neighbourhood bistros to the new classics.
The restaurants worth the trip in San Antonio: bistros, neo-classics, neighbourhood favourites, and the rooms locals book first.
29 places
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.
Order Crab rangoon dip, Taiwanese popcorn chicken and the family-style noodles.
Chef Jennifer Dobbertin's New Asian American restaurant sits in the historic Mueller House at the Pearl, drawing on her Chinese-American heritage.
Order The Feed Me tasting option, which lets the kitchen build the meal for you.
Chef John Russ and Elise Russ run Clementine in Castle Hills, a chef-driven New American room that has been one of San Antonio's most ambitious kitchens.
Order Fried chicken, Gulf snapper and a pint of the house-brewed beer.
Chef Jeff Balfour's Southerleigh brews 15 beers in-house on the ground floor of the Pearl Brewery and pairs them with Texas coastal cooking.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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.
Order Gulf and East Coast oysters, the seafood tower and gumbo.
Little Em's Oyster Bar brings a proper raw bar to Southtown, with Gulf and East Coast oysters, a seafood tower, and Louisiana-leaning plates.
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.
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.
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.
Order Enchiladas, chiles rellenos and tableside guacamole.
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.
Order Tres leches, shrimp brochette and the award-winning margaritas.
Aldaco's has served Mexican food in San Antonio since 1989, with a hilltop Stone Oak patio, a much-praised tres leches, and margaritas that win local awards.
Order The original puffy taco with picadillo or bean and cheese.
Ray's Drive Inn on the West Side has claimed the original puffy taco since Ray Lopez opened it in 1956, home of the deep-fried puffed-masa shell.
Order Puffy taco plate with rice and beans.
Henry's Puffy Tacos on West Woodlawn is the family rival to Ray's in the puffy-taco story, serving the crisp puffed-masa shell as a plate with rice and beans.
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.
Order Breakfast tacos and the carne guisada.
Garcia's Mexican Food has served classic Tex-Mex near Woodlawn Lake since 1962, a small family room known for breakfast tacos and carne guisada.
Order Barbacoa and Big Red, the carne guisada taco.
Tommy's Restaurant is the Tex-Mex spot whose 'Big Red and Barbacoa' sign made the combo a San Antonio shorthand, serving barbacoa tacos on flour tortillas.
Order Carne guisada plate, enchiladas and chalupas.
Blanco Cafe is a cash-friendly Tobin Hill Tex-Mex counter where the carne guisada plate, enchiladas and chalupas come cheap to a loyal early-lunch crowd.
Order The seasonal tasting built around local farms and producers.
Isidore at Pullman Market earned a Michelin star and a Green Star in 2025, a Modern Texas room from the Emmer & Rye group built around local farms.
Order Flour-tortilla tacos, grilled meats and a mezcal cocktail.
Mezquite at Pullman Market celebrates the Sonoran food pathways of northern Mexico, with handmade flour tortillas and mesquite-grilled meats.
Order House pastas, wood-fired pizza and Italian small plates.
Battalion is an Italian restaurant in a converted downtown fire station on South Alamo, where house pastas and wood-fired pizza lead a small-plates menu.
Order Pecan-crusted chicken, the burger and seasonal fish.
Cappy's has been an Alamo Heights neighbourhood mainstay on Broadway since 1977, a New American room with a leafy patio known for its pecan-crusted chicken.
Order Seasonal market plates and the pasta of the day.
Supper at Hotel Emma is the Pearl's farm-to-table flagship, where market-driven specials change with the season and the bar and brunch rival dinner itself.
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