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.
Must order: House pastas, wood-fired pizza and Italian small plates.
Tip: The room, a converted fire station, is part of the appeal. Lead with the pastas and a bottle from the Italian list.
Address: 604 S Alamo St, San Antonio, TX 78205
Mixtli is San Antonio's first Michelin-starred restaurant, where chefs Diego Galicia and Rico Torres build a rotating tasting menu around one Mexican region.
Order: Whatever region the rotating tasting menu is exploring this season.
Tip: The menu changes every several weeks and focuses on one region of Mexico at a time. Book on Tock well ahead; seats are limited.
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: Pecan-crusted chicken, the burger and seasonal fish.
Tip: Ask for a patio table under the oaks. The pecan-crusted chicken is the long-running signature dish.
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.
Order: Seasonal market plates and the pasta of the day.
Tip: Brunch and the bar at the Emma are as worth it as dinner. The market-driven specials change with the season.
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: Enchiladas with chili gravy, pan dulce from the panaderia, a margarita with the mariachis.
Tip: The dining room never closes, so a 3am plate of enchiladas after a night downtown is a San Antonio rite. Buy conchas from the front bakery counter to go.
Mixtli is San Antonio's first Michelin-starred restaurant, where chefs Diego Galicia and Rico Torres build a rotating tasting menu around one Mexican region.
Order: Whatever region the rotating tasting menu is exploring this season.
Tip: The menu changes every several weeks and focuses on one region of Mexico at a time. Book on Tock well ahead; seats are limited.
Chef Jennifer Dobbertin's New Asian American restaurant sits in the historic Mueller House at the Pearl, drawing on her Chinese-American heritage.
Order: Crab rangoon dip, Taiwanese popcorn chicken and the family-style noodles.
Tip: The patio and the funky Mueller House interior are both worth requesting. Cocktails lean playful; ask for the seasonal special.
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: The Feed Me tasting option, which lets the kitchen build the meal for you.
Tip: Order the Feed Me option and let the kitchen drive. The dining room is small, so book ahead on OpenTable.
