Restaurants
While Easterners were sitting down to meals seasoned with imported spices and served on fine china, Texas was still a frontier. Throughout much of its history as part of Mexico, then as an independent republic, and finally as a state, Texas remained a vast land sparsely populated by cowboys and hardy pioneer types who learned to cook using the ingredients they had at hand, including prickly pear pads and rangy beef that was as tough as shoe leather.
Today San Antonio boasts some restaurants whose haute cuisine and continental fare have been lauded by national publications. But many people think the best food in San Antonio is served up at the small diners, the neighborhood cafes, and the smoky barbecue pits across the city. That’s where you’ll find reminders of that frontier ingenuity in dishes like fajitas and chicken-fried steak, plus ethnic favorites such as German sausage and Tex-Mex tacos and enchiladas.
Overview
Our restaurant listings are arranged by cuisine. We haven’t included chain restaurants as a rule except for those properties that are especially unique or those chains that are headquartered near San Antonio.
Most restaurants are open for lunch and dinner and remain open between meals; we’ve indicated if restaurants deviate from this practice. You’ll find that the majority of restaurants in San Antonio don’t serve into the wee hours. Most close up around 10 p.m.
Thanks to the ADA, restaurants are wheelchair accessible for the most part. A city ordinance bans smoking unless the proprietor has made certain alterations to enclose a smoking area. Many, however, have outdoor patios.
Some larger restaurants accept (and encourage) reservations; we’ve indicated these in the listings. Often, however, you’ll just need to show up and get your name on the waiting list, especially at River Walk area restaurants. Waiting time varies, but expect long waits on Friday and Saturday evenings. Outdoor tables are especially popular any time the mercury dips below the mid-90s during summer months and any time winter days are sunny and clear. Most River Walk restaurants also have indoor seating, popular with those in search of a little air-conditioned relief.
Most restaurants accept major credit cards; we’ve indicated those that deviate from this practice.
City: San Antonio, TX
Category: Restaurants
Address: 1414 S. Alamo St., #105
2. Dewese’S Tip Top Cafe
City: San Antonio, TX
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (210) 732-0191
Address: 2814 Fredericksburg Rd.
Description: If good comfort food is your goal, a trip to the Tip Top is a must. Often voted tops in the “home-cooking” category, DeWese’s is famous for its huge but tender chicken-fried steaks, onion rings piled sky-high on a plate, chili, and desserts like your mama made. This is a popular place, so you may want to arrive a bit early to avoid a wait. Once settled, however, you’re in for a fine—albeit fattening—meal. Think Father Knows Best or The Life of Riley. Even the decor is nostalgic (although that may not be intentional), with its knotty pine walls, mounted deer heads and fish, and worn Formica-topped tables. The cafe is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tues through Sat, and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sun.
3. Dick’S Last Resort
City: San Antonio, TX
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (210) 224-0026
Address: 406 Navarro St.
Description: Dick’s is known as the most wisecracking restaurant and bar on the river. The waiters and waitresses like to make jokes and toss out matchbooks decorated with old photos of topless women, and the ladies’ room has vending machines offering fluorescent condoms. The restaurant offers both inside and outside seating. If you dine inside, you’ll sit at huge communal tables and enjoy R&B, funk, and contemporary music played by some of the area’s finest musicians. The menu here leans toward barbecue but includes choices from burgers at lunch to chicken to shrimp. Everything is served in small tin buckets on a table covered with white butcher paper. Main dishes arrive with a bucket of french fries and bread. Save room for the desserts: cheesecake and peanut butter pie.
City: San Antonio, TX
Category: Restaurants
Address: 2015 NE Loop 410
5. Hard Rock Cafe San Antonio
City: San Antonio, TX
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (210) 224-7625
Address: 111 W. Crockett St.
Description: Part of the South Bank development project, the Hard Rock Cafe offers rock ’n’ roll memorabilia, good old American food, and, of course, the Hard Rock Cafe gift shop selling the requisite T-shirts. This popular restaurant has both indoor and River Walk dining (our favorite); the outdoor tables are nestled beneath shade trees so it’s not too toasty even on summer days. But even if you eat outside, save time for a peek at the indoor collection of rock ’n’ roll artifacts; Sotheby’s says that Hard Rock Cafe has the most extensive collection of rock memorabilia in the world.
City: San Antonio, TX
Category: Restaurants
Address: 4108 Broadway and numerous other locatio
City: San Antonio, TX
Category: Restaurants
Address: 902 NE Loop 410
8. Malt House
City: San Antonio, TX
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (210) 433-8441
Address: 115 S. Zarzamora St.
Description: The Malt House has been a San Antonio institution for more than half a century, serving up classic dishes like the quarter-pound Fat Boy burger with the obligatory order of fries. Other options include enchiladas and fried fish. But the real centerpiece of the Malt House menu is, predictably, its malts. Save room for one of these creamy creations (chocolate is an all-time favorite) and enjoy a taste of the 1950s, San Antonio style. This restaurant is often selected by San Antonians as a favorite for budget watchers, a place where you can dine for less than $2 per person. It’s open daily for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It also offers curb service, along with inside eating.
City: San Antonio, TX
Category: Restaurants
Address: 2222 W.W. White Rd. South
City: San Antonio, TX
Category: Restaurants
Address: 3902 McCullough Ave.
11. Pam’S Patio Kitchen
City: San Antonio, TX
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (210) 492-1359
Address: 11826 Wurzbach Rd.
Description: Homemade soups, sandwiches, and desserts—all made with TLC—are the delightful fare at Pam’s Patio Kitchen, a bright little spot located in the Elms neighborhood shopping area. Proprietress Pam Strain uses half-and-half or sour cream in the cream soups she serves (cream of asparagus is fabulous!), fresh-squeezes her lemonade (it comes in mango and strawberry variations), and makes mouth-watering desserts like praline cake and blueberry pie from scratch. Among the favorite salads here are Thai beef and the spinach-strawberry-pecan. You can dine indoors or on the patio from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tues through Sat and from 6 to 9:30 p.m. on Thurs, Fri, and Sat.
12. Fujiya Japanese Garden
City: San Antonio, TX
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (210) 615-7553
Address: 9030 Wurzbach Rd.
Description: Located between I-10 West and Fredericksburg Road, this eatery holds the title as San Antonio’s oldest authentic Japanese restaurant. You’ll feel like you’ve taken a quick trip to Japan in the authentic tatami dining room with seating on mats, although seating options also include tables and chairs. The restaurant serves favorites such as sukiyaki, along with numerous seafood, vegetarian, and noodle dishes; more than 50 varieties of sushi are also available. Open daily for lunch and dinner.
13. Hunan River Garden
City: San Antonio, TX
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (210) 222-0808
Address: 506 River Walk
Description: Located right on the River Walk, this longtime local eatery offers up traditional Chinese fare, from sweet-and-sour pork to Kung Pao chicken, with a view that’s definitely nontraditional. Szechuan, Hunan, and Cantonese cuisines are featured. This is the only Chinese restaurant on the River Walk and, as such, is always crowded. Daily lunch specials draw many office workers in the area as well as tourists. Entrees range between $7.95 and $14.95. Open daily for lunch and dinner.
14. Kabuki Japanese Restaurant
City: San Antonio, TX
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (210) 545-5151
Address: 15909 San Pedro Ave.
Description: This restaurant is located in the Galleria Oaks Shopping Center, just off US 281 North at the Thousand Oaks exit. The elegant eatery features teppanyaki hibachi cooking as well as the creations of a Japanese sushi chef. Popular menu selections include sashimi, chirashi, sukiyaki for two, shabu-shabu for two, tempura, teriyaki chicken, and teriyaki beef. The restaurant offers a happy hour special on Tues, Wed, Thurs, and Sun from 5 to 7 p.m. with $1 sushi. Open Tues through Fri for lunch and dinner (closing between 2 and 5 p.m.) and weekends for dinner only.
15. Bill Miller Bar-B-Q
City: San Antonio, TX
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (210) 533-5143
Address: 2750 Bill Miller Lane
Description: The largest barbecue chain in the nation is headquartered in San Antonio. Bill Miller Bar-B-Q has more than three dozen locations in San Antonio alone. It might be considered the fast-food version of barbecue spots, with a product milder and more geared to family tastes than some of its competitors. Nevertheless, the offerings here are plentiful and inexpensive. Take the whole family and order anything on the menu—brisket, chicken, sausage, or ham followed by an excellent slice of homemade pie—and you still won’t break the family budget.