Going go be staying on the Riverwalk Sat and Sun night to celebrate 35 years of marriage. It's thru sheer dedication and religious background that she's stuck with me for that long!!!

Restaurants don't need to be on the Riverwalk. We can and will be driving around during our stay. But we will have at least a few meals on the Riverwalk so a rec there would be helpful.

Looking for places within a reasonable drive (45 min or less). One meal will be a steak place. Don't know if SA has a great steak place, but if it does I'd love a rec.

Don't really care about price. Hole in the wall dumps are fine as are $150+per plate is fine as well.

Most of the food on the river is not great but there are a couple of good spots. Boudro's is still probably the best bet. The Mexican on the river is very subpar and highly recommend going elsewhere if you want Mexican.

Steak - Bohanon's

Other places downtown or not too far:
Magpie
Bar Loretta
Leche de Tigre
Le Frite

Pretty much anything at the pearl or Pullman market depending on what you're in the mood for

Away from downtown:
Signature
Clementine

Other than steak do you have a particular type of food you want? It would help narrow down suggestions.

Josephine street is an old school steakhouse but not too fancy. More like an upscale diner but with a cool atmosphere and a convenient location by the Pearl.

The Esquire is along the riverwalk and has a bar upstairs and downstairs a speakeasy with oysters for a nightcap.

For something more fancy, Mixtli was recently recognized by Michelin and is just south of downtown.

Thanks guys, appreciate the help

The Esquire bar downstairs is cool. The restaurant I've heard keeps changing ownership. We ate there a few months ago and the food was rough. Our server about outright told us not to order a handful of things from the menu, and why.

First.....Congrats on the Anniversary!

Now for food....

I would recommend having a drink at the lobby bar at The Emma (Pearl), and the entire area is pretty cool just to walk around....

Bohanan's great choice, and the Mark Bohanan is an Aggie.


Outside of the Riverwalk,

Italian....Paesanos - Lincoln Heights. I wouldn't recommend the one on the river.

Mexican...El Jarro de Arturo.

Steak....J-Prime. Hard to beat when it is so close to the house! Service is outstanding. Been going there for Christmas Eve Dinner for the last 7 years.....


Also....just a heads-up, if you do head north toward Loop1604, check traffic and road closings. There is a big interchange at IH-10/1604 and at US 281/1604. They have been randomly closing them on the weekends....can be a mess if you get caught in them....

Bohanon's for steakhouse. You'll be close and it is great. I prefer sitting downstairs rather than upstairs though.

Would make sure to make it to the Pearl for a meal. Southerleigh, Cured, and Carriqui are good spots for weekend Brunch. Can also check out the Farmer's Market and some other shops while you are there. Hotel Emma has a very nice bar if you are into that.

Other good spots just south of the Riverwalk include Maverick (Texas), Battalion (Upscale Italian) Rosarios (Mexican), and Dough (Pizza).

We ate at Briga last year for our anniversary and it was wonderful.

This is a great suggestion. I can't believe I left it off!

Any specific Mexican place that is just a "you have to go there" place? I know there are a lot of Mexican restaurants.

The original donut shop for breakfast tacos
Blanco cafe (on blanco road!) for cheese enchiladas
You will thank me, I assure you
If you want something fancy, then La Fonda on main, although the other 2 are "more staples". Tex Mex is NOT meant to be fancy.

Forget el catrin, go to Scott's pizza if you drive all the way up there

Smoke shack for barbecue

I've heard Scott's pizza is phenomenal

https://www.chamagaucha.com/san-antonio

Chama Gaucha is legit.

Also as noted above, La Fonda and Bohanan's are very good.

Really this is spot on. Blanco Cafe is the best "regular" TexMex around. They never get fancy which is their genius. I can vouch for the (original) location on Fredericksburg too but Blanco location does great too. Idk what that cheese is that is an unnatural gold but it is delicious and quintessential TexMex

Again, thanks for the help!!

Obi Wan Ginobili said:

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Science Denier said:

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Any specific Mexican place that is just a "you have to go there" place? I know there are a lot of Mexican restaurants.

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It's because there are so many Mexican places that you can't get a single answer. Mexican food has too many combos and flavors for direct comparisons, and then you can get started talking about the atmosphere of the place. Almost all the suggestions on this thread alone have been good and would be at the top of a lot of lists.

I've lived here nearly my entire life and there isn't a single one that is unquestioned better than the rest.

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Correct answer.

When Lupe Tortilla came to town from Houston, I was blown away with the low ratings on google. Then I started reading them and people were complaining about the enchiladas. I was like who cares if Lupe Tortilla's enchiladas taste like your abuelas…you should only ever order the fajitas!

(Hope you're doing well Obi)

It's American cheese. Ha

Caracheo's on nacogdoches road has the best breakfast tacos imo.....

My wife rolls her eyes whenever I make my fajitas and tell her they will be better than Lupe's fajitas. They never are.

Science Denier said:

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Any specific Mexican place that is just a "you have to go there" place? I know there are a lot of Mexican restaurants.

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Consistent favorites that are also somewhat upscale…

El Mirasol
El Chaparal
El Jarro
La Fogata
Paloma Blanca
Rosario's

Agree 100% on Bliss and would add Magpie to the list. Both offer corkage and allow you to bring a nice bottle of wine for celebrations.