Texas - Best food in SAT

Going to have a conference at the Riverwalk in about a month and was wondering where the best food was close to the RW. I have been very underwhelemed with the food that is available on the river.

TIA,


JAB

Going to have a conference at the Riverwalk in about a month and was wondering where the best food was close to the RW. I have been very underwhelemed with the food that is available on the river.

Other than Boudro's (http://www.boudros.com/boudros/), the Riverwalk's food is incredibly disappointing. We locals generally avoid it like the plague.

Depending on your budget, Le Reve (http://www.restaurantlereve.com/) is generally considered to be the best restaurant in San Antonio and one of the best in all of Texas.

Biga on the Banks (http://www.biga.com/) is also highly regarded.

Acenar (http://calendar.sacurrent.com/restaurants/place.asp?id=1660) has good contemporary Tex-Mex.

Bohanan's (http://www.bohanans.com/) is a nice steakhouse with an exceptional chicken fried steak.

Just south of downtown, Rosario's (http://www.mytravelguide.com/restaurants/profile-77938905-United_States_Texas_San_Antonio_Rosarios.html) is a fine Tex-Mex place with the best salsa in the city. Very popular, but worth a visit. Rosario's also has an airport outpost in Terminal 2, but it is very much inferior to its big brother on Alamo Street.

My absolute favorite Tex-Mex restaurant, about a 10 minute drive north of downtown on Broadway, is Paloma Blanca (http://www.mytravelguide.com/restaurants/profile-77938905-United_States_Texas_San_Antonio_Rosarios.html). It is easily accessible on your way to or from the airport (in fact, with rush hour traffic on 281, Broadway is often a faster and easier option between the airport and downtown). Paloma Blanca's roasted garlic tomato salsa is second only to Rosario's and its enchiladas verdes and vanilla tres leches cake are second to none. A can't-miss restaurant if you have a rental car or don't mind the cab ride.

I'm going to be in SAT for a few days next month for my parents' 50th anniversary (don't ask). We're staying at Amerisuites (please don't ask). Is there a restaurant that anyone can recommend for a celebratory dinner of about 10 people, with 2 small kids? The parents are pretty white-bread, so I'm thinking a traditional place, not tex-mex (which we'll sample plenty of from the list above on our own).

What about BBQ?

I'm going to be in SAT for a few days next month for my parents' 50th anniversary (don't ask). We're staying at Amerisuites (please don't ask). Is there a restaurant that anyone can recommend for a celebratory dinner of about 10 people, with 2 small kids? The parents are pretty white-bread, so I'm thinking a traditional place, not tex-mex (which we'll sample plenty of from the list above on our own).

What about BBQ?

Which Amerisuites? Riverwalk, Jones Maltsberger, or Crossroads?

Rudy's Bar-B-Q (http://www.rudys.com/index.html) is the best but it is informal (you get in line, pick up your food, and seat yourself) and is would be a fairly lengthy drive to either Leon Springs or Selma so I'm not sure if it is what you want.

I'm going to be in SAT for a few days next month for my parents' 50th anniversary (don't ask). We're staying at Amerisuites (please don't ask). Is there a restaurant that anyone can recommend for a celebratory dinner of about 10 people, with 2 small kids? The parents are pretty white-bread, so I'm thinking a traditional place, not tex-mex (which we'll sample plenty of from the list above on our own).

What about BBQ?

A group of us had some wonderful BBQ and Margaritas at County Line. Paging fredmartens :D

Here I go asking a question and then forget to come back. Stupid me. :ashamed:

We're at the Amerisuites Northwest (wherever that is). Someone on the tripadvisor SAT board suggested doing a dinner cruise on the river. I'm having a hard time coming up with someone who's equipped to do it for such a small group, though. Acenar will do it for a $1000 minimum (I really didn't want to spend that much but might if I had to) and Boudro's might be able to do something like that, but with other people on the same boat. Eh.

I'm big on the dinner cruise idea...that will be sure to bring lots of oohs and aahs from the parents. I just have to figure out how to make it work.

Who will be my hero and figure this out? :)

Here I go asking a question and then forget to come back. Stupid me. :ashamed:

We're at the Amerisuites Northwest (wherever that is). Someone on the tripadvisor SAT board suggested doing a dinner cruise on the river. I'm having a hard time coming up with someone who's equipped to do it for such a small group, though. Acenar will do it for a $1000 minimum (I really didn't want to spend that much but might if I had to) and Boudro's might be able to do something like that, but with other people on the same boat. Eh.

I'm big on the dinner cruise idea...that will be sure to bring lots of oohs and aahs from the parents. I just have to figure out how to make it work.

Who will be my hero and figure this out? :)

Just something to consider...none of these boats...at least none that I've seen or been on...has a covering. Unless they do, the potential for pigeon poop on your tacos is quite high, so you might want to make this point part of your inquiries somewhere along the way.

I usually carry a bandana for the tourists from Minnesota who get crapped on during the boat tours. Invariably, they try to return it to me, whereupon I reply, "No thanks. Keep it as a souvenir." :)

My favorite Mexican food restaurant in SAT is Mi Tierra's. My favorite BBQ restaurant in SAT is the County Line.

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

guest.forum@starwoodhotels.com

We are starting our first of three visits to Texas to earn the 60K bonus with AA. Will be in SAT two weekends and the following restaurants are offering double points in the iDine program. Can anyone give any feedback...

Andrea's Mexcian Restaurant
El Torreon Restaurant
Las Palapas Restaurant
Bar II (night club)

Our other visit is in Austin, so looking for feedback on these as well:

Copa Bar & Grill
Hickory Street Bar & Grill
Ninfa's Mexican Restaurant
Bayou Cajun Cafe

Thank you,

Yamonjon

I believe that the only Ninfa's in Austin was the one on 6th that closed last year, so definitely cross that one off your Austin list. Can't offer any input on the other options, sorry.

We are starting our first of three visits to Texas to earn the 60K bonus with AA. Will be in SAT two weekends and the following restaurants are offering double points in the iDine program. Can anyone give any feedback...

Andrea's Mexcian Restaurant
El Torreon Restaurant
Las Palapas Restaurant
Bar II (night club)

Bar 11 is a good place to have a drink. And a great place to rack up iDine points at an office happy hour if you pick up the tab. I certainly wouldn't plan on eating there, however. It is fairly easy to find right across from North Star Mall.

Las Palapas is a fairly uninspiring low budget TexMex chain. Not worth a visit.

Can't help you with the other two.

I believe that the only Ninfa's in Austin was the one on 6th that closed last year, so definitely cross that one off your Austin list. Can't offer any input on the other options, sorry.

Isn't there another one on Research Blvd. near 135 across the street from the Red Lobster?

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

guest.forum@starwoodhotels.com

...Our other visit is in Austin, so looking for feedback on these as well:

Copa Bar & Grill
Hickory Street Bar & Grill
Ninfa's Mexican Restaurant
Bayou Cajun Cafe

Thank you,

Yamonjon

Hickory Street Bar & Grill was an interesting hole in the wall type place downtown. They used to have these huge spuds - I mean these things were so big they looked like a Texas A&M science experiment - that you could load up with various toppings.

Haven't been to any of the others on your list, but Ninfa's kind of falls into the category of most chain Mexican food restaurants. You can do a lot better than this. My favorite Mexican food place in Austin is Chuy's, but there are even a lot better, more authentic places on the East Side.

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

guest.forum@starwoodhotels.com

Chuy's on San Pedro near intersection 1604.

Best tex mex especially during the green chili festival ^

Isn't there another one on Research Blvd. near 135 across the street from the Red Lobster?



oops, you're right! There is still a location at Anderson Lane and 183. But I would agree that the best Tex Mex in town could be found on the East Side (I like Nuevo Leon on E 6th)

oops, you're right! There is still a location at Anderson Lane and 183. But I would agree that the best Tex Mex in town could be found on the East Side (I like Nuevo Leon on E 6th)

El Azteca is my favorite on the East Side, but I've heard good things about Nuevo Leon, so I'm going to have to give that a try.

I guess we veered a little off-topic, no? :o

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

guest.forum@starwoodhotels.com

Chuy's? Second-rate TexMex in both San Antonio and Austin. Actually, I'm probably being generous by calling it second-rate. Why settle for a mediocre TexMex chain deep in the heart of Texas? It would be one thing to recommend a place like Chuy's in Minnesota; it's something else to suggest in in Texas.

For a chain, Ninfa's is much better than Chuy's. The original Ninfa's on Navigation in Houston is actually quite good. The Ninfa's branch in Waco stands head and shoulders above the other offerings in Waco (although that's not really saying much).

In San Antonio, go as I recommended in post #2 in this very thread, to Paloma Blanca and/or Rosario's.

Don't you be bad-mouthing Chuy's. That chicken fried steak is MMMM good.

appreciate the help. I realize most of these may be run of the mill places. I was just hoping to find the best of as we need to stick to these as we are AA Mile hogging on these trips. We must get to 270,000 point by June 1st for Biz class to Italy next year.

Yamonjon

Hickory Street Bar & Grill was an interesting hole in the wall type place downtown. They used to have these huge spuds - I mean these things were so big they looked like a Texas A&M science experiment - that you could load up with various toppings.

THANK YOU. I've been trying to remember the name of this place forever. I love loaded baked potatoes (and in fact, in my high school/college years) they were the mainstay of my diet (back in the day when I was several sizes smaller than I am now) and Hickory Street was where I always went when in Austin for conferences!

Most food on the riverwalk bites. I will add to the short list of restaurants that don't the Fig Tree. It's definitely more of a small intimate place you go with your s/o and is quite expensive but the times I've been there the food has been wonderful and the ambiance is great.

Here (http://www.sallys-place.com/food/dining_directory/north_america/san_antonio.htm) is a decent list of good restaurants in S.A. I HEARTILY second La Paloma if you can get away from the 'walk. Great mexican foods and some of the best margaritas I've ever had. The new location is much larger but the waits haven't let up much. :D La Fonda is a San Antonio tradition. I remember going there with my grandparents when I was 3! :o I don't think the food is particularly amazing but the place is an institution and I still return out of nostalgia if nothing else.

A fabulous mexican restaurant (NOT Tex Mex) that's relatively close is El Mirador, just south of the Riverwalk. I walked there with my wife from the Westin... don't recall it being that long a walk but I could be wrong. Regardless, skip it for breakfast but for lunch or dinner the food is sublime. I've never been wowed by a salad but they make a raspberry dressing that absolutely knocked my socks off. Highly recommended.

Second El Mirador. Saturday for lunch there specials are soups. Thursday for lunch the ribs are excellent.

Josephine's street at Josephine and 281, just north of downtown is cheap and good for lunch or dinner.

Le Reve, expensive french downtown.

Le Reve now has a raw bar open for lunch and dinner which is suppose to be very good.

Most consitent steak on the river is Little Rein, Boudro's is touch and go. but good guacamole.

Rule #1 -- Read SAT Lawyer (above) Avoid the Riverwalk like the plague, with its 24 ounce margaritas and all-you-can-eat nachos.

Rule #2 -- In case of doubt, consult Rule #1.

I can't believe that, with all the knowledgeable locals weighing in, no one has mentioned my favorite San Antonio restaurant -- Azuca, in the King William district. Latin fusion, excellent, with a decent wine selection. HIghly recommended.

Oh, and if you must do the Riverwalk, try Las Canarias (or El Canario, can't remember which). Fairly formal, very good food, vaguely Spanish. No shorts and baseball cap crowd.

I'll second Azuca - I don't live in SAT so was hesitant to endorse it after only one meal there, but very much enjoyed a dinner there last May. As I recall, great seafood (shrimp and ceviche)

Just finished a competent BBQ dinner at the County Line out here in BFE by our hotel. Why on EARTH my parents wanted to come here is completely beyond me. There is NOTHING TO DO in San Antonio. Sea World? Closed during the week. Six Flags? Yeah, that's closed too. I thought we were going to have to break down today and go to the wigsphere but, alas, that's closed for remodeling. The Riverwalk was kinda cool, but how many shops full of Texas-shaped birdhouses and "don't mess with texas" t-shirts can you look at when it's pouring down rain?

Tomorrow going to Acenar, and have high hopes.

The saving grace is that there's a Popeye's just around the corner from the hotel.

There is NOTHING TO DO in San Antonio.

You should have delayed your trip a few weeks and been here for Fiesta (http://www.fiesta-sa.org/)!

I take it you and the folks aren't big golfers. Because there are certainly plenty of great golf course here. The Quarry, La Cantera, and Cedar Creek are all top shelf public courses.

Go see the Alamo (if you haven't done so already). Visit the missions. Go see the World Champion Spurs in action (next up: Golden State on Saturday).

Just finished a competent BBQ dinner at the County Line out here in BFE by our hotel. Why on EARTH my parents wanted to come here is completely beyond me. There is NOTHING TO DO in San Antonio. Sea World? Closed during the week. Six Flags? Yeah, that's closed too. I thought we were going to have to break down today and go to the wigsphere but, alas, that's closed for remodeling. The Riverwalk was kinda cool, but how many shops full of Texas-shaped birdhouses and "don't mess with texas" t-shirts can you look at when it's pouring down rain?

Tomorrow going to Acenar, and have high hopes.

The saving grace is that there's a Popeye's just around the corner from the hotel.

In college, I spent a few hours at Dirty Nellis on the river, basement of hilton. Never was bored and always had a good time.

If one had a choice between Bohanan's and Morton's for a nice, leisurely, quiet, comfortable evening celebrating your 9th anniversary in San Antonio, which of these steak places would you choose? :)

Or would you choose another steak place in San Antonio?

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

guest.forum@starwoodhotels.com

If one had a choice between Bohanan's and Morton's for a nice, leisurely, quiet, comfortable evening celebrating your 9th anniversary in San Antonio, which of these steak places would you choose? :)

Or would you choose another steak place in San Antonio?

I prefer Ruth's Chris to both. Better service at the Concord location than the Sunset Station location.

J. Alexander's in the Quarry has some very good beef as well (my favorite: the Steak Maui).

But between Bohanan's and Morton's, I'd choose the former.

Better yet, although its a step up in price, pick Le Reve for a special occasion.

My girlfriend and I are heading over to the River Walk area this Friday for dinner (I know, I know, we can do better). Looks like the best Tex-Mex would be Rio Rio or Casa Rio... am I missing anything?

My girlfriend and I are heading over to the River Walk area this Friday for dinner (I know, I know, we can do better). Looks like the best Tex-Mex would be Rio Rio or Casa Rio... am I missing anything?

Yeah . . . they both suck. The Tex-Mex restaurants on the Riverwalk are generally lousy.

Try Acenar, if you want contemporary Tex-Mex. Very good. Or for traditional Tex-Mex, dig out $5 from your wallet and take a cab to Rosario's (consider walking the 30 minutes back to the Riverwalk after dinner to burn off those extra calories!).

My girlfriend and I are heading over to the River Walk area this Friday for dinner (I know, I know, we can do better). Looks like the best Tex-Mex would be Rio Rio or Casa Rio... am I missing anything?

Skip it.(Casa Rio I mean. As authentic as a black velvet painting.)

Guadalajara Grill next to the Hilton, lunch, light pregame fare.

The above mentioned La Paloma

For the real food, Mi Tierra over at the market place.(quick ride in a cab)
This place REALLY rocks at the market on Sunday mornings...increidble food from the outdorr vendors.

Little Rhein for steaks, etc. nice place.

To the OP, do the cruise. Of course the food will be awful...its the EXPERIENCE and the river cruise is very interesting and historical

I was the biggest Durty Nellies fan on the planet, they've gone to the dark side and its total chaos now (its bad when the single best feature about a place is the peanuts). Do my serious drinking at the Guadalajara and the new pub down by the Crowne Plaze.....uh.....Waxy O'Conners.

If anyonetells you there nothing to do is SA....be ware, be very aware. It rocks, and a medium level of sophistication, in a way that Dallas, Houston or even Austin does not do.

Yeah . . . they both suck. The Tex-Mex restaurants on the Riverwalk are generally lousy.

Try Acenar, if you want contemporary Tex-Mex. Very good. Or for traditional Tex-Mex, dig out $5 from your wallet and take a cab to Rosario's (consider walking the 30 minutes back to the Riverwalk after dinner to burn of those extra calories!).

Thanks for the advice; I was able to talk her into eating at Rosario's and it was very good. The salsa was as good as advertised. ^

For the real food, Mi Tierra over at the market place.

We decided to go over to Mi Tierra for breakfast and were very happy with the food and bakery. We bought some gorditas outside from one of the food vendors for the plane ride home.

Recently saw a show on the Food Channel where Bon Appetit Magazine was rating the Taco Taco Cafe (145 E Hildebrand Ave, I believe) as the best place for a taco in the country.

It doesn't seem to have its own web site, and from the references I find, it looks like it may only be a breakfast/lunch place (i.e., open 7 AM to 2 PM?). Knowledge, opinions, etc.???? Thanks.

Am now back from the weekend in SAT. Never got to Taco Taco Cafe, but had EXCELLENT meals at the aforementioned Rosario's (yes, really outstanding, "smokey" salsa) and Paloma Blanca (this was our favorite place).

But also have to add a rave review for the Liberty Bar (http://liberty-bar.com/). Like Paloma Blanca, it is definitely a drive or cab ride from the Riverwalk area. The ambiance was falling down funky (amazed the building is still standing), but the food was simply eclectically outstanding!

I am surprised no one mentioned Mi Teirra (http://www.mitierracafe.com/)

At least I enjoyed it when I was in San Antonio

They have a Mexican Bakery as well as Mexican food and I belive they are open 24 hrs in the Mercado

Is the info in this thread still relevant? If so, I guess I should be prepared to be underwhelmed.

Heading to SAT and the Riverwalk for a conference mid-March. Planning on popping over to the Alamo during my couple of free hours on Sunday, but won't have much recreation time for the rest of the conference.

Is there anything that I just absolutely shouldn't miss in the area? I'll be on-foot, so walking distance or reasonable cab fare will be a requirement. Some basics:

Arriving 3/16 early afternoon
Departing 3/19 early afternoon
Hotel: Marriott Rivercenter

TIA

I was reading Texas Monthly a couple of months ago...they listed Bohannon's Prime Steak and Seafood as one of the best places to get a steak in the State, especially the Akaushi steak (which I believe costs $95 a pop). From what I've read on Trip Advisor, it's definitely an expensive place, but the service and food are excellent.

I was reading Texas Monthly a couple of months ago...they listed Bohannon's Prime Steak and Seafood as one of the best places to get a steak in the State, especially the Akaushi steak (which I believe costs $95 a pop). From what I've read on Trip Advisor, it's definitely an expensive place, but the service and food are excellent.

It is a decent place, but I still prefer Ruth's Chris to it for steak.

I eat at Bohannon's frequently for lunch, which is a good time to go because the place is dead. I honestly can't see how it makes sense for the restaurant to remain open during lunch as the employee to customer ratio must be close to 1:1. The chicken fried steak is very good.

I'll cast another vote for Paloma Blanca (which has already been mentioned a few times in this thread). I've never had a bad meal there and it's a "must visit" for my trips to San Antonio! The staff are always helpful and cheerful as well. In addition to the regular dinner and lunch items, they also have some wonderful "brunch" specials offered on the weekends.