WHERE TO SHOP
Where to shop: 6 San Antonio stops for breezy summer entertaining
Set your table with colorful plates from Rancho Diaz.
Whether it's front porch margaritas, charcuterie with the book club, or an impromptu Love Island watch party, summer entertaining should feel effortless. This year, skip the fussy recipes and formal tureens. These San Antonio shops make hosting seem as easy as ordering Uber Eats.
Karolina's Antiques
It’s Friday, there’s still two Zoom calls left, and you suddenly remember you’re hosting Saturday brunch. Head to this Beacon Hill staple for bestselling concha heart mugs or cantaritos. While you’re at it, pick up a few heart-shaped saucers, too. The rest is an afternoon sprint — a few blush peonies from Central Market or Trader Joe’s, assorted pan dulce from the closest panaderia, and bacon, eggs, and tortillas from H-E-B. Fill the cantaritos with a tequila cocktail, pour some salsa verde into the mugs. Done.
Honey Mercantile
Almost everything at this North Side boutique works together, like a capsule wardrobe for the table top. For a casually elegant get-together, load a brass-trimmed marble platter with salami and olives and serve a wheel of Délice de Bourgogne under a dramatic glass cloche. Turn it into cocktail hour by serving Kir Royales in rose stemless flutes. Most of the tea towels work with the color scheme, but we like to add some nonchalance. The Marva Lu Tea Towel does it with a swatch of picnic plaid.
Pullman Market
While many may associate this Pearl market with a night on the town, it brings just as much razzle-dazzle to a night in. Grab a scratch pasta and a sauce from Fife & Farro, salad greens from produce (no Cyclospora worries here), and a sourdough baguette. Take a hard left and find a Texas grapefruit sorbet; veer to the right and find a darling dried arrangement. No one says you have to sweat to throw the perfect dinner party, but we’re not above dusting our apron with flour to look like we did.
Rancho Diaz
Desert modernism took a few knocks in recent years with a glut of faux kilim pillow and buffalo prints. This Pearl boutique does it right. Mix in neutral pieces like hand-blown tamarind glasses with a little whimsy, say an extra-large vaquero platter or a preening pakka spoon. Shoppers will still have to brave the grocery store if they want to impress a potential suitor. But cue up the Netflix and toss some pistachio salsa macha with microwave popcorn; it’s entertaining for one.
Sunset & Co.
We know of no other store in town that offers both drain pipe augers and deliciously patterned dinner plates. But for patio season, we stroll past the putty and porcelain to stock up on paper and melamine plates. Be aware that this Alamo Heights staple sticks to an aesthetic — it’s all shivering hydrangeas, fluttering butterflies, and English manor lattice. Tone it down with a cabana striped runner or a set of unbreakable wine glasses in ring pop tones.
Mexico Ceaty
Sure, downtown’s Shops at Rivercenter is an odd mix of fast fashion, virtual reality experiences, and dueling pretzel shops. But it is also home to one of San Antonio’s most audacious culinary projects — chef Jason Dady’s 25,000-square-foot food court revamp. Low-lift entertainers can find to-go boxes of tacos and pastries and a central market stocked with wicker tortilla warmers, artisan textiles, and wines from Mexico’s emerging Aguascalientes region. Oh, you can also fill your cart with bottled aguas frescas. We’re not saying you have to spike them, but the Time Out liquor store is just a few steps away.
