The real deals

7 hot San Antonio happy hours where you can wine and dine for less than $20

Deviled eggs are only $3 during The Esquire Tavern's happy hour.

Quick, empty out that sports coat or bag gathering dust in the closet. Chances are you’ll find a long-forgotten $20 bill that begs to be put to good use.

That new windfall can buy dinner and drinks at these generous Alamo City happy hours where $20 goes further than you'd think.

Boiler House Texas Grill & Wine Garden
Six bucks will get you a classic daiquiri at this Pearl hot spot. It will also get you a variety of small plates like eggs stuffed with deviled ham, crunchy chicharrones served with hot sauce, and fried curry chicken balls with crumbled cheese curds. Combine any of the above, and you’ll have a light dinner and drinks for around the normal price of an entrée — and reason to come back from 3-6 pm every day of the week.

Chart House
Usually known for fancy date-night dining, the Tower of the Americas’ slowly spinning restaurant is just as friendly for casual early evening hangs. Start with a cocktail like a pomegranate margarita for $7 or a glass of Cabernet for $6, then feast on the bargain appetizers like fried artichokes, truffle fries, ahi tuna nachos, or lettuce wraps for $4-$5 each. Check it out on weekdays from 4:30-7 pm.

Chisme
Those who think cheese deserves its own food group will find much to love at Chisme’s happy hour, running 5-7 pm on Tuesday through Saturday and 4-8 pm on Sunday. Although other food is available, it's easy to fill up on free chips and queso while enjoying a devilish array of $5 drinks like micheladas, boozy aguas frescas, rosé, and Maracuja Mules. The draft beer is even more affordable at $3 per pint.

The Esquire Tavern
Some things are too good to be true, but then there’s this downtown cocktail mecca, which offers fantasy pricing every weekday from 3-7 pm. Five tempting dishes — ranging from jalapeños rellenitos to shrimp toast — are available for $3, so you can splurge on the always well-crafted drinks. Even those are $3 off, making the budget stretch even further.

The Hoppy Monk
Garfield might like Mondays if he knew about the Hoppy Monk’s all day “hoppy hour” featuring a huge assortment of local beers, a quartet of cocktails, and wines by the glass priced at $6 and under. At those prices, guests can afford to pony up for full-price plates like roasted local veggies, mac and cheese, or sweet-and-spicy Brussel’s sprouts. Can’t make it at the beginning of the week? Catch the deals from 3-6:30 pm on Tuesday through Friday and 10:30 pm to close on Sunday through Thursday.

Paloma Blanca
One of San Antonio’s highest rated Mexican restaurants is a treat at full price, but the deep discounts during happy hour make it even better. From 3-6 pm on weekdays, feast on a small queso and guacamole, nachos, or three tacos al pastor for only $5 per plate. A nice variety of wine and domestic beer is available for an on-the-cheap pairing, but the small frozen or rocks margaritas are the best deal at only $3.50 a pop.

Sangria on the Burg
Sangria chef and owner Caesar Zepeda knows what folks want in a happy hour, whether it's a session with friends after work or a nightcap before bed. Available from 3-6 pm Tuesday through Sunday and 9 pm-close Tuesday through Saturday, Sangria's deals include snacks like brisket nachos and loaded fries for under $5 and tacos for just $2. The mangonada margarita is a little pricier at $7, but it's worth every penny.

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NYT loves AUS

Pastry chef from San Antonio makes New York Times Best Bakeries list

Comadre Panadería/Instagram

Comadre Panadería is known for nostalgic Mexican bakes with feminine flair.

The New York Times has once again shined its spotlight on Austin’s culinary scene. It included Comadre Panadería, an Austin bakery by San Antonio native Mariela Camacho, on its new list of the 22 of the Best Bakeries Across the U.S. Right Now.

Interim food critic Priya Krishna praises pastry chef Camacho’s pastries that include conchas and her signature pink cake. “Despite their saccharine appearances, not one of the desserts is overly cloying, and even the coffee drinks (Texas pecan horchata! Cranberry vanilla agua fresca!) strike the playful tone of the pastries,” she writes.

Comadre Panadería has been widely recognized, including by this publication; Camacho, who is now based in Ausitn, won Pastry Chef of the Year in the 2023 CultureMap Austin Tastemaker Awards. She also earned a 2024 James Beard Award semifinalist nomination for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker.

Camacho and Comadre as a whole are both invested in using baked goods to make a more equitable world, from the bakery's early days as a fundraiser for disaster relief, to a current insistence on charging enough to support ethical and organic foods, and paying staff enough to keep up with rising costs in Austin.

Although Camacho was born in San Antonio and started her baking career there, she also spent a significant time in Seattle, Washington, where Comadre started as a pop-up. According to Austin Monthly, she then moved back to San Antonio, and then to Austin. But no matter where she is, the Mexican cooking traditions of her ancestors take precedent.

Mariela Camacho of Comadre Panaderia in Austin Mariela Camacho, Comadre Panaderia. Courtesy photo

The Times also recognized Houston's Koffeteria. Krishna hails the bakery for pastry chef-owner Vanarin Kuch’s creative fare that includes dishes such as beef pho kolaches, Chinese sausage breakfast tacos, and butter mochi.

“Some of Mr. Kuch’s offerings are rooted in his Cambodian American identity — he makes cornbread with the coconutty, scallion-forward flavors of Cambodian street corn — while others are odes to Houston’s multicultural makeup. But most of the fun of Koffeteria is having no idea what Mr. Kuch will do next, and eagerly awaiting his next innovation,” Krishna writes.

Open since 2019, Koffeteria has been riding high this year. It earned a James Beard Award semifinalist nomination for Outstanding Bakery and a CultureMap Houston Tastemaker Award for Pastry Chef of the Year.

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Comadre Panadería and Koffeteria are the only Texas establishments to make the Times’ list. Only California and New York City, which each have three representatives, earn more recognition.

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