Where to Drink

Where to drink in San Antonio right now: 5 favorite margaritas

El Machito San Antonio restaurant Johnny Hernandez margarita cocktail drink

These are the five margaritas you should be sipping on this month.

It's been an amazing start to a San Antonio spring, from warm weather to blooming wildflowers — all we need is a margarita on a patio. Served skinny, frozen, on the rocks, or with two straws, margaritas rule this month.

El Machito
The colorful background, the art, and the patio make this Quarry setting perfect for a big and bold margarita. The El Machito is one of our favorites in the city, made with Montelobos Mezcal, Ancho Reyes liqueur, Brugal rum, and muddled cucumbers. This crisp delight is a nice refresher on the patio or inside where all the fiery grill action is.

Aldaco's
This Stone Oak eatery is as tasty as it is beautiful. The frozen avocado margarita delivers a tasty complement to Aldaco's menu choices. We tried to bribe our server for the secret recipe, but they’re keeping it under wraps. All we can tell you is that you should order one. We also enjoyed the skinny margarita — something about that agave nectar keeps us coming back for more.

El Jarro
El Jarro is always buzzing with dancing, drinking, and good sustenance. The night we visited was no exception, and the patio also played a central part in a lovely evening with Arturo's Margarita. It's strong, straightforward, and delicious, and we couldn't stop at one. Proving that simple ingredients are the best, this one is made with Patrón Silver tequila, Cointreau, and lime juice.

Palenque Grill
New to La Cantera and ideal for a shopping pick-me-up, Palenque Grill has an unbelievable and beautiful bar. Brimming with every kind of drink you can dream up, its motto is "two is better than one" on the margarita front. Frozen or on the rocks, choose your tequila and the type of ingredients you want. If you know what you want, they will make it happen.

Boudro's Texas Bistro
Tourists and locals flock to this iconic downtown restaurant famous for its margaritas. The prickly pear 'rita is pretty, tasty, and everything we love: tequila, triple sec, and fresh lime juice frozen and layered with prickly cactus pear puree. You can find the recipe online if you’re feeling adventurous, or simply find a nice seat on the River Walk patio and enjoy the scenery.

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san antonio's culinary stars

5 outstanding San Antonio eateries land on first OpenTable Icons list

Photo by Robert Lerma

Nic

There's no denying San Antonio is full of high quality restaurants and talented chefs, and now five local restaurants are earning new recognition in OpenTable's inaugural San Antonio Icons list.

The OpenTable Icons lists, which first launched in July 2024, highlight local eateries in 25 cities across the U.S. and Canada, from award-winners to trendy hotspots and all types of cuisine. Chosen restaurants must have recently earned Michelin stars, James Beard Awards or nominations, positive reviews from diners and critics, and more.

The newly released San Antonio list is a combination of fine dining establishments and international culinary experiences mostly located in downtown or North Central San Antonio. While no one cuisine dominated the list, two out of the five restaurants –Clementine and Biga on the Banks – focus on contemporary American dishes.

The list also includes one 20-seat dessert bar, Nicosi, which opened in June 2024. This unique establishment takes a hard stance against the modern practice of constant social media sharing with its no-phones-allowed policy, allowing guests to place their full focus on the experience unfolding in front of them.

"In a sleek space with velvet curtains and 20 seats overlooking an open kitchen, chefs Tavel Bristol-Joseph and Karla Espinosa whip up an artful, eight-course dessert menu that’s one of the city’s most singular dining experiences," OpenTable's editors wrote.

Here is the full list of San Antonio Icons:

Best Quality Daughter, an Asian-American restaurant in the Pearl District
Cured, a gastropub-style restaurant in the Pearl District
Biga on the Banks, a contemporary American restaurant on the River Walk
Nicosi, an omakase-style dessert bar in the Pearl District
Clementine, a contemporary American restaurant in North Central San Antonio

San Antonio foodies will recognize longstanding local staples like Biga on the Banks, which has been mastering the art of new American fine dining in the Alamo City for more than 30 years. OpenTable praised the restaurant for its fresh fish offerings, an "eclectic" wine list, and more.

"When he opened Biga in 1991, London-born chef Bruce Auden kicked off a new era of fine dining in San Antonio, amassing a huge celebrity following (Julia Child, Emeril Lagasse) and racking up several James Beard nominations," OpenTable's editors wrote. "In 2000, the restaurant moved to a bigger space with sweeping Riverwalk views, the perfect setting for Auden’s ever-changing global menu with Texas accents — think spiced antelope and quail, habañero jerk scallops, and za’atar roasted cauliflower."

Pioneering establishments like Best Quality Daughter – whose head chef and owner Jennifer Hwa Dobbertin was nominated for CultureMap's 2024 Chef of the Year – also rightfully made the list.

"Dobbertin unabashedly combines Asian and global flavors in unique dishes like salt and pepper shrimp with Thai chimichurri or rice chips with mapo hummus, resulting in this singular restaurant in the historic Mueller House that is so very San Antonio," the editors wrote.

More information about OpenTable's San Antonio Icons list can be found on OpenTable. Texas travelers can also find OpenTable icons in Austin, Dallas, and Houston.

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