It's A Date?

3 San Antonio steakhouses make the cut among Bumble's date night destinations

Brasao Brazilian Steakhouse makes the "friend dates" list.

Photo courtesy of Brasao

There's still something romantic about meeting someone you really click with over a meal, and it looks great to suggest a cool, delicious restaurant for that first get-together. But it also adds to the pressure: According to a press release, an OpenTable and YouGov survey found that the top “stressor” for people going on first dates is “picking the right spot/activity.”

To address that unfortunate idea gap, OpenTable and Bumble teamed up to create a dining guide in 2021, listing the 100 Best Restaurants for a Date in America. This year, they reprised the popular list across Bumble’s three verticals — romance, friendship, and business — and three of those standout restaurants are in San Antonio.

“At Bumble, we’re fueled by bringing people together to build genuine connections across every stage of their life: dating, making friends and professional connections,” said Olivia Yu, Bumble’s global vice president of partnerships, in the release. “We saw great feedback from our community following our partnership with OpenTable last fall … [and] couldn’t wait to partner with OpenTable again.”

Before going any further, it’s time to acknowledge any weirdness in categorization. The methodology compared user ratings on OpenTable to determine the “best” restaurants, and then sorted them based on tags indicating whether each was "romantic," “good for groups,” and “good for business meals.” Although Bumble and OpenTable teamed up for this, the data is all automated.

In San Antonio, Brazilian steakhouse Chama Gaucha appears on the Best Restaurants for a Date list, while Brasao Brazilian Steakhouse lands on the Best Restaurants for a Friend Date. (Some crossover is probably permissible, but the OpenTable hive mind makes the rules). J-Prime Steakhouse makes the cut among Best Restaurants for a Business Meeting. Apparently San Antonians enjoy steak.

Austin also scored three restaurants on the lists, with a lot more variety. For dates, sushi restaurant Uchiko charms as always, and Trattoria Lisina (technically out in Driftwood) transports visitors to Italy. Both restaurants are often cited as must-tries, and have earned their popularity in large part because of atmosphere. One other Austin restaurant, Steiner Ranch Steakhouse, made the friendship list; none made the business list.

“People are craving connection, and partnering with Bumble to debut curated diner guides means skipping the dreaded ‘where should we go’ question and instead focusing on nailing that first impression,” said OpenTable chief growth officer Susan Lee in the release. “The win-win is that this movement for in-person socialization also supports the still-recovering dining scene.”

Now through August 18, these lists will pop up for users in Bumble, who can swipe for a link giving recommendations. Those who would like to browse more intentionally can view the lists on OpenTable. All can book, and if they don't agree with this year's lists, feel free to leave the reviews that build next year's.

media lists lunch desserts luxury city-news-roundup brunch dinner apps

Green Light

Healthy-casual Dallas restaurant makes San Antonio debut on Broadway

Bellagreen/Instagram

Bellagreen is now in San Antonio for the first time.

A fast-causal restaurant from Dallas called Bellagreen is now in San Antonio, as of Tuesday, November 12.

The mini-chain's first San Antonio location is at 1900 Broadway St., Ste. 112, and it's giving out a couple of freebies to get things going on opening day. Customers on Tuesday will all get a free craft soda or tea with their meal. Active military and veterans will also receive 15 percent off, but that's a daily policy throughout the year.

Bellagreen is known for its healthy image, which comes from scratch-made dishes and a generally light menu featuring lots of salads, a strong veggie presence, and a protein lean toward poultry and fish. Rotating seasonal menus keep things fresh in a bit of a rare move for a casual restaurant.

“The decision to open bella here was easy," said San Antonio location co-investors Sameer Mumtaz and Mark Huffstutler in a press release. Mumtaz continued, "San Antonio shares our values of family and good, wholesome, quality food.”

With nine locations across Texas, much of its popularity also comes from an ease of catering to different diets and preferences, from brunch (with $10 mimosa carafes) through dinner. Many meals are customizable and can accommodate gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian, high-protein, and other needs.

“We’ve wanted to bring bellagreen to Central Texas for years and finally found the perfect spot," said Huffstutler. "Downtown residents, employees and tourists have a wonderful new dining option, and we can immerse ourselves in San Antonio’s vibrant culture.”

The roughly 150-seat restaurant with a patio is located in a popular area for dining, a few blocks from the Pearl neighborhood and next to Nineteen Hyaku (for a very different kind of meal).

"We believe in living a balanced life, and our menu reflects that with delicious and abundant options,” said general Cristian Garcia in the release. “With made-for-you dishes, quick and friendly service and charitable ties, our guests can feel good about their dining choice.”

While the fall menu is in service, those charitable ties lead to Bexar Branches Alliance, an urban forestry nonprofit that will receive a portion of profits from those seasonal items. So far, according to the release, Bellagreen has donated more than 45,000 seedlings to the Texas Trees Foundation and Trees for Houston, the city where most of its locations are, even though it's based in Dallas.

Bellagreen is open weekdays from 11 am to 10 pm, and weekends from 10 am to 10 pm.