Where to drink now
Where to drink in San Antonio right now: 5 new bars to try this fall

While you have spent the entire summer watching blockbusters or floating the river, the world has gone on without you. Over the last few months, the San Antonio nightlife scene has continued to flourish with bars offering everything from scientific cocktails to good old fashioned beer. Now that it’s fall, it’s time to take off the swimsuit and start making up for lost time at Alamo City’s best new watering holes.
Cellar Mixology
This underground lair may come from the owners of Toro Kitchen + Bar, but don’t expect to find another menu focusing on sangria. Instead, the owners were inspired by molecular mixology — the application of scientific techniques to traditional cocktail making. The result is some of the most interesting drinks in South Texas like Death by Roses, a spicy and bright vodka drink that changes flavor profiles as celery and Bloody Mary ice cubes melt, or Henry’s Old Fashioned, a sipper that builds on the original recipe with smoked wood and Serrano ham to keep Toro’s Spanish vibes flowing.
The Dakota East Side Ice House
With all the new coming into San Antonio, it’s nice to see a bar pay homage to what came before it. With photos of the neighborhood on the wall and a beer cooler that harkens back to the space’s convenience store roots, The Dakota feels like it has always been there, doing what an ice house should do: offering a friendly staff, a few cold ones after work, and some of the best comfort food for miles.
El Búho
Nightlife impresario Danny Delgado scored another win on the St. Mary’s Strip with the September 14 opening of this casual sports bar. Every day offers something new, whether it's the $15 Dos Equis buckets during college game day or mimosas, micheladas, and sangria on Sundays. Be sure to check out the grub from favorite food trucks like SAbores (get it?) and Ka-Tii.
El Ojo
In June, Delgado also cleared out the cobwebs of the old La Bikina and added a few of his own with this mysterious club thumping with a wide-ranging musical program covering everything from ’80s industrial, goth, and new wave to reggaeton and Latin trap. Dancing is the focus, so don’t expect to cheers with a fancy coupe glass. There is a selection of solid classic cocktails, but who wants to deal with all that sloshing? Instead, order a boilermaker of Fernet and Miller Lite — a must for the liquid eyeliner set.
Roadmap Brewing Co.
The best thing about this brand-new brewery (besides the beer, of course)? The beer garden is indoors, complete with flat screens, lawn games, and comfortable picnic seating all in one glorious air-conditioned room. But back to the main event, the beer selections each have their charms — especially the variations on milk stout. It’s used as the base of some of Roadmap’s more interesting brews, like the Ja-Lop-Ah-No with a roasted jalapeño or the Wake Up Call with a jolt of coffee.