After weeks of anticipation, the best restaurants, bars, chefs, and more culinary superstars were crowned at our 2024 CultureMap San Antonio Tastemaker Awards.
For the past few weeks, you’ve read about all the extraordinary nominees in our special editorial series, then voted for your favorite new restaurant in a bracket-style tournament. On Thursday, April 4, the winners were revealed.
We coalesced with distinguished chefs, bartenders, and members of Alamo City’s culinary scene alongside hundreds of hungry fans at the Briscoe Museum for our third annual tasting event and awards ceremony. Guests sampled delicious bites from some of the city's best restaurants and sipped on drinks from our sponsors before our winners were unveiled. A portion of the proceeds benefited the Texas Food and Wine Alliance.
Our 2024 CultureMap San Antonio Tastemaker Award winners are a perfect representation of the city's spirited and diverse culinary scene. Without further ado, let's raise a glass to our Tastemakers:
Restaurant of the Year: Leche de Tigre
There's a sense of discovery in this King William charmer's cebiches, all a far cry from the lime-thwacked fish of its more common cousin. Texturally diverse with immaculate seafood, each challenges the vocabulary to come up with adjectives instead of bright. But bright they are, dazzling in their complex character.
Chef of the Year: Nicola Blaque, The Jerk Shack
Whether riffing on Caribbean cuisine or celebrating her entrepreneurial forebears, Blaque's food is unapologetically Black. Even in 2024, that matters. For too long, history has insisted that a Eurocentric outlook is essential in creating "elevated" food; she applies her classical training to making the best version of traditional fare, arguing that the contributions of generations of women are enough on their own.
Best New Restaurant: Thai Bird
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was talking about architecture when he famously said, “less is more.” This Make Ready Market tenant’s juicy chicken tenders affirm that the phrase is just as applicable to tonight’s dinner.
Pastry Chef of the Year: Jenn Riesman, Rooster Crow Bakery
One of San Antonio’s foremost journeywomen, Reisman paid her dues at luxury properties like Omni La Mansion, Hotel Emma, and Fairmont Hotel. Now with her Shavano Park bakery, she gets to bring all the flowers home. The move gave her the space to express her trademark humor (her Valentine’s cookies were piped with “daddy” and “slut”) without abdicating her throne as San Antonio’s undisputed queen of pies.
Bar of the Year: Bar Loretta
Is this Southtown hotspot a restaurant with a strong drink program or bar that happens to serve great food? With its long list of classics and zesty originals like Dope as Me (who knew arugula worked with gin?), Bar Loretta can impress without sending a single tot out of the kitchen, then get guests punch drunk with lobster risotto. We’re not sure if the chicken-egg distinction matters. "¿Por Qué No Los Dos?”
Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year: Clementine
Neighborhood eateries are usually come-and-go joints, but we recommend making a reservation at Clementine. Its Castle Hills regulars fill up the books to get their fix of chefs John and Elise Russ’ globally inspired cuisine. Although a little more upscale than some of the restaurants on this list, it never feels overly starched. The Yukon Gold aligote and dry aged Niman Ranch steak make feel fancy, but it’s still meat and potatoes.
Brewery of the Year: Weathered Souls Brewing Co.
Bucking against the carefully curated branding of some of its competitors, Weathered Souls achieved a too-rare quality — authenticity. Its social media feed isn’t afraid to get goofy with a meme or take a social justice stance. Advertising is eschewed in favor of word-of-mouth. The heart-on-the-sleeve values demand one gives the brand a try. The exacting brewing standards and local sourcing keep beer fans coming back.
Wildcard: Best Patio – The Good Kind Southtown
Talk about a glow-up! When the Good Kind jumped from a food hall stall to a full-blown eatery in 2019, it felt like the concept could finally stretch. A glass kiosk sprawled into a glorious moment filled with boho furniture, sculptures, and intimate hideaways.
Photo courtesy of Leche de Tigre
Leche de Tigre is San Antonio's Restaurant of the Year.
