NOTES ON DINING

New tapas restaurant and music venue jazzes up north San Antonio

Tinto y Tapas will feature small bites and Latin jazz beats.

A pair of San Antonio musicians and radio hosts is bringing new rhythm to the North Side’s dining scene. KRTU 91.7 FM personalities Judi Deleon and Henry Brun will open Tinto Y Tapas Restaurant & Latin Lounge, a new eatery and jazz club, at 14355 Blanco Rd. in early 2026.

Chef Lee Guerrero combined Mediterranean, Spanish, and pan-Latin influences for the small bites menu. Guests can expect tapas bar classics like paella, calamari, jamón croquettes, and patatas bravas alongside Middle Eastern fattoush salad, empanaditas, and cheeseburger sliders.

“Chef Guerrero brings decades of experience crafting menus that harmonize bold flavors with cultural nuance,” says the restaurant. “His approach blends Spanish, Mediterranean, and Latin influences with seasonal ingredients and artistic presentation, creating dishes that are as evocative as they are delicious.”

As the name implies, the drink menu centers around vino tinto, or red wine. It’s available by the bottle or glass, stirred into sangria, or mixed into a kalimotxo (the restaurant called it rioja libre) — Spain’s beloved blend of Coca-Cola and wine. Other cocktails include the Don Quijote with rum and mango-pandan syrup and Pink Señorita with tequila and orange liqueur.

Deleon, a vocalist, and Brun, a percussionist, will naturally incorporate their shared love of jazz into the upcoming concept. The restaurant will host The Green Room, an intimate stage that will highlight local and regional talent while also making room for the occasional national touring act.

Although Tinto y Tapas won’t officially debut until 2026, San Antonio’s coolest cats can get a preview during a New Year’s Eve celebration. The $75 ticket covers a three-course feast with entree options like beef tornados in a chanterelle glaze and vegetarian pastelon, and a nightcap performance by Brun’s ensemble The Latin Playerz.

Once officially open, Tinto’s hours will be Wednesday and Thursday, 11 am-9 pm; Friday and Saturday, 11 am-11 pm; and Sunday, 10:30 am-3:30 pm. The weekday happy hour will run between 4-6 pm, Wednesday through Friday.

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NYT best dishes

San Antonio barbecue joint makes NY Times' 2025 best dishes list

2M Smokehouse/ Facebook

The New York Times called 2M Smokehouse's picadillo mac and cheese a punchier Hamburger Helper.

The New York Times included four Texas restaurants among its favorite dishes of 2025, including one San Antonio favorite famous for its brisket, 2M Smokehouse.

Divided into two lists — The 23 Best Restaurant Dishes We Ate Across the U.S. in 2025 and The 14 Best Restaurant Desserts We Ate Across the U.S. in 2025 — the dishes are:

Picadillo Macaroni and Cheese at 2M Smokehouse
Bad Honey Bunny at Mercado Sin Nombre (Austin)
Ketan Hitam at Yeni’s Fusion (Austin)
Konafa Naama at Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen (Houston)

Times food writer Priya Krishna, who authors the entries for all four Texas dishes, traveled to the Southeast Side to 2M Smokehouse. The picadillo mac and cheese showcases how the San Antonio restaurant incorporates Mexican flavors into traditional Texas barbecue.

“Imagine Hamburger Helper, but spicier, punchier, and even more luxuriously creamy. It’s not easy to one-up the singular, thickly spiced brisket here, but the picadillo mac and cheese — which runs as an occasional special — holds its own and then some,” Krishna writes.

The year-end list also made a stop in far west Houston to visit Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen. “The konafa, a signature here, arrives with a molten layer of cheese under a sticky-sweet layer of golden, nutty semolina. The craft is evident, the konafa gone in a few bites,” she writes.

In Austin, Krishna praises the rice pudding at Yeni’s Fusion. “This barely sweet version, lush with coconut milk, aromatic with pandan, and as soothing as warm porridge, is the gentlest way to end a meal,” she states.

Krishna also singles out a honey bun at Mercado Sin Nombre, already hailed as one of America’s best breakfast spots by Bon Appétit. “The coiled honey bun at this semi-clandestine cafe looks almost cartoonishly perfect, and the heady scent of cardamom and honey hits you before you even take a bite. Somehow, it tastes every bit as plush and elegant as it appears,” says Krishna.

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