By Dave Lee and Craig Stoltz
The redevelopment of San Antonio’s historic Pearl Brewery, the factory where the region’s favorite beer was made until 2001, has proven a boon to the Alamo City’s restaurant scene. Over the last ten years, top chefs have opened new restaurants in century-old buildings, and Southerleigh Fine Foods & Brewery has even brought beer back to the district.
The Pearl in San Antonio is gloriously free of chain and fast-food restaurants, ensuring a uniquely local experience wherever you decide to dine. Whether you’re looking for a casual place to catch up with friends or a romantic date night spot, there’s a restaurant for you. Read on for our top five picks when dining at the Pearl.
Cured
At Cured, chef Steve McHugh, a five-time James Beard Award Finalist, serves sustainable, seasonal cuisine, most notably house-cured charcuterie. The highlights of my Sunday brunch in the Pearl Brewery’s 120-year-old Administration Building were a delicious 60-day cured pork coppa and Dapper Goat Chevre. The dinner menu boasts whole rainbow trout, a double-cut pork chop with poached apples, and turtle soup, a Southern classic made with wild-caught snapping turtle. Or splurge on a 45-day dry-aged Angus steak. Desserts include Hummingbird cake with brown butter caramel, chocolate pot du creme with macerated cherries, and soft-serve ice cream. — Dave Lee
Botika
Peruvian cuisine has Asian influences, and Botika chef Geronimo Lopez goes all in with the fusion. His menu mixes South American and Southeast Asian flavors. You can do the fusion yourself by ordering small plates to share: get some pork belly steam buns, chicken empanadas, potstickers, and achiote chicken wings. But the real fun is picking items that show the chef mashing up the two cuisines in the same dish. Take the braised short rib noodles. The tender beef, flavored with Argentine salso criolla, is presented with yakisoba buckwheat noodles. When the chef brought a selection of sushi, we were startled to see beef tenderloin presented alongside elegant compositions of fish, rice, and vegetables. Get a pisco sour or a flight of sake. Or go full fusion and order both. — Craig Stoltz
Brasserie Mon Chou Chou
Francophiles will appreciate the Parisian-inspired Brasserie Mon Chou Chou, founded by three Frenchmen who all met after each moved to the city. “Mon Chou Chou” is a French term of endearment for someone you care about. And at this brasserie, it’s clear the founders care about you. The kitchen delivers excellent French comfort food, the service is friendly, and it all comes together in a casual yet refined space. Indulge in a raclette cheese sandwich, or save yourself, as I did, for a generous portion of braised beef cheeks in a Burgundy wine sauce (Bourguignon de Joue de Boeuf). The Plat du Jour (daily lunch special) is a terrific deal and includes house salad, tea or coffee, and petit fours. — Dave Lee
Best Quality Daughter
Asian fusion food is on the menu at Best Quality Daughter. It’s housed in the restored Victorian home of Ernst Mueller, a one-time barrel maker at the Pearl Brewery. Chef Jennifer Dobbertin, a 2024 James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef in Texas, has created a menu drawing on multiple Asian cuisines. A tour of the appetizers includes Korean corn cheese spring rolls, Taiwanese potstickers, and mochi cheddar hush puppies. Noodle and rice dishes reflect Thai and Chinese influences. Larger dishes, like the comforting cashew chicken with steamed rice I tried, are served family-style. The interior design is as colorful as the menu, thanks to floral wallpaper. While the interior dining room where I sat for lunch was rather dark, other rooms have more windows and there’s a covered outdoor patio. — Dave Lee
Southerleigh Fine Foods & Brewery
Featuring an on-site microbrewery that pays homage to the history of the Pearl in San Antonio, Southerleigh is a big, rollicking barn of a place. Its menu brings a Texas sensibility to Southern favorites. The fried chicken is the straight-on brined-in-buttermilk, dredged-in-flour Southern take, served with classic red eye gravy. The Galveston-style shrimp boil is pure coastal Texas. But the offerings can get regionally exotic. I had antelope, raised on a Texas farm. It was spectacularly good — mild and tender, just a bit reminiscent of venison. Oh, and please don’t leave without trying the snapper throats. — Craig Stoltz
Dave Lee blogs at Feastio.com. Craig Stoltz blogs at eatdrinkgosmart.com. The authors were hosted by Visit San Antonio.
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