The St. Anthony Hotel’s Madrid Room served as a downtown dining staple for San Antonio’s business and social set for nearly 50 years before being radically reimagined as Rebelle in all its louche, low-light glamor.
Now that the same space has morphed into Esencia, echoes of the old Madrid — blind balconies, tinkling fountain and all — have eased back into focus. The coffered ceiling has even been embellished by Tiepolo-like, puffy cloud panels.
But what many old-timers remember fondly about the Madrid Room, whose culinary delights included the likes of Polynesian Chicken, wasn’t the decor or the now-dated entrees, but rather the free bread basket that preceded each meal. Gingerbread was a standout component.
In perhaps an inevitable sign of the times, bread and butter service at Esencia runs $18.
There’s also a certain then-and-now nostalgia surrounding chef Leo Davila, the new grandee of Esencia.
Davila has garnered awards and accolades recently, including a James Beard nomination for Anacacho Coffee & Cantina at the St. Anthony and a designation as chef-ambassador for the UNESCO City of Gastronomy title that San Antonio shares with cities such as Alba, Italy.
But it was at Stix & Stone, a bright and boisterous family-run restaurant near Bandera and Loop 410, that Davila first garnered serious attention.
A duck in mole was just one of several dishes that immediately stood out — in part because it was unexpected in the surroundings, but also because it was just plain good.
Nostalgia is often best taken in small doses, and now that expectations are higher for the duck and other carryover plates in Davila’s new digs, it’s perhaps best abandoned altogether. Yes, the duck, now served in a jamaica and Texas pecan mole and billed as Duck & Flower, is good indeed. The accompanying wok-fried vegetables are also colorful and more than competent.
But in his posh new digs, expectations certainly run higher.
Thankfully, many of Esencia’s “For the Table” offerings are spared the burden of past comparisons. A smoked seafood crudo was new to me, and though the serving may seem small for its $31 price, it merits careful contemplation.
One evening, the seafood consisted of sliced scallops and redfish, smoked just enough over jasmine tea to yield a delicate and lightly floral effect. A bracingly tart apple ponzu enhanced the flavors, candied jalapeño brought a flash of spice and ruffled sheets of rice paper — looking like scraps of frozen seafoam — provided a crunchy base for it all.
The kitchen also showed off its smoking technique again with a Tacos of Texas trio, in which corn got the treatment.
I think I’d like the eminently shareable Peppers & Cactus dish more if the shishito peppers were smaller and more blistered, since they tended to overwhelm the more deferential strips of nopalito in both taste and texture. But bold plate mates — notably house chorizo, fried garlic and a miso aioli — bode well for things to come from the kitchen.
The Duck & Flower dish above can be found under the menu’s “Chef Curated Classics” heading. Look for the Pork & Apple there too. The pork is presented in a different, equally appealing, mole of apple and pasilla. Apple being the throughline, it also comes in pickled and compote form, all in the service of house-cured pork belly.
In the manner of many Asian dishes — and also reflective of the Chinese part of Davila’s heritage — the dish came with cupped leaves of lettuce for DIY assembly into a kind of green and crunchy taco. It works because the contrast with the unctuous pork is great.
A bone-in pork chop and seared redfish are among the possibilities under the menu’s “Traditional” heading.
Nostalgia reared its head one more time in my dining experience at Esencia, and that was in the dessert selection.
At Stix & Stone, the desserts, both dramatic and delicious, were perhaps even more surprising than the duck. Even though that set expectations high, they certainly weren’t dashed.
Take the Humita Dulce. Conventionally, humitas consist of a ground fresh corn mix steamed in cornhusks. At Esencia, they arrive in a form that looks for all the world like a branded, Chinese red bean cake. But rather than sweet bean paste, the interior conceals a spiced chocolate ganache, the plate is decorated with a ribbon of dehydrated raspberry and dots of crème anglaise. Brilliant.
One thing I’m not nostalgic for is noise. At Stix & Stone, a certain buzz was to be expected — even celebrated. At the more sedate Esencia, it can cast an acoustic pall over both duck and dessert.
Fortunately, attentive service goes a long way in compensating, as does a wine list emphasizing Texas and Mexican bottles — as soon as a new distributor can be found for the Mexican part.Now that the same space has morphed into Esencia, echoes of old Madrid — blind balconies, tinkling fountain and all — have eased back into focus. The coffered ceiling has even been embellished by Tiepolo-like, puffy cloud panels.
But what many old-timers remember fondly about the Madrid Room, whose culinary delights included the likes of Polynesian Chicken, wasn’t the decor or the now-dated entrees, but rather the free bread basket that preceded each meal. Gingerbread was a standout component.
In perhaps an inevitable sign of the times, bread and butter service at Esencia runs $18.
There’s also a certain then-and-now nostalgia surrounding Chef Leo Davila, the new grandee of Esencia.
Davila has garnered awards and accolades recently, including a James Beard nomination for Anacacho Coffee & Cantina at the St. Anthony and a designation as chef-ambassador for the UNESCO City of Gastronomy title that San Antonio shares with cities such as Alba, Italy.
But it was at Stix & Stone, a bright and boisterous family-run restaurant near Bandera and Loop 410, that Davila first garnered serious attention.
A duck in mole was just one of several dishes that immediately stood out — in part because it was unexpected in the surroundings, but also because it was just plain good.
Nostalgia is often best taken in small doses, and now that expectations are higher for the duck — and other carryover plates — in its new digs, perhaps best abandoned altogether. Yes, the duck, now served in a jamaica and Texas pecan mole and billed as Duck & Flower, is good indeed. The accompanying wok-fried vegetables are also colorful and more than competent.
But in his posh new digs, expectations certainly run higher.
Thankfully, many of Esencia’s “For the Table” offerings are spared the burden of past comparisons. A smoked seafood crudo was new to me, and though the serving may seem small for its $31 price, it merits careful contemplation.
One evening, the seafood consisted of sliced scallops and redfish, smoked just enough over jasmine tea to yield a delicate and lightly floral effect. A bracingly tart apple ponzu enhanced the flavors, candied jalapeño brought a flash of spice and ruffled sheets of rice paper — looking like scraps of frozen seafoam — provided a crunchy base for it all.
The kitchen also showed off its smoking technique again with a Tacos of Texas trio, in which corn got the treatment.
I think I’d like the eminently shareable Peppers & Cactus dish more if the shishito peppers were smaller and more blistered, since they tended to overwhelm the more deferential strips of nopalito in both taste and texture. But bold plate mates — notably house chorizo, fried garlic and a miso aioli — bode well for things to come from the kitchen.
The Duck & Flower dish above can be found under the menu’s “Chef Curated Classics” heading. Look for the Pork & Apple there too. The pork is presented in a different, equally appealing, mole of apple and pasilla. Apple being the through line, it also comes in pickled and compote form, all in the service of house-cured pork belly.
In the manner of many Asian dishes — and also reflective of the Chinese part of Davila’s heritage — the dish came with cupped leaves of lettuce for DIY assembly into a kind of green and crunchy taco. It works because the contrast with the unctuous pork is great.
A bone-in pork chop and seared redfish are among the possibilities under the menu’s “Traditional” heading.
Nostalgia reared its head one more time in my dining experience at Esencia, and that was in the dessert selection.
At Stix & Stone, the desserts, both dramatic and delicious, were perhaps even more surprising than the duck. Even though that set expectations high, they certainly weren’t dashed.
Take the Humita Dulce. Conventionally, humitas consist of a ground fresh corn mix steamed in corn husks. At Esencia, they arrive in a form that looks for all the world like a branded, Chinese red bean cake. But rather than sweet bean paste, the interior conceals a spiced chocolate ganache, the plate is decorated with a ribbon of dehydrated raspberry and dots of crème anglaise. Brilliant.
One thing I’m not nostalgic for is noise. At Stix & Stone, a certain buzz was to be expected — even celebrated. At the more sedate Esencia, it can cast an acoustic pall over both duck and dessert.
Fortunately, attentive service goes a long way in compensating, as does a wine list emphasizing Texas and Mexican bottles — as soon as a new distributor can be found for the Mexican part.
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