Bistro in San Antonio

We regret to report that Bistro Thyme has closed. ;;Chef Sander Edmundson serves upscale comfort food in a pleasant interior. Keep an eye out for the crab cakes and meatloaf.

With its moderately priced steaks and delicious Cajun/Creole dishes, Bourbon St. Cafe will entice you to make it a regular culinary stop.

Offering alcohol for Pickup/Take Out.

This cafe featuring home-style food has been around since the late '30s. Country and Tex-Mex dishes are both a part of the menu.

Hilly also does more than passable pasta, the dish of shrimp in lemon-caper sauce over angel hair being a briny/buttery success, and the baked penne with mini meatballs and four cheeses delicate beyond expectations. Desserts are made “for us but not by us,” yet the ubiquitous tres leches was appealingly moist and well-flavored, so the source is apparently a good one.

San Antonio has spent lavishly on Houston Street for the very purpose of equalizing the traffic. We have widened sidewalks in anticipation of the madding crowds. There are lighted palm trees and the vaunted connection at Presa Street between Houston and the River - a stairway and associated water feature calculated to "suck" people up off the River Walk. Unfortunately, the water feature is as often featuring mud as not, and the Presa-connection public art, a series of neon-illuminated, etched glass "manhole covers" set into the sidewalk as way-finding runway lights, hasn't functioned fully since its installation. (It's useless during the day even when working properly.) Should you, despite all odds, actually make it to Houston Street - past the handsome, and brave, glass gallery and the Buckhorn's enthusiastic, bless 'em, barkers - your first big urban experience is a view of a parking lot. A real crowd-pleaser every time.;This is all a shame, for Houston Street doesn't need to be our very own Boulevard of Broken Dreams. There is already a lot to offer: Between the brash Buckhorn and the posh, new Valencia hotel alone there are several cultural and commercial attractions - the Children's Museum and the Majestic and Empire Theatres among them - worth the attention of locals and visitors alike. And there are classy bars and upscale restaurants, pioneers on an underpopulated frontier. In addition to strategic and inventive marketing, the street needs the bars and the restaurants. Among the first to stake a claim was the Houston Street Bistro, and their most recent reward for vision and perseverance has been the canceling of the final portion of the symphony's season in the adjacent Majestic. So much for the prix-fixe, pre-theater menu - at least on symphony nights. - Ron Bechtol

The cozy, futuristic environment, friendly, talented baristas, and bath-worthy foam make a cappuccino drunk at the storefront window pure bliss.;;

Damien Watel's Southtown homage to Belgian food and cafe life feels and tastes deliciously European, from the creamy shrimp fritters to the succulent moules and crispy frites. The fresh fish is usually excellent, too, and a top-notch selection of Belgian beers complements the wine list. -- 01/09

An art-community cofeehouse with a good vibe, notable panini, and passable coffee. -- Jennifer Herrera, 02/08

Burgers as wide as the longhorns themselves.

; Madhatters woos early risers and late hangover-nursers with pitchers of mimosas and salmon, sausage, or traditional Eggs Benedict on the weekends. Enjoy homey sandwiches and desserts all week long in the Alice-in-Wonderland-like Southtown house.

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Paletta's is closed, and sorely missed.;;We are a Greek, Italian and Lebanese Grocery Store and Deli/This year we are celebrating our 90th Anniversary in San Antonio. We have remodeled and our place is beautiful - we are now opened Monday - Saturday from 9am - 6pm / We have expanded our menu and now serve hot sandwiches like The Muffuletta and The Cheesy Jo with Ham. Of course we still have our famous Mamma Mia Sandwich and spicy olives.Paletta's is great fun! When you come in for lunch we have an old time juke box that plays old tunes and you can shop for imported hard to find items, or have lunch from our deli or get all your meats and cheeses and italian sausage and other deli items by the pound. We also have something we call "Paletta's After Hours" this is when we have private parties like the 4 course Italian Dinner we are doing on Valentines Day. Paletta's has uniqie items like Valerio's salad dressing from the old Valerio's restaurant, Spumoni ice cream, fresh italian sausage, fresh grated parmesan, and all kinds of other hard to find products.

The Pampered Palate's sandwich selection is vast with a variety of tantalizing tastes, from tuna salad to Monterrey chicken to portobello mushroom with tahini sauce. But 10 o'clock craves the comfort of breakfast fare, and we ordered over the counter as the two women chopped onions and chatted. They pointed out a pot of fresh-brewed coffee in the corner, and got down to business at the griddle. We sat in a bright corner of one of the two tiny, adjoined dining rooms, sipping the sweetness of morning beverages (sugary coffee and ice-cold orange juice) and thinking about our mothers, who would just love it here. - Wendi Kimura

Authentic Mediterranean Food, Coffee, Tea & Hookah Bar.;;Located in the Medical Center area, our little neighborhood coffee house offers an array of delectable, savory and healthy mediterranean appetizers, salads, and sandwiches, that will have you craving for more. ;;The newest addition to our menu, "THE" Shrimp Feast (with artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, Greek olives, a touch of lemon juice, on a bed of fetuccini pasta), is already a hit among our loyal customers. ;;Our select coffee choices, like the "Arabic Mocha", will bring you back, again and again. Our motto: "Good coffee comes from Petra!";;Petra Cafe will become your place to go, for food that is made with care, pride and excellent taste at very modest prices, in a clean and friendly atmosphere.;;Also, for people who want to try the exotic, our full "Hookah" bar is available.;;Feel free to call for availability of Free Delivery, Carry-Out or to order Party Trays for 8 or more people. Free wireless is available. Smoking is allowed.

; SA’s pristine locavore has added a la carte options to their prix-fixe offerings, but we still prefer the daily chef-designed meal of locally sourced organic fare. The early bird special, three courses for $35, makes this elite River Walk treat more pocket-book friendly.

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Rise Bakery and Cafe is a local bakery, specializing in seasonal, artisan baking. All our baked goods are made from scratch, on premises. We also offer a full espresso bar, delicious milkshakes and ice cold smoothies. Lunch and dinner options include Panini on our house made bread and salads.

"Spring Break Every Day!" at San Antonio's first beach bistro. Everyone from 8 to 80 will have a blast! Live Music, your vacation recipes from around the world, palapa huts and the largest outdoor fun and sun PlayDock in the city. The kitchen is open past midnight every night for late night fun. Located on "The Road to Fun" on 1604 (on the way to Fiesta Texas and Sea World).

Gourmet to go featuring upscale sandwiches and salads, a rotating menu featuring soups, pizzas, pastas, and entrees. Chef's case with items available by the piece or pound and a bakery case of various house made, cakes cookies and pies. Gourmet retail includes, pastas, sauces, Vosges chocolates and small label beers and wine.

One of the few true bistros in town, as exemplified by a classic entrecote with frites and a delicious croque madame.