San Antonio and Houston are both named a UNESCO “Creative City of Gastronomy”. Both cities’ vibrant dining scenes reflect their histories, residents, and local ingredients, and the culinary landscape warrants visits to both cities just for the food!
San Antonio has a rich culinary history that dates back over 300 years, blending diverse traditions and flavors that have evolved into the beloved Mexican food we know today, earning the city its UNESCO recognition. Go discover the vast amounts of historical sites in San Antonio, from the Alamo to the other missions, to historical buildings all around town. Then, enjoy this historically gastronomic city’s best restaurants. Today you can find excellent Tex-Mex, Mexican, BBQ, fine dining and more from Castle Hills to the Riverwalk and the Pearl, to Southtown, and everywhere in between.
Houston, long known as a cultural hub with numerous museums, galleries, arts, and sports, also has an exciting food scene that benefits from one of the most diverse populations in the country, hailing from more than 100 countries and speaking some 145 languages. Since the 1970s, immigrants to Houston have increasingly opened restaurants that showcase their home cuisines. No wonder Houston has been named one of the top food cities in the country! Here are eight restaurants to jump-start your gastronomic pilgrimages.
San Antonio
Cured
Everything’s cured or fermented in-house at this charcuterie-centric restaurant in the city’s Pearl district. Chef Steve McHugh — a recurring James Beard Award finalist — showcases locally sourced meats and Gulf seafood with a nose-to-tail sensibility. Besides cutting-edge charcuterie — like Apple and Jalapeño Pork Rilletes — the menu includes innovative dishes using the purest ingredients and organic methods of preparation.
Best Quality Daughter
Chef Jennifer Dobbertin, a second-generation Chinese-American, puts a modern, Asian-American spin on the comfort food of her youth and dishes from her travels at this Pearl District hotspot. Small plates include Korean Corn Cheese Spring Rolls and Impossible Potstickers. Large dishes — like Salt-N-Pepper Shrimp and Kurobuta Pork Belly Ssam — are served family style.
Leche de Tigre
Founded by three brothers from Peru, Leche de Tigre serves up traditional ceviches and other Peruvian classics. The cool location — a renovated bungalow near the King William District — and the Pisco cocktails add to the fun.
Domingo
This lively “Mexican-Texican” restaurant overlooking the Riverwalk calls itself “a modern tribute to South Texas cuisine.” Classics — like ceviche, green chile enchiladas, and elotes-style street corn — join Texican dishes like Prime Rib Pipian, a poblano burger, and green chile-cheddar skillet cornbread.
Houston
Xochi
This chic, downtown temple of Oaxacan cuisine is one of five Houston restaurants owned by Chef Hugo Ortega, a James Beard Foundation Award winner. At Xochi, you can explore a variety of Oaxacan moles via a mole sampler, or enjoy one big mole dish. The menu features dozens of Oaxacan-inspired dishes, including Ortega’s signature wood-roasted oysters.
Hongdae33
Located in Southwest Houston’s Chinatown, this sprawling Korean barbecue restaurant is the brainchild of husband and wife Grace and Leo Xia (owners of Duck and Bao, a hip dim sum restaurant). Enjoy all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue with traditional accompaniments during an interactive dining experience — the meats and seafood are cooked at your table over traditional Korean grills.
Mastrantos
Globally influenced dishes are the draw at this chic, modern restaurant in the trendy Houston Heights neighborhood. The eclectic menu reflects the palates of the restaurant’s husband and wife owners — Venezuelan expats who bounced between many countries — as well as its talented chef, who is half-Filipino and half-Mexican. Breakfast arepas and plantain croquetas have Venezuelan roots, while Secreto pork in Filipino Adobo Sauce and H-Town Carbonara with Mexican chorizo channel the chef’s dual heritage.
Theodore Rex
Justin Yu — a James Beard Award-winning chef — couples fine dining with a relaxed ambience at this acclaimed restaurant in the artsy Warehouse District. Yu’s inventive dishes honor the best local ingredients (including Gulf seafood) with brilliant flavor melds that reflect his travels and Asian heritage. Roast chicken in French curry, and Taglioni with cultured butter, oyster liquor, and mignonette are examples of dishes on his ever-changing menus.