san antonio inexpensive dining
 

I have read many of the posts on San Antonio restaurants but still have not found what I am looking for. I will be in San Antonio for 5 days on a conference. Although it may be nice to eat in a restaurant where meals cost $50 each, I am afraid that price is not in my budget. My husband will be making this trip with me and we are looking for some restaurants with good food (not necessarily the best food on the planet) but enjoyable. Would prefer to spend less than $40 for both of us on a meal. Does anyone have any suggestions. We will be staying downtown at Residence Inn Alamo and will not have a car.

Boudro's on the River Walk would be a good lunch choice for you. They have good, fresh food and their tableside guacamole is excellent.

There is a Saltgrass Steak House on the river walk that meets your budget. There also is a Mexican restaurant on the walk, that I can't recall that is just fine and in your price range.

stumpworks, you might be thinking of Rio, Rio - that's a popular Tex-Mex spot.

My mother and I just returned from San Antonio and the best "dining" experience we had was at the Carriage House located at the Botanical Gardens. Thye're not open for dinner per se, just lunch until 2p.m. The price was reasonable and the food and service were the best we encountered on our 8-day trip through the Texas Hill Country and S.A. (Mind you, we weren't hitting the gourmet spots, but we did dine at a few Riverwalk places.)

The restaurant is in a restored carriage house, which also serves as the entrance to the Botanical Gardens. It was extremely pleasant to have a delightful lunch (delicious french onion soup and chicken salad sandwich w/ fine wine) and then take a leisurely stroll through the gardens afterwards. The Botanical Gardens is the last stop on the No .7 Sightseer bus route. The No. 7 runs up Alamo St. and stops at the S.A. Museum of Art, the park, Zoo, and finally the Botanical Gardens. The route takes about 20 minutes and cost $1.00 (ask for transfer slip and use that for the return).

Hi mar,

You'll find a lot of inexpensive places along the River and most, if not all, have their menus posted outside so you can check fare / prices. Unfortunately, we haven't tried most because DH and I are creatures of habit and tend to return to the same places. We love Boudro's and think (hope!) you should be able to get away with an affordable lunch there.

If you have a good sense of humor, Dick's Last Resort has really good food that's not expensive. It's right on the River and there are tables outside. The wait staff is known to intentionally be sarcastic and "rude" but it's all in good natured fun--the service is actually great and the sarcasm can be quite a hoot. We took my step-mother there this summer and she had a ball.

Rio Rio is good. Rosarios on S. Alamo is better. Mi Tierra is another good option.

Recently, I read a good review for Acenar though I have yet to try it.

Schilo's Deli also has received good reviews. It's located on Commerce, across the street from Rio Rio.

County Line BBQ is a local popular favorite and should be within your budget.

Also, there are a number of popular chain restaurants along the River and at River Center Mall.

Hope this helps--you may want to check with the concierge of your hotel.

Mar -

I too, just returned from a trip to San Antonio and found that many of the restaurants are very affordable, especially if you skip the drinks. We ate at Boudro's, The Original Mexican Restaurant, Waxy O'Connor's, all are on the Riverwalk and Mi Terra in Market Square.

Another vote for Mi Tierra. Market Square is not far from you but probably not walking distance so it is not as convenient as some of the other RiverWalk restaurants listed. But I think there is a trolly car going around the area that you can get on. Some of the S.A. people or your hotel can give you info, and if nothing else, it is a very short and inexpensive taxi ride. The food is Mexican and is very good. $20 a person without drinks will get you a great dinner there. And even if the Mexican food wasn't probably the best in town, which arguably it is, it would be worth it just to go see the restauarant. It's enormous and in a great tourist area. Don't miss some of the Mexican bakery goods while you wait for a table. A lot of cookies and other stuff you won't often see. Yum!

Another vote for Mi Tierra - they've got a great web-site to check out - have the tortilla soup!

Just got back from SA yesterday. By an far our favorite meal was Mi Terra. You can catch the Red Trolley (1.00) to the marketplace or just walk three blocks. One of our waiters said there is another called Pollito kitty corner to Mi terraWe split a combination plate and it was lots of food. Maybe it was those fresh wonderful chips or the home made flour totillas? don't miss it! We tried Biga on the Banks (more expensive) but were not very impressed. We thought we could do as well at home, but the service for the most part was very good.
We also went on a barge for dinner through Cafe Ole. Food was just OK, but it well worth the experience. It was $30PP plus any extras.
We had breakfast at Shilo's was just OK. We really wanted a breakfast taco but we did not see as many places as the brochures proclaim! We thought County Line was just OK too...but the service was great. There was a BBQ place back a block from the Drury Plaza that looked interesting. Catch a show at the Aztec theatre if you can. It was a great venue. We saw a holiday laser show. The had a Phantom of the Opera viewing, but we had plans that night. It would have been neat to hear the wurlitzer for that one!

Casa Rio (on Riverwalk), Mi Tierra (take the trolley/bus). Mi Tierra was my favorite meal. I can't recommend Rio Rio. When I was researching San Antonio dining for my recent trip, the consensus seemed to be that Rio Rio was better than Casa Rio. I tried both and did not enjoy Rio Rio. The food just did not taste fresh or inspired to me.
I also enjoyed Boudros, but I think it may be a littler more expensive if I recall.

I guess it depends what you are looking for. Locals rarely go to Mi Tierra. I worked downtown for years, then at another firm where we ate out every day--never went to Mi Tierra's. I've been there, but usually taking out of town guests (who saw it on a forum!) It is really a tourist spot, but it can be fun if that's what you want. They have mariachis, people selling roses, etc.

For Mexican food without the tourist trappings, my family prefers Rosario's. It is affordable, they have lunch specials, and you can get dinner for $30 if you skip the bar. Schilo's deli is a German style delicatessen--wouldn't go there for breakfast, but for lunch and their famous homemade rootbeer, it's great, and well within your budget. Paesano's is a well-known local restaurant (not a chain) that has good food. You can keep costs down by ordering the pizza or sharing a meal. You can even make a meal on the Shrimp Paesano appetizer (VERY rich) just add a salad and you're set. Here's a link to the website:
http://www.paesanosriverwalk.com/

I also noticed that there's a coupon for Alamo Bowl tourists.

Another vote for Rosario's!

Also, try Guenther House for breakfast or lunch (not open for dinner). I love their patio out back and they have gas heaters for cold days. They fill up fast so go early or late! We tried last Saturday but gave up on seeing the line and ended up at Tito's on S Alamo instead. It's gotten some good reviews. It's genuine Mexican, OK food although I'd still prefer Rosario's to them.

We've eaten at Acenar that Ann_Marie mentioned a couple of times...once with a group and everyone loved it, and a couple of times just DH and myself for lunch. Their food is good, much better than the average Riverwalk restaurant for sure!

I'm not a big fan of the various Landry's restaurants, having a serious bias against big chain restaurants over-populating the Riverwalk and taking away from it the charm that makes it so unique. So far on the river they have Landry's, Joe's Crab Shack, Saltgrass, and Rainforest Café. They are Anywhere, USA, IMNSHO. :)

Thanks so much for the wonderful advise. Will let you know how everything turns out.

All my favorites have been mentioned already but I wanted to bookmark this for myself. :)

Oh - I don't think anyone mentioned Tony Roma's. They are my favorite place on Earth for baby back ribs.

I also vote for Mi Tierra, but especially for the pralines!