No booze? No brunch. These spots have standout bloody marys, mimosas, French toast, chicken and waffles, omelets and more.
Between the pandemic and the pandemonium of the holidays, now seems like a good time to set a hard and fast rule for brunch.
No booze? No brunch. Without a mimosa or bloody mary to open the door to happier times, it’s just breakfast.
Armed with that simple doctrine, I set out to find 10 great San Antonio brunch places, starting with mimosas and bloody marys, then moving through eight more benchmarks of the brunch menu canon: pancakes, French toast, chicken and waffles, omelets, eggs Benedict, biscuits, bacon and, because this is San Antonio, chilaquiles.
True to the rules, they all serve alcohol, and they all adhere to the hybrid treaty that governs the gray area between breakfast and lunch, incorporating a blend of sweet things, savory things and things made with eggs.
Half the places on this list do brunch every day they’re open; half do brunch just on the weekend. Put together, they represent 10 great ways to toast to new beginnings in 2022.
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What to order: Tropical mimosa flight
My wife calls mimosas a waste of good Champagne. Fair enough. But Alamo Biscuit Co. brings the same imagination to mimosas that it brings to the humble biscuit, offering each as dressed-up flavor flights. A tropical mimosa flight delivers three petite glasses in a custom carousel, one spiked with tart pomegranate juice, a second with sweet pineapple juice and a third with a splash of mango puree and a rim of chile salt and chamoy like a frutería flavor bomb. 9630 Huebner Road, Suite 103, 210 265-5585, alamobiscuitco.com. Brunch hours 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Friday; 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Bistr09 was practically built for brunch. The black-and-white tiled bar area pulls in natural light and bounces it off sunflower yellow barstools, and bright modern paintings share space with exposed brick and dramatic curtain sheers, with a covered patio that draws Alamo Heights power brunchers in packs. The kitchen’s classic French omelet radiates fluffy golden layers with melted cheese folded in, served with thick bacon and rosemary potatoes. The only drawback? It only comes around on Sundays. 6106 Broadway, 210-245-8156, bistr09.com. Brunch hours 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.
What to order: Milk Bread French Toast
With a close-up view of the Tower of the Americas and a decor best described as mid-century cute, Box Street All Day launched the ambitious brick-and-mortar extension of its food truck Box Street Social Dec. 16. Already, its Milk Bread French Toast is one of the best brunch confections in the city, combining light and airy housebaked bread with a lavish dress of sweet lemon mascarpone, meringue crumbles, candied nuts and berry compote. Add thick smoky bacon for a complete meal, and add a charmingly spicy bloody mary to make it completer. 623 Hemisfair Blvd., Suite 108, at Hemisfair Park, 210-476-5705, theboxstreetsocial.com. Brunch hours 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Thursday to Monday.
What to order: Lobster Benedict
Lobster bisque is a marquee dish at this five-star French powerhouse at the Pearl. At brunch, they reserve the same lush, creamy base of that tawny bisque to layer over lobster Benedict, where it complements and amplifies a velvet-smooth hollandaise. Poached eggs form perfect clouds over sturdy English muffins. But butter-poached lobster scattered in radiant pearls across the plate gives the dish its raison d’être. 312 Pearl Parkway at the Pearl, Building 2, Suite 2104, 210-469-3743, brasseriemonchouchou.com. Brunch hours 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.
What to order: Buckwheat Soufflé Pancakes
Buckwheat’s better for you than white flour, but Full Belly cares more about flavor than fiber, and its buckwheat pancakes are a three-story gingerbread condo of comfort food, decorated with strawberries, blackberries and blueberries with a cascade of rich berry syrup and lush honey butter. Sure, give in to the Belly Puff pastries, the barbacoa poutine and the Bloody Buddy cocktail, but you’ll always come back for buckwheat pancakes. 427 N. Loop 1604 W., Suite 202, 210-236-5374, fullbellysa.com. Brunch hours 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Friday; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
What to order: Liberty Bloody Mary
We tend to gauge the quality of a bloody mary by how much stuff’s sticking out of the glass. The more it looks like pickled acupuncture, the better. Take a step back at Liberty Bar with a bloody mary that concentrates on what’s in the glass — the right ratio of spicy tomato and clean, bracing vodka — rather than what’s on it. Pair it with the magical queso dip they call minguichi and atone for the week’s sins in the parlor of this former convent. 1111 S. Alamo St., 210-227-1187, liberty-bar.com. Brunch hours 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
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This 30-year institution came roaring back in May after a two-year makeover, and brunch followed soon after, bringing with it biscuits that pay righteous tribute to Mama’s country diner roots. By themselves, the biscuits are as broad as paving stones, with a bronze shell over buttery layers upon layers inside. Take them a step beyond by adding thick, spicy sausage gravy and a pair of sunnyside eggs for something that will challenge your clean-plate resolve and cholesterol levels at the same time. 2442 Nacogdoches Road, 210-826-8303, mamascafesa.com. Brunch hours 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday.
What to order: Praline bacon
I could single out the beignets at this New Orleans brunch juggernaut in a heartbeat. These power-puffs of sugar and dough are as close as you get to sitting down at Cafe Du Monde itself. But for now, NOLA’s alone at the top of that mountain, and it wouldn’t be fair. Instead I’ll rave about praline bacon, part of the all-star NOLA Brunch Plate along with scrambled eggs, grits and fried green tomatoes. The bacon’s sweet as a candy counter, creating a syrup-style euphoria balanced by fat, lean and smoke, then spiked with nuggets of pecan. 720 E. Mistletoe Ave., 210-320-1572, eatatnola.com. Brunch hours 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday.
What to order: Chilaquiles Rojo
Chef Jesse Kuykendall’s popping up all over these year-end best-of lists, whether it’s for their stellar taco truck Milpa or the creative food coming from the kitchen at Ocho, the picturesque glass-walled conservatory attached to Hotel Havana. It’s here that Kuykendall flexes influences from Laredo and Mexico with Chilaquiles Rojo, staying true to the form with corn tortillas rendered half-crispy, half-soft by dusky-hot guajillo salsa baked right in, then dressed out with cool Mexican crema and queso fresco. Bonus: While you’re there, experience category-defying plantain cakes with carnitas. 1015 Navarro St. at Hotel Havana, 210-222-2008, havanasanantonio.com/restaurant-and-bar/ocho/. Brunch hours 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.
What to order: Chicken and waffles
A solid destination for soul food any time, Tony G’s pumps up the volume on Sundays with a $24.95 all-you-can-eat brunch with live jazz and a rotating cast of braised oxtails, collard greens, mac and cheese, fried catfish, candied yams, prime rib and something they do better than just about anybody: fried chicken wings and waffles. The wings carry the same shaggy, salty, crunchy crust as Tony G’s first-class fried chicken, and the waffles stand tall and dense, embedded with grains of sugar like corrugated bakeshop pastries. 915 S. Hackberry St., 210-451-1234, tonygssoulfood.com. Brunch hours 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
msutter@express-news.net | Twitter: @fedmanwalking | Instagram: @fedmanwalking
Mike Sutter is the Express-News restaurant critic. Before joining the Taste Team in 2016, he served as restaurant critic for the Austin American-Statesman and editor of FedManWalking.com. He's appeared on NPR's "All Things Considered," ABC's "To Tell the Truth" and written for The Guardian, Bon Appetit and The Wall Street Journal.