After weeks of anticipation, Alamo Metropolis’s finest eating places, bars, cooks, and extra culinary superstars have been topped on the 2026 CultureMap San Antonio Tastemaker Awards.
This spring, you examine all of the deliciously proficient nominees in our particular editorial sequence and even voted in your favourite new restaurant in our on-line match. And on Thursday, Might 14, the winners have been lastly revealed at a ceremony on the Briscoe Museum.
Culinary trendsetters and a whole bunch of ravenous followers gathered for our annual tasting occasion. Friends sampled savory and candy delights from nominated eating places and sipped signature drinks from our sponsors earlier than the winners have been unveiled.
Our 2026 CultureMap San Antonio Tastemaker Awards winners make our metropolis really distinctive by means of timeless hospitality, a dedication to excellence, and an unshakeable sense of group. So, let’s get proper to it! Be a part of us in toasting this yr’s Tastemakers!
Restaurant of the 12 months: Cullum’s Attaboy“After I was a child, everybody would at all times say San Antonio is so lame, and that wasn’t my expertise,” mentioned chef Chris Cullum when he debuted this Tobin Hill bungalow. “I’m attempting to point out what has been superior all alongside.” We don’t know his precise definition, however we do know that Alamo Metropolis by no means fairly provides up the ghost of its easy cool. Right here, a jazz riff carries his late father, Jim Cullum Jr., into the throughline, and the beurre noisette carries a faint whiff of La Louisiane. Inside ball, perhaps, but it surely’s why it is best to give in to San Antonio slightly than simply residing in it.
Chef of the 12 months: Sue Kim, The MagpieHaving spent the majority of her culinary profession working at worldwide locations, it is no shock that Kim has an arsenal of world delicacies. However this East Aspect bistro sings when the chef pays homage to her Korean roots. Dak-galbi initially gained reputation amongst troopers and college students on a decent price range. In Kim’s arms, it’s probably the most expensive dish on the planet.
Bar of the 12 months: Jue LetThis Pearl jewel field borrows its identify from Jue Let, the little-known Chinese language cook dinner who helped make James Beard the “Dean of American Cookery.” Though full of champagne-and-caviar decadence, it tells a deeper story about who will get to inform the story of the nation’s delicacies. Positive, that may not instantly register whereas swigging a piney Mossy Rocks in one of many karaoke rooms. However like all embroidery, it wows at first earlier than you see how every thread is stitched.
Greatest New Restaurant: Honey’s Hen JointThe homeowners of San Antonio’s Smoke Shack and The Pigpen Neighborhood Bar shook up Alamo Metropolis’s fried rooster pecking order with this informal spot. It’s within the former residence of a Church’s Hen, however the sides style miles away from quick meals.
Rising Star Chef of the 12 months: Matt Garcia, Gigi’s DeliGarcia is the precise kind of chef you’d anticipate to run a sandwich store — outgoing, pleasant, and obsessed with what particulars make an on a regular basis lunch staple right into a giddy second. Thick slices of bread are the inspiration for a beneficiant serving of meats, cheeses, spices, and toppings like roasted peppers. However his affable persona tends to shine extra within the condiments. Take the signature “mayoniara,” a whimsical mix of mayonnaise and marinara. We want the proficient chef would bottle it as much as promote at H-E-B.
Neighborhood Restaurant of the 12 months: Con Huevos TacosThe Dignowity Hill taqueria has been a neighborhood obsession lengthy sufficient that the TV appearances now not really feel like information. What stays a sizzling matter is the flour tortillas, nonetheless talked about in a city the place home made tortillas are the naked minimal. Fill them with papa and egg, avocado, carne guisada, or picadillo — and at all times slather them with the addictive orange sauce. Sure, this can be a taco joint that predominantly caters to the East Aspect. However these tortillas don’t actually have boundaries.Dessert Program of the 12 months: NicosiIs Tavel Bristol-Joseph the Picasso of pastry cooks, or perhaps the Jean Baudrillard? Positive, every thing at Nicosi is clever, and the fare is as a lot thesis as dessert, however there’s additionally a sensuality in the way in which scent and style linger previous the preliminary yum. Perhaps that’s too tutorial for a spot that’s additionally exuberantly enjoyable. How’s this? In a market clogged by franchises that reward just a few Instagram likes, Bristol-Joseph is San Antonio’s most compelling purpose to place down the cellphone.
Espresso Store of the 12 months: NoFi Sluggish BarSomewhere alongside the way in which, we’ve all forgotten what it seems like to sit down within the second, away from countless doomscrolling, half-hearted swiping, and the cortisol drip of informal video games. This Beacon Hill hangout is a digital detox. Hana Buck and Rolando Almaraz, the homeowners of Vibrant Espresso, stripped the espresso store expertise all the way down to the necessities — no syrups, no sweeteners, no paper cups, and no Wi-Fi preventing with human connection. Sure, some guests betray the vibe by snapping just a few Instagram pics. Preserve your cellphone in your pocket; savor the single-origin espresso; faucet your pen to the bebop wiggling by means of the audio system.
Greatest Pop-up: Buddy’s Huge TroubleChef Javi Gutierrez is an underrated sandwich craftsman in San Antonio, however he lets his artwork shine at his first pop-up, Buddy’s Huge Bother. The pop-up retains its menu simple — if you’d like a hearty Texas Wagyu pit-smoked sandwich with the fitting fixings, that is the place to go. Gutierrez retains the operation family-owned, operating the joint together with his spouse, Jackie.
Greatest Sandwich: Beacon Hill Market & DeliMaray McChesney and Matt McLaughlin, the married duo behind Bexar Tonics, introduced their lifelong dream of an East Coast deli to Beacon Hill in 2023, flying in Amoroso hearth-baked rolls from New Jersey. However don’t mistake them for carpet-baggers. The Philly cheesesteak isn’t slathered with Cheez Whiz. That’s Ricos gourmand nacho cheese sauce, thanks very a lot.
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Katherine Stinson contributed to this story.
The Tastemaker Awards ceremony is sponsored in San Antonio by NXT LVL EVENT, Maker’s Mark, Lone Star Beer, Seedlip, Ritual Zero Proof, Marine Meals Specific, S.Pellegrino Acqua Panna, Diplomático Rum, and Fords Gin. A portion of the proceeds profit our nonprofit associate, Culinaria.
