First, Austin’s celebrated Emmer & Rye Hospitality Group planted a flag at Pearl; now, it’s paddling downstream to downtown. The restaurant firm has revealed Barberry, the primary idea going into the reimagined Sítio El Tropicano lodge.
The title comes from a small, tart berry used to chop richness and sharpen taste all through the globe. Although most related to Persian delicacies, a uncommon species (Alloberberis swaseyi) is native to Texas’ Edwards Plateau and the Hill Nation and was a key part of Indigenous delicacies.
Botany apart, Barberry makes use of the berry as a metaphor for its cooking, which mixes punchy worldwide flavors with Hill Nation substances. Emmer & Rye says the menu focuses on steadiness, intriguing diners with exact contrasts as an alternative of walloping them in extra. We’re guessing the menu received’t have a gold leaf burger.
The Stetson chopped salad is served in colourful stripes/Photograph by Robert Lerma
Barberry did tease, nevertheless, choices that riff on Texas delicacies and brasserie classics. Visitors can count on dishes like chicken-fried quail, Wagyu steak tartare, a “Stetson” chopped salad, and candy corn ravioles du Dauphiné (the diminutive cousin to Italy’s huge pasta squares, served in a single block).
Barberry is ready to open with the lodge’s culinary lineup in late 2026. For now, particulars on the poolside idea and the foyer’s café and provisions store are being saved hush-hush.
The ravioles du Dauphiné are as lovely as a dessert.Photograph by Robert Lerma
The eating places are only one piece of Sítio El Tropicano’s restoration. The 1962 property, as soon as a favourite of jet-setters, is being revamped right into a 315-room city resort by Trestle Studio and companions City Lake Firm and Sopris Capital. As soon as accomplished, the lodge will boast San Antonio’s largest lodge pool deck, a 5,000-square-foot spa, and Sítio Membership, a brand new membership membership for entrepreneurs and creatives.
“What excites us most about Barberry is the chance to create one thing that basically feels at residence in San Antonio,” stated Tavel Bristol-Joseph, companion and chief working officer of Emmer & Rye Hospitality Group, through a launch. “El Tropicano has a lot historical past and character, and we wished Barberry to really feel like a pure a part of what this property is changing into — a spot that brings individuals collectively.”
