I NEED A ROMANTIC RESTARAUNT IN SAN ANTONIO WITH GOOD FOOD FOR THIS SAT FOR OUR ANNIVERSARY.

[RPR0174]

I am taking my wife to San Antonio this weekend 9/17/06 for our 2nd anniversary and would like to find a very romantic restaraunt for a very special dinner. She can't eat mexican food or french food, prefers american cuisine.

[bronwen]

The time has passed so I'd like to know where you finally ended up! As your wife is not adventurous I would have suggested The Palm, Ruth Chris', Morton's where you can't go wrong and all the food is American and recognizable.

[montedyoung]

We loved Fusion, on Huebner a little past the strand. It was great food, chef is the owner and works the floor too. It was a very nice, but small, place with a friendly atmosphere. Two of us with meal, appetizer, dessert and wine for all courses...with tip just under $200.00. Great bottle of red, in place of the Melchor, which listed for $70.00 on wine list.

[River Rat]

RPRO174 -- Well, tell us how the weekend went! We'd love to hear where you went, what you ate and how you liked it. Also, how your picky eater did.

[saeyedoc]

I'll have to check it out. We go to Aldino's alot, close by to our home and the food is ok.

Have you been to Guajillo's? 410 and Blanco. Our favorite mexican rest, not tex-mex. Also like Wah Kee BBQ on Bandera, ask for the chinese menu.

[saeyedoc]

Sorry, the chinese rest is Kim Wah BBQ, not Wah Kee

[HollyDolly]

Your right about the restaraunts saeyedoc.Years ago we found a really good restaraunt on Broadway we took my sister to when she graduated from college.Nice place,good atmosphere upscale but not over the top,good prices.However the place didn't last
as we discovered when we were going there for a family birthday.Yet the bad places still go on.
Pompeii Italian Grill on nacodoches road is good.At leat I liked what I got. It has a nice interior but might get a little noisy due to the acoustics of the place.

[saeyedoc]

Unfortunately, SA does not have many true gourmet restaurants. Plenty of good (and not so good) mexican restaurants. Some fair to middling Asian places. Not impressed with the Italian food.

Have you been to Sandbar? I've had some excellent lunches there.

[River Rat]

I've been to Sandbar twice and loved it. It seemed to me that they had things you just can't get anywhere else in SA.

[saeyedoc]

I've only had the tasting menu too, it's amazing, but almost too much to eat. If you're spending $100 on five courses, might as well do the tasting menu, unless there are things you just don't like. I prefer being surprised. At &80 for three courses, the additional courses for $10 each are a relative bargain.

It's a shame they raised the prices again.

[River Rat]

By comparison it is still a bargain. Last December I ate at Charlie Trotters, Spaggia and Topolobampo in Chicago -- not too shabby -- and both the first two were much more expensive than Le Reve and, in my opinion, not nearly as good.

[saeyedoc]

It's on their website, just scroll down from the tasting menu. 3 courses $80, 4 $90, 5 $100.

[River Rat]

Wow! I've eaten there three times and just never noticed it. Have always just sat back and let the chef do it for me! And it has been great. Thanks for the info.

[saeyedoc]

Another suggestion would be Las Canarias at La Mansion on the Riverwalk. Very nice atmoshphere, some mexican/southwest influence but not really mexican food, more gourmet. If it's not too hot, you can sit outside.

At LeReve, you can order whatever you want if you don't do the tasting menu.

The other restaurants mentioned (Lodge at Castle Hills, Bin 555) are in the North Central area, about 20 minutes drive without traffic.

[River Rat]

I don't remember there being an ala carte menu at Le Reve. Thought it was all set. Their website just shows a typical tasting menu. Do you know where an ala carte menu is posted?

[RPR0174]

Where is Le Reve at?

She doesn't like duck, pheasant, beef, or fish. Mostly eats chicken, pork, and beef maybe once every 2 weeks. We're staying at the Holiday Inn by Riverwalk. Yes, we will have a car, we're driving down from Dallas

[River Rat]

Le Reve is at 152 Pecan St. at N. St. Mary's. It's down in the Riverwalk area. It is spectacular. Take a look at their website at www.restaurantlereve.com.

With the limitations you have, I started to recommend either El Mirador or La Fogata, either of which have good pork and chicken choices, but then saw you said she didn't do Mexican, so they are out. You can find a chicken or a pork dish on most of the restaurant menus, but there won't be much choice. Maybe she's used to that, though.

I haven't been there and maybe some of the other hounds out there can comment, but Citrus at the Hotel Valencia, which is also on the Riverwalk, looks pretty good on paper. Their site is hotelvalencia.com.

Good eating!

[saeyedoc]

There's also a Paesano's on the riverwalk, but I personally don't like Paesano's.

Although Le Reve is technically "French", it is very inventive with alot of American influences. By far the best food I've had in SA.

[munchie1]

Perhaps you can tell us where in San Antonio you are staying and we can let you know a place that is close and suits your needs. Biga On The Banks is on the Riverwalk and would qualify as both American and romantic. The food there is quite good and would be my first choice. Tel: [phone]. As for Italian, a place called Paesano's is classy but casual. It can get a little loud. The food is good and the wine list is reasonable. It is on 555 E Basse about 10 mins from downtown. Tel: [phone].

[cammiessauce]

I fully agree with the Biga On The Banks suggestion. Beautiful restaurant with great food.

[saeyedoc]

Where are you staying? Will you have a car?

[RPR0174]

I appreciate everything, but unfortunately I am traveling down there this weekend and I have no clue where any of those are. She cannot eat French, but loves Italian and American Cuisine.

[River Rat]

What does "She cannot eat French" mean?

[wendileigh]

Also Grey Moss Inn in Helotes is romantic and really good steaks. The building is not fancy but quaint and romantic and the food and wine is very good.

[wendileigh]

The lodge is a nice choice. Luciano's at the Strand is supposed to be romantic with great food. The chef is awesome and the food is italian/continental. Another nice place is Silo on Austin Highway. It's great food and a small dining area.

[saeyedoc]

The best restaurant is Le Reve, very expensive but romantic and excellent. You can spend over $350/couple if you do the tasting menu with wine pairings.

If you want to spend a bit less, I recently had a very good meal at Bin 555, the menu consists of several categories of small plates and they have an excellent wine menu, especially their 55 wines at $55, some very good values there if you want to splurge a bit. Fun atmosphere, but upscale enough to be romantic. The same people also run the Lodge at Castle Hills, I haven't been there, heard it's a nice setting but have heard the food isn't always that great.

Happy Anniversary!

[HollyDolly]

I'm trying to think of some place you can go.There is the GristMill in Gruene,Texas,out by New Braunfels.Their food was good,and it is on the Guadalupe River and you can sit outside and see the river flow by.Been a while since i ate there,several years in fact.It is american cuisine.
There's Biga on the Banks,but I think it's a mix of american and french.Try www.sacurrent.com SA Current magazine has reviews of various restaraunts,and I think you can check them out by catergory.Or try CitySearch,San Antonio.
Where abouts are you coming from? There is Salt Grass steakhouse or Alexander's in the Alamo Quarry MarketPlace.