“Food is everything we are. It’s an extension of nationalist feeling, ethnic feeling, your personal history, your province, your region, your tribe, your grandma. It’s inseparable from those from the get-go.” – Anthony Bourdain

“Rosario’s”, the pink neon sign reads, shining brightly and cutting through the dark like a beacon.  Through pink glowing windows, you see silhouettes of people talking, eating, drinking, laughing.  The mesmerizing light and your intrigue with the partiers inside draws you to the entrance door. It opens into a large, dimly lit, pale hot pink-glowing lounge.  As your eyes adjust to the dimmed room, you take in the scene. People are everywhere.  Patrons waiting for dining tables sit on deep-cushioned sofas, stand around chatting or hang out at the pink neon-trimmed bar.  A stunning contemporary light sculpture of blue, green, gold and orange textured tubes and orbs attached to gold discs on a wire mobile hangs from the ceiling. It’s one of several in the lounge and dining areas.  A trendy, sexy, almost club-like ambiance permeates the space.  A festive energy flows through it and the people. You sigh deeply and lose yourself in the vibe. 

 

What makes Rosario’s so special?  

By now, you get that Rosario’s is special, though you might be tempted to attribute its specialness solely to its trendy ambiance.  Or, you may just ascribe it to the IT Factor, that indescribable something the French call, “Je ne sais quois” or, “No se que”, in Spanish.  What you may not yet realize is that Rosario’s may best be described by Aristotle’s famous words (paraphrased), “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” 

The Triangle

Rosario’s has been voted San Antonio’s Best Mexican Restaurant by local food critics and diners seem to agree. No single element can account for that popularity.  Rosario’s recipe for success is in the blending of equal parts of  Good Mood, Good Food & Drinks, and Good Service. Any one of these can make a restaurant called good and two of the three can make a restaurant called great.  But only a blend of all three, in balance, makes a great restaurant indescribably special.  Good Mood, described at the top of the post, is at the top of Rosario’s triangle. Good Food & Drinks and Good Service each form one side and half of the triangle base.

Good Food & Drinks

Rosario’s food exemplifies the sentiment that you can taste the history and culture of a quality dish in one bite, as well as the love with which it was prepared. The menu is described as traditional Mexican with a contemporary twist. It is founded on the age-old traditional Mexican dishes lovingly prepared for Rosario’s owner and operator, Lisa Wong, and her family by her abuelita (grandmother), Mama Luisa. The contemporary twist is Wong’s spin on those treasured traditional dishes and blends harmoniously with the restaurant’s chic styling.    

As in most Mexican restaurants, chips and salsa are served along with drink orders, though that’s where the similarities end. Once tasted, Rosario’s dark, smoky salsa becomes the standard that all other salsas are judged against. Every time I take someone to Rosario’s and we later eat Mexican at a different restaurant, we always wonder how the salsa will compare to Rosario’s. Usually we end up saying, “It was good, but it’s wasn’t Rosario’s.”

 

Rosario’s Mexican Shrimp Cocktail – muy delicioso!

It’s a disappointing dining experience when a restaurant serves really good food and really bad drinks, or worse, no drinks at all.  For a lot of people, dining out (eating fast food out is not dining out) is a treat or a celebration; either way, it’s a fiesta.  When you have an occasion to celebrate, you need a celebratory drink for the toast.  With 9 specialty margaritas, 12 specialty drinks, and domestic and imported beer, Rosario’s bar has ample libations to choose from. 

Entrees consist of better versions of traditional Mexican dishes, classics found only in superior Mexican restaurants and Rosario’s own house specialties.  When I dine out, I tend to instinctively select some of the best items on the menu.  My favorite Rosario’s entree, so far, is the Pescado Veracruz, a healthy, delicious pan-seared tilapia topped with a veracruz sauce and capers, green olives, tomatoes, onions and jalapeños.  The dish is served with a large mixed greens salad.  I can also heartily recommend the Enchiladas Suizas and the Pollo con Mole.  My dining partners over the years have ordered items from all over the menu and always only had good things to say about them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good Service

Good Service can make or break a dining experience.  Think back on times when you ate at a restaurant that served good food but a rude or inattentive server ruined your dining experience and you’ll know what I mean. 

Rosario’s service is genuinely welcoming and consistently accommodating. The minute you step into Rosario’s lounge, the host/hostess greets you and either escorts you to a table or gives you an idea of your wait time and shows you the lounge seating and bar areas.  Specific meal seating requests are honored when possible.  

At the bar, the bartender smiles and takes your drink order.  If you’re not ready, no problem.  He/she will check back with you in a few.

At the table, the server cheerfully greets you and takes your drink order.  Chips and a bottle of salsa are on the table and if you run out, the server gladly brings more.  Just remember what I said earlier: that dark, smoky salsa will set the bar for every other salsa you will ever taste. If you need a little time to decide between all of the delicious-sounding menu items, just ask. Drinks are refreshed before they are empty. Meal service is friendly but polite and attentive, without either hovering or rushing. 

Lagnaippe (a little something extra)

The lagnaippe, or little something extra special that I love about Rosario’s is its appeal to all ages.  It’s heart-warming to glance across at the table next to you and see a group of 20-somethings chatting and laughing and then, look at the table next to them and see a trio of 80-somethings enjoying themselves just as much. 

Critics call Rosario’s San Antonio’s Best Mexican Restaurant and diners seem to agree. Rosario’s serves delicious, traditional Mexican food with a contemporary twist in a sexy, trendy setting with a festive, energetic ambiance.  Will eating at Rosario’s make you sexy?  We can’t promise that eating at Rosario’s will make you sexy but the food will definitely please your palate and being in such a trendy, hip, energetic place can’t help but make you feel sexy and vibrant.   

Good To Know Before You Go:

• Rosario’s Southtown is located in the beautiful King William Historic District, less than a mile from the Alamo and close to the Pioneer Flour Mills and Blue Star Arts Complex (See map, below)  
• Parking is available behind the building, accessible from S. Alamo St.  The parking lot wraps behind the restaurant and around to the opposite side of the building, accessible from St. Mary’s St.
• If the parking lot is full, street parking can be found along S. Alamo or the streets in the King William Historic District.
• At peak times, you will probably have a short wait before being seated.
• Everyone loves Rosario’s, including abuelitas and abuelos! (grandmothers and grandfathers)
• Rosario’s North location is another good dining option in San Antonio: Rosario’s Mexican Restaurant & Lounge (North), 9715 San Pedro Ave., San Antonio, TX  78216, 210-481-4100, rosariossa.com/north

Rosario’s (Southtown), 910 S. Alamo St., San Antonio, TX 78205, 210-481-4100, rosariossa.com

SAN ANTONIO PHOTO GALLERY (This gallery is a work in progress with additional photos still to be added)

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