Tag: New restaurants

House of Má and Hugman’s Oasis to open in downtown San Antonio

House of Má and Hugman’s Oasis will be opening in early 2021 in downtown San Antonio. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Restaurateur Chris Hill, responsible for the award-winning Esquire Tavern and Downstairs at the Esquire Tavern, is excited to announce both a new restaurant and a new bar coming to downtown San Antonio in early 2021. The bar concept, Hugman’s Oasis and the restaurant, House of Má, will be in the Historic Witte Building on East Commerce Street. (Hugman’s Oasis, 2020)

Jill Giles and Project Lead Mark Anders conceptualized and designed Hugman’s Oasis and the street level space for House of Má. To assist with the design of Hugman’s Oasis, Giles Design Bureau brought in Bamboo Ben, a well-known tiki bar expert whose work has been featured in numerous bars throughout the country including Frankie’s Tiki Room in Las Vegas and Luau in Beverly Hills. 

The bar menu will feature drinks like the Bermuda Triangle, a tropical rum-based drink, a Piñagroni, a pineapple version of a traditional negroni, and more under the supervision of Beverage Director and Boulevardier Group Owner Jeret Peña. Hugman’s Oasis, named for the visionary architect responsible for the creation of the San Antonio River Walk, Robert H. H. Hugman, will occupy the river level of the Witte Building.

House of Má is a concept by Louis Singh and Eric Treviño, the same team behind the popular Singh’s Vietnamese restaurant in San Antonio. Guests will be able to order items from the menu like Hủ Tiếu (Cambodian Noodle Soup), Phở Gà (Chicken Pho), and more from House of Má, while dishes like Candied-Jalapeño Rangoons, Seasonal Yakitori Skewers, and more will be featured on the bar menu at Hugman’s Oasis.

Jeret Peña will also lead the bar program at House of Má, where guests can order cocktails with names like Old Siam, Soi Cowboy and more. House of Má will occupy the first floor of the building, with private dining available on the second floor. Hugman’s Oasis will be located on the river level directly on the River Walk. 

The Witte Building received additional transformations to accommodate guests including a new elevator and a set of stairs leading up from the River Walk to the street level. The new elevator tower was designed by Architect Tobin Smith. Andrew Douglas of Douglas Architects served as the lead architect on the project and Lewis Fisher of Fisher Heck Architects served as historical architect for the project. 

“We are particularly excited to add some depth and interest to not only the Riverwalk, but to the overall food and drink scene in San Antonio. We wanted to create an environment on the River Walk that can be enjoyed by locals and visitors alike.” – Restaurateur Chris Hill

Sweet Paris to bring taste of Paris to The Shops at La Cantera

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Sweet Paris will open its first San Antonio location in mid-June at The Shops at La Cantera. Photo: Sweet Paris, used with permission. 

Sweet Paris recently announced the opening in mid-June of their San Antonio location on Main Street at The Shops at La Cantera. The Parisian-inspired, fast casual restaurant offers a critically acclaimed selection of sweet and savory crêpes, from Apple Cinnamon Crème Brȗlée and S’mores made with Nutella®, torched marshmallows, graham crackers and semi-sweet chocolate to the ribeye-and-provolone stuffed Philly cheesesteak and the Nordic made with smoked salmon, dill sour cream, pickled red onions and capers. Sweet Paris will donate part of its grand opening proceeds to the not-for-profit Culinaria, which promotes San Antonio as a premier food and wine destination through year-round events including the Culinaria Wine + Food Festival. (Sweet Paris, 2019)

In keeping with Sweet Paris’ tradition of giving back to the community, the company has partnered with the San Antonio Food Bank in what will be an ongoing campaign to donate a portion of restaurant sales to programs that will provide meals for children. Sweet Paris supported the World Food Program until 2018, when the team decided to give back to the local Houston Food Bank, feeding the hungry in Southeast Texas.

Founded in Houston in 2012 by husband-and-wife team Allison Young Chavez and Ivan Chavez, the expansion into San Antonio is an exciting addition to the Sweet Paris family. The Chavez’ love of crêpes goes back to college, when Ivan spent a couple of summers studying French in Paris. He brought Allison to the City of Lights to propose, and to try to track down the sidewalk crêpe stand where he first became obsessed with street-style crêpes. When they got back to Houston, the couple could not find a restaurant that satisfied their Parisian-style crêpe cravings. That inspired them to open the first Sweet Paris. Locations include six cafes in the Houston area, including College Station, Katy and The Woodlands and a location inside a resort hotel in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico.

A sumptuous assortment of breakfast crêpes is on the evolving brunch menu, which includes paninis, salads, soups and options for gluten-free crêpes. On those hot summer days, Sweet Paris invites guests to enjoy lavender mimosas, nitro brew coffee or milkshakes. The restaurant also will carry several offerings of beers and wines. The La Cantera café will have elements familiar to all Sweet Paris restaurants: Large industrial European chandeliers with crystal and large iron orbs all around, iron sconces and antique mirrors on blue, venetian plaster walls and marble top bistro tables. The café will have a larger outdoor patio space, giving café-goers the opportunity to enjoy the natural landscaping of The Shops at La Cantera. Chavez is looking forward to visitors taking time to enjoy the food and the ambience.

“Our target market is always lifestyle centers where people can eat, play and live. We like centers that attract people to spend the day, where they can pause and just enjoy the surroundings. We felt lucky we found such an awesome space at The Shops at La Cantera.” – Allison Young Chavez

Culinary Institute of America announces new restaurant in San Antonio

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SAVOR is coming to the Pearl this January. Photo: Clayton & Little, used with permission.

The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in San Antonio is excited to announce SAVOR, a brand-new restaurant coming to Pearl this January. The seasonal Modern-American concept is based on the CIA’s curriculum which teaches cuisines and techniques from around the world. The college’s world-class chefs and hospitality instructors will lead the students, who will prepare and serve dinner as part of their associate degree studies. Upon graduation after this class, students may go on to pursue their bachelor’s degrees in management, culinary science or applied food studies at the college’s New York campus. SAVOR is the newest member of the CIA Restaurant Group. (The Culinary Institute of America, San Antonio, 2018)

Before students join SAVOR, they have studied the cuisines and cultures of the Americas, Asia, the Mediterranean and Europe. Most menu items at SAVOR will be locally sourced and the CIA team relies on relationships with farmers and producers to create an array of fresh dishes. SAVOR’s menu style allows guests to build a customized three or four-course meal, including options such as honey-chili roasted chicken with fat rice and Asian lime; grilled Gulf shrimp with polenta, olives, and tomato; and Berkshire pork schnitzel with a sunny egg, chamomile apple and red sauerkraut. The purpose of this menu format is to educate both students and patrons on various cuisines. CIA faculty overseeing SAVOR are Chef Uyen Pham and service instructor Samantha Fletcher.

The bar and lounge area will feature a menu of smaller and shareable plates such as caviar, potato and soft egg with leeks and pumpkin seeds; roasted cauliflower and Brussels sprouts with toum garlic dip and chicken cracklings; and crisp-fried wings with miso-chili paste, pickled cucumber and toasted sesame. The beverage program will feature classic cocktails like a Negroni, a Manhattan and a dirty martini along with New World and Old-World wines and local favorite craft brews. The restaurant will be open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday.

SAVOR’s 2,500 square feet and 62-seat layout ensures that the ingredients, learning and great food are the focal points of the restaurant. Clayton & Little are the lead architects on this project and designed the modern industrial interior to highlight the open kitchen.

“We are thrilled to have SAVOR join the Pearl community. As a graduate of the CIA, I understand the hard work these students put in to make this a special experience for the guests, and I am excited the restaurant will bring flavors from all across the globe to our city.” – Shelley Grieshaber, culinary director for Pearl and previously director of education for the CIA in San Antonio.

SAVOR
200 E Grayson St., Suite #117
San Antonio, TX 78215