San Antonio, TX is a city of surprises – from the disappointing (the Alamo is a gigantic souvenir shop!) – to the sublime, such as gorgeous old churches
The San Antonio Cathedral
and the lush green beauty of the flowering shrubs, waterfalls, and koi ponds of the Japanese Tea Garden.
Japanese Tea Garden
Senor Veggie, an all-vegan restaurant with many gluten-free options located at 620 S. Presa Street, definitely falls into the sublime category. It is without a doubt one of the very best veg restaurants I’ve ever been to, and quite possibly has the world’s best veggie burger.
Atmosphere: Casual, funky, laid back. Walls are brightly painted and hung with colorful local art, and there’s plenty of natural sunlight. An eclectic mix of music on the mellower side – alternative, 90’s alternative, “The Girl from Ipanema.” Servers are young, smiling, often tattooed. Clientele is varied – on our first visit we noticed a very respectable looking senior citizen; on our second, a table of commercial real estate power brokers.
Menu: Inspired and cohesive. Most items have a Tex-Mex twist – nachos, poblano corn fritters, empanadas, chili, taco salad, jackfruit tacos, portabello fajitas, mini chalupas with tempeh. Enough to give the menu a personality. However, other items are included for those who may not like Tex Mex or want a change – falafel, grilled veggie pitas, samosas, raw pad thai, broccoli stir fry. Also, while there’s a couple of “meaty” items (such as the excellent Smoked BBQ Sandwich), many dishes don’t mimic meat in any way, shape, or form. Senor Veggie also has a small vegan wine selection and some excellent local craft beers.
Pricing: Reasonable – at least compared to Charlotte, NC! Most entrees tend to run $10-$11. Plus, the portions are HUGE. (My partner won’t even eat at a certain Charlotte vegan restaurant anymore because the portions are so small, he always leaves hungry.) As our waitress Ashley said, “This is Texas – we do things bigger here.”
Ashley. “Lettuce Turnip The Beet!”
Service: Both our waitresses – Ashley and Dani – were excellent. Ashley was very familiar with the menu and made food and craft beer recommendations. Dani was super-friendly and, upon learning we were going to Austin, gave us advice on dog-friendly restaurants and bars.
Food: Incredible. There’s an extreme level of detail that goes into every part of the meal – from the sauces and perfectly fresh veggies garnishing a sandwich, to the non-greasy waffle fries and spiced ketchup.
Southwestern Empanadas
We started with Southwestern Empanadas. Beware, this is listed as an “appetizer” but could easily be a meal in itself! (That’s a full-size dinner plate in the picture.) Think of this as a Mexican samosa, stuffed with a savory filling of beans and corn. The crust (which makes or breaks an item like this) was perfect, as were all the sauces (guacamole, roasted salsa, poblano cashew crema, and pico de gallo).
Smoked BBQ Sandwich
My partner ordered the Smoked BBQ Sandwich (pecan smoked seitan with chipotle BBQ sauce, slaw, pickles, and onions). The pecan smoked seitan and the chipotle BBQ sauce gave this a very distinctive taste. The slaw was perfect. His side – the “Veggie of the Day” was chili-lime carrots, which were nicely savory, not sweet. (You can also choose a soup, salad, waffle fries, or sweet potato fries as your side item.)
Beet Burger
Senor Veggie’s SV Burger gets lots of glowing reviews online, but since it is a black bean burger and I come from Charlotte (Land of Black Bean Burgers), I decided to order the Beet Burger. It is, as one might guess, made of beets. The beet patty itself was flavorful and the color was beautiful. Oddly, somehow the patty really did have a bit of the texture of a thin, charbroiled hamburger patty. More importantly, however, the burger was topped with perfectly ripe, juicy tomatoes, fresh arugula, sunflower shoots, an amazing creamy tofu ricotta cheese, and an even more amazing pesto mayo.
Let’s just take a closer look at this deliciousness, shall we?
The waffle fries were also excellent; thin, light, and airy, non greasy, and served with spiced ketchup.
The next day we went back for lunch. My partner insisted on getting the Beet Burger; I wanted to try something new, that I probably wouldn’t find anywhere else, so I ordered the Eggplant Torta.
Eggplant Torta
Alas! The eggplant was just slightly undercooked, making it difficult to bite off and chew. A real shame, because otherwise everything else was perfect – the perfect crispy breading, the peppercorn ranch dressing, the toasty bun, the tasty layer of refried black beans. Probably Dani would have replaced the sandwich had I asked – but we were short on time, so I didn’t.
Two final notes – it’s in walking distance from Riverwalk, and the back patio area is dog-friendly!
Put this one on your vegan bucket list!
VegCharlotte 
That looks awesome. Husband has wanted to go to San Antonio, so it’s good to hear we won’t starve in order to see it!
Oh, San Antonio is AWESOME! And everything’s so close together … you can def eat there once or even twice a day! Skip the Alamo, see the Briscoe Museum instead which has a ton of history and really amazing stuff (like old stagecoaches and a miniature replication of the Battle of Alamo that’s better than what’s in the gift shop). Go see all the churches and Missions – beautiful. Japanese Tea Gardens – definitely, also there’s parks and even a zoo nearby which is supposed to be run with highest standards. Riverwalk is kinda a “eehhh” if you don’t eat meat … so eat at Senor Veggie and then take a river cruise!
Disappointing, but not surprising, to hear about the Alamo. Japanese Tea Gardens were a definite! We’ve avoided zoos for years, but might consider going to that one, if only so I can sketch some animals. 🙂 Husband was hoping to take me to Riverwalk, but the cruise idea should be great. Thanks for the all the info!
Not really that much of a surprise that you have produced such a
wonderful article. Pictures are very good, both sights and food.
The food looks wonderful. I’ll be in TX, Dallas, at the end of the year for a family get together (first cousins and their families). I know San Antonio is no where near Dallas but was wondering if you had any suggestions of places to try out.