Explore LGBTQ+ San Antonio and discover its vibrant Texan energy, including the world’s largest cowboy boots and many other iconic sights.
Everything really is bigger in Texas. Even from the roundabout of my San Antonio hotel where I am checking in for a long weekend, this is plainly true.
Across the street from where I’m standing, for example, I see a Saks Fifth Avenue and in front of it a pair of Guinness verified World’s Largest Cowboy Boots stretching nearly as tall as the four story parking garage behind it. The work of the late Austin-based sculptor Bob Wade, the cowboy boots are so large that a person would have to be 200 feet tall to fill them, and according to Wade each boot can hold 300,000 gallons of beer. I am hoping this isn’t the only big thing I’ll encounter this weekend.
San Antonio is a city thrumming with full-throated Texan energy. (About one in every three profiles on my Scruff feed are dudes sporting cowboy hats.) America’s seventh-largest metropolis currently boasts 1.5 million people and two marquee attractions including The Alamo, the ultimate symbol of Texan independence, and the San Antonio River walk—15 miles of tantalizing footpaths lined with art installations, riverside restaurants, chirpy electric tourist boats, and tranquil water features. With a citizenry that is nearly two-thirds Hispanic, you better believe the Tex-Mex in this town is top notch. In fact, San Antonio is a UNESCO-designated Creative City of Gastronomy, one of only two such cities (Tucson being the other) in the United States. In short, I can’t wait to spend the next three days living la vida homo in Alamo City.
World’s Largest Cowboy Boots (Photo by MACH Photos)
THURSDAY
I will visit several hotels over the course of the next three days and the first is Estancia del Norte San Antonio, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, though this is no ordinary Hilton. Trimmed in Spanish tiling and lined with palm trees stretching skyward, Estancia boasts a gorgeous central courtyard crisscrossed with string lights, plus a large swimming pool, and a beautiful wrought iron elevator reminiscent of the iconic Santa Junta lift in Lisbon. The hotel is near the airport, which has both pros and cons, though it’s only about a 15-minute Lyft ride to downtown. One plus is that my Scruff feed fills quickly with handsome pilots and cute flight attendants.
Speaking of Scruff, while in the backseat of my Uber I notice my feed is blowing up. (It’s always fun to be the new gay in town.) San Antonio hombres are handsome, but SaCowboy, Megatron, and MemberFDIC (hilarious) will have to wait. I want to get to know this city, and the San Antonio Museum of Art (SAMA) is my first stop.
SAMA is located inside the old Lone Star Brewery and is just a “hops,” skip and a jump from the Riverwalk and downtown. Its collection spans 5,000 years of global civilization, so naturally I start in antiquities where nude statues of Greco-Roman adonizes always make me dream of places like Mykonos and Rome. Permanent exhibitions include Asian, European, Islamic, and American art among others, and I’m on the lookout for queer artists like Kehinde Wiley (famous for his Obama portrait), Marsden Hartley, Jeffery Gibson, and Angel Rodriguez-Diaz whose works are scattered throughout. But more than anything, I discover SAMA is enormously pleasurable to stroll thanks to its historic building design, including beautiful brick structures, cast iron columns, and a photogenic rainbow-hued bridge connecting the east and west wings.
San Antonio River Walk (Photo by Sean Pavone)
River City has plenty of amazing people and experiences that queer travelers will appreciate, including the first lesbian mayor of San Antonio, Gina Ortiz Jones!
Art and booze go hand in hand (just ask Van Gogh or Pollock), so after departing SAMA I head to Southtown, a buzzy and eclectic neighborhood featuring cheery bungalows that have been converted into hip coffee shops, and trendy eateries and retailers often with food trucks San Antonio River Walk parked in their front yards. Casa Hernan Mexican Cantina resembles Disney’s Haunted Mansion, but with South of the Border vibes (think Frida Kahlo and Day of the Dead). My swishy server Eduardo proffers a passion fruit margarita along with chorizo quesadillas and irresistible house potato chips (a nice chips and salsa substitute), while in the background T-Swift and her coterie of ballerinas and breakdancers strike all kinds of bendy poses in her “Shake it Off ” video.
Stuffed with Tex-Mex, I roll down Alamo Avenue which is crackling with energy tonight. As I pass a bar called the Jewel at 1102, I see a hunched over man tickling the ivories in a top hat who looks like a cross between Willy Wonka and the son of Svengoolie. Restaurant Little Em’s, meanwhile, boasts burgers and bivalves in a delightful Art Deco storefront, while the sweet scent of churros almost lures me to La Churreria by ChurroStar. I ended up having a seat at Bar 1919, a long and slender whiskey focused basement speakeasy with tin ceilings that was named for the year prohibition began. My mixologist informs me that the bar boasts upwards of 900 different whiskey labels, so of course I order the rum forward Lakes N’ Quakes, a tasty sipper with notes of cocoa bean, banana, and tropical spices. Am I in Texas or the Antilles?
FRIDAY
Goliath. Poltergeist. The Iron Rattler. These are the names of some of the fastest, loopiest and most gravity-defying roller coasters at Six Flags Fiesta Texas, and from the passenger’s seat of the car I’m in I can see the tips of them in the near distance. Six Flags is just one of several attractions that comprise North San Antonio, a sprawling area that is luxurious, family friendly, and includes the RIM Shopping Center, The Shops at La Cantera, Victory Capital Performance Center (where the Spurs practice), and La Cantera Resort and Spa, which boasts five swimming pools, an 18-hole course, and the Michelin-reviewed restaurant Signature.
But I’m barreling past these places en route to Box St. All Day Brunch, a photogenic, all-day eatery dipped like an Easter egg in pastel colors and decorated with leafy hanging plants and chic wicker furniture. Were it peak hour I’m certain it would be full of gossipy gay boys, giddy bachelorettes, and Tik Tok influencers sipping ube lattes and hibiscus sparkers while noshing on cereal milk waffles and thicc boi pancakes. I order the savory Box St. Brekky and pair it with a house made donut—the perfect fuel for a full day of sightseeing ahead of me.
Though it’s much too cold this morning to be outside for very long, the central courtyard at McNay Art Museum is a place of quiet respite in the middle of the city. Like SAMA, McNay is housed in a repurposed building, this time an old mansion from the ‘20s. I must hand it to San Antonio, thus far it’s delivering culture in spades. The sounds of chirping birds and rushing water lures me to the museum’s special exhibition, which at the time of my visit is devoted to black queer artist Whitfield Lovell who combines found objects with pictures of African Americans drawn on paper and wood. The building’s elaborate archways, colorful Spanish tiles, and ornate moldings are themselves a work of art. While wandering around McNay I discovered paintings from numerous European and American masters, including Picasso, Hopper, Monet, Rivera, Matisse, Cezanne, and Modigliani. Gay artists like Rauschenberg and Cadmus are also represented, including a painting from James Gobel whose work often reflects gay bear culture.
Pride Participants in San Antonio (Photo by NYCKellyWillams)
A highlight of any trip is my first visit to the gayborhood, in this case St. Mary’s which runs along Main Street. It checks all the requisite boxes, including rainbow crosswalks, ubiquitous Pride flags and a Welcome to Fabulous San Antonio mural imitating the famed Vegas sign. It’s too early for a tipple, so instead I visit Ouch, a compact clothing store featuring an impressive collection of spicy undies and club land gear like a crop top that says Super Bottom and another containing the tongue and cheek phrase, “Y’all Need Jesus.” A maroon, sumo-style braided thong is about the strangest undergarment I’ve ever seen, so of course I try it on. “You definitely have the body for it,” says the nerdy-cute shop clerk scanning me up and down while pointing his index finger toward the floor and spinning it around to indicate I give him a twirl.
Attached to Ouch is fetish store Hardcore Leather where ball gags start at $19.99. Down the street is Zebra Z, a fetish emporium offering every sex toy imaginable, including a large adjustable sling that dominates the middle of the shop (mannequin in bottoming position not included).
All roads in San Antonio lead to the Riverwalk, the city’s compulsively strollable 15-mile pathway that functions like a Yellow Brick Road of sorts. It’s here where I stumble upon Elsewhere, an outdoor restaurant so close to the river that if it were on even the slight gradient would tumble right into the water. Elsewhere features porch swings, tin roofs, corrugated metal, fire pits, planters, abundant kitsch, and plenty of wandering room for your llama. (Elsewhere is pet friendly, and yes people have brought llamas.) There’s even a rabbit hole to slide down inspired by Alice in Wonderland. Remember the B-52’s “Love Shack” video (featuring a young RuPaul in a fetching midriff)? Elsewhere perfectly resembles the shack’s backyard. I order a chimichurri chicken sandwich and eat it while idling on one of the swings.
The award for most playful stop of the day, however, goes to Hopscotch. This boozy and experiential art hound playground features fully immersive installations from emerging artists, many of whom live in San Antonio and Austin. “Perspective,” for example, showcases dreamy optical illusions. Then there’s the labyrinthine, rainbow colored and aptly titled “GAZE,” which seeks to highlight the experience of LGBTQ people. “Secrets,” meanwhile, lets visitors both share and listen to actual confessions, like one woman who I learn has been stealing cheese from her local Fred Meyers for the past eight years, and another who has been dating a man 22 years her junior. The booze at the onsite bar is just as photogenic as the art; try the Ziggy Stardust.
“The food here smells so good I’ll literally eat in the river if you want me to,” says a brash and loud Texan man standing in front of me at the host stand. I’m at Boudro’s on the Riverwalk, the most sought-after restaurant on the water, and I’m amazed I am getting a table here on a Friday night. I am seated outside, and while it’s quite chilly the provided wool poncho I wrap myself in is a nice touch. Boudro’s sits near a graceful bend in a spirited part of the river where the people watching is nearly as good as anything on the menu. As I chow down on the signature shrimp and grits(flavorful and heart attack-inducing thanks to a rich and satisfying beurre blanc sauce), passersby include guitar-wielding mariachi singers, frantic servers lugging heat lamps, big-haired Texas mommas pushing strollers, dudes with backward ballcaps emblazoned with the San Antonio Spurs logo, and forlorn diners turned away from Boudro’s and instead forced to supper at nearby chains like Bubba Gump’s Shrimp Co. and the Hard Rock Café.
San Antonio Pride Parade (Photo by Visit San Antonio)
The next thing I do is the first thing I should’ve done upon arrival in Alamo City, and that is take a GO RIO San Antonio River Cruise aboard an electric barge.What a blast! Floating down the San Antonio River at night aboard the USS Enchilada with Onions (a joke name I am certain) is nothing short of magical, and this is exactly when I fall in love with the city. Our guide slings more jokes per minute than the cast members aboard Disney’s Jungle Cruise and reveals tons of interesting factoids, like that the river is 15,000 years old and flows into the Gulf of Mexico 257 miles away in Cor pus Christi. He also points out the bridge JLO sat on in the movie Selena (the famed singer owned a boutique in the city), the Esquire Tavern which served as a ZZ Top album cover, and the world’s first air-conditioned hospital (also the birthplace of Carol Burnett).
Two hand-holding latinas glide past me as I slide into downtown cocktail lounge Pink Shark, which is owned by out-married couple Jessica Marinez and Amber Hernandez. Though not a queer bar per se, Pink Shark is clearly a hangout for sapphic San Antonians and hip heteros, many of whom congregate in the bar’s louder and even busier back room.
Cantilevering over the catwalk at downtown’s Bonham Exchange, I find myself salivating over the go-go boy in red briefs and a black harness who is twirling around on a dance floor box below me like it’s his last night of bootie shaking. If he’ll stand still for just one minute, I’ll tip him. At 25,000 square feet, the Bonham is a behemoth with an impressive history. It was built in 1891 as an athletic facility and converted into a USO office during the Great Depression. It became a queer club beginning in summer of 1981 and since that time has hosted everyone from Tina Turner to Taylor Dayne. I count at least 7 bars including one located in the bar’s sprawling outdoor patio where brisket tacos and quesadillas are being served.
SATURDAY
A cinnamon-infused monkey bread and tequila tresleches croissant are playing tug of war with my taste buds. They are just two among the tantalizing display of baked goods available at ballyhooed breakfast joint and Food Network darling La Panadería. But the real discovery this morning is the knife-and-fork eggs Benedict featuring two poached eggs over a slab of thick-cut pork and on a hearty slice of sourdough. This pants down the best benedict I’ve ever had, and who knew a cafeteria-style bakery in a part of town where strip malls rule is where I’d find it.
Chorizo Quesadillas (Photo by Guajillo Studio)
I can’t imagine eating again, so when I return to the gayborhood for drag brunch at queer cantina Ay Que Chula, I stick to booze only, though not the Hoochie Daddy, a 100-ounce phallic tower of alcohol featuring two bottles of champagne, two shots of tequila, and assorted mixers. I’m placed at a high boy near the stage area where the queens will be performing. “You might be sitting with Jimmy James,” says cute host and manager Edward referring to the San Antonio-based recording artist whose song “Fashionista” was a 2006 clubland hit.
My server happens to be the same cutie who was wiggling his bum last night at Bonham Exchange. He recognizes me and gives me the skinny on the gayborhood queer scene, which I’ll return to later tonight. He points me to the Eagle San Antonio for leather-fetish vibes, drag shows at Pegasus, go-go studs at Purgatory, and late-night grooving at Heat Nightclub. Even though I’m stuffed from brekkie, he recommends menu faves like the chula breakfast sando and the chula quiles, all the while pressing his enticing crotch into my knee.
“Everybody line up, the show is about to start,” belts out James who is wearing dark eyeliner and a peace sign necklace so long it dangles below his beltline as he raps “Sean John, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan’s fashion line” before handing over the reins to drag hostess Ez Brezzy. Her performance is so megawatt it seems almost impossible subsequent queens will be able to replicate her energy level, so I’m in a genuine state of surprise when Cookie Dlux leaps from the bar and into splits on the dining room floor (in thigh high boots no less) to Ayesha Erotica’s “Spread My Puss,” or when Prada Hill does a gravity-defying cartwheel to the crowd’s ecstatic delight. These queens are working so hard I half expect to see RuPaul in the corner watching their every move with judgy eyes. “Daddy come get these coins,” one says breathlessly while beckoning a server to collect the dollar bills we’ve showered upon her.
Afterwards, it’s time for a nude nap, so I check in at the Hotel Emma, the coolest lodging option in town. It is also the jewel of the Pearl District, a riverfront neighborhood full of hip eateries, indie retailers, and a chic European market named for the former Pearl Brewery in which the hotel is now housed. Hotel Emma is a luxury, five-star property, but it’s also a vibes hotel. From the guest-only mezzanine (accessible via the library) I surveyed the expansive lobby below where both travelers and locals have gathered this afternoon for gossip and a tipple or two. Because it’s a former brewery, the cavernous lobby is industrial and factory-like, but with clever adaptive reuse as in chandeliers crafted from old label makers and vintage finishing tanks now serving as private hangouts. Diamond flooring, grand staircases, and rich leather ooze masculine Texas energy. The hotel looks like it’s styled for an Architectural Digest shoot and I’m the only person in the place who isn’t dressed the part. I head to my room, throw my belongings down on the custom-made Parota worktable, fold myself into the soft Frette linens, and drift off to sleep.
“Hello, this is Phil Collins! Some of you might know me from my music, but I’m talking to you today simply as an Alamo enthusiast.” An Uber has delivered me to the doorstep of San Antonio’s most iconic structure where the Battle of the Alamo, a 12-day military struggle between the Mexican army and Texian volunteers, is being explained via voiceover. Turns out, Collins is an Alamo fanatic and many of the artifacts on display, including riding boots, hand grenades, pocket Bibles, and commemorative spoons were donated by the British crooner.
The Alamo (Photo by Sean Pavone)
The battle has since become a symbol of Texan resistance and the rallying cry, “Remember the Alamo” remains a fixture in popular cul ture. But the Alamo is absolutely worth a visit and the storied grounds include the collections center which houses memorabilia, a church, central courtyard and gardens, barracks, and of course, a gift shop where I consider purchasing a t-shirt featuring a long and shaft-like cannon with the homoerotic phrase, “come and take it.”
My next trek is to the Tower of the Americas, a 750-foot needle with an observation deck and spinning restaurant at its top. A dense ring of fog has rushed to surround the deck obscuring all city views, though it’s clear as a bell during the elevator ride up which I share with a young queer couple and two hitched heteros from Arkansas who are as disappointed as I am about the persistent mist. “It’s un-foor-tunate y’all had to visit on a day like this,” they tell us gays.
I return to the Hotel Emma and have dinner at its stylish American eatery Supper where I place my food and beverage order with a nonbinary server. I am seated at the kitchen counter, and this proves the perfect perch from which to watch fluffy parker rolls get dusted with shaved parmesan, while spuds get whipped into their eventual mashed versions, and veggies jump up and down in frying pans like children on a trampoline. The sizzle of steaks, meanwhile, reminds me of a roaring crowd which creates a heightening buzz as I watch each item be artfully plated.
Saturday night in the gayborhood begins at Sir Rat Leather & Gear where flirty exchanges with the salesclerk lead to him having me try on various leather-fetish garments while taking great care to adjust them in all the most provocative places. Our sexy exchange is interrupted by a pack of tail-wagging pups who enter in full masks; unfortunately, none of them bite.
“Are you Ms. Daniels,” I ask the cute blonde boy standing near me at chill hangout Sparky’s Pub while pointing to a nameplate at a reserved VIP booth. “I’m Ms. Nasty,” he replies. His real name is Frasier, and he is visiting from Dallas. He and friend Kirkland are a couple of cuties originally from Alabama and Mississippi respectively, and their 30 inch waistlines and boyish good looks perfectly embody the fleeting spoils of youth. We strike up an easy rapport and decide to travel together down the street to go-go bar Purgatory.
Francisco and Ian (Photo by Al Rendon)
Purgatory is quiet tonight. Atop the bar, a go-go stud in a bovine print string bikini is flaunting his “udderly” huge assets. Frasier, meanwhile, heads to the bathroom where he is stalked and harassed by some random dude. But all eyes are on a dancer named Angel whose teal thong we fill with singles. When a bill shakes loose and drifts toward the ground like a fallen leaf in autumn, Angel bends artfully over to pick it up revealing he also has a bit of Devil in him.
Frasier and Kirkland say goodnight as I head to the Eagle SA at Knockout where the same pack of pups I saw earlier at Sir Rat Leather have gathered. This new bar boasts all the requisite Eagle features like a chain-link fence, waist up-only erotic art (C’mon, don’t be shy now San Antonio), and ruby red lighting. It feels busy to me though the bartender insists they are competing tonight with Kink Karnival at queer bar Sparks in North San Antonio. As I hud dle around a highboy with a beverage in hand and lip sync to “Mandika” by Sinead O’Connor a gaggle of gays stop me. “We chose that song,” they say, nodding to the jukebox.
I swaddle myself in my stylish puffy coat (a $50 JC Penny steal, but don’t tell anyone) and order an Uber. As I step inside the car a man in a cowboy hat and festive green suit saunters past. “He’s doing f*cking faaaabulous,” squeals my gay Uber driver with obvious delight.
I rise, shine and make my way to restaurant Ocho, an atrium-style dining room tucked alongside the Riverwalk and bathed in baby blues where I sit at a window with a coffee in hand and watch the water flow at an unhurried pace. Ocho boasts a ton of queer bona fides. For starters, it is located inside the Hotel Havana which belongs to Bunkhouse Hotels, a hip hotelier founded by out “queen of cool” Liz Lambert. Though Lambert is no longer associated with Bunkhouse, their hotels are delightfully queer friendly, including here at Ocho which is helmed by non-binary chef and Chopped winner Jesse Kirk.
It’s a brisk and brittle morning, and though people are strolling the river in large numbers, everyone has dug their hands firmly and resolutely into their pockets. Back at the Pearl District, I do a bit of morning shopping, including at Feliz Modern, an artfully curated boutique featuring disco ball dinner plates, pop art drawings of drag queen Divine, and pink sippy cups that say Latina Power. I also pass Lick Honest Ice Cream, the San Antonio offshoot of an Austin-based ice creamery owned by dairy-licious queer couple Anthony Sobotik and Chad Palmatier.
The Pearl is still growing, and along the outskirts I see looming expansion plans that will include a second hotel, more shops and restaurants, and new living spaces for locals.
At Turkish restaurant Ladino, I pass twin arches revealing a skilled kitchen staff hard at work earning their 2024 Bib Gourmand distinction from Michelin. I am seated in the serene and airy dining room where my stomach prepares for the robust assortment of Turkish delights including mezes, shiskbarak (beef and lamb dumplings in yogurt and smoked chili), and fasoulia (Romano beans with fermented tomatoes). I wash it all down with a glass of salgum (fermented turnip juice). This is the best meal I’ll have the entire trip, made even better for its ability to temporarily transport me back to Istanbul, that enchanting city on the Bosphorous.
In front of the Hotel Emma is a large gathering area where I stop to watch a magician named Jimmy ply passing families with simple coin tricks and abundant dad jokes. I’ve checked out, but I’m not ready to leave yet. True, Austin has its funkiness, Dallas-Fort Worth its cowboy culture, and Houston its abundant art scene, but River City has plenty of amazing people and experiences that queer travelers will appreciate, including the first lesbian mayor of San Antonio, Gina Ortiz Jones!
LOVE Sculpture by Robert Indiana at MacNay Art Museum (Photo by Moab Republic)
San Antonio Resources
BARS
Ay Que Chula • LGBTQ bar and hangout featuring drag brunch on weekends. 1503 N Main Ave. Tel: 210.251.4902. AyQueChulaTX.com
Bar 1919 • LGBTQ-friendly basement speakeasy featuring more than 900 different kinds of whiskey. 1420 S Alamo St. Tel: 210- 227-1420. Bar1919.com
Bonham Exchange • Multi-level downtown queer club featuring a dance floor, outdoor patio and numerous bars. Tel: 210.224.9219. BonhamExchange.com
Eagle SA at Knockout • Newish kink and fetish bar located in the heart of the gayborhood. 1420 N Main Ave (entrance on Evergreen). Tel: 210.227.7678.
Pink Shark • LGBTQ-friendly and lesbian owned downtown cocktail lounge. Tel: 210.834.3372. PinkSharkBar.com
Purgatory • Gayborhood dive bar featuring go-go dancers. 1010 Main Ave. Tel: 210.455.0413.
Sparky’s Pub • Gayborhood hangout boasting a pool table, outdoor patio, café style bites, go-go dancers and more. 1416 Main Ave. Tel: 201.320.5111.
HOTELS
Estancia del Norte San Antonio, Tapestry by Hilton • Airport hotel with a large court yard and Spanish vibes. 37 NE Loop 410 at McCullough. Tel: 210.366.2424. Hilton.com
Hotel Emma • Luxurious and bustling five star hotel located inside an old brewery. 136 E Grayson St. Tel: 210.448.8300. TheHotelEmma.com
Hotel Havana • Charming boutique hotel located alongside the Riverwalk. 1015 Navarro St. Tel: 210.222.2008. Bunkhouse Hotels.com/Hotel-Havana
ATTRACTIONS/EVENTS
The Alamo • Historic Spanish mission and fortress and site of the Battle of the Alamo. 300 Alamo Plaza. Tel: 210.225.1391. TheAlamo.org
GO RIO San Antonio River Cruise • Lively electric boat tours along the San Antonio River highlighting famous sights and attractions. Ticket booth locations at 809 E. Riverwalk, 706 Riverwalk and 731 River walk. GoRIOCruises.com
Hopscotch San Antonio • Experiential art museum offering more than a dozen fully immersive art installations, plus a full bar. 711 Navarro St. Tel: 833.477.9229. LetsHopscotch.com
McNay Art Museum • Impressive collection of American and European art housed in an old mansion featuring a serene court yard. 6000 N New Braunfels Ave. Tel: 210.8245368. McNayArt.org
San Antonio Museum of Art • Comprehensive art museum spanning 5,000 years of global civilization and housed inside an old brewery. 200 W Jones Ave. Tel: 210.978.8100. SAMuseum.org
Tower of the Americas • Tourist attraction standing 750 feet high and boasting a revolving restaurant and panoramic views. 739 E César Chávez Blvd. Tel: 210.223.3101. TowerOfTheAmericas.com
World’s Largest Cowboy Boots • Guinness-verified pair of decorative boots stretching almost four stories high and located in front of a shopping mall. 7400 San Pedro Ave.
RESTAURANTS
Boudro’s on the Riverwalk • Bustling Riverwalk restaurant with New American cuisine and Texan vibes. 421 E Commerce St at the Riverwalk. Tel: 210.224.8484. Boudros.com
Box St. All Day Brunch • Trendy eatery featuring tasty and outside-the-box breakfast and brunch fare. 623 Hemisfair Blvd. Tel: 210.476.5705. BoxStAllDay.com.
Casa Hernan Mexican Cantina • Stylish eatery in an old mansion serving nouveau Tex-Mex and hand-crafted cocktails. 411 E Cevallos St. Tel: 210.827.2235. CasaHernan.com
Elsewhere • Fun and funky outdoor beer garden serving up fast casual bar fare on the Riverwalk. 103 E Jones Ave. Tel: 210.201.5595. ElsewhereTexas.com
La Panaderia Bakery Café • Cafeteria-style eatery famous for its freshly baked breads and pastry selection. 8305 Broadway St. Tel: 210.375.6746. LaPanaderia.com
Ladino • Chic and airy Michelin-awarded Pearl District restaurant specializing in Turkish cuisine. 200 E Grayson St. Tel: 210.325.6007. LadinoSATX.com
Lick Honest Ice Cream • Austin-based and queer-owned ice cream shop serving seasonal and sustainable artisan ice creams. 312 Pearl Pkwy. Tel: 201.314.8166. ILikeLick.com
Ocho • Tasty Pan-Latin restaurant located with in the Hotel Havana and helmed by a non-binary chef. 1015 Navarro St. Tel: 210.222.2008. BunkhouseHotels.com/Hotel-Havana
Supper • Bustling and stylish New American eatery located within the Hotel Emma. 136 E Grayson St. Tel: 210.448.8351. TheHotelEmma.com
SHOPS
Feliz Modern • Cheerful and well-curated gift shop featuring home décor, art, clothing and more. 110 W Olmos Dr. Tel: 210.622.8364. FelizModern.com
Hardcore Leather • Fetish shop attached to an underwear apparel store. 1426 N Main Ave. Tel: 210.714.3356. OuchApparel.com
Ouch • Gayborhood apparel store focused on men’s underwear, Pride wear and LGBTQ-themed accessories. Tel: 210.320.1416. OuchApparel.com
Sir Rat Leather and Gear • Gayborhood leather shop selling jockstraps, harnesses, adult toys and more. 1700 N Main Ave. Tel: 210.233.9780. SirRatLeather.com
Zebra Z • Large adult emporium offering a wide selection of sex toys and fetish gear. 1608 N Main Ave. Tel: 210.472.2800. ZebraZ.com
