RFK Rankings · San Antonio
Best Restaurants for Brunch in San Antonio (2026)
Weekend brunch · San Antonio · 6 rooms ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published April 4, 2024 · Updated June 12, 2026 · Reviewed by Fredrik Filipsson, Editor-in-Chief · How we rank · Corrections
Southerleigh fires Gulf-coast brunch plates on the Pearl brewhouse floor, and a mile south NOLA threads boudin into an omelette beside a plate of beignets. San Antonio brunch runs two ways: a long sit-down at the Pearl, or a New Orleans plate on Broadway. These six, ranked, are where to spend a Saturday morning in the city when the table and the plate both matter.
1.Southerleigh Fine Food & Brewery
Jeff Balfour's brewhouse brunch at the Pearl is the city's best sit-down weekend table; book the patio.
Chef Jeff Balfour, who grew up on the Galveston coast, runs Southerleigh at 136 East Grayson Street on the ground floor of the historic Pearl Brewhouse. The weekend brunch leans Gulf and Southern, with snapper throats, shrimp and grits and a chicken-fried steak; most plates run about $16 to $28.
Southerleigh has held a Michelin Bib Gourmand in the Texas guide for 2024 and 2025. Saturday and Sunday brunch runs 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the patio fills first, so reserve rather than walk up. This is the definitive Pearl sit-down brunch, brewed beer included.
2.NOLA Brunch & Beignets
San Antonio's New Orleans brunch standard; come to Broadway for a boudin omelette and a plate of beignets.
NOLA Brunch & Beignets sits at 1101 Broadway in the corridor between downtown and the Pearl. The kitchen runs a Big Easy menu of pain perdu, a boudin omelette and shrimp and grits, with the made-to-order beignets and cafe au lait the plate to anchor the table; most dishes run about $12 to $18.
It is a small, popular weekend room that fills fast, with counter energy rather than a sprawling dining room. Come early on a Saturday before the wait builds, and order the beignets to start rather than to finish.
3.Bakery Lorraine
The Pearl's French patisserie and all-day cafe; come for a croissant, a quiche and a long sunny morning.
Anne Ng and Jeremy Mandrell, both trained at Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bakery, built Bakery Lorraine into a San Antonio institution at 306 Pearl Parkway. The macarons, almond croissants and a savoury quiche of the day are the order; pastries run about $4 to $9 and brunch plates a little more.
The cafe is open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, so it covers an early start or a mid-morning sit. It is counter service with a large patio on the Pearl, not a reservation room. Come for a pastry-led brunch and a coffee in the sun.
4.Full Belly Cafe
Chef Stephen Paprocki's seasonal-American brunch with a long cocktail list; come for an unhurried weekend plate.
Chef Stephen Paprocki runs Full Belly Cafe in Stone Oak and a second room in Olmos Park, a seasonal-American kitchen with innovative takes on breakfast standards. The chicken and waffles and the seasonal Benedicts are the plates to order, with most running about $14 to $22.
The draw is the from-scratch cooking and an extensive brunch cocktail list, a step up from the standard mimosa pitcher. Weekend brunch fills the patio, so reserve at the Stone Oak room. Come for a slow late-morning brunch with a proper drink.
5.Maverick
Chris Carlson's Southtown brasserie does a serious weekend brunch; come for the croissant doughnut and the patio.
Chef Chris Carlson runs Maverick Texas Brasserie at 710 South Saint Mary's Street in Southtown, a French-leaning room that brings real technique to the morning. The weekend brunch turns out a croissant doughnut, steak and eggs and a brioche French toast, with plates roughly $14 to $26.
Maverick has been a fixture of the San Antonio Cocktail Conference crowd, so the brunch drinks are taken seriously. The Southtown patio is the seat to ask for. Come for a chef-driven brunch a notch above the casual rooms, and reserve for a weekend table.
6.Magnolia Pancake Haus
The city's pancake institution; come early to the North Side for apple-cinnamon pancakes and a no-frills line.
Magnolia Pancake Haus has run its North Side breakfast room at 606 Embassy Oaks since 2006, a from-scratch pancake house that locals queue for. The apple-cinnamon Glazed Pecan pancakes and the Eggs Magnolia are the order, with most plates about $12 to $18.
There is no reservation and no dinner; it is breakfast and lunch only, and the weekend line forms before the doors open. Come early on a Saturday, put your name down and wait it out. This is a classic pancake breakfast, not a cocktail brunch.
Not for everyone
Famous, but not actually a brunch room
Mezquite. The Pullman Market room won a 2025 Michelin Bib Gourmand for hyper-regional Sonoran cooking, but it is a dinner kitchen, not a weekend brunch service. Book it for an evening of desert-inspired plates, not a Saturday morning.
Cured. Steve McHugh's lauded Pearl charcuterie room closed in January 2025 after thirteen years, so it is off the live list. For a Pearl brunch with a similar pedigree, Southerleigh above is the working pick.
Mixtli. The Southtown tasting-menu room earned a Michelin star in 2025, but it runs a fixed dinner prix fixe and is not a brunch destination. Keep it for a special-occasion evening rather than a weekend morning.
How to brunch well in San Antonio
San Antonio's brunch map clusters in three pockets: the Pearl just north of downtown, the Broadway corridor that links them, and Southtown below the river. None is far from the others, so a slow morning can move from a brewhouse patio to a beignet counter without crossing the city.
Weekend tables fill fast at the sit-down rooms, so reserve rather than walk up at Southerleigh, Full Belly and Maverick. For a fast, no-reservation start, NOLA, Bakery Lorraine and the Magnolia pancake line take a late wake-up in stride, though the pancake house queue rewards an early arrival.
Frequently asked
Where is the best brunch in San Antonio?
Chef Jeff Balfour's Southerleigh at the Pearl is the marquee sit-down pick, a Gulf-coast Southern kitchen inside the historic brewhouse with a Michelin Bib Gourmand. For a New Orleans plate, NOLA Brunch & Beignets on Broadway is the destination; for pastries, Bakery Lorraine a few steps away at the Pearl.
Where can you get beignets in San Antonio?
NOLA Brunch & Beignets at 1101 Broadway makes its beignets to order with cafe au lait, the closest thing in the city to a New Orleans morning. The room is small and fills fast on weekends, so come early and order the beignets to start the table rather than to close it.
Do you need a reservation for brunch in San Antonio?
Yes at the sit-down rooms. Southerleigh, Full Belly and Maverick all fill their weekend patios early, so reserve rather than walk up. For a no-reservation option, NOLA and Bakery Lorraine run counter service, and the Magnolia Pancake Haus on the North Side takes walk-ups but builds a line before it opens.
What is a good upscale brunch in San Antonio?
Southerleigh at the Pearl runs a Gulf-coast Southern brunch from chef Jeff Balfour with its own brewed beer, the city's most serious sit-down weekend table. For a French-leaning chef brunch, Chris Carlson's Maverick Texas Brasserie in Southtown brings real technique to a croissant doughnut and steak and eggs.
Is Cured open for brunch in San Antonio?
No. Steve McHugh's Cured at the Pearl closed in January 2025 after thirteen years, so it is no longer an option. For a Pearl brunch with a comparable pedigree, Southerleigh's brewhouse room is the destination, and Bakery Lorraine covers the pastry side a few steps away.
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