The Granary 'Cue and Brew

This chic warehouse of exposed brick and nostalgic wood panelling, opened in late 2012, is one of the architectural and culinary highlights of the emerging Pearl district. Slow-smoked beef brisket has long been the king of Texas barbecue, and the Granary's meltingly tender version (ask for it fatty) is easily the best version in town. House-made pastrami is another revelation. In keeping with the current urban American trend of fetishising the cuisine of the rural poor, there's a high-low theme to the more elaborate dinner menu: balled, deep-fried grits are sprinkled with "ham salt", while fried green tomatoes come fussied up with ranch dressing ice cream.
• Pearl Brewery 602 Avenue A, +1 210 228 0124, thegranarysa.com. Open Tues-Sat 11am-2pm (lunch), Tues-Thurs 6pm-10pm, Fri-Sat 6pm-11pm (dinner). Mains from $15 (dinner menu)

Mi Tierra Café y Panadería

With ceilings full of tinsel and piñatas and bands of mariachis patrolling the cavernous series of dining rooms, this is San Antonio's definitive Tex-Mex experience, 24 hours a day. There seems hardly a moment throughout the night when the place isn't packed. Cabrito (roast goat kid with a chilli-based gravy) is the quintessential order, but the classic Tex-Mex combination plates are great too: refried beans redolent of pork fat, rice cooked down in flavourful stock, homemade tortillas. Portions are huge. Expect a long wait on weekend afternoons, when the surrounding Market Square neighbourhood is at its most exuberant.
• 218 Produce Row, +1 210 225 1262, mitierracafe.com. Open all day, daily. Meals from $8

Chris Madrid's

Since the 1970s, swarms of locals, from hungry college students to businessmen, have come to devour cheeseburgers in this beloved mess hall. With or without bacon, they're a greasy American archetype: the bun is perfectly toasted, the cheese melts well over everything, the patty is indulgently big, and the whole thing is generally impossible to eat… so you'll feel a deep sense of accomplishment when you're done. Skip the more elaborate speciality burgers, which can get soggy from too many ingredients.
• 1900 Blanco Road, +1 210 735 3552, chrismadrids.com. Open Mon-Sat 11am-10pm, closed Sun. Burgers from $4.85

Dough Pizzeria Napoletana

The best pizzeria in San Antonio, and one of the best in Texas, is worth the 15-minute haul from downtown. Before opening the place, owner Doug Horn travelled to Naples to study with the world's best pizza makers, then imported an absurdly authentic pizza oven across the ocean to Texas. The taste is worth the trouble: the margherita is the classic test of a serious pizzeria, and Dough's is sensational. The daily special pizzas are no less impressive. The vibe is casual – best for lunch.
• Blanco Junction Shopping Center, 6989 Blanco Road, no reservations taken, doughpizzeria.com. Open Mon-Thurs 11am-9pm, Fri-Sat 11am-10pm, Sun noon-9pm. Pizzas from $10

The Esquire Tavern

This eternally popular cocktail bar is an unexpected dose of hipster Brooklyn in an otherwise tacky stretch of River Walk. So highly touted are the Esquire's throwback whiskey and mescal-based cocktails (and so over the top are its evocative wallpaper, stamped tin ceilings and 100ft-long wooden bar) that the food here is often overlooked. That's a mistake, as the kitchen serves subtly modern spins on classic American recipes: devilled eggs are studded with flowery pink peppercorns; fried fish and shrimp po' boy-style sandwiches pay homage to New Orleans, and for dessert how can you not order a fried apple pie?
• 155 East Commerce Street, +1 210 222 2521, esquiretavern-sa.com. Open Sun-Wed 11.30-midnight, Thurs-Sat 11.30am-2am. Mains from $6

The Luxury

This refreshingly remote stretch of the River Walk, across from the San Antonio Museum of Art, has been dubbed "Midtown" (how original!) in an attempt to distance itself from the tourist-trap reputation of the downtown area. It seems to be working. However, the name of this place, along with its "haute cuisine" subtitle, is tongue in cheek: it's a corrugated metal sandwich shack, fashioned out of a shipping container and parked in a sandlot just off the river. There's good local beer and delicious upmarket sandwiches. Highlights include pulled pig, lamb souvlaki and a crispy fish bahn mi. Even the french fries are done just right.
• 103 East Jones Avenue, +1 210 354 2274, no website

NAO at the Culinary Institute of America

The third and newest campus of the CIA – America's foremost cooking school, not the surveillance operation – launched in 2010 to much fanfare as the anchor of the Pearl district, thanks in large part to local philanthropist Kit Goldsbury. This being south Texas, the campus has a particular focus on Latin American cuisine, so the school's flagship student-run restaurant incorporates ingredients such as huitlacoche (Mexican corn fungus), aji amarillo (Peruvian hot pepper), and nopales (cactus strips) into classic French recipes. Portions are small given the mid-range prices, but the quality is consistent.
• 312 Pearl Parkway, +1 210 554 6484, naorestaurant.com. Fri-Sat 10.30am-2pm (lunch), Mon-Sat 5pm-10pm (dinner), late night Saturday till 2am. Mains from $9.50

Sandbar Fish House

In 2009, Andrew Weissman closed Le Rêve, the haute French restaurant that had put San Antonio onto America's culinary map. In the years since, Weissman's star has only grown, with the opening of several new establishments, of which Sandbar, in the Pearl Brewery complex, is arguably the best. It's not cheap, but prices are fair, portions are ample, and the maritime-themed dining room and picnic-tabled patio are wonderfully airy places to relax and eat. An unfussy menu pays homage to the seafood traditions of the Gulf coasts of Texas and Mexico. The absurdly creamy onion tart is perhaps San Antonio's best dish.
• 200 East Grayson Street, +1 210 212 2221, sandbarsa.com. Open Tues-Sat 11.30am-3.30pm and 5.30pm-10pm. Mains from $16

Schilo's Delicatessen

The most American food of all is German-American food, from hot dogs to hamburgers to deli sandwiches on simple, homemade breads. All are well prepared here. The ultra-traditional American mains (corned beef and cabbage) and simple sides (potato salad) are also worth trying for a taste of the past, and the homemade draught root beer is a prize. You might have to wait for a table during the busy lunch hours, especially on weekdays, but it's worth it: to walk in here is to travel back to the 1950s. Sitting at the old diner-style counter adds to the fun.
• 424 East Commerce Street, +1 210 223 6692, schilos.com. Mon-Sat 7am-8.30pm. Schilo's burger from $5.45

Rosario's

It's hard to go wrong with Mexican food in San Antonio (especially off the River Walk), but Rosario's has won legions of customers for its sophisticated atmosphere – high ceilings, colourful artwork, abundant light – reasonable prices and service which isn't the least bit pretentious. Avoid the overwrought dishes and anything with fruit, and stick to standards like enchilada. For a more upmarket version of the classic queso, try rajas de chile poblano con crema, a rich white pepper-and-onion dip.
• 910 South Alamo Street, +1 210 223 1806, rosariossa.com. Open Mon-Thurs 11am-10pm, Fri-Sat 11am-11pm, Sun 11am-9pm, Fri late night bar until 1am. Enchiladas de mole from $6.25

Robin Goldstein is a food critic and author who founded the Fearless Critic series of restaurant guides

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