Southtown · San Antonio · Since 1974
Come for the fajitas.
Three generations on the same corner in Southtown. The masa is ground here, the tortillas are pressed all day, and the fire has been lit every morning since 1974.
Beef and chicken fajitas sizzling on a blackened cast-iron skillet with charred peppers and onions, steam rising through warm light.
Before the doors open
Most of the work happens before you get here.
Nothing on this list is unusual. It is just the part almost nobody still does.
- 5:30
The masa
Corn goes in the pot the night before. It is ground here in the morning, and what is not used by close gets thrown out.
- 7:00
The comal
Tortillas are pressed all day, not at the start of it. If you get one that has been sitting, send it back.
- 9:00
The salsas
Five, made from scratch every morning. The chiles are toasted dry on the same comal.
- 11:00
The mesquite
The fire is lit before the doors open and it stays lit until the last fajita plate goes out.
The flight
Five salsas. Made this morning. Ranked honestly.
Every restaurant claims its salsa is hot. Almost none will tell you how hot, or what is actually in it. Both answers are below, including the one for the salsa that is not on the menu.
Use the arrow keys, or just point at the one you want. All five are on the table when you sit down — there is no upcharge and never has been.
Roja de casa
The house red. On every table since 1974 and unchanged since 1974.
What’s in it
Roma tomato, guajillo, garlic, a little cumin.
Since 1974
Three generations, one corner, no second location.
The room has been asked to franchise four times and has said no four times. Not out of principle — out of arithmetic. The masa is ground in this building every morning, and there is no version of that which survives being done in six places at once.
What that buys you is a kitchen that still throws food out at close, and a menu that has changed about six times in fifty years.
Come by
We hold a third of the room for walk-ins.
Reservations for the rest. If you are six or more, call — it is faster than the form and you will get a straight answer about the patio.
- Monday
- Closed
- Tuesday – Thursday
- 11am – 10pm
- Friday – Saturday
- 11am – 11pm
- Sunday
- 10am – 9pm · brunch until 2
Demo controls — inert. The number is a reserved fictional exchange and reaches nobody. Want a site like this? Talk to DataCram.
The patio
Forty seats under the mesquite, first come. It is the best part of the building and everybody knows it, so it goes early on a Friday.
1900 S. Presa Street
Southtown, San Antonio
