You might think that San Antonio brunch offerings would mostly consist of plates of steaming migas or huevos rancheros given the region’s Hispanic heritage, but there are many other options in this diverse city.

One of my new favorites is located in the stately King William historic residential district – here’s a walking tour of the area – and it’s all about the flour.

The Guenther House was built in 1859 as the home of German immigrant Carl Hilmar Guenther, the founder of San Antonio’s Pioneer Flour Mills (still in business today.)  The company restored the home and it’s now a restaurant serving breakfast and lunch seven days a week.

Sunday brunch is available 10 am to 3 pm, and the menu is loaded with bakery goods, pancakes and waffles and their famous buttermilk biscuits and gravy.

Sure, you can get the usual sandwich/soup/salad offerings (like Champagne Chicken Enchiladas wrapped in Pioneer White Wings tortillas) but really, I’m all about the waffles.  With strawberries on ‘em.

Then, you run upstairs to the in-house River Mill Store and buy the Southern Sweet Cream Waffle Mix so you can make them at home.

The downstairs restaurant is built in Art Nouveau style, with a light, airy feeling from the ceramic tile floor, elaborate light fixtures and lots of windows looking out onto the lawn and the nearby San Antonio River.  It was very busy on the Sunday of our visit, but the staff is cheery and efficient at keeping everyone moving.

I spoke briefly to Assistant Restaurant Manager Nelson Arcila, who took the time to point out many architectural details of the building (and encouraged us to stop by the To Go bakery section on the way out. Resistance was futile.)

The open lawn and river overlook makes this a good family destination, too, because the kids can run around a bit if you have to wait for a table.  If you can, get there early; the parking and restaurant fill up fast.

I’d say that attending the San Fernando Cathedral mariachi Mass at 5:30 pm on Saturday afternoon, some River Walk fun Saturday night (maybe jazz at the Landing?) and then a Guenther House Sunday brunch would give you a pretty perfect San Antonio weekend.

Related posts:

1. Austin Rocks: Sunday Bluegrass Brunch at Threadgill’s
2. All that jazz on San Antonio’s River Walk
3. Full Parking Lot Award: Cookie’s Soul Food Kitchen
4. “Saturday Beans & Sunday Suppers,” Edie Clark

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 11th, 2010 at 11:08 am and is filed under City or urban travel, food & drink, Sheila projects, US travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.