{"id":281639,"date":"2026-05-06T19:00:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T19:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/281639\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T19:00:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T19:00:10","slug":"chad-careys-bamboosh-wine-bar-opens-in-downtown-san-antonio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/281639\/","title":{"rendered":"Chad Carey’s Bamboosh wine bar opens in downtown San Antonio"},"content":{"rendered":"

The name comes from an Americanization of the French word for pachanga; Spanish pintxos glisten behind a sushi case. As with all Chad Carey\u2019s concepts, Bar Bamboosh<\/a> \u2014 the newly opened wine den at 122 E Houston St downtown \u2014 operates on its own rules.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnybody can say a wine bar, but what does that really mean?\u201d explains the restaurateur. \u201cLittle Death is very much a French wine bar, and that extends to the food we serve. This place isn\u2019t a Spanish wine bar, but it’s a little bit influenced by the tabernas of all of Spain, but especially the Basque and Catalonia.\u201d<\/p>\n

For this wine bar, it means a slight departure from his St. Mary\u2019s Strip passion project. Bamboosh is lined with hundreds of bottles, but the focus is more global than Little Death. By the glass, a Spanish Verdejo shares space with a Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of them will be natural wines, but the whole natural wine category thing is still kind of weird. We’re going to work with wines that we’re proud to serve and check out the right boxes. In terms of the individual selections, it’ll probably be a little less overtly natty in style than Little Death,\u201d says Carey, referring to the most ancient of low-intervention sparkling wines, P\u00e9tillant Naturel.<\/p>\n

Like any taberna, Bamboosh serves pintxos, small bites meant to complicate the alcohol buzz. Six international jam\u00f3ns hang behind the counter, waiting to be shaved on a slicer inherited from Steve McHugh\u2019s Cured. Cheeses, ranging from an adventurous Basque Idiaz\u00e1bal to an approachable Pyr\u00e9n\u00e9es Brebis, beckon behind the counter.<\/p>\n

The composed snacks might surprise guests who stick to patatas bravas at tapas bars. Assertive ingredients like bacalao (salt cod), morcilla (blood sausage), and smoked olives punch up with dill and roasted garlic. For decadence, a flaxen mille feuille is carefully piped with whipped Manchego.<\/p>\n

\"Bar Dozens of bottles line the wine bar’s back walls.Photo by Brandon Watson<\/p>\n

A new downtown
Bar Bamboosh continues Carey\u2019s investment in San Antonio\u2019s central core. The bar is a few steps from Carey\u2019s Empty Stomach Group restaurants Kaedama Battleship, Leo\u2019s Hideout, and Double Standard. Although neighboring a new location of dessert chain Insomnia Cookies, he isn\u2019t too precious about downtown\u2019s new chapter. He\u2019s more interested in thinking about what role he\u2019ll play.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s this thing with downtown \u2014 they only want to let non-chain independent places go in when the reality is there’s Five Guys in the West Village and sh*tty Chinese takeout in some of the best zip codes in San Francisco.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Bar Bamboosh, he\u2019s more encouraged about the boom in multifamily housing than the new baseball stadium, despite being a \u201cproud member\u201d of the 999 Club (nine innings, nine beers, and nine hot dogs per game). Still, he admits the reality of downtown hasn\u2019t yet caught up with its promise.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re maybe a little early to be opening a natural wine bar down here, but I’d rather be a little bit early than a little bit late on that front,\u201d he says. \u201cI used to joke all the time that by the time the urbanism of San Antonio matures to a point that really blows my skirt up, I’m going to be too old to enjoy it anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, downtown is not without its challenges. The 1917 building came with covered brick columns that would have added to Bamboosh\u2019s rustic decor, but he wasn\u2019t allowed to expose them.<\/p>\n

\"Bar A detail of the playful artwork.Photo by Brandon Watson<\/p>\n

Old bones, new rules
Carey may have strong opinions about downtown growth and a \u201cdogmatic\u201d approach to wine, but he considers Bamboosh a \u201cfun way for the Little Death team to grow out of what the Little Death is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Evolution aside, the fun is what matters. Bamboosh is rooted in the same irreverent hospitality as his other concepts, a broad portfolio that includes Barbaro, Petit Coquin, and several St. Mary\u2019s nightclubs. The artwork mixes festival portraits with staff candids and a photo of graffitied lavomatique. In the bathroom, a six-liter Methuselah wine bottle and a wooden rod combine into an ad-hoc toilet paper holder.<\/p>\n

And the brand itself is a bit of a goof, informed by Carey\u2019s belief that names don\u2019t make a concept. He borrowed it from bamboche, the French word for a blowout party \u2014 Anglicizing it because it would probably be mispronounced anyway.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just thought bamboosh was a funny word, like we’re gonna have a f*cking bamboosh tonight,” says Carey. “Because I think that the wines and the food that we serve are delicious and wonderful and all that stuff. But if we’re not having fun doing what we’re doing, then we’re off the mark.\u201d<\/p>\n