{"id":405290,"date":"2026-08-13T07:52:36","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T07:52:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/405290\/"},"modified":"2026-08-13T07:52:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T07:52:36","slug":"6-hill-country-restaurants-worth-the-drive-from-san-antonio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/405290\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Hill Country restaurants worth the drive from San Antonio"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wine gets all the attention in the Hill Country, but something has to soak it up. From famed barbecue joints to elegant bistros, some of the region\u2019s best eats are just a short drive from San Antonio. These six spots are our favorite detours.
The Dodging Duck Brewhaus
<\/a>Named for Cibolo Creek’s most famous waddlers, this Boerne gastropub has an international menu that ranges from blistered shishito peppers to fish and chips. But flowing beer calls for a sturdy foundation. Get your ducks in a row with a beer sampler paired with hearty German fare like huge Bavarian-style pretzels or a spicy bratwurst.<\/p>\n

Old City Hall Restaurant & Bar<\/a>
Housed in a, well, old city hall, the graceful New Braunfels newcomer is now more of a hub of languorous date nights than municipal intrigue. Still, that doesn\u2019t mean that it doesn\u2019t inspire a few debates. Should the appetizer be the lighter smoked crab dip with farm-fresh crudit\u00e9 or indulgent truffle fries paired with a frosty gin martini?<\/p>\n

\"Salt Eat your heart out at Salt Lick BBQ.Salt Lick BBQ\/ Facebook<\/p>\n

Salt Lick BBQ
<\/a>Sure, some Texans obsess about post oak versus mesquite, but this Driftwood barbecue joint is not for barbecue cultists. While the famous circular smoker is mostly just for show, the all-you-can-eat family meal is still a rite of passage. For $33.95, guests can munch on beef brisket, sausage, pork ribs, and all the Texas fixings.<\/p>\n

The Blue Bonnet Cafe<\/a>
This Marble Falls charmer, open since 1929, is famed for sky-high meringues that tower as high as five inches. Pie, however, is just the start. Almost all of the fare is a little oversized, from a Dagwood club to a hefty Wednesday meatloaf special. The stripped-down interior isn\u2019t much to look at (there\u2019s a lot of Millennial grey), but that doesn\u2019t mean your eyes won\u2019t be popping.<\/p>\n

\"Vaudeville At Vaudeville, come for the shopping; stay for the bistro cuisine.Vaudeville\/ Facebook<\/p>\n

Vaudeville Bistro
<\/a>It\u2019s a boutique. It\u2019s a wine bar. It\u2019s a stylish brasserie. Much like its namesake, Fredericksburg’s Main Street stunner likes to lay on the variety. Start with Spanish-style grilled octopus, then head to the showstopping rack of lamb. The curtain call is a chocolate chunk pecan cookie almost richer than the dark chocolate pot de creme.<\/p>\n

Calivence
<\/a>This Fredericksburg winery’s biggest surprise isn\u2019t the bright Cab Franc. The property also hosts a charming bistro serving French-Californian fare. Housed in an 1869 Sunday house, the quaint spot serves pairing-friendly dishes like crostini, oysters, and a Thai steak salad with a minty chutney. And, of course, an absolutely killer cr\u00e8me br\u00fbl\u00e9e.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Wine gets all the attention in the Hill Country, but something has to soak it up. From famed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":405291,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1068,95152,7857,58979,34009,4390,4178,34407,359,82,84,83],"class_list":["post-405290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-barbecue","tag-bistros","tag-boerne","tag-day-trips","tag-driftwood","tag-fredericksburg","tag-hill-country","tag-marble-falls","tag-new-braunfels","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=405290"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405290\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/405291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=405290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=405290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=405290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}