{"id":57917,"date":"2025-11-20T16:31:15","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T16:31:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/57917\/"},"modified":"2025-11-20T16:31:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T16:31:15","slug":"chef-davilas-launch-of-st-anthony-hotel-restaurant-stirs-memories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/57917\/","title":{"rendered":"Chef Davila’s launch of St. Anthony Hotel restaurant\u00a0stirs memories"},"content":{"rendered":"

The memories of youth come hard and fast for Leo Davila.<\/p>\n

Taking the bus downtown with his grandparents. Walking through the elegant St. Anthony Hotel<\/a>. Hearing his grandmother recall beautiful dances and gowns in the ballroom. Getting introduced to hotel dining in Peacock Alley.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thirty years later, Davila blinks in wonder. The James Beard-nominated chef has returned to a childhood haunt to launch a new restaurant, Esencia, at the St. Anthony.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a full-circle moment,\u201d Davila, 41, said Wednesday. \u201cMy grandparents were coming here when they were kids, young adolescents. It\u2019s pretty cool that I get to bring my style of food into such a historic property like the St. Anthony. It\u2019s been here since 1909.\u201d<\/p>\n

Designed to reflect the Chinese and Mexican heritage of its chef, Esencia will feature a menu that is unapologetically local (barbacoa and Big Red tacos) and globally inspired (tartare-style Wagyu-spiced beef and beets).<\/p>\n

\"\"Esencia\u2019s Wagyu steak and frites will be a signature dish of the new St. Anthony Hotel restaurant that is projected to open this winter. Credit: Courtesy \/ Clint Walker, Charlie Walker Creative<\/p>\n

The opening timing is intentionally vague \u2014 \u201cthis upcoming winter,\u201d the hotel says. But Davila is a little less ambiguous. \u201cAs of right now, winter 2025\u2033 rather than the first part of 2026, he said. \u201cLight a candle, say a prayer and push\u00a0us to the finish line. We\u2019re so close.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Esencia will feature 130 seats, a two-level dining room and three private dining areas: the Main room with Spanish decor and a 14-foot mahogany table for 14-16 guests; the Shanghai room with Asian-inspired elements for up to 20 people; and the Mezzanine, which seats up to 40 with access to the balcony patio.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The beverage program will offer a mix of Asian spirits, tequilas and mezcals, Texas whiskeys, beers and cocktails. There will be a diverse wine selection from Texas, the West Coast, Mexico and select worldwide producers.<\/p>\n

Esencia will occupy the same space held by Rebelle, the hotel restaurant that closed in January after years of controversy<\/a> and litigation<\/a> involving a former general manager and previous management.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The restaurant represents Davila\u2019s second launch at the hotel. He opened Anacacho Coffee & Cantina<\/a> in April.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are thrilled to unveil Esencia to the public soon,\u201d St. Anthony General Manager Maria Martinez said in a statement. \u201cThe restaurant is a natural extension of our hotel\u2019s legacy and of San Antonio\u2019s vibrant culinary culture. Esencia is not only an exceptional amenity for our hotel guests, but also a gathering place for our San Antonio community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Esencia at the St. Anthony Hotel will offer a variety of Asian, Mexican and Texas spirits on its drink menu. Credit: Courtesy \/ Clint Walker, Charlie Walker Creative<\/p>\n

St. Anthony is a AAA four-diamond property. Its restaurant will showcase a diverse menu of prime Texas beef, wild game, Gulf seafood and fresh heirloom vegetables, along with Spanish, Mexican and Asian dishes from Davila\u2019s youth.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy grandma, as they say, could turn water into wine,\u201d Davila said. \u201cWe\u2019d be running through the house, all hungry, asking what we had for food. We wouldn\u2019t see much in the kitchen or in the pantry but magically, something always materialized.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grandma\u2019s potatoes often appeared. Those potatoes have inspired a signature dish at Esencia: carne asada frites served with Wagyu ribeye, avocado salad, Asian chimichurri and potato pave.<\/p>\n

\u201cPotato pave is a classic French dish that is also referred to as the \u2018thousand-layer potatoes,\u201d Davila said. \u201dIt is a true labor of love to achieve all of the layers in a well balanced bite. The chef needs to use a mandoline, at a precise thickness, to ensure even layers throughout the entirety of the dish. Every layer of potatoes receives a cream and butter bath with seasoning. It\u2019s a long process that shows dedication and craftsmanship.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The son of a Hispanic father and Chinese mother, Davila masterfully blended two cultures in the kitchen at Stixs & Stone<\/a>, a since-closed Mexican-Asian fusion restaurant. At the hole-in-the-wall spot\u00a0with eight tables, Davila earned a James Beard nomination for Best Chef: Texas in 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"The \u201cArroz Con Pollo\u201d dish from Esencia, the St. Anthony Hotel\u2019s new coming restaurant led by San Antonio chef Leo Davila. Credit: Courtesy \/ Clint Walker, Charlie Walker Creative<\/p>\n

The move to St. Anthony presented a creative challenge: What should his team name the restaurant?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe kicked around calling it \u2018Stixs downtown,\u2019\u201d Davila said. \u201cBut after going through ideas and names, \u2018Esencia\u2019 came up. Something about it called to me. What is the concept here? It\u2019s the essence of San Antonio.\u201d<\/p>\n

The essence of Davila\u2019s youth was often magical. Aromas wafting through the house. Cooking lessons from his grandparents. Roasted chicken on Sundays. Two cultures in the kitchen. And yet, he didn\u2019t always fit in with his peers.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing up in San Antonio, not a lot of people looked like me,\u201d Davila said, \u201cI\u2019m not Chinese enough. I\u2019m not Mexican enough. I\u2019m not San Antonio enough. I\u2019m not an authority on San Antonio. But I want to give you a point of view of what the city means to me.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat excites me the most is being able to bring our style of dining to downtown San Antonio.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The memories of youth come hard and fast for Leo Davila. Taking the bus downtown with his grandparents.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":57918,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[31262,31263,82,84,83,31264,31265,92,3028],"class_list":["post-57917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-james-beard","tag-leo-davila","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news","tag-st-anthony-hotel","tag-stixs-stone","tag-top-story","tag-typedaily"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57917","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=57917"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57917\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}