Southtown can sometimes feel like a revolving door of restaurants, bars and other businesses, but for 50 years, El Mirador remained steadfast in its commitment to serving satisfying Mexican and Tex-Mex fare in the San Antonio neighborhood. Though the local eatery has disappeared from its longtime home on St. Mary’s Street, generations of San Antonians still remember the building, covered in foliage, and its comforting dishes.
By most accounts, the story of El Mirador began in 1968, when founders Maria and Julian Treviño opened the restaurant’s first iteration near Hemisfair. It operated there for about a decade before moving nearby to 722 S. St. Mary’s St., where it would remain for the rest of its days. The family-owned restaurant became a success for its quick-and-easy power meals, perfect for diners on the go, including those who worked in the downtown area.
The queso con chorizo, the chicken mole enchiladas and the various caldos that El Mirador served over the years were among the crowd-pleasers, but you couldn’t go wrong with a few breakfast tacos or a plate of enchiladas. Many of the restaurant’s recipes were passed down from Maria and Julian Treviño’s respective families, while others were riffs, such as the sopa de conchas, inspired by an Italian recipe brought to the restaurant by their daughter-in-law, Diana.
El Mirador remained under the Treviños’ ownership until 2014, when they sold the business to Chris Hill, the San Antonio developer who revived the Esquire Tavern. Under Hill’s direction, the restaurant received a major facelift in 2016 and elevated El Mirador’s bar program. Two years later, the property changed hands again, signaling the end of the restaurant as the city knew it.
By this time, San Antonio restaurateur Lisa Wong, owner of Rosario’s ComidaMex & Bar, had assumed ownership. With her own Tex-Mex mainstay just down the street, El Mirador was out after 50 years. Another couple of years passed before Wong’s plans for the business were revealed — Rosario’s would take over the property and expand significantly within the space. The changes were quietly confirmed in 2020 when a banner was hung beneath the iconic El Mirador sign that read, “ROSARIO’S COMING 2021.”
The year 2021 came and went, and El Mirador was still not transformed beyond recognition. It wasn’t until February 2023 that the new-and-improved Rosario’s opened, with a fully reconstructed building spanning 25,000 square feet and two stories, complete with a rooftop deck, an outdoor patio, a bar and a lounge. Any essence of what existed before was usurped by Rosario’s 2.0, and Southtown was forever changed.
El Mirador may be gone, but it hasn’t been forgotten. After all, 50 years is a long time to sustain a business, riding the waves of multiple presidencies, economic ebbs and flows, and any number of personal setbacks that may have cropped up. Still, what the Treviño family cooked up at El Mirador over those decades left a lasting impact on Southtown and its ever-changing dining scene.
