San Antonio Nightlife

Great Jazz and happy hour buffet on Friday nights. Later on in the evening it's R&B and hip hop. Studio features some outstanding Jazz groups. Saturdays start off as old school R&B then migrate into the latest R&B and hip hop. Great spot Michael Ward has here in San Antonio.

Dress Code: Ladies: Classy attire. Men must have nice shirts if they wear jeans. But slacks and suits are definitely appropriate. This is for grown folks. 25 and up.

Good luck finding something original along the Riverwalk... our first afternoon in town, we wandered past the big chain places like Coyote Ugly, Dick's Last Resort, Howl at the Moon, Hard Rock Cafe, and numerous other name-brand unoriginal places until we finally saw Tex's Sports Bar. It had a cool name, and who's ever heard of a chain sports bar, right?

Even worse than a chain, it turns out Tex's is a hotel bar! It is part of the Hilton Palacio del Rio. It's clean and nice, but touristy, expensive, and pretty dead.

We selected a bad first bar in San Antonio, and we knew our luck could only improve.

Well, it seems like your two questions conflict with each other. Let me try to clarify your intentions....

Are you:
(a) looking for a place with a great nightlife atmosphere, where you can enjoy the final four and also go out to a club or dance spot and enjoy a few beverages?

(b) looking for an inexpensive way to enjoy your tickets to the premier basketball tournament finale without breaking the bank by staying a little farther away from the fray?

If you are looking for (a), then your only choice is to stay in downtown San Antonio by the Riverwalk. Drinking and Driving is unacceptable here, and therefore you would be limited to walking/cab distance, and this leaves you squarely in Riverwalk range. You can bet that is not going to be cheap for that weekend.

If you are looking for (b), then start by looking at San Antonio Airport hotels first, then expand to Fredericksburg, New Braunfels, Seguin and Kerrville. If those do not have deals, move to San Marcos, Austin, Bastrop, Victoria. All of these locations will require you to have transportation, and none of those are convienent for bar-hopping and then driving.

nerve ana is located on the second floor above joe's crab shack on the river walk. this night club caters to a younger crowd with 90's rock music. nerve ana has two entrances, one on college street and one on the river walk next to joe's crab shack.

Dress Code: casual

the party room is located in a two story building on the river walk. the party room is located on the second floor on losoya street. along with the bar the party room has a nice patio that over looks the river walk. the first floor has a bar and restaurant on the river walk. a fun place to have a margarita or two.

Dress Code: casual

the republic of texas is located in the heart of the river walk entertainment area. you can drink on the river walk or at the bar inside the restaurant. a nice place to have a margarita and people watch.

Dress Code: casual

like most cities in the world san antonio has a hard rock cafe. one good thing about hard rock the food and decor is consistant. of course a must stop for collectors of hard rock t-shirts. the hard rock has two entrances, one on crockett street and on the river walk.

Dress Code: casual

durty neily's is a replica irish pub located at the hilton on the river walk. they offer live entertainment at night in the form of a piano player. the dueling piano show is fun. a great place to down a pint or two.

Dress Code: casual

the menger bar is located in the historic menger hotel on alamo plaza. it's quiet and refined atmoshere is a great place to unwind after work or entertain business associates. a nice change of pace compared to the crowded bars of river walk.

Dress Code: business casual

pat o'brien's san antonio is a replica of the originial pat o'brien's in new orleans. early they serve new orleans style food. they offer live music and the crowd gets younger and louder late. a fun place to eat and drink in san antonio. they have two entrances, one on alamo plaza and one on losoya.

Dress Code: casual