2 days ago
With a Michelin Star and James Beard Nomination, Mixtli Sets the Bar for Service in Texas Restaurants
Walking into Mixtli through its bar is walking into a wonderland. The room is designed to resemble a night sky, featuring a palette of deep purples and navy blues; fluffy, transparent clouds made from hand-blown glass hang from the ceiling. Reservations for the bar aren't required, but those who have one begin their expertly choreographed journey with bar manager Lauren Beckman. With an earpiece to communicate with her team and a clipboard in hand, Beckman sets diners up with a drink while they wait, and that's just the beginning of the show. Inside the bar, diners join Beckman in watching a live stream of the kitchen. Some might watch that stream in the same way fans would watch a live sporting event, closely trailing the staff's coordinated dance in the kitchen. Beckman, however, keeps a hawk-like eye on the drink pairings, ensuring each one accompanies the right course.
This same level of attention to detail and service is threaded throughout the entire experience at Mixtli. The San Antonio tasting menu restaurant, which is also currently the only Michelin-starred restaurant in the city, first opened in 2013, showcasing Mexican foodways that have earned it two nominations from the James Beard Awards for Outstanding Restaurant. Its chefs have similarly received praise from the industry. One of its chefs and owners, Diego Galicia, was a semifinalist for Best Chef in America, Southwest in 2018, and its former pastry chef, Sofia Tejeda, was named a semifinalist for the Outstanding Pastry Chef category. More recently, though, all eyes have been on Mixtli's service, hospitality, and the level of research that's put into each menu. Sommelier Hailey Pruitt and Beckman took home Michelin's Service Award in Texas for 2024, and just this year, the restaurant earned its first nod for Outstanding Hospitality.
The service at Mixtli is unlike any diners will find in any other restaurant in Texas currently. During my visit in late April 2025, Mixtli's tasting menu took on the theme 'Mexico 1848: The Treaty of Hildago,' a deeply researched exploration of the country's diverse food influences from the 1820s through 1848. This included pivotal moments during that era, including, most notably, the Mexican-American War, which introduced European styles of cooking and ingredients from the Spanish and French, as well as Native American cuisines that came from what would later become Texas.
Such a menu is a labor of love from Mixtli's entire kitchen. Chef and co-owner Rico Torres, who serves on the board of the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), has bridged a relationship with the school that gives Mixtli full access to the library's Special Collections Department, home to nearly 3,000 Mexican cookbooks dating back to 1789. 'It is an amazing resource to read through these books and find recipes and history, but you have to be able to read between the lines to dig out the story,' Torres says. 'For example, who is a book written by? Who is being left out? What's going on at this time, at this place in the world?'
Each season, Mixtli's team of chefs is tasked with researching the special collections archive to create dishes for the next menu. Then, they audition for Torres and chef and co-owner Diego Galicia, who choose the array of final dishes. Once the final menu is set, each individual chef makes their dish, night after night, and presents it, along with relevant history, to each table. 'The team needs to be storytellers,' Galicia, who is a native of Mexico, says. 'They're not servers, they're guides… Yes, there is food, but it comes with a big lesson in what Mexico is. We're trying to break stereotypes, and people leave with a better understanding of my home.'
Chef de cuisine Alexana Cabrera Davis created an acorn mole that is served over root vegetables with amaranth, one of the recent menu's most striking dishes. A sous chef brings it to the table with a compelling story about Davis's experimentation with acorn in different flours for the mole and her intentional use of Indigenous cooking techniques to roast imperfect root vegetables. The dish presentation also details how European sauce-making influenced Mexicans and the Cherokee in Texas.
The Mixtli chef's responsibility doesn't end once their dish is served. There isn't a set server for the table — it's a group effort, meaning every team member touches each table at least once. 'We have four stations, and the chefs are responsible from the moment the product comes in… until the moment they are placed on the table,' Galicia says. The completely open kitchen, housed inside the dining room, works twofold, Galicia says — diners get a front-row seat to the kitchen and its staff at work, and the chefs get a clear view of diners and their reactions to each plate. 'That is why they're watching, and they're looking for the instant gratification when people cry or nod their heads in approval.' This keen attentiveness was especially evident during my last dinner at Mixtli. My slick dress was in a constant battle with the restaurant's cloth napkins, resulting in a napkin falling off my lap at least four times. I was surprised when, each time, a chef stepped out of the kitchen to replace my napkin with a new one.
Many of the steps of service at Mixtli are informed by the 12-seat train car at the Yard in Olmos Park, where Torres and Galicia opened the restaurant in 2013. Galicia says the tasting menu began because there wasn't enough space to serve and turn tables with an a la carte menu. The same for having an open kitchen as part of the dining room. The move to its new space, located in Southtown, in 2021 came with upgrades, such as custom tables with built-in drawers to store silverware for each course, providing front-of-the-house staff a way to assess where each table was in their meal. Galicia was inspired to have the tables handmade after eating at the now-closed Relæ in Copenhagen. 'You don't have to scramble walking around or open rolled silverware, which I think is tacky — like a Chili's,' says Galicia.
Reaching Mixtli's level of service requires an eagle eye and the ability to accept criticism and improve, Torres reiterates. 'On day one, I try to put it into everyone's mind that they should work in the restaurant as if they are the only person here,' Torres says. 'Have that sense of urgency [and care] about everything that needs to be done.'
