If you've been to San Antonio's Sunset Strip you'll know that this swanky part of town is the perfect place to get some great food or cocktails whilst looking at the magnificent Bay of San Antonio. This setting has it all, with spectacular sunsets at night and great people watching opportunities all day. It is now home to Fresh, a new restaurant concept that gives you yummy charcoal grilled meats, salads, lighter bites and home-made desserts. It's also the place to come for perfectly mixed cocktails, which live up to the restaurant's name too.
Fresh has come about from good research and gut feeling - if you pardon the pun. The idea of the place was to create a happy environment where you could get gourmet burgers with a side of cool shabby chic with the décor. The name of the place is the clue: fresh flavoursome ingredients made into tasty concoctions that will leave you nicely full and super satisfied.
Bright, cheery and welcoming
The restaurant is the first one on the strip walking from the marina in San Antonio, has a huge outside terrace and is brightly cheered up with a bright colour palate in its décor, menus, drinks, and yes the food of course. The staff uniforms are cheery and and the whole place has a great buzz to it with food coming out in pretty boxes and bowls or on boards. Opening only in late May this year, the restaurant is already proving a popular spot to stop at on the strip. It's Fresh, yes; it's innovative too and if you don't feel the urge to dive in and try this place after walking past, we'd be very surprised.
The vibe is very laid-back with low chilled music from sister venue Savannah next door. Here, you can come with your friends or family and always have a good time. Meat and vegetables are cooked on the fabled Josper Grill, imparting a delicious smokey punch to whatever goes on it. It's a piece of kit that usually only makes it to Michelin-starred restaurants, and now you have it here. At Ibiza Spotlight, we like to think we are giving you the best advice, so this meant we just had to try as many dishes as we could. Yep, it's a hard life.
Star burgers
The burgers are a star attraction so we were keen to get those first. We tried the BBQ grilled burger, which came on a wooden slab. That's a whopping 150 grams of prime beef with tomato salad, bacon, caramelised onion and homemade BBQ ketchup. Tender, smokey meat in a tasty bun piled nicely high. It's a top seller already and from this dish only we could see that Fresh had raised the burger stakes. That was until we tried the Baba Ganoush burger…a vegetarian burger. It's a mixture of mushrooms, aubergine and sun-dried tomatoes in a yummy ciabatta bun made in-house. This was as succulent and full of flavour as the meat counterpart we had just swallowed whole.
Heavenly tastes
A tasty piece of Argentinian rib beef cooked for 20 hours on the Josper came and was perched on our table. Tender was not the word. The steak almost melted when cut into and was simply delicious with their chimichurri sauce and tasty house fries. This one is a keeper and we strongly suggest you give it a whirl. The lamb pitta was perfection from the perfectly cooked meat to the tahini and red cabbage placed on top. This comes with hummus and fries and is the perfect veg/protein/carb combo - plus it tastes heavenly. The Thai green curry was superbly done with lots of tender chicken pieces and crisp tender vegetables – another winner. It's true to say that not much food was left on our table at the end of this little jaunt.
We didn't have a lot of room for desserts, except for a small taste of what was an excellent Tiramisu. Next time we'll go for one of their liqueur coffees - got the eye on that. This is a great new concept for San Antonio and one from which you are most likley to walk away, full and happy. We loved it and we think you will too.
Quick Facts
What? Fresh
Where? Sunset Strip, San Antonio
When? Open from May to the end of September from 1pm to 2am
Why? Modern gourmet burger joint that's relaxed and informal with really tasty and healthy food
Average spend per head? €26 for a main, dessert and a glass of house wine
Veggie Options? That Baba Ganoush burger, a tofu stir-fry and salads
Disabled Facilities? Yes, in Savannah next door
Top tips? Try a strawberry daiquiri or delicious mango mojito, then get stuck into a delicious burger
Room for Improvement? We really didn't think so, but if they could come round to mine to cook dinner every night, just to check…
WORDS | Julian Heathcote PHOTOGRAPHY | Peter Young
