The Fruteria Botanero By Chef Johnny Hernandez

As a 15 year plus downtown resident, this is our backyard. With 30 plus years in the hospitality field (now retired) I feel I can bring you real insight into our locations. The good, the bad and the ugly. If we run across a serious issue, I will always go directly to management and not post it. I truly believe you always must give management an opportunity to correct a serious issue. If not corrected and or just ignored, then I feel it is correct to inform the public - professionally. No establishment is perfect.I will bring to you smaller hiccups we may have come across. I will rarely comment on the taste of food - being bad, as that is a very personal thing. My wife and I disagree on taste of food and wine, no one is wrong or right. Now if the food is on fire, burned, under/overcooked to our requests, that would be mentioned.After 12 years The Fruteria closed. WOW, remember when they opened going for breakfast years ago. We would often stop by the Fruteria if anyone had an urge for Margaritas lol. Well, the good news is that the location has reopened and a new brand via Chef Johnny Hernandez. Personally, I like it better! It now has more of a lounge feel. Earlier in the evening the music was Hispanic tunes, but then turned into more retro/electronic, and it was fitting! It was nice seeing some of the old faces in Management still working here. As they say, pictures tell the story!

This place is perfect for a margaritas and tacos. The margaritas are some of the best i've ever had. The cucumber one is super fresh and tasted delicious. We also tried the mango spicy marg and that one was amazing. My bf had the beef tacos and those were really goodthe beans that came with them were just okaywe also had the ceviche and it was very overpriced for how small it came, and it was okayI ordered the salad with chicken and it was terrible. I think it's just not a salad place, I def ordered wrong but it was still disappointing to taste it the service was not the best, they were slow and kept forgetting about our tablethe ambiance was casual and nicethis is def a happy hour and snack type of placewill be coming back for the margaritas for sure !

I have had this restaurant on my list of places to try for over a year now. We parked on the street on the side of the building then walked around to the restaurant entrance. It's a cute little place inside that also has outdoor seating. We opted for outdoor because the weather was nice and we don't get this great weather for long in this area. Gabriela was our server. She has served us before at Burgerteca and was actually the one who recommended we try this location. She is super attentive and gives wonderful menu suggestions when you aren't sure what you want. For drinks we ordered Los Pepinos and a Cantarito. Los Pepinos is a refreshing cucumber and vodka beverage with tajin on the rim. It was perfect for our outdoor experience. The Cantarito was an off menu citrus and tequila drink, which was so delicious, we ordered a second one to share. We ordered totopos y salsa as an appetizer. Both the green and red salsa were so good! I couldn't choose a favorite because the have their own distinct flavors but you really can't go wrong with either. For our meals we ordered shrimp aguachile, mole amarillo, and shrimp tacos. The shrimp aguachile came with shrimp that were much larger than I expected. 3 of us ate from that plate and we still had a couple of shrimp left. The shrimp with the lime and a spice from the chiles all blended well together for this light appetizer. It came with tortilla chips, which we couldn't get enough of. The pork belly on the mole Amarillo plate was thin slices of pork belly set on top of the mole sauce. This is a sweet sauce with no spice. Be prepared for that if you order this plate as it is not a traditional mole. My mom and I enjoyed the flavor but my boyfriend said it wasn't his favorite. This plate came with homemade corn tortillas that I wish there more of only because I want them at home lol. I took one bite of a shrimp taco so I could give an honest review but I was already too full to eat an entire taco. The shrimp were large. The batter was crispy. I felt the cheese melted into the taco was different than any other shrimp taco I'd had before. It all tasted so fresh and the flavors of each plate went so well together. I need to return because there are so many other menu items i want to try. This restaurant is perfect for a casual date or a happy hour/dinner with friends

Superb fresh strawberry margarita on the rocks-so refreshing. Guac was tasty but a little thin. It had pepitas and little nuggets of fruit on top- nice contrast!The chips are thick and homemade and so good with the roasted chile arbol salsaGreat place to drop in on a Saturday afternoon!

I had a server who grabbed my baby's leg. That's a big no. Do not touch people's children. This is very taboo, it's absolutely not okay. As far as child friendly this restaurant really isn't. There's not a changing station here for diaper changes. Before kids this was one of my favorite Mexican restaurants because the menu is so delicately cultivated-- at least it was before my most recent dine in. I had some home fried potato chips topped in what I believe was queso fresco and salsa Valentina. Was it good? Yeah. But more like a snack I'd make at home. The pork belly in a yellow mole was an interesting combo. The pork belly was cooked to perfection. It had a wonderful crispy texture with soft and fatty richness. The sauce though was just not incredible to match the pork. The sauce was underwhelming and the pineapple had a strange blandness as if it were cut from the core of the fruit. Mushroom "quesadillas" were more like empanadas but sadly overwhelmed by the flavors of the fried corn tortilla. The tortillas were delivered neatly, wrapped up and served in the tortillero. I have mix feelings about the oil saturating the tortilla. I did enjoy the thickness and fresh wholesome flavors though. If you're going to order rice beware that it may come to you in a tiny dish fit for a side of ketchup. I have had the most incredible rice I've ever had here and this time was only decent. Buttery, and a strong garlic taste. It's up in the air if I'd want to return here. Do I love the artistic flare and culinary intricacies? Yes. But I'm not eager to return with a baby anytime soon.

I have to say I need to come to South San Antonio around Alamo Street more often!This whole area is really impressive and has a lot of Old South San Antonio Mexican culture that I think we should be really proud of. This restaurant has a lot of that influence but has some modern touches also. We absolutely loved the chicken tostadas and the shrimp tacos. They have several beers on tap and the Margaritas were amazing. The interior design is impeccable with a lot of very cool art and ceiling designs. The service was also outstanding. Even parking was easy along the street and you have free 2-hour parking. If you're in the San Antonio area I would definitely say you will not be disappointed. And honestly the bill wasn't even that bad. The tostadas were only $10 and the shrimp tacos were only$15.This place is a steal of a deal

Came here for a birthday lunch after it was highly recommended by my sister. She really hit the nail in the head with this one! This place is super cute and trendy and just happened to be almost completely empty on a Tuesday during lunch hours. Immediately we were greeted by the sweetest server who very promptly brought waters and got our drink order. I ordered Los pepinos and omg it was amazing! I loved loved loved this drink. It is a must try if you visit this place! My brother and dad opted for the mexican old fashioned and they were so impressed by it. To start off we ordered the guacamole, queso fundido, and papas bravas. The guacamole tasted so fresh and the fruit preserve and pistachios were such an amazing blend of flavors...same for the queso! We loved all three! For my entrée I got the asada tacos. The carne asada was so flavorful and so tender. The tortillas were amazing and the black beans it came with were delicious. Everything about this place was 5 starts in my opinion but the service here is what made it special. Thank you to the two ladies that took care of us, the cooks that prepared the amazing food, and the bartenders that made the most delicious cocktails ever. Visiting this place really made my birthday special. Thank you!! I will be back!

What a stunning venue! The interior and exterior patio are just beautiful. There are so many touches that just make this a lovely place. The drawback was that it was very, very loud. I couldn't hear what the server was saying. It didn't help that she stood far from the table. I was going to attribute that to maybe Covid, but she seemed fine with coming closer when she cleared some of the dishes. So I don't know. We started with a Paloma and El Cenizo. The Paloma was made with fresh grapefruit and line juice, El Jimador añejo, and enhanced with grapefruit bitters. It was absolutely delicious. It was bursting with grapefruit flavor, unlike many Palomas I've had in the past. El Cenizo is listed as an infused margarita made with fresh lime, orange, and pineapple juice, piña mezcal infusion, tequila añejo, and bitters. The drink was so unique, smoky, and refreshing. These selections definitely make me more interested in trying other options.We ordered the guacamole con frutas y pistachios with stone ground chips and the queso fundido de frutas. The guacamole was delicious, but can I say that the superstar of the show were those chips. They were amazing! I don't really talk about chips, but these are 100% worth mentioning. The queso fundido de frutas was out of this world. I don't know why I wouldn't have thought to pair the seasonal fruit preserves with earned panela cheese. We do this with brie, so why not?? Paired with the fresh, hot corn tortillas, this appetizer was outstanding!I think on my next visit, I'll go early enough to sample more of their amazing food and bar menu.

Amazing spot for happy hour. Definitely the best margaritas you'll ever have, whether frozen or on the rocks. They are always playing fun latin music, and the place has vibrant decor typical of this chef's restaurants. Their guacamole was absoluteluly delicious and unique with fruits and pistachios. Their salsas are fresh and robust and always pair excellently with their house made tortilla chips. Definitely recommend if you're looking for a place to catch up with friends over some drinks and snacks. I recommend trying their piña mezcal infused margarita. You won't be disappointed. Can't wait to go back!

Service was absolutely AMAZING! From hostess who saw we couldn't find the door, came outside to help us in, to the server that was such a delight with our large party. Such a cool atmosphere, music was on point! Now for the food! Had the guacamole w/fresh strawberry and pistachio that was so refreshing and tasty! Tasted the Chicken tinga Toastada which was delicious ! The birria quesadilla was not what I'm used to. Sauce had more of a mole consistency and was slightly bland. Taco meat was on the fatty side. The pineapple Margarita was very good!