When Texas Country music star Pat Green decided to bring his music venue The Rustic to San Antonio, naturally, there was a lot of hype. The Dallas location has had huge success, but because of the rain, I figured the San Antonio Grand Opening event may not be as crowded as I originally thought. Wrong. When I arrived 45 minutes prior to opening, about 200 people were ahead of me in line, standing in the rain, patiently waiting for their turn to enjoy opening night. The line wrapped around the block and only got longer. San Antonio was and is so excited that The Rustic has arrived.
Located off La Cantera Parkway (right across from Lion & The Rose Pub), The Rustic’s San Antonio location boasts 28,000 sqft of space to eat, drink and be merry. The entryway opens up to a large dirt floor courtyard, the focal point being a very large stage that The Rustic plans to host artists for ticketed and non-ticketed events on the daily. To the left of the stage is the main portion of the venue, accessible through a couple of huge slide-up garage doors. This gives the bar a great indoor/outdoor feel. The indoor portion offers two full bars and plenty of stool and tabletop seating options. All of the seating faces out toward the stage, which is great because, at the time, there wasn’t any actual seating available in the courtyard area. The decoration and style of The Rustic is pretty similar to the Dallas location—lots of exposed beams and touches of Texas charm.
As I mentioned before, there was quite the crowd at the opening night. Bar lines snaked around each other and, other than light hor d’oeuvres, food wasn’t available for order. I was able to get a taste of one of the mini quesadillas—one of the appetizers available for tasting—and while it was delicious, I’m looking forward to heading back for a full-fledged meal. So, the verdict is still out on food.
The beer selection, however, was impressive. When I think of cash only beer buckets in San Antonio, I think of Miller Lite. But this time, I was delighted to find that great craft beer was available for only $5! Big Bend Hefe, Ranger Creek’s San Antonio Lager and Love Struck were all available throughout the night.
Pat Green took the stage as the night’s special guest. The Grand Opening felt much more like a concert than a restaurant opening, which I think was the point. The energy was great and much of that came from the musical talents of the Texas Country star who played to a packed house.
Looking forward, I think The Rustic will have just as much success as its older brother in Dallas. I can’t wait to go back and try their Brunch or Sunday Supper options. Pair that with live music seven days a week, a great entertaining space, no short supply of Texas craft beer and what looks like a fantastic menu, this newest hotspot should have no problem making its home in the Alamo City.
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