Countless restaurants have come and gone in San Antonio, but that doesn’t mean they are forgotten. Sometimes, you drive past a spot that used to be something else and remember all the good times you had there. Or you eat somewhere with food that reminds you of an amazing meal you had at a long-lost eatery.
There are plenty of fantastic restaurants to be missed in San Antonio, so we came up with a few remarkable places that left an empty space in the city’s dining scene when they said goodbye for good.
La Botánica
The cocktails, the vegan food, the camaraderie, the dancing! What’s not to miss about La Botánica? The beloved bar and restaurant on the St. Mary’s Strip was a casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, as the hot spot was denied the renewal of its lease. The building it once occupied remains empty, leaving former patrons to wonder what could’ve been.
King’s Palace
From 1995 to 2019, King’s Palace was a reliable source of Chinese food on Broadway, where it was recognizable for its pink exterior and golden lion statues. The restaurant’s lunch specials were a godsend for folks on a budget, and large parties were almost always accommodated. Alas, King’s Palace was razed, and the land was redeveloped to make way for a P. Terry’s that opened in 2024.
Mexican Manhattan
Mexican Manhattan was a downtown staple for 62 years before the restaurant called it quits in 2020. The business met its end when former owner Larry Karam decided it was time to retire the family business. In 2024, MySA took a deep dive into the restaurant’s history, marking notable moments over the decades.
Malt House
The Westside hasn’t been the same since Malt House was torn down in 2018 and replaced by a 7-Eleven store that still bears the Malt House insignia. The restaurant, which first opened in the 1940s, was known for its crispy dogs, its burgers and, of course, its malts that used to hit the spot on a hot day.
Floyd’s Dairy Bar
It’s always something of a tragedy when a hallmark of a bygone era leaves the scene. Floyd’s was once a popular hangout for Eastsiders seeking burgers and shakes for affordable prices. The restaurant passed through several hands over nearly 60 years before finally shuttering in 2017.
Folc
The burger at Folc was once praised by Texas Monthly as the best in Texas, so it’s no wonder that people still miss this spot. Unfortunately, the contemporary American restaurant announced its permanent closure in February 2017, months after a fire left the building seriously damaged.
Fujiya
Fujiya was a sushi institution in San Antonio for about 50 years before it closed in 2019 for renovations and simply never returned. In 2023, a fire damaged the Fujiya building, and it was demolished soon after.
La Chinita’s
We experienced a lot of heart-wrenching closures throughout 2025, but no one saw this one coming. La Chinita’s was a neighborhood hole-in-the-wall eatery that served Chinese and Mexican dishes for 40 years before unceremoniously chaining up its doors amid never-ending renovations. We still dream about their hefty servings of shrimp fried rice and comforting bowls of noodle soup.
Shoney’s
Chains are an interesting case because, in theory, they can still exist somewhere else after exiting San Antonio. But who wants to drive 8 hours to a Shoney’s location in Louisiana when we used to have access to the restaurant’s signature all-you-can-eat food bar in our own city just a few years ago? In fact, San Antonio had the last Shoney’s in Texas until that location closed in 2021…