Nao Latin Gastro Bar

Nao has some nice food choices that change often. The pork cheek burger with yucca fries — that is a good day indeed. I wish the menu was a little more expansive, and the hours to eat were extended for mid-​day though. Some people get hungry at 3:00pm Nao. My visiting days to San Antonio are numbered each year, so I have a lot of eating and drinking to fit in in a short time.
I learned about Naos food from saddling up to the bar to visit with friends. We had the best bartender! Matt is his name and he was so friendly, helpful and accommodating. Because he was so cordial and expert, I tried drinks I was unfamiliar with. I just let him know what kind of drinks I normally order, and tastes preferences, and viola! I had a new batch of libations to enjoy. He even got us to follow him to his other job at Paramour Bar in the evening. No food there, but great view and bartender.

I hate to be the kind of person that says this deserves 3.5 stars but… It really does! Nao has great potential but it wasn’t quite there for me. I went with a party of 10 so I’m going to take «it took a long time for food» out of the equation.
We started with cocktails and wine for the table. The wine came out immediately but the cocktails took close to 10 minutes. We then placed orders for appetizers they came pretty quickly. We tried the fried plantain with crab salad and the duck appetizer. I loved the duck but wasn’t as crazy about the other. The fried plantain was crisp with good flavor but the crab on top just sort of tasted wet?
For dinner, be prepared for a very small menu overall. This wasn’t awful as there were s few items I was interested in trying but I can see some people being disappointed with the amount of selection. I ordered the steak with chimmichuri and enjoyed it. The steak had a good cook but the fat on the side was definitely not fully rendered so there were some chewy pieces. My fiancé had the duck tacos and thought they were spectacular. Other folks at the table had positive reviews of their dishes as well.
Nao isn’t the first place I’ll jump to when grabbing dinner at the Pearl but I definitely wouldn’t rule it out for the future.

NAO was once among my favorite restaurants in San Antonio; not any more. I had reservations for my family to join me there for my birthday. This was my first visit since they reopened with an «improved «menu and dining concept. Their menu; which was once full of numerous seasonal options has now been pared down to about 10 appetizers, 3 Ceviches, and 5 entrees. Not a single item appealed to anyone at the table. We ended up walking out and having a delicious meal at Morton’s.
This might be an option if you want drinks; since they had far more selections on Alcohol, than food. For me; I doubt if I’ll ever return, unless they revert to their original style menu.

It was a great experience. I ordered the Cast Iron Chicken $ 14. It was delicious, juicy and tender. A little bit of pink near the bone but not alarming. It was served with coconut creamed spinach, very tasty. For dessert I had the Brazilian Coffee Flan, it was perfect, the blood orange was a tad bitter for my taste, but it could be to balance the sweetness of the dessert $ 4. The Tequila Reposado ice cream was so delicious I would go back just for that ($ 2 for 1 scoop). The desserts are made entirely by the CIA students. I will go back again for lunch to see what else the students can do. At night the restaurant serves up dinner cooked by experienced chefs and staff. Nice!

Our bartender Matthew was excellent! Every specialty cocktail was expertly crafted, the best drinks I have ever had in San Antonio! Matthew was friendly, professional and knowledge of all spirits and made excellent recommendations. It was clear the staff was very well versed on the menu. An excellent experience, I will definitely be returning in the near future to this establishment!!!

This place has changed quite a bit since it opened, the current menu being at least the third or fourth revision we’ve encountered. They retain some of the «small plates» that work for a two person share if you order 4 – 6 or one can opt to split the larger dishes. Food quality doesn’t seem as CIA-​worthy as it was their first couple years. Not bad, but probably not as great as it was in the past.

Chart House at The Tower of Americas
Best kept little secret; Happy Hour…
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my big 12 year old baby boy.
We ordered the hummus tray, beef/​pork sliders and the shrimp tray; our drinks consisted of a Shirley Temple and a top shelf whiskey and cranberry. Our drinks were fantastic, it was Jaden’s first official non-​alcoholic drink from a bar, and of course my whiskey and Cran deliciously tasting with a squirt of lime. Absolutely no complaints about our food nor the time in which we received our hot delicious food and our waitress was very pleasant and very courteous with great serving skills. Great experience; looking forward to my next visit.

Something happened to the menu. It used to be that they had a shifting Latin menu every 6 – 8 weeks that featured local specials unique to Brazil and other Latin American countries. Now the menu is small and limited with an unclear focus.
We had not come to eat here in awhile and we were disappointed with the food as well. The appetizers were better than the main course and my friend said that her cocktail was quite good. However, there was nothing WOW that would justify the price of the entrees.
It looked like the food had been intricately prepared, but it just lacked anything special. They gave us a free dessert sampler because I think they could tell that something was off, but not sure if I would come here again anytime soon. They need to figure out what they are trying to do with their restaurant. Service was not great, but I do not hold that against them, it is more the change in menu and food.

Pros: Amazing food
Cons: Service
I visited this restaurant a few weeks ago for brunch. Delightful menu with excellent innovative food combinations, nothing short of something off of food network. The students running the restaurant seem more than capable.
However, I am still giving this restaurant a 3 star rating because of the way me and my family were treated (celebrating a birthday no less). The waitress we received was incomparably rude from the moment she said hello. When we asked about what was in the drinks/​food or for her to explain, she would either walk away without saying anything or throw an ipad at us and ask us to go over it. When we asked her generic questions about the food, she asked us «Are you not okay with being here???» as if she was going to ask us to leave. My family and I could not have been nicer to her, thinking perhaps she had a bad day. However, this was, by far the worst service I have received in my entire life. I am unsure what was up her butt.
Another family was seated next to us and she treated them kindly. Which makes me wonder if she is racist, because it was even before we spoke hello that she was rude to us. I am not writing her name because I am not interested in ruining her life, if she plans to be a chef or whatever. But seriously, her people skills need a thorough brushing over. If and when she gets in the kitchen, and her food tastes like her attitude, she will wish she gets tipped one penny.

The wife and I visited Nao’s this morning, Jan. 31, for Sunday brunch… We were very disappointed… The reason for my 3 stars is because the server and team were very, very nice… They did try, and we know that… Nor did we complain about anything… After I ordered the Cevechi appetizer, I could see where all of this was going, and we chose just to eat the meal, make the best of it, and make plans for lunch !!!
The portion of the appetizer was almost embarrassing… We’re talking about a high dollar appetizer that didn’t come close to being able to be shared… Additionally, they put some corn nuts, or something else like them, with the cevechi, that made no sense to me… They are rock hard, did not go with the cevechi, and pretty much ruined the entire appetizer… On to the breakfast entrees… My wife ordered her eggs medium… They came out runny, big-time…I had to chase them down in the parking lot !!! So, I swapped my Torreji (Latin French Toast) with her… The French Toast was very, very good… Almost amazing… As was the regular toast — Pullman Bread — that came with the eggs… But, when it comes to value, I just don’t get it… There was only 1 slice of regular toast with the eggs… Honestly, who does that, I ask rhetorically… I’m serious… Who gives 1 slice of toast with a full side order for breakfast… Also, they charge for coffee refills — big-​time charge, that is… I was surprised since it was about $ 2.50 a cup, and each refill… Go ahead, call me an idiot !!! Yes, the coffee was good and hot… But this place absolutely drained me for a breakfast… Walked out $ 40.00 lighter, and immediately walked over to the Farmer’s Market to look for something to snack on :)
Like I said, the staff was very, very nice… And, I probably should have said something about all of the nickle and dime stuff, as well as the eggs and appetizer screw-​ups, but I didn’t want to ruin their morning… I will be putting Nao’s on the sidelines, benching them, for a while, until I start reading better reviews.
Thanks for those who posted their reviews on Nao… We have been there before, and liked it, so I didn’t read the reviews before we went there this time.
Joe Gray, San Antonio

Very poor service. Apparently working at pearl restaurant = superiority over the rest of all humanity. News flash your restaurant is not that good and even if it was that would not give you the right to be constantly rude.

Just came here for drinks. They have wonderfully crafted drinks and a friendly staff.

Came here for dinner while on business, based on a client recommendation.
Ambience: contemporary casual, upscale without being overly so.
Service: ate at the bar, Mathew was my bartender. Fantastic service, great conversation, great drink and food recommendations. I’d come back just to chill with the guy. If you see him, ask him about his Vegas motel management days.
Tried Balcones single malt for the first time, which was a nice surprise! Also tried the Malbec, which was good.
Food: Had the Brazilian cheese bread and duck carnitas based on Matt’s tip, and they did not disappoint. I wouldn’t say the cheese bread is a shareable if you’re hungry, but they tasted great (similar to what you might get at a chirrascaria).
The duck was done very well — great flavor, not too much fat, and the tomatillo sauce was very savory, which was very good because it didn’t pack any (spice) heat.
⁴⁄₅ stars only because they weren’t open for dinner or happy hour before 5.
All in all: a great place to visit in an up and coming part of San Antonio. You’ll love hanging out here.

Went here a few months back and I LOVE it! We sat outside and the weather was beautiful. The pressed Cuban sandwich is definitely good, I will be back! The employees/​students were also very nice and the manager also came to check on us and chit chat for a moment. This is by far one of my favorite places.

Was on the fence between 3 stars or 4. The ambience was great !! We were at a table for 8 so we had a lazy Suzanne at table to share food, so that was convenient. The appetizers were the best part of menu… enjoyed cheese bread but other appetizers were ok. Dinner options. no one in my group was to impressed. The duck was border line dry… My friends chicken was dry. I ordered crispy fish… It was ok. Was not blown away by anything. Our waiter was great very attentive manager, ambience fabulous but Latin food in this city is hard because locals know where to find better food.

I love the changes that they are making at NAO. As an couple who live at the Pearl, we recently rediscovered NAO in the last few weeks and it is now a weekly (or sometimes twice weekly) go to place for food (and not just the great bar).
So let’s get specific. My husband, a standard old fashion drinker, actually departs fen his habits to drink the Slow River with its blend of tequila, Texas honey, grapefruit and lime — just the right balance of tartness and sweetness. As a non-​alcohol drinker, I love the five alcohol– free concoctions that aren’t the standard ho-​hum virgin of a mojito (which is what I am usually served when I ask for any bar’s best virgin version of a cocktail). My favorite is the Southern Breeze which is grapefruit, lemon and simple syrup.
A must-​get appetizer is the Pork Ribs and Black Beans which is tender and filled with flavor — the beans complete the dish (usually get two wonderfully cooked pieces of pork). The Brazilian Cheese Bread (4 per order) are soft and full of cheesy flavor. We vary between adding Octopus Chicharron (with tomatoes, olives, oranges and cilantro) and Duck-​Filled Arepas as our standard appetizers.
Our favorite entrees tend to be the Grilled Beef Sirloin (cooked to order and delicious), the Duck Carnitas (with homemade tortillas to boot) or the Heritage Pork (the crispy skin combined with the flavors of the pork, the mojo, rice and beans — mmmm). The Roasted Whole Pumpkin is not just unique but an entire flavorful meal in itself with the rich tasting broth, veggies and pumpkin.
The service is wonderful, knowledgeable about the food, and engaging. We had a wonderful server by the name of Tommy just this evening (who despite his young age got our joke about the pinball wizard named Tommy — which lead to an unexpected discussion about the rock opera Tommy). Joshua — who is overseeing a revamped bar program that is going to rival some of our traditional favorite SA cocktail spots, was great — not surprisingly he trained with Sasha P and spent some time up in NY working at Milk and Honey.
We love the move to a more casual and inviting vibe. In fact, having Fernando (the Executive Director) come by and supplement Joshua’s explanation of the dishes with his own personal memories about his mom making a version of this dish or that just makes it that much more real and memorable. Seriously, we would offer any of the restaurant’s employees a chair and happily buy them dinner just to spend time hearing about their passion and connection to what they do.
I guess if there one thing I could offer as a suggestion for improvement is dessert. In keeping with the idea of South American food that feels like home (it sure seems like a lot of folks native to South America make this a regular place to eat by the sound of the conversations at nearby tables), I find the chocolate desserts are not as sweet as I would like (probably because Americans tend to put more sugar in everything). Not sure this is anything NAO needs to change (since it has a vision of showing the breadth and beauty of South American food) just a heads up for sweet chocolate lovers to be aware.

While the service was friendly, it was VERY slow. The portion for the steak and fries plate, which was advertised as a «to share» entrée was paltry, there really wasn’t enough for one person, let alone two and the price wasn’t worth the meal. We went on a Sunday when everything else had at least a 20 min wait but this place was not even ¹⁄₃ full. I should have wondered why, but after the experience we had, I understand.

Really disappointing. The food was cold even after complaining. The chef seemed appreciative of the feedback but offered nothing other than a dessert. I will not return

Great food and wine. Almost everything we had was great but the quantity per plate and per dollar really varied. The pumpkin was enormous but the carrot plate seemed to only have a few bites. Waitstaff seemed a little ruffled. On the whole a great dining experience.

Nao is now Nao Latin Gastro Bar. I don’t know what that means but other than menu tweaks, this is the exact same restaurant. Previously, Nao was more of a «fine dining» establishment. I had only stopped by once but other than having a great Pimms Cup, nothing was special. Since they re-​opened under the guise of a gastro pub/​bar, I made it a point to try it out. And I don’t get it.
This place is way over-​priced (which might explain why there was only 1 other person in the restaurant). The eight or so cocktails range from $ 9 — $ 12, they have four beers, all priced $ 7 with no happy hour. I ordered the Ecuadorian ceviche and it was maybe half a cups worth of shrimp for $ 12. So one cocktail (that was decent) and a miniscule order of ceviche set me back about $ 25. Nope, nope, nope. It’s basically a fancy restaurant that’s trying to reinvent themselves but keeps that same prices and décor. With amazing, relatively inexpensive food from Cured and Southerleigh surrounding Nao, they need to do a lot more than change their name to compete.

This place is offering very unique dishes and the presentation and flavors are amazing. NAO is now open for lunch with very reasonable prices.

The service at this restaurant was impecable.
That being said, I feel like the food does leave something to be desired during the Culinaria offering this past week.
They had a beef ribeye on the menu that I wasn’t a fan of. It came with a bitter salad that honestly could have been left off of the plate. The bitter leaves combined with some type of hard white cheese left something to be desired. The yuca fries were excellent.
I very rarely will ever send food back but with a medium steak, I instead got a very rare piece of meat that had quite a bit of fat and gristle on it. It wasn’t very well trimmed and the there were portions of it that had quite a bit of chewy fat that wasn’t the most pleasing texture. I gather I should accept this with the cut of meat, ribeye, which tends to have more fat in it than other types of steak. I have had excellent ribeyes at other restaurants though so it’s hard for me not to be critical. Places that rhyme with Shmexas Shmoadhouse…
The jicama veggie tacos were a nice surprise and I enjoyed them along with the shishito peppers and the pao de queijo. Not a fan of the plain tortilla chip. It’s a tostada… that’s bland. The accompanying dessert was a crème brûlée bread pudding. I enjoyed the accompanying vanilla ice cream and nut crumble much more than the slab of dry bread with caramelized sugar topping though.
The place itself is very beautiful but very loud. It’s hard to have a conversation here. It’s almost as though every sound that’s made just bounces back off the wall. It’s an entirely open kitchen so all of those noises are projected into the dining room. This is appealing but the problem is that the restaurant is very large. If it were a smaller setting, for example… the Carillon in Austin, the smaller restaurant accommodates less noise since there’s less people to rush for.
I can understand the appeal for this place and we did enjoy ourselves. I would recommend them for a pleasant dining experience. I would come back to sample the other items on their menu… just not steak.

Great food and ambience with interesting flavors and selections. It’s a little difficult to find since there isn’t a very obvious sign, but it is right next to the CIA and in a back corner area. The inside is modern and romantic — a large open room with tables.
When you are seated, drinks and a small container of cheesy bread is offered (and refilled) I tried the three course seasonal sampler consisting of a beef appetizer, poblano chile stuffed with shrimp and lobster, and a cocoa corn dessert with ice cream. I enjoyed the presentation and flavors of each dish. They do seafood very well and all of it is cooked perfectly. This restaurant is definitely a blend of South/​Central American flavors.
The dessert was interesting, but not very sweet or flavorful. Perhaps because it is anise and caramel, my least two favorite types of flavoring. But, it’s definitely a different experience and I think everyone should try it once.
The only cons I noticed was the waitstaff. Although our waitress was nice, she also seemed very stiff and not very welcoming. Perhaps it was a bad day, maybe that’s her normal demeanor. But, I also noticed the host greeted us, but didn’t mention our reservation and I also didn’t clearly hear her greet us when we left. I may be picky, but you should understand that when you are paying $ 25 – 50 for an entrée, there’s a certain etiquette and standard you come to see. And, it’s also a reflection of the restaurant and staff.
I would definitely recommend people come for a date, business dinner, etc. It seemed like quite a few people were there for after work meals. There’s no dress code per the website, but I noticed that most people are wearing nice slacks and/​or dresses.