Alyssa
Candles, fresh flowers and the most gorgeous wooden tables we’ve ever seen outside of Colorado. Alchemy Kombucha and Culture really knows how to make a great first impression. Alchemy, San Antonio’s first kombucha restaurant and bar, is blurring the line between vegetarians and meat lovers; tea and cocktails. Vegetarian? Vegan? Omnivore? There’s an entree option for everyone. Want to unwind with a glass of kombucha or maybe a stronger version of kombucha? Alchemy has both. We ventured into the brand new bar, restaurant and tea room for its Fiesta Preview Party and left with an intense mind and body connection.
Alchemy, located at 1123 N. Flores, has tables in the center, with a small bar in the front for ordering food and another bar towards the back for ordering drinks. A welcoming couch with a one-of-a-kind table rests in the corner, beckoning you to relax for a few moments, or a few hours.
After gathering a sense of Alchemy’s interior, we learned that there was a patio as well. When you step outside, you’re greeted with more fresh flowers and white candles glistening in the daylight. The picnic tables made of cedar planks automatically make the patio as luxurious as the inside. The bars and most of the tables in Alchemy have incredible detail and beautiful colors, ideal for taking Instagram photos.
We took a seat outside and merely sat for a few minutes, looking around at the scenery, listening to the music from inside and snapping photos, of course. Once our minds caught up with us again, Jacqueline went inside to order her first kombucha drink of the night. Kombucha tea is a fermented drink made with tea, sugar, bacteria and yeast. I know, it doesn’t sound appetizing, but after Jacqueline returned with a pink colored drink in a stemless wine glass, I took a sip and learned never to judge a drink by it’s description.
The hibiscus jasmine kombucha was sweet, refreshing and relaxing. Green tea, milk oolong and smokey black are the other kombucha drinks on the menu. Many of the cocktails featured kombucha as a main ingredient like the Fixed Element – Pimms No. 1, raspberry, cucumber, lemon and hibiscus jasmine kombucha. Not everything on the cocktail menu had kombucha tea, but all of the cocktails were unique to Alchemy. The Refined Botanist is made up of gin, white rose tea dry vermouth and pickled onion.
While the kombucha was the center of attention for the beginning of the night, as soon as I ordered my first meal at Alchemy, I completely fell in lust with this up and coming bar and restaurant. On the menu for the Fiesta Preview Party was a beet salad, mushroom curry and a heritage pork sausage with a vegetable salad.
When I had my first bite of the mushroom curry, I dropped my fork and looked Jacqueline in the eye. “This. Is. Amazing.” Noodles, a mixture of wild mushrooms (shiitake and oyster) topped with edible flowers, spring vegetables and sunflower seeds. The curry was so flavorful and the slices of mushrooms were very generous in size. It’s going to be hard to order another entree on our next visit.
Alchemy Kombucha and Culture has not officially opened yet, but they do have two more Fiesta Party Previews on Friday, April 24th from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. and Saturday, April 25th from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m.
When Alchemy officially opens, its menu will expand and it will sell kombucha by the bottle, glass ($4!) as well as kombucha cocktails, beer and wine. Eventually, Alchemy will have kombucha on tap, transforming the way we look at bars forever. Alchemy is unlike any bar in San Antonio, and we’re excited to welcome them to the city.