Anyone typing restaurants near me into a search bar in San Antonio's Pearl district will soon have a new destination to consider. Diego Galicia, co-chef of the Michelin-starred Mexican restaurant Mixtli, is opening a solo venture called Filleman House in the former home of Restaurant Claudine at 517 E. Grayson St., according to CultureMap San Antonio and the San Antonio Express-News.
The San Antonio Express-News reports the restaurant is targeting a late November opening, and MySA specifically pinpoints the last week of November as the goal. CultureMap San Antonio, citing a release from the restaurant, describes an opening timed to this fall but notes that Filleman House does not yet have a confirmed date, adding that OpenTable reservations will open soon. Taken together, the reporting points to a late-fall debut, with the exact day still fluid as construction continues.
Filleman House takes its name from August Filleman, a Swiss immigrant and Pearl Brewery worker who was the original owner of the 1910 bungalow that will house the restaurant, according to the Express-News. The building most recently held Restaurant Claudine, a Southern-influenced concept that closed in June after a four-year run, the Express-News reported. Galicia told the Express-News that he considered sleeker, more cosmopolitan names, including The Greyhound and The Clam, before settling on Filleman House because it better reflected the roots-oriented cooking he wanted the space to represent.
A Departure From Mixtli
Galicia has spent 13 years building Mixtli into San Antonio's first and only two-time Michelin star honoree, and the Express-News' top-ranked restaurant on its list of San Antonio's Top 50. Filleman House marks a deliberate pivot away from the Mexican storytelling that defines Mixtli. According to a release cited by CultureMap San Antonio, the new menu will center on brasserie classics such as prime rib, steak au poivre, a dry-aged burger served with a martini at the bar, and oysters served in the garden.
Speaking with MySA, Galicia described the menu as a personal collection of foods he loves rather than a themed concept. Reported dishes include caviar service at an approachable price point, foie gras mousse, lobster beignets with hollandaise, East Coast oysters, beef tartare, short-rib raviolo, Dover sole meunière, and pasta bolognese made with nilgai antelope, according to the Express-News. There is also a Filleman burger made with dry-aged beef and fries, along with dessert options including Basque cheesecake and a banana split, the Express-News reported.
"The menu is just a collection of things I like to eat," Galicia told MySA. "I love crab and oysters. I love foie gras, and I love caviar, and I love steaks. I love burgers and pasta. So it's this whole really broad group of food."
Galicia framed the project in similarly personal terms in the release quoted by CultureMap San Antonio: "Filleman House is the restaurant I've always craved to create. After years of telling the stories of Mexico through Mixtli, I wanted to build something that reflects another part of who I am, not just as a chef, but as a diner. It's the kind of place I want to eat in every day."
He also emphasized accessibility in comments to MySA, pushing back on the idea that upscale San Antonio restaurants can feel exclusionary. "Filleman is for everybody. I feel like a lot of restaurants want to filter San Antonians out because of their Mexican heritage, or because they look a certain way," Galicia said. "It's for everyone. You want to come to the bar and have a $10 burger? You can. You want to come to the bar and get a cocktail? You can."
The Space, The Team And The Hours
The Express-News reports the restaurant will seat 60 guests across the dining rooms and a tree-shaded patio, with an additional 12 seats at a new bar being built into the parlor. Service is planned for 5 p.m. to midnight Tuesday through Saturday, with happy hour specials running Tuesday through Thursday, Galicia told the Express-News. He said he had not yet named an executive chef as of the interview.
Lauren Beckman, who won the 2024 Michelin Guide Texas Service Award for her work at Mixtli, will design and lead the beverage program at Filleman House, offering both full-strength and zero-proof cocktails, according to CultureMap San Antonio. She will continue in her role as Mixtli's bar manager while overseeing the new bar, the Express-News reported. Linda Romero, whose design work includes Pullman Market, Hotel Emma, Jazz, TX, and Hanzo, is handling the interior design for Filleman House, CultureMap San Antonio reported.
Part Of A Bigger Wave At Pearl
Galicia is not the only Mixtli partner striking out on his own. Co-founder Rico Torres announced last month that he is opening Rosso, an Italian steakhouse, in the former home of Cured at Pearl, joining forces with "Top Chef" winner Gabe Erales and "Chef's PSA" podcaster André Natera, according to the Express-News. Both chefs have said their new ventures will not change their roles at Mixtli.
"For Rico and myself, it's been 13 years of our life that we've been dedicated to Mixtli," Galicia told the Express-News. "It's good for us to see ourselves away from Mixtli for a little bit. To see who we are away from it."
CultureMap San Antonio noted that Filleman House and Rosso arrive alongside another high-profile project, an upcoming restaurant from Houston chef Aaron Bludorn set for the former Carriqui space, and predicted the combined openings will make 2026 one of the city's busiest restaurant seasons in years. For now, would-be diners searching restaurants near me around Government Hill and Pearl can watch fillemanhouse.com and the restaurant's Instagram account for confirmation of an exact opening date and the release of OpenTable reservations.
