A well-established San Antonio culinary power couple are about to make their mark on Pearl.
Lizzeth Martínez and Francisco Estrada, the wife-and-husband force behind Naco Mexican, is set to unleash Santonia Cantina in the former home of Full Goods Diner. Not exactly Mexican, Tex-Mex or any contemporary reimagining of either, Martinez and Estrada aim to showcase the border cuisine along the Rio Grande that informs their own personal style. And it’s a style that earned Naco a spot in the Netflix series “Taco Chronicles,” a James Beard Awards nomination and a spot as a UNESCO City of Gastronomy ambassadorship for Martínez.
“For us, the border isn’t a line you cross; it’s a culture you live in. It begins long before you reach the bridge and stays with you long after you’ve crossed it,” Martínez said in a news release. “Santonia is very personal to us because it comes from the region that shaped who we are. Growing up between Northern Mexico and South Texas, we never saw those influences as separate. They were simply part of everyday life. Santonia gives us the freedom to celebrate that culture in a way that feels current, fun, and completely our own.”
Guests can expect a menu that celebrates the spirit of border cantinas, with bold but approachable dishes designed to share with friends and family over a cold beverage. The borderland-rooted offerings will include pork shanks, rib-eye tacos, oversized shrimp flautas, ceviches and botanas. The bar program will skew heavily toward agave spirits and regional ingredients. Think mezcal, sotol and tequila married with pecan, avocado leaf, damiana, grapefruit and chiles.
“The borderlands have always been a place of exchange, of food, music, traditions, and ideas,” Estrada said in the release. “With Santonia, we want to celebrate that richness without putting rules around it. We want it to feel like a true cantina: great food, great drinks, great energy, and a place where people want to stay.”
Martínez and Estrada have been on a literal roll since relocating from Mexico to San Antonio in 2017. Naco began life as a food truck and quickly gained momentum. The original truck still operates at 2347 Nacogdoches Road, and in 2023 the concept expanded with a small brick-and-mortar outpost at the SA Yacht Club, 310 W. Grayson St.
The new spot will be their most ambitious effort to date, taking over a roughly 3,300-square-foot space formerly occupied by Full Goods Diner, which closed at the end of 2025. Prior to that, Green Vegetarian Cuisine called the property home. While the website isn’t live yet, more information will soon be available at santoniacantina.com, and you can follow the progress on social media at Instagram: @santoniacantina.
Dining and Cooking