Alicia Wagner Calzada A group of drinking buddies enjoys the outdoor ambience, which includes cactus and a nice breeze, at La Tuna.

What: La Tuna Icehouse

Where: 100 Probandt St. at Cevallos Street

The digits: (210) 224-8862

Get your drink on: 4 p.m.-midnight Monday-Thursday, 2 p.m.-midnight Friday and Sunday, 2 p.m.-1 a.m. Saturday

Hotties quotient: Good. The no-frills icehouse is a meeting place for all types — those who live in the neighborhoods just south of downtown, bikers, college students, art lovers and those pretending to be art lovers on First Friday. It's also a convenient watering hole on Thursday nights before or after Slab Cinema, the screenings of classic, cult and campy movies on the concrete slab across the street. Music lovers come to see local rock, folk and blues bands playing on Saturday nights when the weather's good and to hear vinyl records spun on Sundays.

Wallet hangover: Minimal. Domestic beers cost $1.75, imports are $2.75, and there's a $2 special daily. (There's nothing on tap and no mixed drinks.) Bring cash because the bar doesn't accept credit cards.

The 210 take: La Tuna is such an iconic San Antonio hangout that it made Esquire magazine's list of the best bars in America in its June issue. Hang out with the regulars at the small walk-up bar, chill on the adjoining patio or seek shade on picnic tables underneath the tall pecan trees between the icehouse and La Tuna Grill. Speaking of, check out the restaurant (which does take credit cards) for yummy fried shrimp, burgers or fish tacos. A word of warning to fashionistas: Choose flats over heels — the ground is covered with a mixture of gravel and beer caps.
 
Jessica Belasco | 210SA contributor