Elites Meet the Chef: Fig Tree

Big thanks to Gloria for organizing this event! The Fig Tree swept me off my feet. Charming and romantic, tucked away in the historic La Villita downtown. The staff was extremely friendly and accommodating. Chef Laurent is exceptionally talented and passionate about his work. It was very cool getting to meet him and hear a little bit more about his background and vision.
Some of my favorites from the night: ahi tuna tartare, burgundy snails in cocotte, and the mini crab cakes.
I will definitely be back to Fig Tree. Perfect date night or special occasion spot. I can’t wait for my next visit!

This event was, as the French would say, parfait! It is my favorite Elite event to date! The servers at the Fig Tree were en pointe. My wine glass was never empty! The prickly pear margarita was excellent as well! And the food! Oh the food! Where to begin! The escargot in puff pastry was melt-​in-​your-​mouth amazing. The ahi tuna tartar had amazing flavors! I also loved the shrimp wrapped shredded phylo dough. It was all amazing. And to top it off! Dessert was a fig tart. So good! Chef Laurent is a peach! I had never been to the Fig Tree before and I will definitely be going back to try the rest of the menu!

Grand
Luxurious
Over the top
Rocking
Incredible
Awesome
What an amazing event. The upstairs room was perfect. Fig Tree spoiled us rotten. From the time that we got there until the time that we left we were treated like royalty.
The delicious wines and margaritas flowed continuously. The there was the wonderful parade of delicious foods. Oh my each one so amazingly wonderful.
I can’t wait to go back and try the things on their menu.
Fig Tree I love thee.

Another grand Elite event!
The Fig Tree was amazing, and very hospitable. The wait staff was über friendly and attentive. I can’t wait to go and enjoy some of the great dishes on their menu.
We got to meet Chef Laurent and ask a few questions, sample some really amazing food and drink some great wine. It’s always good to hear the stories of chefs in our great city, a true melting pot of culture and food.
I got to meet some awesome new Unilocalers, and get their take on many things San Antonio. This is always a highlight of an Elite Event, the people. Always a treat. Gloria knows how to please the crowd. Another fantastic event, and I truly thank her for all her hard work, and The Fig Tree for hosting.
Thank you Gloria, The Fig Tree, and Unilocal for a great event.

I don’t venture downtown all too often, so before this event, I was completely unaware of the Fig Tree’s existence. I perused a few of the previous reviews of the restaurant, which were decidedly mixed, and let’s just say, this place has changed!
Chef Laurent has been at the Fig Tree only for a few months now and has completely reworked the menu. At this amazing event, we were able to sample some of his classic French cuisine with an Asian twist. It may sound odd, but it does not disappoint! We had ahi tuna tartare, escargo, beef wellington, and a few other delicious appetizers. Of course, we cannot forget about the margaritas either! The restaurant is a classy, upscale establishment, a perfect place for a fancy date or anniversary dinner. Whole restaurant is not very big, it is small and intimate, with an even smaller upstairs portion. Perfect for a little privacy, or even to rent out for a small private event.
We were definitely spoiled with fancy food and drinks at this event! Gloria does not disappoint!

It is freakin’ sweet to be Elite and I never felt more «elite» than in the latest event in the Meet the Chef series at Fig Tree. I can fangirl all day about how amazing our San Antonio Unilocal community is or how Gloria C owns on every. single. event. but the only thing I want to write about right now is Chef Laurent, his delicious creations and of course, booze.
Chef Laurent is not only obviously passionate about food (French with Asian flare and locally sourced when available) but very personable and took time to step away from his busy kitchen to entertain 20+ Unilocalers. Every dish he sent out was spot on! Crabcakes? Inhaled them. Tuna Tartare? Made out with it. Something on a wonton that I later found out to be my arch-​nemesis, the mushroom? Loved it. All the small bites went along nicely with some champagne that was refilled quite often by their attentive waitstaff. The prickly margarita was refreshing and tasty but I don’t pass up chances to be served bubbly. Ever.
To think, I would have continued to pass up Fig Tree and miss out on Chef Laurent culinary skills had it not been for this event. I’m looking forward to having dinner at Fig Tree soon and getting the full experience!

I’ve been coming to La Villita for as long as I remember, but had never stopped in the Fig Tree before. I’ve always known it to be a great restaurant, but that was all hearsay prior to coming to the event with Chef Laurent!
I was completely impressed! Chef Laurent has some serious background behind him. He has taken two styles of cooking, and fused them together– a mix of French and Asian style of cooking was fantastically paired. You could tell some serious thought went into the pairings! We had crab cakes with a green aioli sauce that was reminiscent of avocados. The green sauce absolutely made the dish! My favorite was this french pastry wrapped around a shrimp. It looked like a Shredded Wheat, with a shrimp right in the middle. It had an orange duck sauce on it, and it was such an experience with all the textures and flavors! It was an explosion right to the senses, filled with shrimp.
It was really cool to get to ask Chef Laurent questions, and find out a little bit more about his his cooking history, and styles.
The Fig Tree exceeded all expectations of what I held of the place! It’s such a beautiful location, with incredible food, and excellent service!
I know I’ll be back!

I’m so spoiled. I mean, I REALLY am. My 2^nd Elite event and it was at a fancy of a restaurant as this! The booze! The food! The service! The friends! I loved every minute of this event. Gloria really knows how to throw an event. I also love that there is such a community amongst the Elite and not in a secret society we need to kidnap you in the middle of the night kind of way but in a way that makes the Elites want to hang out with each other outside of events. Wait, I’m getting off track here…
This event was great. The restaurant hosted us in their large rooms upstairs where we all gathered on one side of the room. It was nice to be so cozy with each other. A true testament to how comfortable the restaurant made us feel. The service was really top notch as well. I felt as though my drink was never dry and my mouth was never wanting for food. The chef came to speak briefly but it only left me wanting to know more about everything! Overall this was a great event and experience. Now… who wants to take me out to dinner here so I can try it all again… anybody??? Bueller???

I am a huge fan of these «no +1» events; it really gives you a chance to hang out and meet new people and talk about what we do, what we like to do and best of all, where we like to eat! Last night was a great event at the Fig Tree Restaurant; great wine and drinks, great apps and great conversations! I thoroughly enjoyed having Chef Laurent come out and talk to us a few times, explain the apps we would be tasting throughout the evening, what his influences were in their preparation and what to expect with the new menu. Let me say, the apps were outstanding! Chef Laurent does a great mix of traditional French with Asian flavors that produced some great results. Loved the eggplant/​mushroom with Shoyu, the Ahi tar tare and the Beef Wellington (perfectly cooked filet wrapped in phyllo) the most but all were outstanding!
Again, Gloria C. knocks it out of the park; great choice of restaurant and mixture of company! We will be headed back to Fig Tree to try the whole menu…

Another elite Elite event.
What hospitality, Fig Tree! Our servers kept our drinks full and kept the parade of culinary delights moving. I’d read good things about the crab cake, but the tuna tartar was my absolute favorite.
The event was an absolute success. I suppose it’s no accident that while I appreciate the preview of Chef Laurent’s flavors (and a peek at the potentially amazing dining spots on the river), these little tastes have only left me wanting more…

The Fig Tree is an absolutely charming & adorable restaurant set in La Villita. Be sure to request a table at the back of the restaurant to have a lovely view of the Riverwalk!
The company, as usual, was top notch! Only about 25 Elites & as the white wine, red wine, champagne & prickly pear margs kept flowing, it got krunk (no one says that anymore, huh?) in there!
The oer d’oeuvres were plentiful & delicious: tuna tartare on a buttery wonton, shrimp wrapped in shredded phyllo, eggplant in a yummy Asian sauce, crab cakes. Service with a smile and extremely attentive!
Thank you, Chef Laurent, staff, & Gloria!

I am out of ways to describe Gloria’s events. I have use fantastic, phenomenal, amazing, stupendous, awesome, radical, gnarly, and probably more that I cant think of right now. This event was, again, all of those things.
The Meet the Chef at Fig Tree was absolutely a top 5 event for me, don’t ask I won’t put them in any further order than that.
The Meet the Chef Series is one of my favorites because you get to actually talk to the chef, learn why they do what they do, where their inspiration comes from etc… It is an open Q&A Session with them while filling your face and drinking your drinks. Speaking of drinks, The Fig Tree staff was standing at the top of the stairs waiting for us to walk in with wine or champagne already poured. Tey didn’t stop there though, I turned my back and one of the ninjas, er umm servers, refilled my glass without me knowing.
Then they roll out with the appetizers. We ate eggplant and mushroom on a wonton chip, shrimp rolls, tuna tartar, cheese puffs, escorgot and, my personal favorite, beef wellington. It was all so good! I mean seriously they got me to eat eggplant, mushrooms and snails and I loved it!
I will definitely be going back as soon as possible. If the appetizers are this good I can’t even fathom what the entrees taste like.

These events are always awesome. I was greeted with a tray or red, white or bubbles to choose from. Bubbles, always. I was already a happy girl.
We chose seats and then came out the prickly pear margaritas. Did they know our crowd or what? Passed appetizers like escargot, shrimp in shredded phyllo, crab cakes, ahi tartare, and an eggplant mushroom deliciousness on a wonton chip came out. Chef Laurent got Ash M. and Shawn G. to eat mushrooms, y’all. And LIKE them! After most of the bites were passed, Chef Laurent came out and spoke to us about how he takes classic French techniques and does an Asian twist on them. Everything I put into my mouth was delicious and the bubbles didn’t stop flowing! The service was fantastic and food delicious. Good job, Glo and Fig Tree.
Maybe for the next event like this, I’d make it a standing/​mingling type thing, though? With the passed appetizers, it felt a little odd to be sitting.

I would give this event a zero star if I could! It was probably the worst Unilocal elite event in history!
First of all, why does the food have to be so tasty?! Crab, tuna, beef, snail, eggplant, cheese puff, dessert… all things French with an Asian twist! I mean seriously?! Can they get fancier than that? I am trying to lose weight here and you aren’t helping! Wait, but the shrimp never made it to our table. Guess that helped a little?
Secondly, the drinks just kept coming! Did you not know this light weighted girl couldn’t handle too many drinks?! Why did you have to bring the perfectly crafted prickly pear margarita and pour my glass of champagne full over and over? Am I your mortal enemy?
Thirdly, why does this place have to be so charming and the chef have to be so talented?! I just couldn’t take it anymore! Did you not know this girl is trying to make bank by saving some cash money? Now I have to come back soon for more!
You see what you did to me there? How could you, the Fig Tree?! You tortured me all night!

And guess what. Elites DID meet the chef.
I’ve been dying to try Fig Tree since Culinaria and trying to tell the guy that rezzys were necessary for that… Wasn’t able to get in then.
This event did NOT disappoint. I’m sure Fig Tree was glad they stuck our rowdy group of 25 in a room upstairs because I found myself YELLING AT MY TABLE BECAUSE WE WAS GETTIN ROW-​DAY. Why? The dranks kept comin!
The apps were non stop too. My favorites of the evening? Tuna tartar and shrimp in shredded filo dough — reminded me of dim sum quite frankly. Made my inner, and outer, Asian happy.
Don’t think I didn’t notice the homage to the fig with the fig cream tart. Genius. Awesome hospitality. Great friends. Thanks Gloria.
One small critique: Can a girl not eat on napkins and tablecloth? I make messes all over myself!

Incredible food and ambiance. So happy we were here. So glad chef Laurent is aboard here!

Another great Elite event. It is just too cool to be an Elite! I liked this one because it wasn’t over-​crowded. Of course I’m seated with the over-​achievers (Ann, Aaron, Jasmin and Larry; just kidding). In addition to talking about favorite places to eat, we talked about each other and what we do when we’re not Unilocaling, which was really refreshing. Thanks to Chef Laurent for speaking with us and providing the tasty appetizers. The Fig Tree is definitely not the stodgy place I remember. The whole evening was a treat. Thanks, Gloria.