Chef Leo Davila 

Owner | Executive Chef


 

Proudly born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Chef Leo Davila understands the importance of San Antonio cuisine. Davila is of Mexican and Chinese descent, which lends to his unique flavor profile of sweet and savory dishes, a marriage of the two cuisines.

After high school, Davila moved to Houston, working 80-hour work weeks for a corporation but wanted more from life. He returned to San Antonio and enrolled into culinary school at The Art Institute of San Antonio (AISA), where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Culinary Management with Honors. Davila honed his skillset working for top restaurants and chefs in the city. He learned sustainability, advanced plating techniques and kitchen professionalism. After culinary school, Davila accepted the Director of Operations position at a local food manufacturer who was also a weekend vendor at Pearl Farmers Market.

2018 was a milestone year for Chef Leo, he became a Chef Culinary Instructor at AISA to train and influence the next generation of Chefs. Davila also took a leap of faith to open his own business, Catch The Wave; a food centric pop-up with CBD-infused jams and Chef-driven entrees. However, due to stagnant business Davila considered closing in March 2019. Thinking this was his final attempt at pursuing culinary endeavors, Davila decided to spend his final $400.00 to participate in the “Taco Fest”.  As fate would have it, Davila took home 1st place for his specialty taco. Momentum continued throughout 2019 and Davila took home two more 1st place taco competition trophies. 

Covid halted business momentum in 2020. Chef Leo got back into the kitchen to apply new techniques and flavor profiles to family recipes.

In spring of 2021, Davila opened his first brick and mortar, Stixs & Stone, an Asian and Tex-Mex fusion restaurant. Chef Leo became well-known for his unique flavor combinations and eye-catching twists on San Antonio staples. His widely recognized Big Red & Barbacoa taco encompasses his childhood in a taco. The heirloom nixtamalized masa is infused with Big Red soda, giving the masa it’s distinct red hue.

Chef Leo is a Food Network Alumni, he competed on ‘Big Restaurant Bet’ and placed in the top 5. Chef Leo states, “Representation matters, it is surreal that someone like me is featured on a major network”. Davila is recognized by Texas Monthly Taco Editor, Jose Ralat, as one of the top 25 new(ish) taquerias highlighting his phenomenal tacos and fusion creations. In 2023, renowned San Antonio Food Critique Mike Sutter listed Stixs & Stone as one of the Top 25 Mexican restaurants in San Antonio.

San Antonio is recognized as a creative City of Gastronomy by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, becoming the 2nd city in the United States to receive this distinction. In June 2023, Chef Leo Davila was selected by the San Antonio UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy selection committee to represent San Antonio for the next two years on a local and global scale.

 

 

Meet the Team