Menu
Tarbox & Brown offers San Marcos a rotating seasonal menu focused on delicious American and Texas fare with inspired dishes and comfort food.
Located on the golf course at Kissing Tree, Tarbox & Brown is open to the public for breakfast, lunch, dinner, golf service and special events on our huge outdoor patio. Local brews, Texas wines, and carefully crafted cocktails are available to pair with each meal.
Established in the late 1840s, the Brown and Tarbox Stagecoach Line played a significant role in providing passenger and mail services between San Antonio and Austin. The coaches traveled an average of 5 miles per hour, depending on road conditions. Stops were established every 12 miles so that passengers could stretch their legs, horses could be changed out, and mail could be exchanged.
In 1851, the home of James Purdy Matthews became a stop on the stage route right here in what was then Stringtown, a small settlement south of San Marcos along the historic Camino Real. Passengers enjoyed sitting in the shade of the Matthews’ wide porch, enjoying a cool drink of water, a warm cup of coffee, or perhaps a delicious tea cake before continuing on their journey. Today, we hope you feel that same welcoming spirit of hospitality each time you visit Tarbox & Brown.
Chef Chanel Beattie grew up in Cape Town, South Africa and Beijing, China (she’s from a diplomatic family). Chef Chanel has a degree in hotel management, and she went to culinary school in South Africa, where she studied French cuisine. When she was 25, she was named the Executive Chef at the Michelangelo Hotel in Johannesburg. She was the first female chef to get the job and the youngest executive chef they had ever hired.
Chef Chanel and her family emigrated to the United States 4 years ago, and she’s excited to do some things people here haven’t seen. On our menu, you’ll see Asian and Texan dishes, and some French-influenced items as well. And of course, she had to add some South African flavor!
