Where to Eat and Drink in Austin, Texas
In a matter of just a few years, Austin has earned a reputation as one of the country’s best food cities. The state capital and once-sleepy college town—long known for its live music and film scenes—now hums with culinary buzz thanks to nationally recognized chefs, a major food festival, and a roster of diverse restaurants. Just 10 years ago, you probably could have counted the city’s great restaurants on one hand. But the town that has long had a love affair with tacos, Tex-Mex, barbecue, and burgers has matured—and now boasts a vibrant and eclectic dining scene that's growing as quickly as its population.
Matthew Odam is a native Austinite and the restaurant critic at the Austin American-Statesman, where he has worked since 2007.
1/14The Hot Newcomer: Qui
Austin diners welcomed Top Chef winner Paul Qui’s eponymous restaurant with unmatched enthusiasm. Qui offers a small seasonal menu that includes decadent items like salmon butter, rabbit seven ways, and a $150 côte de bouef that can easily feed a table of four. For a sweet-and-savory finish, order the whimsical cheddar cheese ice cream sandwich with goat milk cajeta for dessert. 1600 E. 6th St., 512-436-9626, QuiAustin.com (Credit: Adrienne Breaux)
2/14The Old Standby: Uchi
Ten years is a long time in terms of Austin’s young dining scene. Chef Tyson Cole changed Austin’s fine dining game when he opened this exceptional sushi restaurant in 2003 that can thrill with dishes as complex as bigeye tuna sashimi with goat cheese, pumpkin-seed oil, and Fuji apple, or as stunningly simple as a single Spanish anchovy. Don’t miss the seared foie nigiri with fish caramel and candied quinoa. The perfect bite. 801 S. Lamar Blvd., 512-916-4808, UchiAustin.com (Credit: Erica Wilkins)
knox photographics 20123/14The Tasting Menu: Barley Swine
The convival Barley Swine has the feel of a high-end pub, with a beer list to prove it. Diners sip their brews at communal tables while playful, fresh, and artfully composed dishes come out of an open kitchen. Chef Bryce Gilmore went from food truck phenom to James Beard nominee in a few short years on the strength of dishes like grilled goat heart with curried eggplant and homemade falafel. 2024 S. Lamar Blvd., 512-394-8150, BarleySwine.com (Credit: Knox Photographics)
4/14The Ethnic Standout: Tam Deli
Sisters Tam Bui and Tran Ngoc will transport you to their native Vietnam with a massive menu that includes restorative pho, a steaming bowl of bún bò Huê, and several spectacular bánh mì (in fact, the garlic-packed fried shrimp bánh mì may be the city’s best sandwich). And don't be put off by the nondescript strip-mall appearance: you might spot some of the city’s top chefs tucking into a bowl of that pho. 8222 N. Lamar Blvd. 834-6458, Facebook.com/TamDeliAndCafe (Credit: Angela de Marco)
5/14The Midnight Snack: Via 313
Thick slices of Detroit-style pizza at either one of Via 313's two food trucks will leave you a greasy, happy mess, and will undoubtedly help soak up some of the booze you put away earlier in the night. 1111 E. 6th St. and 61 Rainey St. 512-939-1927, Via313.com (Credit: courtesy Via313/Facebook)
6/14The Leisurely Breakfast: Bouldin Creek Café
The expanded space of this South Austin staple means more time to linger over excellent vegetarian fare like the produce-packed omelets or one of several breakfast “sammiches.” The funky café serves locally made organic tofu and offers some of the dining scene’s best people watching. 1900 S. 1st St., 512-416-1601, BouldinCreek.com (Credit: courtesy Bouldin Creek)
7/14The Quick Lunch: Hopfields
The owners of this super-casual spot rely on recipes from their French grandmother—and a most impressive tap wall—to draw people in for lunch and dinner. The Pascal burger with Camembert, grain mustard, caramelized onions, and cornichons is one of Austin’s best. Wash it down with a Brooklyn Monster Barleywine. 3110 Guadalupe St., 512-537-0467, HopfieldsAustin.com (credit: courtesy Hopfields)
8/14The Hole-in-the-Wall: East Side King at Hole in the Wall
Paul Qui and his partners started a food truck empire that spawned this brick-and-mortar iteration, appropriately located in the back of a University of Texas campus-area dive bar. East Side King plays with variations on ramen, like the chicken tortilla ramen with bacon dashi, but you’d be wrong to pass on the fried Thai chicken with steamed jasmine rice punched up with ginger, garlic oil, jalapeño, and a medley of bright herbs. 2538 Guadalupe St., 512-422-5884, ESKAustin.com (Credit: Christian Remde)
9/14The Can't-Miss Street Cart: Veracruz All-Natural
The migas taco from sisters Maritza and Reyna Vazquez’s trailer has few, if any, rivals in town. Broad slivers of avocado feathered across steaming eggs and gooey cheese on springy homemade flour tortillas have a perfect salt-and-pepper balance. The natives of Veracruz, Mexico, also sell aguas frescas and fresh-squeezed fruit and vegetable juices. 1704 E. Cesar Chavez St. 512-981-1760, facebook.com/pages/Veracruz-All-Natural/125207180919170 (Credit: courtesy Veracruz All-Natural)
10/14The Wild Card: The Carillon
Since it's tucked inside a hotel complex on the University of Texas campus, people tend to overlook this restaurant helmed by the talented chef Josh Watkins. That’s their loss—the cavernous space may lack warmth, but the menu delivers excellent and comforting food such as a rack of lamb with corn-rosemary bread pudding and braised beef short ribs with pickled radish. 1900 University Ave., 512-404-3655, thecarillonrestaurant.com/ (Credit: courtesy The Carillion)
11/14The Shot-and-a-Beer Dive: Longbranch Inn
Quality jukebox? Check. Pool table? Check. Partrons and bartenders who won’t judge your borderline alcoholism? Check. This East Austin bar, which has gone through a few iterations over its almost 80-year history and features a bar that’s more than 100 years old, is a good place to disappear or get rowdy. William Burroughs and Hunter S. Thompson would approve. 1133 E 11th St., 512-472-5591, facebook.com/longbranch.inn (Credit: courtesy Longbranch Inn)
12/14The Mixologists’ Lab: Bar Congress
Bar man Jason Stevens makes some of the best cocktails in the city and delivers them with a genteel professionalism. The Vieux Carré is the best in town and a personal favorite, as is the Ramble On (Rittenhouse rye, house Lambic Framboise, cardamom beer jam, summer nonino, lemon, and mint). Stevens, who is also co-owner of bitters makers Bad Dog Bar Craft, also knows how to have some fun: the menu has an impressive line-up of tiki drinks. 200 Congress Avenue, 512-827-2760, congressaustin.com (Credit: courtesy Bar Congress)
13/14The Great Cup of Coffee: Houndstooth Coffee
These folks take their coffee production and sourcing seriously, and it pays off in the fantastic cups of joe brewed with beans roasted by Cuvee, Intelligentsia, and Counter Culture. 4200 N. Lamar Blvd. and 401 Congress Ave. 512-531-9417, HoundstoothCoffee.com (Credit: courtesy Houndstooth Coffee)
14/14Sleep It Off: St. Cecilia and Hotel San Jose
Located just steps away from each other in Austin's SoCo district, both of Liz Lambert’s boutique hotels offer luxury and style at different price points. Feel young and hip at the San Jose, but if you really want to feel like a rock star, stay where the stars stay: the St. Cecilia. Hotel Saint Cecilia, 112 Academy Dr., 512-852-2400, hotelsaintcecilia.com; Hotel San Jose, 1316 South Congress Avenue, 512-852-2360, sanjosehotel.com (Credit: Alison V. Smith)
