11 Best Restaurants in Austin, Texas

If Central Texas is the hub of the state's best barbecue, then this place has become its favorite darling. The former food truck become full-fledged, world-renowned restaurant, owned by pit master Aaron Franklin, attracts a daily throng of fans who wait in line upward of three hours in hopes of devouring a paper-lined tray of brisket, sausage, and pork ribs pulled straight from the smoker. Sides of classic potato salad, pinto beans, and coleslaw are simply filler for the main event. Franklin’s continues to receive national acclaim—and even served President Obama during an Austin visit. Doors open daily at 11 am and stay open until the meat sells out, which is usually well before 2 pm.

This lovely east-side spot has moved from its original trailer location into a shared space within Quickie Pickie, the quaint local neighborhood grocery and bodega, and remains another top spot for Texas barbecue. Portions of their prizewinning BBQ are Texas-size, including their popular El Sancho brisket sandwich with "Bobby Sauce." Lines are to be expected, but service is friendly and swift.

When Texans argue about the relative merits of barbecue joints, the Salt Lick usually winds up at or near the top of the heap. Getting here entails a 30-minute drive southwest of Austin, but diners who make the trek are rewarded with finger-licking-good ribs, beef, chicken, turkey, and sausage slow-cooked over an open pit and accompanied by a tangy sauce (unusual for central Texas) and the usual sides. If you can manage it, top your meal off with blackberry cobbler or pecan pie. The area is dry, alcohol-wise, but the BYOB policy keeps crowds happy. It's cash-only, but there's an on-site ATM.

The long lines, rain or shine, at this east-side food truck make no secret of its epic Texas barbecue. The cheesy brisket kolaches wrapped in mouthwatering sweet dough (only sold on Sunday) have been lauded by everyone, including the barbecue editor at Texas Monthly, who samples the fiercest and finest BBQ all across the state. Thankfully, the standard Texas plates heaped full of pork ribs, hot links, and prime Angus brisket, plus contemporary sides like blue-cheese coleslaw and jalapeño-dill potato salad, are also heaven-sent.

Smack in the middle of Second Street, Lamberts draws a broad range of downtown business crowds, local foodies, and tourists, all for its stylish take on Texas barbecue. You know this isn't your father's barbecue joint when you hear Belle & Sebastian coming from the speakers instead of Willie or Waylon; for further evidence, there's Chimay beer on tap and a $23 "breakfast Frito pie" on the Sunday brunch menu. Appetizers range from Asian-style crispy wild boar ribs to broiled Gulf oysters with apple-smoked bacon. The restaurant, housed in a historic two-story 1873 brick building, features a lovely whitewashed brick interior, leather booths, and an upstairs bar with adjacent seating area and a stage where bands perform weekly.

Many local barbecue snobs turn up their noses at Rudy's because it's a chain (albeit Texas-based) with hokey interiors, but plenty of Austinites count this as their "go-to" choice for a laid-back BBQ lunch. Three kinds of brisket—regular, extra moist, and extra lean—are cooked with dry spices over oak wood (not mesquite). Aside from brisket, there are pork and baby back ribs, turkey breast, pork loin, and prime rib. Sides are uniformly good, especially the creamed corn, which has a cult following. Take-out is brisk (and popular with large groups), but many diners chow down at the vinyl-covered picnic tables. 

This Red River staple, which traces its roots to a legendary Lubbock barbecue joint founded in 1968, is known as much for music as food. The casual venue, an old stone building with wooden floors and tables, suits the fare, which many local barbecue aficionados rate as average; the hickory-smoked choices—beef brisket, pork ribs, sausage, chicken, and turkey breast—are tasty enough, but sides, like spicy serrano creamed spinach, are definite crowd-pleasers. Plus, their popular line of barbecue sauces and rubs make for great souvenirs. Music, with indoor and outdoor stages that host local bands and touring headlining acts throughout the year, is a main component, especially during the always-crowded Sunday gospel brunch.

A relatively recent addition to Austin’s barbecue scene, its newcomer status is bolstered by generations of pitmasters hailing from the famed BBQ epicenter of nearby Lockhart. The laid-back Barton Springs location and cafeteria-style service keep things casual, with diners picking out their sides (all the classics, from mac 'n' cheese to potato salad) before selecting their cut of meat. The brisket is impeccably juicy and tender, ribs (pork and beef) are colossal, and the jalapeño sausage is a crowd favorite. Prices are higher than the average barbecue joint, but the merit is there. Don’t expect a Franklin-type line, but they do occasionally sell out of meat, so call ahead if you’re hungry for anything in particular near closing time.

Part of a local chain, The County Line has a few too many amenities to be considered a classic Central Texas barbecue joint. Chairs instead of bargain-basement picnic setups, little loaves of multigrain bread on tables, and functional air-conditioning make things downright civilized, but anyone seeking a traditional BBQ meal in bucolic surroundings can find solace in the slow-smoked ribs—huge slabs of beef and tender pork—that can be ordered in family-style options, replete with generous sides of coleslaw, potato salad, and beans.

From its creekside perch in the shadow of the Austin Convention Center, this spot caters to name-tagged conference attendees, construction workers, and thoroughly starched office workers alike. Dependable house specialties include pepper-crusted smoked pork loin, tender brisket, and Flintstones-size beef ribs (the junior rib plate will satisfy all but the hugest of appetites). Wrought-iron grills, forged here when the building was an ironworks, hang from the rafters. It's a charming (albeit slightly raucous) and authentic slice of Texas cuisine, even if it's not the best barbecue joint within city limits.