38 Best Restaurants in Austin, Texas

Local critics consistently rank this Clarksville newcomer as one of the city's best restaurants, and the sprawling patio is almost always packed. It's a lovely downtown-adjacent atmosphere to enjoy upscale, indulgent takes on juicy burgers and pastrami (as a sandwich or a queso topping), and with great coffee and cocktails to boot. There are even more burgers at the Quonset hut next door, where Hold Out Brewing slings food and beer all day. Both eateries have a hot brunch ticket. 

One of local restaurateur Larry McGuire's white-hot eateries, Clark’s has occupied a top seat in the Austin repertoire of hot spots since its 2012 debut. The hip, and decidedly cozy, oyster bar tucked into a modest corner lot of West 6th has all the appeal of a sophisticated seafood restaurant, with the comfort of a neighborhood bistro. You'll find a pristine, daily rotation of raw oysters served with fresh horseradish, house cocktail sauce, and a tangy mignonette. The lobster roll is a signature home run, but the house burger is a surprising favorite, which spikes in popularity during the daily happy hour, when select dishes are half-off and all martinis are $5.

The predominantly outdoor layout of Texas ranch–inspired Contigo consistently draws a steady evening crowd—even when summer temps are well over 100 degrees. With a chef-driven stable of cocktails and a creative Southern-comfort-meets-contemporary-American menu, it's easy to understand why: ox tongue sliders, house-made pigs in a blanket, a gooey cheddar-filled grilled cheese sandwich on brioche, and the cast-iron sautéed okra with jalapeño and walnuts are among the top menu picks. The varied list of weekend brunch offerings includes buttermilk biscuits and gravy, beef tongue hash, and pecan coffee cake.

This Manor Road hot spot hangs their hat on seasonal local cuisine, with an emphasis on farmers’ markets, Texas beer and wines, and even ingredients foraged by the chefs themselves. A butcher-shop display-case greets patrons upon entering, showcasing various charcuterie and house-made canned and pantry goods. The cozy dining room, accented with exposed brick walls and reclaimed wood fixtures, is down the hall. Their initial prix-fixe “supper club” menu quickly expanded to include nightly à la carte items and a breakfast and lunch service (only on the weekend). Chefs and servers are passionate about their carnivore-heavy cuisine, and it shows. Charcuterie plates are an obvious staple, and daily creations span wide-ranging territory, from venison ceviche to turkey tamales. Try the refreshing house libations, like wild persimmon sodas or sparkling peach jam cocktails.

This clever nouveau Vietnamese-French concept from chef-restaurateur Larry McGuire—of Lamberts and Clark's fame—sits on the corner of South First and Elizabeth Streets as a cozy little café serving a delectable menu of banh mi and pho as well as a fantastic array of French pastries, including daily macaron specials. Fresh shrimp spring rolls, pork meatball banh mi (served on fresh baguettes), and spicy beef and pork buns with thick, soft, airy noodles are safe bets. In addition to sake, beer, and creative punch offerings, the wine list is short and sweet, brimming with French-only wines that pair beautifully with this cuisine. Brunch is offered on weekends.

Though its sister location in the Second Street District attracts a more chichi crowd, the original Jo's on South Congress is where you're likely to run into your neighbor, catch the latest gossip on the Austin music scene, or spot a celebrity visiting town. The morning rush hour for their delicious coffee is intense, yet somehow cool and lively; local beers and frozen rosé (frosé) are also available. There's limited seating, and it's outside-only, so come early on a Saturday and bring a good read. You may witness patrons dancing in the parking lot by afternoon. Jo's is an integral part of South by San José during SXSW—a definite must-visit, with live music in a lively outdoor setting throughout the week.

On any given sunny day, Austinites flock to Mozart's spacious lakeside patio to enjoy great coffee and indulgent baked goods. The expansive, multitiered deck overlooking Lake Austin can get crowded with weekend patrons, and weekdays are equally popular times for locals to post up and work remotely. Live music on weekends is an added bonus, and their annual Christmas lights display is a seasonal sight to behold.

Relaxed and locally sourced, this Bouldin Creek café is a staple for lovers of high-quality Thai food in a casual neighborhood setting. Part grab-and-go market and coffee bar, part café, and part cooking-class destination, Thai Fresh is a popular lunch and dinner spot, with a diverse range of curries, stir-fries, and noodle and fried-rice dishes. Homemade breakfast tacos are also available throughout the day. Locals drop by for their iced chai lattes and sparkling Thai basil lime aguas frescas, or stick around to indulge in one of their organic vegan ice creams and kombucha cocktails with sake, sparkling rosé, or white wine. A popular brunch service happens on weekends as well.

This casual Bouldin Creek neighborhood bistro with a breezy back patio is a refreshing respite for a leisurely happy hour or a midday meal during a day of shopping around nearby South Congress. The French-inspired cuisine is light and straightforward, with a wonderful wine list and craft cocktail selection.

The upscale breakfast fare and comfort food of this Clarksville favorite might carry an unconventional price tag for a diner, but the quality of dishes (from Belgian waffles to meat-loaf sandwiches) has earned a loyal fan base. The always bustling interior is an efficient mix of mid-century retro and contemporary efficiency, with booths and barstool seating at high tables. The menu rotates with the seasons, but staples include chicken and waffles, three types of breakfast hash, and a weekly chicken and dumpling special. There’s an expected list of coffee drinks, plus a full bar and specialty milk shakes, from chocolate cherry to coconut cream, to satisfy any craving.

This sophisticated outpost of the Chicago-based Mediterranean restaurant opened to high acclaim in the Music Lane mixed-use development on South Congress Avenue. Specializing in Israeli, Turkish, Greek, and Lebanese cuisine, the extensive menu would be overwhelming without the helpful direction of the servers, but you can't really go wrong with the variety of hummus, mouthwatering homemade pita bread, and delicious mains, like shawarma-spiced skirt steak and black-garlic shrimp scampi. Their cocktail program is top-notch (try the Mediterranean Mule), and desserts are worth saving room for. 

A bevy of new pizza places debuted in Austin over the past couple of years and one of the best is this hip eastside eatery, specializing in authentic Neapolitan pies. The rotating menu is simple and compact—the wine list is actually longer—but what they offer is expertly prepared. The classic margherita is just as impressive as the calabrese (salami, roasted peppers and mozzarella). The space itself is cozy, seating about 40 diners at large communal tables and a handful of private two-tops and counter seating. The white-bricked pizza oven (shipped from Italy) takes up a majority of the dining room. Fresh seasonal salads, traditional Italian starters and simple desserts, like homemade vanilla ice cream doused with sherry, are worth trying.

Downtown’s Radisson hotel finally ousted an outdated TGI Fridays location on their ground floor and made way for yet another hit from chef and restaurateur Shawn Cirkiel. The delicious contemporary Southwestern cuisine is delivered in shareable or a la carte portions, from oyster taquitos to grilled hen with yellow mole. A limited menu is available in between lunch and dinner service and the Sunday brunch features more than 50 dishes served buffet style. Interiors are chic and floor to ceiling windows show off spectacular views of Lady Bird Lake.

This contemporary Mexican restaurant (from acclaimed chef Philip Speer) has people arriving in droves for the bone-marrow tacos with pecan gremolata. Servers will encourage you to mix and match inventive plates for the table. Brunch here is always bumping, and happy hour is a fabulous time to enjoy house margaritas and discounted tacos and tostadas.

If you're looking for authentic Mexican food at an affordable price (read: cheaper than Fonda San Miguel), then head to Curra's. The cochinita pibil (marinated slow-roasted pork) is moist, tender, and flavorful; the shrimp and fajitas are a cut above most local establishments. Outstanding brunch entrées are served all day, and the enchiladas menu doesn’t disappoint. Try the enchiladas con chile Colorado, filled with melted Monterey Jack cheese and braised pork-tip, marinated in guajillo and chipotle sauces. Portions are hearty, and the house avocado margarita has a significant fan base. There are two locations, south and northwest, and both are casual, with brightly colored, but no frills, interiors. 

Austin is known as a laid-back capital of style, whether it's food or fashion, but this swanky spot injects a lot of glamour into the South Lamar scene. Honoring Angelina Eberly, a storied local innkeeper who helped preserve Austin as the capital in 1842, the contemporary restaurant takes inspiration from its courageous namesake with an ambitious slew of snazzy dining areas, like a beautiful interior "atrium" room and an inviting rooftop terrace. Menu highlights include New American mains, such as braised oxtail ragù and mushroom mafaldini with black truffles, and a popular brunch service includes a range of oven-baked pizzas.

This upscale, 47-seat North Loop gastropub was a trailblazer in the city's locavore and “nose-to-tail” movements. And it’s remained a reliably inventive spot that keeps loyal patrons on their toes with seasonal (and daily rotating) creations, from fried pig ears and shishito peppers to fresh market fish artfully accented with squid ink and foamed butter. F&D's menu isn't tailored to finicky eaters, but this is the place to be for adventurous foodies. The restaurant now offers a decadent Sunday brunch with standouts like a cast-iron frittata with seasonal vegetables.

Now Hotel Ella, the historic Goodall Wooten mansion still retains its stately, old-world charm, and Goodall’s occupies the main floor. The romantic setting screams special occasion, with a concise (and pricey) menu. Service is first-rate, but the cuisine gets inconsistent reviews from patrons who think the lackluster flavors of dishes like fish and chips and seared strip steaks aren’t worth the prices. Seasonal ceviches are popular, however. Breakfast and lunch are served on weekdays, replaced by brunch on weekends. Snag a table on the wraparound porch if the weather is nice.

Austin’s favorite over-the-top doughnut destination, born out of food-truck fame, is now a brick-and-mortar café, where diners can get their favorite perforated pastries topped with everything from chicken-fried steak to beer-battered oysters. Salads (served with garlic doughnuts) and sides like creamed corn and fried brussels sprouts, plus a full bar and rotating selection of local beers, round out the extensive menu. A weekend brunch features doughnut French toast and savory-sweet egg sandwiches, along with Bloody Marys and pitchers of mimosas. But plenty of folks still show up for the giant-sized coffee and dessert doughnuts, like the “Sin-A-Bomb,” with melted cinnamon butter drizzled over cream-cheese icing. A food-truck location is on nearby South 1st Street.

With a classic but eclectic menu focusing on comfort foods, this welcoming neighborhood hangout has kept the locals coming in since 1982. Both the original on Duval Street and the newer south Austin location decorate with pleasant, colorful paintings (for sale) by local artists, and maintain an easygoing atmosphere for both the shorts-and-T-shirt crowd and the dressier, special-occasion fraction. The variations on simple fare run from black-bean veggie burgers and chicken-fried steaks to fresh seafood. Weekend brunch and lunch hours are busiest—look for the hungry crowd milling around the fork-in-the-road sculpture staked in the front parking lot.

The “ranch-to-table” cuisine of this east-side hot spot speaks to the Southern comfort cravings of Austinites, with savory classics like stuffed Salisbury steak, pickled fried green tomatoes, and shrimp-and-grits. The interiors, boasting natural hardwoods and salvaged materials from the Jacoby family ranch, provide an ideally casual place to kick back and relax with cocktails like mezcal margaritas and West Texas shandys; the scenic back patio overlooks the Colorado River. Central Texas Jacoby-brand beef is featured in the house burger and chicken-fried steak, but seasonal entrées like Cornish hen and pumpkin and goat cheese dumplings are also signatures. Sides like mac 'n' cheese, braised greens, and acorn squash are served family-style.

The adorable little sister of Jeffrey’s occupies a beautifully restored, light-filled bungalow next door to the Clarksville fine-dining institution, offering a slightly more approachable, but still sophisticated, option for cocktails and modern American cuisine. Locals love to sit at the patio or front-lawn tables during the daily happy hour, and reservations are recommended for the popular Monday Steak Frites Night (4–10 pm), when a three-course meal (featuring a choice of steak, from rib eye to tartare) costs less than $50. Brunch is served daily (9 am to 3 pm) and features freshly baked pastries and seasonal dishes like sweet potato pancakes and coddled eggs served in miniature cast-iron pots.

This is another South Congress standby that matches its impeccable style with a heft of substance. The sunny-side-up neighborhood café and wine bar is a sophisticated injection of Parisian, alfresco attitude on the pedestrian-heavy strip of south Austin. Kick up your heels after a day of SoCo window-shopping to enjoy tasteful bistro classics like smoked salmon Nicoise salad, croque madame, and snapper carpaccio. And as the name implies, there's something on the menu to satisfy any type of craving, at any time of day.  

After an award-winning start in 2013, this sophisticated spot for modern Mexican cuisine has remained solid. Diners can still expect reliable mainstays, such as crispy pork shoulder carnitas tacos with black beans and tangy tomatillo-avocado salsa, and don't miss the the house ceviches (try the Acapulco) or the guacamole sampler, with varying seasonal combinations like watermelon with queso fresco or toasted almonds and chipotle puree. The popular Sunday brunch doesn’t disappoint.

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.

Korean for "please come in," this Korean restaurant on César Chávez has a chic, organic atmosphere complete with an inviting garden courtyard. Dinner menus include traditional and nontraditional dishes "inspired by mom's recipes," from bibimbap (rice with seasonal veggies) to the comforting kimchi bokkeumbap (fried rice), alongside wood-grilled bulgogi (thinly sliced marinated meat) and japchae (stir-fried noodles) with banchan (condiments). A kids' menu is very accommodating for families.

Seafood, service, and panache are pretty as a pearl at this homage to yacht clubs in the Northeast. One of Austin’s original high-end patio destinations still delivers the city’s best fish, punched up with Texas style and zing. Case in point, the Crab Louie served as luscious lumps of crabmeat piled upon crunchy fried green tomatoes and served with lemony aioli. Market fish selections are ordered to preference and served with spicy garlic-herb salsa verde, house tartar, or red chimichurri sauce. Sit at the cold bar and watch the expert oyster shuckers at work. At night and weekend brunch hours, the patio is ideal for South Congress people-watching with a tropical cocktail in hand.

Sure, it’s become a hipster-certified option for locally sourced charcuterie, meatball subs, and an intimate (and meat-heavy) dinner service, but many Austinites still frequent Salt & Time solely for their expert butcher selections and services. Traditional salumi, tartare, and daily offal specials aren’t always for the faint of heart, but the lunch and dinner menus are extremely satisfying, with entrées like a popular “butcher’s burger” and a braciole stuffed with Parmesan, garlic, smoked tomatoes, and okra. Be sure to ask for the day’s butcher’s cut special. A weekend brunch offers hearty options like smoked-pork hash, deep-fried eggs Benedict, and pancakes with seasonal butters like smoked jalapeño and peach and chili.

This Cajun diner attracted attention for its stylish, retro interior, complete with vintage booths and an Astroturf rear patio, before Austinites even had the chance to sample its New Orleans–style comfort food. But the mid-century motif has only bolstered the growing reputation of its all-day breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus. Brunch crowds flock here for the NOLA-style French toast, omelet specials, and Bloody Marys, while lunch and dinner menus feature staples like shrimp-and-grits, crawfish étouffée, and Creole shrimp po’boys.

With all the high-class sophistication you get from Chef/owner David Bull's Congress restaurant, his adjacent brasserie-style restaurant is his answer to presenting diners with a more relaxed style of food. Here you'll find a steady crowd of patrons in for business, pleasure, or both, feasting on a wide selection of small plates, entrees, salads, and brick oven pizzas. You'll find diverse brunch, lunch and dinner options, from blistered shishito peppers with miso aioli and a chart-topping burger to "black and bleu" pizza with pork belly confit, dates, red onion and bleu cheese. Beers are local, cocktails are hand crafted and the wine list is replete with food-friendly selections.