For dinner or weekend brunch, stop by Lutie’s to check out the interior designed by Ken Fulk.

From traditional Texas barbecue to wild boar pepper pots and red berry concha (a sweet bread), the Austin food scene offers a diversity of flavors. It’s hard to choose between the longstanding famous icons—Franklin’s Barbecue for brisket and Kerby Lane for pancakes—and newcomers—Taqueria De Diez’s volcan tacos.

Planning is key when it comes to Austin’s food scene: Make reservations in advance. For places that don’t take reservations, arrive early with sunscreen—waiting in line for food is a Texas pastime. Expect queues at all barbecue joints (an hour minimum on weekends), weekend brunch and famous spots. The best barbecue spots open at lunch, so arrive early for the best selection and visit on a weekday for shorter wait times. Online orders are also a possibility to save time.

Now, you know the rules—it’s time to eat. Keep scrolling for the best restaurants in Austin, Texas. To help plan your trip, check out my guides on the best things to do in Austin and the best Austin hotels organized by neighborhood.

In this Article

The Best Barbecue in Austin

The Best Brunch in Austin

The Best Restaurants in Austin

The Best Tacos in Austin

The Best Bakeries & Desserts in Austin

Where to Drink in Austin

The Best Barbecue in Austin, Texas

Left: A brisket sandwich from Franklin’s Barbecue. Right: The pomegranate-glazed pork ribs at the Egyptian-inspired KG Barbecue.

There is always a line for barbecue, but most places have free beer while you wait. Order online to skip the queues.

• If Franklin Barbecue is your destination, wake up early and join the roughly 4-hour-long queue before 9 a.m. It’s just like tailgating for a football game, minus the traffic, so bring a chair and some local brews. Order online to skip the queue.
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• For shorter lines, try Micklethwait Craft Meats for sausage, turkey (my favorite) and jalapeno cheese grits. This is one of my favorite go-to spots because I’m a sucker for good sides.
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• La Barbecue’s Eastside location is great for brisket, pulled pork and shells & cheese.
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• LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue, a 2024-Michelin star winner, serves up tasty brisket and beef ribs in their brick-and-mortar location. The brisket burger and cheddar cheesecake are also phenomenal.
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• Interstellar BBQ in North Austin has made the Texas Monthly’s top five list. Aside from the brisket, the turkey, jalapeños slaw and banana pudding are delicious.
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• KG Barbecue fuses Egyptian and Middle Eastern flavors with traditional barbecue—the pomegranate-glazed pork ribs and brisket shawarma pitas.

The Best Brunch in Austin, Texas

Chef Sarah Heard cooks up the perfect pancake at Foreign & Domestic.

• Lutie’s is one of my favorite dinner spots that serves a scrumptious brunch ranging from Spanish frittatas to brioche French toast. Grab a pastry basket with one of pastry chef Susana Querejazu’s famous Kouign Amanns. Saturday and Sunday. Reservations recommended.
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• Foreign & Domestic’s chef Sarah Heard cooks up the best pancakes in town with the perfect amount of crisp on the outside. (She perfected the cooking technique thanks to her picky daughter.) Sunday only. Reservations recommended.
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• Banger’s Sausage House and Beer Garden is legendary thanks to the Manmosa, a behemoth-sized mimosa consisting of a bottle of champagne with a splash of orange juice. The menu features house-made sausage, meat-heavy egg dishes and gigantic flaky made-from-scratch biscuits.  The restaurant has plenty of seating thanks to an expansion a few years ago but doesn’t take reservations, so expect a line. Sunday only.
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• Wu Chow serves dim sum on Sundays only. Menu highlights include pork pot stickers, char siu bao (steamed pork buns), scallion pancakes, pineapple bao and a Thai-chili infused Bloody Mary. Reservations recommended.
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• Jacoby’s is my go-to Eastside brunch spot that takes brunch reservations! The grits and strawberry cake are delicious. Saturday and Sunday. Reservations recommended.
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• Café No Se is another favorite breakfast eatery located in the South Congress Hotel. Start off with one of their signature pastries—a delectable croissant served with homemade raspberry jam. (Their pastry chef, Amanda Rockman, is a James Beard Award Semifinalist.) I also recommend the ricotta hotcakes. Breakfast is served daily.

The Best Restaurants in Austin

These restaurants are organized by type from casual to upscale.

Canje’s modern Caribbean-inspired dishes—pork shoulder and grilled cabbage—should be at the top of your list.

Upscale Restaurants in Austin

• Canje should be your first stop in Austin. The new-age Caribbean restaurant is named after the national bird of Guyana and serves up one of my favorite dishes in town: wild boar pepperpot, a slow-cooked stew. The Guyanese-style roti pairs well with the Wagyu beef West Indian curry.
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• Lutie’s is a must for dinner. The garden restaurant’s playful interior was designed by Ken Fulk, which really sets the mood for a fun evening. The menu includes a variety of small, highly seasonal dishes meant to be shared. Highlights include the estate bread with layered butter, the green dish, Texas beef and the kouign-amann dessert, a French pastry that’s broken into pieces and folded into vanilla ice cream.  It is located on the Commodore Perry Estate, a 1928 mansion turned luxury hotel. Reservations recommend.
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Lutie’s layered butter is both photogenic and delicious.

• Mattie’s is a truly hidden gem located in a secluded 19th-century home just a few blocks from the buzzing South Congress neighborhood. The resident peacocks provide ample entertainment while you dine on fried chicken and biscuits.
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• Eberly is a swanky multi-room restaurant with two patios and a separate bar with a stunning centerpiece – a mahogany wooden bar that was moved from New York City’s Cedar Tavern to Austin. It’s one of the most beautiful restaurants in Austin. Reservations recommend.
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• Fixe, an upscale Southern restaurant, is famous for its made-from-scratch, while-you-wait biscuits. It’s the best $12 you will EVER spend.
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• Ember Kitchen specializes in live-fire cooking with Latin flavors. Order the pork chop and carrots. Trust me. Snag a seat at the bar by the kitchen to watch the magic.

Casual Dining in Austin

Left: Taqueria de Diaz’s volcán tacos are arguably the best in town. Right: Yellow Jacket Social Club beet and goat cheese sandwich.

• Pinthouse Pizza is an award-winning brewery that serves up Sicilian-style pizzas. They have three locations and a gigantic South Austin brewery. Pinthouse’s Electric Jellyfish brew helped ignite the hazy IPA trend in Austin. It’s my favorite pizza in town (Via 313 is a close second!) and one of my first stops when I get back from a long trip.
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• Tumble 22 is the best spot for hot chicken! For sides, try the mac and cheese and slaw. Formerly a food truck, there are now three brick-and-mortar locations.
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• Easy Tiger has BEER CHEESE. The bakery bar combo has a full menu of pastries, sandwiches and giant pretzels that go well with the beer cheese. Both locations have great patios, but I prefer the South Lamar one.
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• Kemuri Tatsu-ya is a funky izakaya located in an old barbecue restaurant. The Texas-influenced menu includes brisket ramen, Mexican street corn, sticky rice beef tongue tamales and roasted banana pudding.
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• Yellow Ranger serves up American Chinese food with a flair in a dive bar (Golden Horn) off Airport Blvd. Menu highlights include black garlic queso dip with house wonton chips, semi-smashed burgers served on Taiwanese milk buns and wok green beans.
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• South Austin food truck Artipasta has a variety of homemade pastas from gnocchi to Fusilli and pizzas. The panna cotta is also delicious!

The Best Tacos in Austin, Texas

There’s no shortage of good taco joints in Austin.

Choosing the best tacos in Austin is a tough call because of all the strong contenders. While the Taco Deli and Torchy’s Tacos chains are all over the city, there are better options. (Taco Deli’s white queso is great!)

Nixta Taqueria is arguably the best in town—they make their own masa and tortillas—and serve up some unconventional dishes like duck carnitas tacos. For traditional tacos, I love Veracruz All Natural, started by two sisters from Mexico. There are seven locations around town dishing out excellent migas tacos.

The best newcomer in town is Taqueria de Diaz, famous for the volcán tacos served with cheese and meat on crunchy corn tortillas. It’s hidden in an alley off Trinity Street downtown. The taquitos at Arriba Abajo at the Thompson Austin are another favorite.

The Best Bakeries & Desserts in Austin

Left: Comadre Panaderia’s concha. Right: Jacoby’s strawberry cake.

For sweets and desserts, there are endless options from desserts at all the restaurants listed above and specialty pastry and ice cream shops below.

• Comadre Panaderia is a bakery known for its concha, a sweetbread topped with a flavored cookie shell. I love the masa sugar cookies! Arrive early for the best selection. Open Thursday to Sunday.
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• Amy’s Ice Cream is a classic, while Gati Ice Cream serves up coconut milk flavors!
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• Everyone in Austin can spot a Tiff’s Treat’s box from a block away. The cookie shop is known for delivering boxes of fresh, warm cookies. You can buy cookies individually, and I recommend the Tiff Wich – two warm cookies with a scoop of ice cream between them. Double yum!
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• Hayley Cakes makes the most beautiful and hilariously decorated giant sugar cookies with icing!
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• Sugar Mama’s Bakeshop has the best cupcakes I’ve ever eaten in my life. I’m drooling on my keyboard thinking about them.

Where to Drink in Austin

Left: Eberly’s wooden mahogany bar. Right: Drinks at Kitty Cohen’s.

The Best Bars in Austin

Years of experience went into crafting this list. I’m a dive bar fan, so that’s most of the list!

• Tiki Tatsu-Ya is the coolest bar in Austin. Inspired by a fictional backstory, this tropical paradise has two levels and elaborate decor with a menu of tasty drinks and bites. Reservations required.
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• Eastside Bars: Yellow Jacket Social Club is one of my favorite dive bars in Austin, with a spacious patio filled with picnic tables. This East Austin dive has a wide variety of good beer and excellent food, including the beet and goat cheese sandwich and Frito pie. Around the corner is The White Horse, an Eastside honky tonk with live music nightly and free dance lessons. They have a nice patio with a food truck. The nearby The Liberty Bar and The Grackle have large patios. Whisler’s is a hip spot a block away known for cocktails and a mezcal bar. Mama Dearest is an Arkansas-themed dive bar with hilarious décor and quirky drinks like the Memphis Michelada made with barbecue sauce.
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• Kitty Cohen’s has the best patio in town with a pool for lounging on hot days and a tropical-themed bar. Be sure to check out the amazing flamingo wallpaper in the ladies’ bathroom!
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• Batch Craft Beer & Kolaches is a great spot near Mueller with the best (and cheapest!) happy hour in town. They serve up sweet and savory kolaches along with a massive selection of craft beers. (There’s a wall of beer fridges to choose from!) Happy Hour is all day Monday and Tuesday and nightly the rest of the weekdays.
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• Ask around for the passcode to get into the Red Headed StepChild (also referred to as Floppy Disk Repair), a small speakeasy with great drinks and a creepy decor that looks like the set of a horror movie.
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• Many of the restaurants I mentioned in the previous food section are also great spots to grab a drink, including Easy Tiger, Eberly’s Cedar Tavern Bar and Banger’s.

The Best Breweries in Austin

Left: Baked pretzels and beer cheese from Easy Tiger. Right: Brews from Hold Out Brewing.

While several craft breweries have closed in the last few years, there’s still a great scene in Austin. Most also offer nonalcoholic options, including hop water. Here’s a roundup organized by location.

• Downtown (kinda): Hold Out Brewing is my go-to spot. Located in walking distance of downtown, this quirky half-domed building has East Austin vibes with a gigantic courtyard it shares with its sister restaurant, Better Half Coffee & Cocktails. The brewery’s hazy pale ales and IPAs are tasty along with its happy hour burgers. There’s free parking in the lot in front and behind.
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• East Austin Breweries: Zilker Brewing on East Sixth Street is a great spot with rotating food trucks and walking distance to downtown. Located in the heart of the Eastside in an old gas station, Lazarus Brewing Company serves up brews, tacos and coffee.  Central Machine Works has a huge patio that’s a great hangout spot on the far Eastside. Hi Sign Brewery’s spacious taproom is located slightly farther east.
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• North Austin Breweries:  HopSquad Brewing is just a few minutes’ walk from Q2 Stadium. Austin Beerworks is another Northside favorite.
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• South Austin Breweries: While these aren’t all in walking distance of each other, South Austin is another great area for breweries. A few highlights are Nomadic Beerworks, ABGB, St. Elmo Brewing Company,  Meanwhile Brewing, Vacancy Brewing and Pinthouse Brewing. (Vacancy and St. Elmo are within walking distance of each other.)