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Austin's Best Restaurants: How to Avoid the Overhyped in a Foodie Paradise
Interstellar BBQ
By Rebecca Thompson | April 2, 2025
As long as I can remember, Austin has been a food town that cares very much about remaining a food town.
We put brisket on everything, infuse tequila into things that have never before been infused, and believe the solution to any culinary question is “add queso.” And every now and then, a place opens that strips away all the stunts and just does something remarkable—often on a paper plate, in a strip mall, next to a CBD shop that sells crystals. I’ve eaten my way through enough buzzy openings, overhyped trailers, and $25 breakfast tacos to know what’s worth your time.
Here are the best restaurants in Austin, none of which will try to sell you on a “curated” ranch water.
1. Craft Omakase
4400 N Lamar Blvd | Website | Instagram
It’s hidden in a Rosedale strip center behind a dental office, which is probably intentional. From former Uchiko chefs Charlie Wang and Nguyen Nguyen, Craft Omakase serves 22 courses of precision-cut raw fish, earns you a Michelin star just for sitting through it, and will make you say things like “that scallop was life-changing” before realizing how ridiculous you sound. The service is reverent, the sake list intimidating, and somehow, none of it feels stuffy.
2. InterStellar BBQ
12233 Ranch Rd | Website | Instagram
You’ll find it in Anderson Mill, between a vape shop and a daycare, and yes, there will be a line. InterStellar is the kind of place that makes barbecue nerds whisper reverently about bark and fat render. It now has a Michelin star, which is wild considering you eat it on a picnic table next to a parking lot. Worth it.
3. Barley Swine
6555 Burnet Rd | Website | Instagram
There was a time when you could show up at Barley Swine without a reservation and just order Bryce Gilmore’s tasting menu at the bar like a civilized Austinite. That time is gone, mostly because of the Michelin star and the seasonal menu that changes before you can even Instagram it. Still, the food here remains weird in all the right ways—this is where you go to eat carrot ice cream next to someone discussing their composting system.
4. Lao’d Bar
9909 FM 969 Building 4 | Website | Instagram
Some bars are quiet, civilized places for a negroni. Lao’d is not that bar. It’s a Laotian night market party with coconut escolar ceviche and banana-leaf cocktails, tucked away east of East Austin. Chef Bob Somsith made the James Beard semifinalist list this year, and you’ll understand why after one bite of the lemongrass sausage. If it’s your first time, don’t wear white.
5. Hestia
607 W 3rd St | Website | Instagram
Hestia is all fire and darkness—literally. It’s named after the Greek goddess of the hearth, and nearly everything is cooked over open flame by Kevin Fink’s all-star kitchen crew. The dining room so dim you’ll need your phone flashlight to read the wine list, but when the food shows up—say, ember-roasted beets or duck glazed with smoked honey—it’s clear the light levels are the only thing they’re holding back.
6. LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue
5621 Emerald Forest Dr | Website | Instagram
Known for doing barbecue the “new school” way, LeRoy and Lewis offers things like cauliflower burnt ends and smoked beef cheeks, which is the barbecue equivalent of releasing a jazz album after three Top 40 hits. Pitmaster Evan LeRoy and Nathan Lewis, who runs the bar, use this spot to run smoked-based experiments, yes, but the results taste like the future of Texas barbecue, especially if that future includes government-mandated pickles.
7. Birdie’s
2944 E 12th St | Website | Instagram
Birdie’s is one of those places where you stand in line, order at the counter, and then eat food that should not, by any logic, be served at a place without table service. Chef Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel makes French-ish, Italian-ish plates with local vegetables and enormous talent, and her husband runs the wine list like a secret club you’ve just joined. It’s casual, but not remotely chill.
8. Olamaie
1610 San Antonio St | Website | Instagram
This is where you bring out-of-towners when you want to pretend all of Austin is genteel and biscuit-scented. It’s Southern cooking, without all the reimagined and tweezers and Michelin precision. The restaurant has the quiet confidence of a place that knows its biscuits could cause an emotional breakdown, and frankly, that’s the highest compliment.
9. Canje
1914 E 6th St | Website | Instagram
Chef Tavel Bristol-Joseph’s East Austin spot is loud and colorful and unashamedly joyful, like a dinner party that refuses to end. The Caribbean-inspired menu changes constantly but might include a whole snapper or a grilled pineapple dessert that ruins all other desserts. If you leave here without dancing in your seat at least once, I don’t know what to tell you.
10. P Thai’s Khao Man Gai
4807 Airport Blvd | Website | Instagram
Chef Thai Changthong (who also goes by Chef P) has brought his poached chicken and ginger rice back to North Loop after a short break, and it’s a low-key miracle. The khao man gai is one of those dishes that looks humble and tastes like someone’s grandmother poured her soul into it. Add some noodles if you want, but the chicken’s the reason you’re here.
11. la Barbecue
2401 E Cesar Chavez St | Website | Instagram
There’s a fine line between cult following and full-on religion, and la Barbecue crossed it a while ago. Their beef ribs are Flintstones-sized and deeply smoky, and the brisket has that perfect meat-butter ratio. If you show up on a weekend without a plan, you’ll end up eating on the curb with sauce on your shirt, and that’s just how it goes.
12. Ramen Del Barrio
1700 W Parmer Ln | Website | Instagram
Birria ramen sounds like something you’d dream up after three tequila shots, but here, it’s executed with the kind of care usually reserved for fine dining. Ramen Del Barrio in North Austin is a collision of Japanese technique and Mexican comfort food, and it somehow works. The broth is deep and beefy, the noodles springy, and the James Beard nod feels justified.
13. Serenade
200 Lavaca St | Website | Instagram
Serenade is a French-Texan brasserie with design that looks lifted from a Nancy Meyers set. Chef Johnny Ray Stinebaugh knows how to make a duck confit that makes you want to propose marriage, and the space hums with downtown date-night energy.
14. Cuantos Tacos
ADDRESS | Website | Instagram
A trailer on East 12th with a cult following and a Bib Gourmand, Cuantos Tacos is your new taco benchmark. They serve CDMX-style tacos with meats you can’t pronounce and toppings you didn’t know you needed. You’ll eat five, think you’re full, and then order two more while pretending it’s “for later.”
15. Parish Barbecue
3220 Manor Rd | Website | Instagram
At Parish, Holden Fulco, who used to work the pits at InterStellar BBQ, now slings duck along with brisket, and it’s better than it has any right to be. The smoked pulled duck comes piled onto a sandwich with crispy cracklin’ and plum barbecue sauce, like something your Cajun uncle would make if he moved to Manor Road and got real into kolaches. Get the cornbread dressing if it’s on special, or just go straight to dessert: the pecan pie brownie is rich enough to make you briefly reconsider your cholesterol goals.
Rebecca Thompson has held many jobs: daily newspaper scribe; middle-school math teacher; and mom of a troublemaking tomboy. She’s searched her home state of Texas for the best brisket and tacos and will spend days debating the merits of combining the two.
