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13 Fervently Romantic Restaurants in Austin

2025-01-16T08:13:39-06:00

There’s nothing more romantic than dessert, including this one at Olamaie. | Olamaie

For cozy corners and memorable dinners, look no further than this guide

Though Austin is known as a casual, wear-shorts-to-a-steakhouse kind of city, its restaurants can turn up the charm when the occasion calls for it. Here are some of Austin’s most romantic restaurants for celebrating an anniversary, holiday reservations, or making a big impression on a first date.

These Austin restaurants have a combination of features that amp up date night: soft lighting, distinctive ambiance, and of course, great food. This list encompasses romantic spots with a reasonable price point, like Intero or L’oca d’Oro, and spendy spots worth the price tag, like live-fire restaurant Hestia or cozy Southern spot Olamaie, both of which received Michelin stars. Plus, there are the Austin classics — it’s hard to beat a steak at Jeffrey’s or sushi from Uchi.

For more ideas, explore Eater’s picks for date night restaurants, fine dining restaurants, and the best make-out restaurant spots.

Dallas’s Loss Is Austin’s Gain as Celebrated Chef Junior Borges Takes the Helm at Juniper

2025-01-15T08:00:00-06:00

Chef Junior Borges | Kathy Tran

He plans to take the restaurant’s menu back to its roots as its new executive chef

James Beard-recognized chef Junior Borges has join forces as a partner with Austin’s Excelsior Hospitality Group (Uncle Nicky’s, Murray’s Tavern). Part of Borges’s new job will be working with the group’s current restaurants, while another part will include expanding to cities outside of Texas. The group already announced it will open an “upscale Brazilian restaurant” called Nic & Junior’s in Chicago this spring — named for and Borges and owner and chef Nicholas Yanes.

Borges will also take over as the executive chef at Juniper in Austin, which is the group’s flagship restaurant in the city. Borges tells Eater Austin that Yanes was one of the first people he met when he visited Texas for the first time over a decade ago, when both were working at Uchi Dallas. The duo stayed in touch, and when Borges departed from Dallas’ highly-acclaimed Meridian, a restaurant built around his Afro Brazilian cooking, the duo decided to join forces.

Borges plans to take Juniper back to its roots and focus on Northern Italian food, and tells Eater Austin that diners will see some Brazilian items on the menu as well. “I think Italian cuisine and European styles have always part of the philosophy of how I cook, focused on simplicity and high-[quality] ingredients,” he says.

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Borges adds that he is in awe of Juniper’s 10-year history in Austin, but that the role of any good restaurant is to “always continue to evolve.” Along with his team, Borges added to the menu a scallop crudo with Texas peaches and a citrus vinaigrette, new steak options, a rock shrimp pasta with marinated tomatoes, and a tuna tartare mixed with tomatoes. “You can’t see the difference [between tuna and tomato] because it’s all red,” he says. “It’s really fun.” There’s also a potato-filled pasta that Borges says “looks really pretty” and is served with butter, chicken jus, and truffles.

“When you look at some dishes, there are only three or four ingredients, but there is a lot of technique and layers of flavor,” Borges says. “It shows the vision of what we’re going for.”

James Beard-Recognized Chef Announces He’s Closing Austin Taco Truck Con Todo

2025-01-14T14:27:36-06:00

Joseph Gomez at Con Todo. | Sarah Natsumi Moore/Eater

Joseph Gomez may be stepping away from his tacos but will continue with other work

Austin is losing one of its most well-regarded taco trucks, as chef Joseph Gomez announced on Instagram that he is taking a step away from Con Todo and closing the doors on the truck.

Gomez cites making the decision for his family, adding: “But this isn’t the end. Far from it. My commitment to supporting migrant workers’ rights remains is as strong as ever, and I’ll continue that work through new projects, as I always have.” The chef was recognized by the James Beard Awards in 2024 as a semifinalist in the Best Chef: Texas category, and Con Todo was named Best New Food Truck by Eater Austin in 2022. Eater named it one of the country’s Best New Restaurants in 2022. It also earned a Michelin recommendation in the state’s first ceremony last year.

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From Con Todo’s opening, it featured “border town” food from the Rio Grande Valley, with Gomez hoping to inspire a conversation about the difference between Tex-Mex and Mexican food in South Texas. Gomez said on Instagram that he will continue to work as a chef, among other things, and that folks can expect to see his tacos at pop-ups and special events in the future, as well as expect him to continue “stirring the pot a little.”

“So while this chapter is closing, my journey continues,” he wrote. “Sometimes, we have to close one door to open another. We don’t always know what the future holds, but I’m excited to find out.”

Eater Austin reached out to Gomez for comment and will update this post with any additional information.

The 38 Best Restaurants in Austin

2025-01-14T08:03:20-06:00

A noodle soup from P Thai’s. | Cat Cardenas/Eater Austin

A guide to the city's defining restaurants spanning all cuisines, neighborhoods, and price ranges

What are the best restaurants in Austin — those essential dining destinations that should not be missed? Eater Austin’s Eater 38 strives to show diners where to eat across the Texas city, with restaurant recommendations fit for any situation. The list spans numerous cuisines and budgets, collectively satisfying every need from food trucks to fine dining spots (we have map trails for those, too). Ultimately, the 38 covers the restaurants and food trucks that truly define Austin.

Every quarter, Eater Austin updates the map to add pertinent restaurants, whether it’s because they have become newly eligible (our standard is a spot must have been open for at least six months) or revamped their menus or services. The goal is always to keep the list highly specific, inclusive, and reflective of the Texas city. The winter 2025 update adds P Thai’s Khao Man Gai & Noodles, Lao’d Bar, and LeRoy & Lewis.

For a running list of past featured restaurants, head to the Eater Austin 38 archive. For other Austin picks, check out the heatmap, a collection of the city’s hot new dining options.

For all the latest Austin dining intel, subscribe to Eater Austin’s newsletter.

The Most Anticipated Restaurant Openings in Austin, Winter 2025

2025-01-13T11:01:00-06:00

Soon, this chicken sandwich will be available at Mother’s Ruin in Austin. | Mother’s Ruin

A restaurant slinging Cajun-Texan barbecue, a chic Parisian cafe in an art museum, a Thai food truck and taco truck team up, and more

The Austin dining scene is never boring, but 2025 will be especially exciting, as long-standing favorites expand. Barbecue is a big theme: There’s a new Cajun-Texan trailer from the manager of a Michelin-starred joint, a new establishment from a longtime Driftwood favorite, and sausages and sandwiches from a favorite neighborhood bar. A celeb-adored French restaurant is also opening a chic Parisian café in an art museum. Two of Austin’s best food trucks are collaborating on a gorgeous garden space, and an institution for interior Mexican is opening a cafe for breakfast and lunch with a lauded pastry chef at the helm. Displaced New Yorkers are also awaiting an expansion of a favorite Nolita bar.

Here are the most exciting restaurant openings of early 2025.

Parish Barbecue

Location: 3220 Manor Road
Key player: Holden Fulco
Projected opening date: January 2025

The general manager of Michelin-starred barbecue spot Interstellar BBQ is opening a barbecue truck at Batch Craft Beer & Kolaches. Parish will take a Cajun approach to Texas barbecue, offering dishes like smoked brisket po’ boys, pulled duck, smoked boudin, and the Texas trinity of brisket, pork ribs, and sausages.

Parish Barbecue

Tzintzuntzan

Location: 2330 West North Loop Boulevard
Key player: Natalie Gazaui
Projected opening date: March 2025

Landmark interior Mexican restaurant Fonda San Miguel is only open for dinner, but it’s opening a second restaurant on its Allandale property for breakfast and lunch. Tzintzuntzan, which translates to “place of hummingbirds” in the Purépecha language, will serve Mexican baked goods, ice cream, and regional dishes from Merida, Yucatan, and Mexico City. Uruguayan pastry chef Natalie Gazaui, currently the executive pastry chef at Fonda San Miguel, will take the reins as executive chef.

Tzintzuntzan

Rendering of the outdoor area at Tzintzuntzan.

Justine’s x Blanton

Location: 200 East Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard
Key players: Justine Gilcrease and Pierre Pelegrin
Projected opening date: Spring 2025

Whimsical East Side French restaurant Justine’s is expanding into a new cafe at the Blanton Museum of Art. Co-owner Justine Gilcrease told Eater the all-day restaurant will be in the style of a Parisian café, serving breakfast and lunch, with dinner hours on Saturdays. It will also have picnic boxes for diners on the go and a nifty bakery counter. The restaurant plans to serve themed dishes related to the museum’s seasonal collections and art pieces.

Leona Botanical Cafe & Bar

Location: 6405 Brodie Lane
Key players: Lakana Sopajan-Trubiana, Justin Trubiana, Reyna Vazquez, and Maritza Vazquez
Projected opening date: Early 2025

Two of Austin’s best food trucks — taco truck Veracruz All Natural and Thai truck Dee Dee — are joining forces at a new garden space. Dee Dee will close the current food truck at Radio to open its first counter-service restaurant, serving spicy Thai dishes. Veracruz will also host a counter-service restaurant with popular dishes like migas tacos. A third restaurant and a cafe serving coffee and cocktails with Thai and Mexican influences will also join Veracruz and Dee Dee. Dee Dee co-owner Lakana Sopajan-Trubiana is known for her expert gardening skills, so expect this space to be beautiful and functional.

Mother’s Ruin

Location: 1401 East Sixth Street, Building A, Suite 204
Key players: Richard Knapp and TJ Lynch
Projected opening date: Early 2025

New York City dive bar Mother’s Ruin is opening an Austin location early this year that will join outposts in Nashville and Chicago. The Austin locale will sling drinks like frozen bourbon slushies alongside bar food like waffle fries, burgers, and wings. For the morning after, Mother’s Ruin plans to host daily brunch, with casual and hearty dishes like breakfast burritos and French toast sticks.

High Road Delicatexan

Location: 915 West Mary Street
Key players: Cavalier co-owners Fox and Chadwick Leger
Projected opening date: February 2025

The fun and casual East Austin hangout Cavalier is expanding south to the Bouldin neighborhood with a new restaurant and bar. Previously named the Second Rodeo, the new restaurant has become High Road Delicatexan, a shop specializing in sandwiches and sausages.

Roxie’s

Location: 308 Main Street
Key player: Scott Roberts

Projected opening date: Early spring 2025

The owner of the iconic Driftwood barbecue spot Salt Lick is opening a new restaurant in Buda. Taking inspiration from owner Scott Roberts’ grandmother, who made his favorite fried chicken, Roxie’s will serve hearty family-style meals like chicken-fried steaks, fried chicken, and smoked meats alongside unlimited sides like mashed potatoes, creamed corn, and green beans. Lunch will be the only time diners can score individual plates like chopped beef sandwiches. The restaurant will also offer fun treats like homemade pies and frozen peach Bellinis at its full bar, an ode to the fresh Hill Country peaches Roxie once put in her cobblers.

Update: Monday, January 13, 2025, 1:55 p.m.: This article has been updated to remove Bad Larry, which now plans to open its standalone restaurant mid-2025.

22 Creative Mocktail Destinations Around Austin

2025-01-10T10:08:35-06:00

Kinda Tropical

When you’re looking to go alcohol-free

The mocktail has come a long way since the days of the humble (and distinctly childish) Shirley Temple. Today, most of Austin’s bars and restaurants can whip up beverages fit for drinkers and non-drinkers alike, but some spots go the extra mile with mocktails that delight tastebuds with a combination of carefully curated ingredients that go far beyond soft drinks or fizzy juices

From sipping vinegar at Sway to an entirely spirit-free menu at Sans Bar, here’s Eater’s guide to some of the bestAustin spots serving standout mocktails.

For other booze-free drinks, explore Eater’s maps on aguas frescas, coffee, and milkshakes. For boozy drinks, scope out the city’s essential bars and hot new ones. Plus, there are Austin’s iconic drinks. And be sure to keep an eye out for any pop-ups from Robert Bjorn Taylor, one of Austin’s most creative sober bartenders, who often consults on bar programs.

Team Behind Popular Houston Restaurants Brings its ‘Mediterranean DNA’ to New Austin Steakhouse

2025-01-09T12:16:54-06:00

This new Mediterranean steakhouse focuses on more than just the meat. | Bethany Ellen Ochs

Step into the new Clarksville restaurant Aris, where the vegetables shine as bright as the dry-aged beef

Sof Hospitality, the restaurant group behind Houston restaurants like Hamsa and its international Israeli steakhouse Doris Metropolitan, is opening an entirely new restaurant in Austin. Aris will open on Saturday, January 11, bringing a steakhouse with a Mediterranean spin to Clarksville.

The restaurant, led by Sof’s executive chef Hai Avnaim, will offer dry-aged prime cuts of meat and Mediterranean-style dishes. These include a sweetbread cigar appetizer, refreshing spins on crudo and tartare, Moroccan tiger shrimp in a creamy sauce served with challah, and slow-cooked short rib. Aris will also feature a selection of fish, a raw bar, and a variety of vegetable dishes like Israeli salad and honey-glazed harissa carrots to complement the steaks.

“Normally, when you speak of a steakhouse, vegetables are not the first thing you think of,” says owner Itai Ben Eli. But Aris is different. “People who know us from Doris will kind of expect that, but I think that’ll be really exciting for people who are dining with us for the first time.”

Bethany Ellen Ochs

Sof Hospitality is opening a Mediterranean steakhouse in Austin.

Ben Eli says the Sof team, named a James Beard Award semifinalist in the Outstanding Restaurateur category, also prides itself on its cocktails and extensive wine list, which includes picks from Burgundy and Bordeaux as well as wine producers in Lebanon and Israel.

Aris is the seventh restaurant from Sof. Sof Hospitality opened Doris Metropolitan in Costa Rica in 2009, followed by another location in Houston in 2013, now considered one of the city’s best steakhouses. Sof opened three additional restaurants in Houston, including Badolina Bakery & Cafe in 2021; Hamsa, an Israeli restaurant, which opened in Rice Village in 2022; and most recently, Októ, a restaurant that opened in 2024, serving a fusion of Mediterranean cuisine in the bustling Montrose area.

Ben Eli says he’s been eyeing restaurant locations in Austin for around a decade, particularly following the Sof team’s first U.S. restaurant opening in New Orleans in 2013. “Once we knew we wanted to be in Texas, we started looking in Austin. We saw a lot of similarities and a coolness between New Orleans and Austin, and we thought, this is where we want to be,” he says. “It has a great culinary scene and a lot of talent.”

Bethany Ellen Ochs

Similar to its restaurant Doris Metropolitan, Sof Hospitality’s newest restaurant in Austin will showcase its dry-aged steaks.

Bethany Ellen Ochs

Desserts and drinks will also feature a Mediterranean spin.

Finding a location proved difficult since many vacant buildings were swept up by local operators and restaurateurs. “But we didn’t give up on the dream,” Ben Eli says. Sof took its time on its Austin search and eventually landed its space in Clarksville.

Ben Eli says Aris is similar to Doris in that it’s a modern Mediterranean steakhouse and builds upon its premise with a focus on dry-aged beef. Still, Aris offers an entirely new menu and feel. “We redid all of it,” he says, adding that his wife and Sof’s interior designer Lin Ben Eli designed the space, incorporating a “wavy” theme throughout that can be seen in the curves of the walls, columns, banquettes, and its horseshoe-shaped bar. Similar to Houston’s location of Doris, diners can peek into the open kitchen and its meat locker, where beef is dry-aged, plus access to different spaces, including a private dining room and outdoor patio. Ben Eli says Houstonians are already planning trips up to Clarksville to dine at Aris. He only hopes Austinites will be just as excited. “Getting to know a new crowd, it’s kind of proving yourself all over again. We have a very Mediterranean DNA in all of our concepts, and this is no different,” he says.

Bethany Ellen Ochs

Aris will be open daily at 5 p.m. starting on Saturday, January 11. The kitchen will close on most nights at 10 p.m. It’s located at 1111 West Sixth Street in the Clarksville neighborhood.

The Hottest New Restaurants in Austin, January 2025

2025-01-09T10:27:15-06:00

Austin’s newest restaurants will fill your cup (and your stomach). | Micklethwaits Craft Meats

Including an affordable omakase destination, the city’s debut of Nando’s, and Micklethwait Craft Meats' first standalone barbecue restaurant

Readers of Eater usually have the same question: Where should I eat right now? As always, the Austin restaurant scene remains as exciting as ever, as new places have continued to open. With all of this in mind, Eater is updating its monthly heatmap (now in its 153rd iteration), highlighting a mix of exciting restaurants, trucks, and food services.

This January 2025 update includes a new standalone restaurant from Micklethwait Craft Meats.

Know of something new and exciting that should be on our radar? Email the Eater Austin team at austin@eater.com. To see which places were previously on the heatmap, visit the archive. For a look at Austin’s outstanding dining destinations, check out the Eater 38 map.

For all the latest Austin dining intel, subscribe to Eater Austin's newsletter

Black Star Co-Op Brewpub Announces It Will Close

2025-01-08T14:00:53-06:00

Eater

There’s still a little time for one last visit

Black Star Co-Op Pub & Brewery, the world’s first member-owned-and-managed brewpub, announced that it will close on Sunday, January 12. In a post on its website, the brewery did not expand on the reasons for the closure, but wrote, “It comes after careful consideration of the many challenges we’ve faced in navigating the world’s first community-owned, democratically-managed brewpub.” Eater Austin has reached out for comment.

Black Star opened in 2010 and began tapping kegs of its own beers in the following months. The cooperative brewpub has long been self-sustained, with member-owners working shifts and helping to run the place as well as patronizing the business. On its opening, the Austin American-Statesman gave it a rave, saying, “The food has no reason to be this good. The staff has no reason to be this relaxed. The pub has no reason to feel this public. Except that it is, they are and it most certainly does.”

The brewery hit a rough patch in 2017, due to low sales early in the year, and reached out to its member-owners to rally. That call managed to save it back then, sending sales skyrocketing.

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“We understand this news will be disappointing, and we share in that disappointment,” the closing statement says. “We will be holding our Members’ Assembly Meeting on January 11th at 9am, at the brewpub as scheduled, to discuss the closure in more detail, answer any questions you may have, and share information as to what may come next for Black Star Co-op as an entity.”

Until then, it is open to those who’d like to grab a beer and something to eat.

Austin’s Salt Lick BBQ Founder Will Recreate His Grandmother’s Home-Cooking at Nostalgic New Restaurant

2025-01-08T11:00:00-06:00

Scott Roberts is ready to bring a new restaurant to the Austin area. | The Salt Lick BBQ

Salt Lick BBQ owner Scott Roberts says Roxie’s will offer his grandmother’s family-style favorites, like chicken-fried steak, fried chicken, and unlimited servings of sharable sides

After more than 50 years of running the lauded Salt Lick BBQ in the Austin area, Scott Roberts is finally ready to open an entirely new restaurant — one that takes inspiration from his grandmother.

Known to most people in their Driftwood community as Miss Roxie, Roberts’s “Gaga” Roxanna earned a reputation for cooking family-style meals filled with fried chicken and heaping mounds of mashed potatoes and green beans. “My job was to pull the feathers,” Roberts says. “For a while, I couldn’t eat fried chicken, but hers was so good, it brought me back to the table.”

Now, Roberts is allowing others to experience his grandmother’s family-loved recipes. Located at 308 Main Street in the historic Buda Mill & Grain Co. in Buda, Texas, Roxie will offer family-style platters of char-grilled steaks and chicken-fried steaks fried in beef tallow, as well as unlimited bowls of mashed potatoes, green beans, creamed corn, and freshly baked rolls. The restaurant will also have a full bar.

Alie Jackson

Roxie’s will take residence in the Buda Mill & Grain Co., where the Roberts family used to purchase feed for their livestock decades ago.

Like Salt Lick, where recipes have been passed down through generations in Roberts’s family, everything will be homemade and steeped in history. “My grandmother was known for these kinds of meals,” Roberts says. “They’re indelibly stamped into my mind. After church on Sunday, you wanted to be invited over to her house to eat, and that’s where this is all coming from.”

Roxie’s will also serve other dishes, including deviled eggs topped with fried chicken bites and pimento cheese crocks, plus a selection of pies made with his grandmother’s recipe, which notably featured lard in its crusts. Only during lunch will diners be able to secure individual meals, including smoked turkey and chopped beef sandwiches and a rendition of a burger once made by Roberts’s father, Thurman. Though Roxie didn’t drink — Roberts adds if she did, it would be at this restaurant’s bar — bartenders will pour up margaritas and frozen peach bellinis inspired by the peaches she used to grow and bake in her cobblers.

Roberts says he’s long dreamed of opening a restaurant centered around his grandmother but gave it more serious thought in the last decade. After seeing a “for lease” sign on the Buda Mill & Grain Co.’s space during an impromptu trip back to the Hays County town, Roberts says he was excited about the possibility of giving life to the restaurant in a place where his family has a lot of history. Roxie’s is slated to inhabit the space that Austin barbecue joint Valentina’s previously occupied before closing in August.

The Salt Lick BBQ

The Salt Lick BBQ founder Scott Roberts says Roxie’s will pull decor inspiration from his grandmother’s home in Driftwood.

The Salt Lick BBQ

Roberts’s family, which has been in Texas since the 1870s, has deep roots in the area. Roberts attended school in Buda from first to eighth grade, and his father, once on the school board, insisted that the school integrate. “I remember sleeping in the back seat of the car until 2 or 3 a.m. while [people on the board] argued,” he says. The family also used to shop at the Buda Mill for livestock feed. In 1967, Roberts, his father, and his brother opened their first restaurant, the original Salt Lick BBQ, on the side of the road in Driftwood on Hill Country property they’ve owned for over a century. Since then, Salt Lick has become a barbecue giant in the Austin area, with another location in Round Rock and outposts in the Dallas and Austin airports.

Roberts also owns the winery, Salt Lick Cellars, which he opened in 2006 next door to the Salt Lick BBQ in Driftwood; another location of the barbecue restaurant in Driftwood is in the works.

Now, Roberts’ newest family restaurant will open in the spring, a moment that feels like fate to him. He says he intends to maintain the tradition and respect his grandmother Roxie had for her cooking. “We’re going to have the best fried chicken around,” he says.