Guides

The guides. What we actually recommend.

Ranked, opinionated, and updated as the city changes. We tell you what to order, what to skip, and what we passed on and why.

39 guides · 600+ picks ·

How we pick these →

Eat.

21 guides
  1. Best BBQ · Austin

    The best BBQ in Austin, ranked.

    The line at Franklin, the two Michelin stars, and the pits you can still walk into hungry.

    · 13 picks

  2. Best restaurants · Austin

    The best restaurants in Austin, ranked.

    Seventeen rooms across every price tier, from the Michelin tasting menus to the institutions worth the line.

    · 17 picks

  3. Michelin guide · Austin

    Michelin-star restaurants in Austin.

    Seven one-star restaurants in the 2026 guide, two of them barbecue and two of them new. Who has what, what it costs, and how far ahead to book.

  4. Best food trucks · Austin

    The best food trucks in Austin, ranked.

    Eleven trailers ranked, led by African-diaspora barbecue at Distant Relatives. The tacos get their own guide.

    · 11 picks

  5. New restaurants · Austin

    The best new restaurants in Austin, ranked.

    The 2025 and 2026 openings worth a reservation, across fine dining, neighborhood rooms, and the food trucks worth the drive.

    · 19 picks

  6. Best pizza · Austin

    The best pizza in Austin, ranked.

    Thirteen pizzerias ranked by style, Detroit squares to New Haven char, without crowning one school.

    · 14 picks

  7. Date night · Austin

    The best date night and romantic restaurants in Austin.

    The romantic rooms worth dressing up for, with the price, the noise, and whether you need a reservation.

    · 14 picks

  8. Patios · Austin

    The best patio restaurants in Austin.

    Fourteen patios graded the way Austin needs them: covered, fanned, shaded, dog-friendly, or usable in August.

    · 14 picks

  9. The Domain · Austin

    The best restaurants at the Domain in Austin.

    Fifteen places to eat at the Domain and Domain Northside, grouped into three pods you can walk without moving the car.

    · 15 picks

  10. Best breakfast tacos · East Austin

    The best breakfast tacos in East Austin.

    Eleven trailers and counters east of I-35, with the closed days, the cash windows, and who is still serving at three.

    · 11 picks

  11. Best brunch · Austin

    The best brunch in Austin, ranked.

    Twelve brunches worth the wait, including a Sunday dim sum brunch for when the table is done with eggs.

    · 12 picks

  12. Best sushi · Austin

    The best sushi in Austin, ranked.

    A landlocked city that flies its fish in from Toyosu, ranked from the eight-seat omakase counter to the strip-mall standouts.

    · 15 picks

  13. Best breakfast · Austin

    The best breakfast in Austin, ranked.

    Actual morning eating, not brunch: the taco institutions, the scratch-biscuit counters, and the diners open by seven.

    · 13 picks

  14. Vegan · Austin

    The best vegan restaurants in Austin.

    Fourteen kitchens where the whole menu is vegan, plus the vegetarian spots people confuse them with.

    · 14 picks

  15. Best tacos · Austin

    The best tacos in Austin, ranked.

    Fourteen tacos ranked across the full range, from the Saturday-only trompo to the cash-only suadero window.

    · 14 picks

  16. Airport · Austin

    The best food at Austin’s airport, gate by gate.

    Austin-Bergstrom is stacked with local restaurants, not chains. Every spot worth knowing, with its gate, its security side, and its hours.

    · 29 picks

  17. Best burgers

    The best burgers in Austin, ranked.

    The best burgers in Austin split into three different things, and the argument only makes sense once you

    · 15 picks

  18. Best Mexican food

    The best Mexican food in Austin.

    Two traditions under one roof: the regional rooms that start in 1975, and the Tex-Mex Austin has cooked since 1925.

    · 15 picks

  19. Best lunch

    The best lunch in Austin, sorted by how long you have.

    The best lunch in Austin is usually decided by the clock rather than the kitchen. A lot of the city’s

    · 15 picks

  20. Best ice cream and dessert

    The best ice cream and dessert in Austin.

    The short answer is Amy’s if you want the Austin institution, Lick if you want Texas farm ingredients in it

    · 15 picks

  21. Best sandwiches

    The best sandwiches in Austin.

    The best sandwiches in Austin come from counters that stop serving in the middle of the afternoon, trailers

    · 15 picks

Drink.

5 guides
  1. Best coffee · Austin

    The best coffee shops in Austin, ranked.

    Twenty-eight shops in the country’s No. 1 coffee city, sorted by what each one is actually for.

    · 29 picks

  2. Happy hour · Austin

    The best happy hours in Austin, ranked.

    Sake social hours, dollar oysters, and half-off Bufalina pizza, with the windows that make them work.

    · 15 picks

  3. Rooftop bars · Austin

    The best rooftop bars in Austin, ranked.

    Fourteen rooftops ranked by the view and the catch, from the downtown hotel decks to the Rainey Street pools.

    · 14 picks

  4. Best bars · Austin

    The best bars in Austin, ranked.

    The cocktail rooms, the East Side dives, and the honky-tonk, ranked. Dirty Sixth did not make it.

    · 13 picks

  5. Rainey Street · Austin

    Rainey Street, ranked: the bars and restaurants worth your time.

    A historic row of bungalows turned cocktail dens and patios, plus a Michelin kitchen at the end of it. Where to actually go.

    · 14 picks

Do.

6 guides
  1. Things to do · Austin

    The best things to do in Austin.

    Nineteen picks sorted by mood, from the spring-fed pools to the Cathedral of Junk. Not a tourist checklist.

    · 19 picks

  2. Date ideas · Austin

    The best date ideas in Austin.

    Sixteen dates sorted by the night you want, from two-stepping at the White Horse to the rainy-day save.

    · 16 picks

  3. With kids · Austin

    The best things to do in Austin with kids.

    Sorted by what the day calls for: the spring-fed pool, the free peacocks, the dino dig, and the arcade that finally satisfies a teen.

    · 16 picks

  4. Free · Austin

    The best free things to do in Austin.

    Fourteen genuinely free picks, with the mechanics that matter: free-museum days, early swim hours, and no-cover sets.

    · 14 picks

  5. Festivals · Austin

    Austin’s festival calendar, by season.

    A year of festivals by season, from ACL’s two October weekends to the quietly local ones I love more.

    · 14 picks

  6. Best hikes

    The best hikes in Austin.

    The best hikes in Austin start with the Barton Creek Greenbelt, McKinney Falls, Turkey Creek at Emma Long, and

    · 15 picks

Live.

1 guide
  1. Neighborhoods · Austin

    The best neighborhoods in Austin.

    Twelve neighborhoods matched to the person they actually fit, from the walkable East Side to the school-district suburbs.

    · 12 picks

Know.

4 guides
  1. Austin 101

    What is Austin known for?

    Live music, barbecue and tacos, Silicon Hills, and 1.5 million bats: what each piece of the reputation rests on.

  2. Moving guide · Austin

    Moving to Austin.

    What it costs, what you have to earn, the tax trade, and the two seasons nobody warns you about.

  3. Austin 101

    Cost of living in Austin.

    The gap with the US average is nearly all housing. August 2026 medians, current rents, and what a household has to earn.

  4. Austin 101

    Is Austin a good place to live?

    Yes for many, with the math: no income tax against property taxes just over two percent, a month at or above 100 degrees, and the traffic.

More.

2 guides
  1. Austin 101 · Online communities

    The best Austin Facebook groups, subreddits, and online communities to join.

    The Facebook groups, subreddits, and local communities Austinites actually use, grouped by platform and by what you need: food, newcomers, events, parents, and your own neighborhood.

    · 33 picks

  2. Austin 101 · Making friends

    How to meet people and make friends in Austin.

    The real, recurring ways people actually make friends here: run clubs, social sports, classes, faith groups, volunteering, and the apps, with named, current Austin options for each.

    · 44 picks

The Austin Shortlist

The guides cover where to eat and what to do. The Shortlist covers the rest of the city, category by category, built from our own census of Austin businesses.

Free tools

The searchable version of the same research: every Austin restaurant, coffee shop, and bar, filterable by neighborhood, plus the outdoors access sheet. Free with an email.

Carissa.

One edition, every Thursday morning.

What to do, eat, and know in Austin, in a five-minute read.

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