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.

32 guides · 500+ picks ·

How we pick these →

Eat.

16 guides
  1. 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

  2. Best breakfast tacos · East Austin

    East Austin’s best breakfast tacos.

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

    · 12 picks

  3. Michelin guide · Austin

    Michelin-star restaurants in Austin.

    Six one-star restaurants right now, half of them barbecue. Who has what, what it costs, and how far ahead to book.

  4. 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.

    · 15 picks

  5. The Domain · Austin

    The best restaurants at the Domain.

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

    · 15 picks

  6. Patios · Austin

    The best patio restaurants in Austin.

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

    · 15 picks

  7. 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

  8. Best food trucks · Austin

    The best food trucks in Austin, ranked.

    Twelve trailers ranked, led by the one with a Michelin star. The tacos get their own guide.

    · 12 picks

  9. 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.

    · 20 picks

  10. 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

  11. Best BBQ · Austin

    The best BBQ in Austin, ranked.

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

    · 13 picks

  12. Best brunch · Austin

    The best brunch in Austin, ranked.

    Eleven brunches worth the wait, including the Sunday dim sum nobody else puts on these lists.

    · 11 picks

  13. Best restaurants · Austin

    The best restaurants in Austin, ranked.

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

    · 17 picks

  14. 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.

    · 13 picks

  15. 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

  16. Airport · Austin

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

    Austin-Bergstrom is stacked with local restaurants, not chains. Here is every food and coffee spot, mapped gate by gate.

    · 28 picks

Drink.

5 guides
  1. Best coffee · Austin

    The best coffee shops in Austin, ranked.

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

    · 12 picks

  2. 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

  3. 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.

    · 12 picks

  4. Rooftop bars · Austin

    The best rooftop bars in Austin, ranked.

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

    · 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.

5 guides
  1. Things to do · Austin

    The best things to do in Austin.

    Eighteen 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

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.

3 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. Austin 101

    Cost of living in Austin.

    About ten percent above the US average, and nearly all of the gap is housing. The 2026 numbers, itemized.

  3. Austin 101

    Is Austin a good place to live?

    Yes for many, with the math: no income tax against property taxes near two percent, a month over 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

Carissa.

One edition, every Thursday morning.

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

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