What are the best restaurants in Austin right now?

For a single citywide spread, the picks run from destination fine dining (Uchi for sushi, Hestia and Olamaie for Michelin-starred tasting, Jeffrey’s for steak) to institutions (Franklin Barbecue, Fonda San Miguel) to the modern-Mexican core that defines current Austin (Suerte, Este, Comedor). If you only book one, make it Uchi or Suerte. Both are widely considered the city’s signature tables and appear on nearly every credible list.

What are the best new restaurants in Austin?

The strongest recent openings are Fish Shop, an East 6th seafood raw bar that took No. 4 on Texas Monthly’s Best New Restaurants 2026, and Lao’d Bar, a far-East-Austin Laotian spot that drew national best-of attention. Mercado Sin Nombre, an heirloom-corn and Mexican-coffee cafe that earned a 2025 Michelin Bib Gourmand, rounds out the newcomers worth a trip.

Where do I find the best food in Austin on a budget?

The best cheap eats lean Mexican: Veracruz All Natural for the city-defining migas breakfast taco, food-truck born and now at multiple locations, and Mercado Sin Nombre for heirloom-corn tortillas and excellent Mexican coffee. Barbecue counters like Franklin are value per pound, but the line is the real cost. For a guaranteed quick, cheap, great meal, go tacos.

What is the best restaurant in Austin for a romantic date night?

Jeffrey’s in Clarksville is the classic pick, named to OpenTable’s 2026 list of the most romantic restaurants in America, with a dim, clubby room and tableside service. For something more modern, Comedor’s dramatic downtown room or Este’s candlelit patio both work well. Birdie’s natural-wine bar is the low-key, walk-in-friendly date if you do not want to commit to a reservation.

Where are the best restaurants downtown?

Downtown’s heavy hitters are Hestia (Michelin-starred live-fire cooking), Comedor (modern Mexican on Colorado), and Olamaie (Michelin-starred Southern just north of the core). Jeffrey’s sits just west in Clarksville. All four are reservation-first and lean special-occasion, so book ahead, especially on weekends.

What are the most splurge-worthy restaurants in Austin?

For a true splurge, the omakase and tasting-menu tier delivers: Uchi or Tsuke Edomae’s 21-course edomae counter for sushi, Hestia for a live-fire chef’s tasting north of 200 dollars a head, and Jeffrey’s for a dry-aged steakhouse blowout with one of the state’s deepest wine lists. Olamaie adds a Michelin-starred Southern option in the same bracket.

Does Austin have Michelin-starred restaurants?

Yes. Austin’s first Michelin Guide arrived in late 2024, and the city now holds several one-star restaurants, including Hestia and Olamaie, plus a trio of Michelin-starred barbecue joints: InterStellar BBQ, LeRoy and Lewis, and la Barbecue. Several spots here also carry a Bib Gourmand (Franklin) or a Green Star for sustainability (Dai Due).

Which Austin restaurants need reservations versus a walk-in?

Reserve well ahead for Uchi, Hestia, Olamaie, Jeffrey’s, Comedor, and Tsuke Edomae, which opens its booking windows months out. Birdie’s keeps walk-ins always available even though full reservations are limited. Franklin Barbecue is a line, not a reservation, though it offers pre-orders. Veracruz and Loro are counter-service, so no booking is needed.

Eat · Best Restaurants · Austin

The best restaurants in Austin, ranked.

Line illustration of a dinner plate with a fork and knife

Austin’s best restaurants, from Michelin-starred tasting menus and the modern-Mexican rooms that define the city to the steak and sushi splurges and the value institutions.

The best restaurants in Austin, ranked across the full range rather than one cuisine or price tier: the Michelin-starred tasting menus, the modern-Mexican rooms that define the city right now, the steak and sushi splurges, and the value institutions worth the line. Built from deep cross-source research, from The Infatuation and Eater to Texas Monthly and the Michelin Guide, and cross-checked against each restaurant’s own current listing. The deeper benches, the tacos, the barbecue, the brunch, and the coffee, each get their own guide. Updated as places open, move, and close.

Carissa Spisak

Writer, The Austin Newsletter · Updated June 1, 2026

01
Uchi
South Lamar · $$$$ · the sushi room that made Austin a sushi town
James Beard winner Tyson Cole’s converted bungalow on South Lamar is the room that turned Austin into a sushi town, and it still sets the standard more than twenty years on. Order the hama chili, yellowtail with ponzu and Thai chili, and the maguro sashimi, or hand the kitchen the omakase. Reservations open a month out on Resy and the prime slots vanish, though walk-ins can usually grab a bar seat right at open.
Visit site →
02
Hestia
Downtown · $$$$ · Michelin one-star, a 20-foot open hearth
Kevin Fink’s downtown flagship holds one of Austin’s Michelin stars and cooks nearly everything over a 20-foot open hearth, with dry-aged steaks and a multi-course chef’s tasting as the headline. The wood-fire char runs through the whole menu, so come for the live-fire cooking rather than à la carte grazing. It is a special-occasion spend, with the tasting north of 200 dollars a head, and it books up well ahead on weekends.
Visit site →
03
Olamaie
North University · $$$$ · Michelin one-star refined Southern
Michael Fojtasek earned a Michelin star here for refined Southern cooking, just north of downtown on San Antonio Street. The cult order is the off-menu buttermilk biscuits with whipped honey butter, an add-on that regulars know to request the moment they sit down. They are limited nightly, so ask early.
Visit site →
Get the newsletter
Like this guide? We send one email a week with the best of Austin: where to eat, what to do, and what to know. Free, and a five-minute read.
04
Jeffrey’s
Clarksville · $$$$ · the white-tablecloth steak institution since 1975
Open in Clarksville since 1975 and reimagined by MML Hospitality, Jeffrey’s is the classic Austin splurge room: wood-fired, in-house dry-aged steaks, tableside service, and one of the deepest wine lists in Texas. It is Michelin-recommended and made OpenTable’s 2026 list of the most romantic restaurants in America, which tells you the occasion it is built for. Expect expense-account pricing and a dim, clubby room that leans more anniversary than weeknight.
Visit site →
05
Tsuke Edomae
Mueller · $$$$ · a 21-course edomae omakase counter
Tucked into Mueller’s Aldrich Street district, Tsuke Edomae runs a purist 21-course edomae omakase at a tiny counter, the kind of nigiri-focused, reservation-only seating that has become an Austin obsession. Book through Tock and plan around the booking windows, since seats open in batches months ahead and sell out fast. It is a fixed multi-course commitment with a per-person deposit, not a drop-in sushi bar.
Visit site →
06
Suerte
East Austin · $$$ · masa-driven modern Mexican, the suadero taco
Fermín Núñez nixtamalizes his own heirloom corn here, and the masa is the whole point: the signature suadero taco layers confit beef and the kitchen’s “black magic oil” on a fresh tortilla. It is a Michelin Guide restaurant and one of the city’s most-cited modern Mexican rooms, so think dinner out, not taco counter. It is East 6th and dinner-only most nights, with weekend lunch, and prime tables book ahead.
Visit site →
07
Este
East Austin · $$$ · coastal Mexican from the Suerte team
Este is the coastal-Mexican companion to Suerte from Fermín Núñez and Sam Hellman-Mass, built in the old Eastside Cafe space with a sun-drenched room and a big outdoor deck. Go for the shrimp aguachile, the tuna tiradito, and oysters, all leaning on charcoal cooking and bright, citrusy preparations. It landed on national best-new lists, so book the patio ahead for shoulder-season weather.
Visit site →
08
Birdie’s
East Austin · $$$ · counter-service wine bar, walk-ins always
Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel and Arjav Ezekiel run this counter-service wine bar at 12th and Harvey with a daily-changing menu of seasonal vegetables and handmade pasta, and it has the hardware to match: Food and Wine Restaurant of the Year, plus Arjav’s 2025 James Beard win for beverage service. The natural-wine list is a reason to go on its own. Reservations are limited, but walk-ins are always available, so the trade-off is a possible wait for one of the city’s best tables.
Visit site →
09
Comedor
Downtown · $$$ · upmarket modern Mexican in a Tom Kundig room
Set in a striking Tom Kundig-designed room on Colorado downtown, Comedor from Philip Speer and Gabe Erales serves upmarket modern Mexican that critics have compared to Mexico City’s tasting-menu giants. It is Michelin-recommended and was named a best new restaurant in America by Esquire when it opened. It is a downtown special-occasion spot, so expect valet-district parking and book ahead for prime times.
Visit site →
10
Odd Duck
South Lamar · $$$ · 2026 CultureMap Restaurant of the Year
Bryce Gilmore’s wood-fired, fast-changing farm-to-table room on South Lamar won the 2026 CultureMap Tastemaker Restaurant of the Year, and the menu rewards ordering wide across small plates. Reliable hits include the cast-iron cheddar cornbread and the redfish ceviche, but the printed menu turns over constantly. It is built for sharing several plates, so a solo diner pays more per bite than at a one-entree restaurant.
Visit site →
11
Canje
East Austin · $$$ · live-fire Caribbean on East 6th
Named for the national bird of Guyana, Canje is James Beard winner Tavel Bristol-Joseph’s live-fire Caribbean restaurant on East 6th, pulling from Jamaica to Puerto Rico to mainland Guyana. The jerk dishes and slow-cooked, smoky plates are the calling cards, served in a bright, plant-filled room. It leans rum-and-cocktail dinner spot, and the best tables go fast on weekends.
Visit site →
12
Dai Due
East Austin · $$$ · Texas-sourced game, Green Star and Bib Gourmand
Jesse Griffiths runs Dai Due as a combined butcher shop and restaurant where nearly everything, down to the olive oil and the wine, is sourced in Texas, which earned it both a Michelin Green Star for sustainability and a Bib Gourmand. Look for wood-fired wild game and house charcuterie, and a menu that shifts with what Texas is producing that week. It is genuinely hyper-local, so go in open to the board rather than set on one dish.
Visit site →
13
Fonda San Miguel
North Loop · $$$ · the hacienda landmark since 1975, Sunday brunch
Open since 1975, Fonda San Miguel is the grande dame of interior Mexican cooking in Texas, set inside a colonial-style hacienda packed with original art near North Loop. It was the first Texas restaurant to focus on regional cooking from Oaxaca, Puebla, Veracruz, and the Yucatán, and the legendary Sunday brunch buffet is the move for first-timers. The brunch is Sunday-only and books up, so reserve.
Visit site →
14
Fish Shop
East Austin · $$$ · No. 4 on Texas Monthly’s Best New Restaurants 2026
Justin Huffman and Nicole Rossi opened this East 6th raw bar in July 2025, and it landed at No. 4 on Texas Monthly’s Best New Restaurants 2026, the only Austin spot to make the list. Huffman flies in West Coast seafood from San Francisco’s Monterey Fish Market three times a week, so go for the Dungeness crab cocktail, the halibut crudo, and oysters. It is small and newly busy, so grab a reservation early.
Visit site →
15
Franklin Barbecue
East Austin · $$ · the brisket temple, line forms before open
Aaron Franklin’s salt-and-pepper brisket on East 11th is the restaurant credited with launching the modern Texas barbecue movement, and it carries a Michelin Bib Gourmand to go with the James Beard hardware. Order brisket, of course, but the pork ribs and the turkey are equally dialed in. It is open Tuesday through Sunday until sold out, the line forms hours before the 11am open, and you should bring a chair or use the pre-order option.
Visit site →
16
LeRoy and Lewis
South Austin · $$ · Michelin one-star, new-school cuts
One of three Austin barbecue joints to hold a Michelin star, LeRoy and Lewis built its name on new-school cuts that go well beyond brisket: beef cheeks, citrus-cured pork belly, and rotating specials. It is the counterpoint to the classic-Texas spots, so order what is on the day’s board rather than defaulting to brisket. Hours are limited and the best specials sell out, so go early.
Visit site →
17
Loro
South Lamar · $$ · Uchi-meets-Franklin Asian smokehouse
Loro is the counter-service collaboration between Tyson Cole of Uchi and Aaron Franklin of Franklin Barbecue, marrying Texas smoked meats with Southeast Asian flavors on South Lamar. Order the smoked brisket, the oak-grilled chicken, and a frozen gin and tonic, and lean on the strong happy hour. It is order-at-the-counter and gets loud and packed at peak, so it is more lively group hang than quiet dinner.
Visit site →
18
Veracruz All Natural
East Austin · $ · the migas taco benchmark, food-truck born
Sisters Reyna and Maritza Vázquez grew Veracruz from a 2008 East Austin food truck into a small local empire, and the migas taco, with house-fried tortilla chips folded into a thick handmade corn tortilla, is the benchmark every Austin breakfast taco gets measured against. It is the cheap, essential entry point on any citywide list. Lines at the original Webberville Road trailer get long on weekend mornings, so hit a quieter location or go early.
Visit site →

What we considered and didn’t include

The things we passed on are part of the value. Documented for editorial discipline.

Most taco and breakfast-taco spotsThis list keeps only two taco-forward picks here, Suerte as a modern-Mexican destination and Veracruz as the value breakfast-taco institution. The deep bench of Austin taquerias belongs in the dedicated taco guide, where they can be ranked head to head rather than crowded onto an umbrella list.
The full barbecue bracketWe capped barbecue at two representatives, Franklin for the classic-Texas institution and LeRoy and Lewis for the new-school, Michelin-starred counterpoint. The rest of Austin’s stacked smoke scene is better served by the barbecue guide, which can compare brisket, lines, and hours across all of them.
Coffee shops and brunch-only spotsA best-restaurants list is dinner-and-destination first, so cafe culture and brunch-specific venues live in the coffee and brunch guides. They are great, but they answer a different question than where to book dinner tonight.

Common questions

What are the best restaurants in Austin right now?: For a single citywide spread, the picks run from destination fine dining (Uchi for sushi, Hestia and Olamaie for Michelin-starred tasting, Jeffrey’s for steak) to institutions (Franklin Barbecue, Fonda San Miguel) to the modern-Mexican core that defines current Austin (Suerte, Este, Comedor). If you only book one, make it Uchi or Suerte. Both are widely considered the city’s signature tables and appear on nearly every credible list.
What are the best new restaurants in Austin?: The strongest recent openings are Fish Shop, an East 6th seafood raw bar that took No. 4 on Texas Monthly’s Best New Restaurants 2026, and Lao’d Bar, a far-East-Austin Laotian spot that drew national best-of attention. Mercado Sin Nombre, an heirloom-corn and Mexican-coffee cafe that earned a 2025 Michelin Bib Gourmand, rounds out the newcomers worth a trip.
Where do I find the best food in Austin on a budget?: The best cheap eats lean Mexican: Veracruz All Natural for the city-defining migas breakfast taco, food-truck born and now at multiple locations, and Mercado Sin Nombre for heirloom-corn tortillas and excellent Mexican coffee. Barbecue counters like Franklin are value per pound, but the line is the real cost. For a guaranteed quick, cheap, great meal, go tacos.
What is the best restaurant in Austin for a romantic date night?: Jeffrey’s in Clarksville is the classic pick, named to OpenTable’s 2026 list of the most romantic restaurants in America, with a dim, clubby room and tableside service. For something more modern, Comedor’s dramatic downtown room or Este’s candlelit patio both work well. Birdie’s natural-wine bar is the low-key, walk-in-friendly date if you do not want to commit to a reservation.
Where are the best restaurants downtown?: Downtown’s heavy hitters are Hestia (Michelin-starred live-fire cooking), Comedor (modern Mexican on Colorado), and Olamaie (Michelin-starred Southern just north of the core). Jeffrey’s sits just west in Clarksville. All four are reservation-first and lean special-occasion, so book ahead, especially on weekends.
What are the most splurge-worthy restaurants in Austin?: For a true splurge, the omakase and tasting-menu tier delivers: Uchi or Tsuke Edomae’s 21-course edomae counter for sushi, Hestia for a live-fire chef’s tasting north of 200 dollars a head, and Jeffrey’s for a dry-aged steakhouse blowout with one of the state’s deepest wine lists. Olamaie adds a Michelin-starred Southern option in the same bracket.
Does Austin have Michelin-starred restaurants?: Yes. Austin’s first Michelin Guide arrived in late 2024, and the city now holds several one-star restaurants, including Hestia and Olamaie, plus a trio of Michelin-starred barbecue joints: InterStellar BBQ, LeRoy and Lewis, and la Barbecue. Several spots here also carry a Bib Gourmand (Franklin) or a Green Star for sustainability (Dai Due).
Which Austin restaurants need reservations versus a walk-in?: Reserve well ahead for Uchi, Hestia, Olamaie, Jeffrey’s, Comedor, and Tsuke Edomae, which opens its booking windows months out. Birdie’s keeps walk-ins always available even though full reservations are limited. Franklin Barbecue is a line, not a reservation, though it offers pre-orders. Veracruz and Loro are counter-service, so no booking is needed.

Related guides

Carissa.

Writer, The Austin Newsletter

How we pick →More Austin guides →Read a sample edition →

Featured here? Add a free badge to your site and link back. No signup, no catch.

<a href="https://theaustinnewsletter.com/guides/best-restaurants-in-austin?utm_source=badge&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=featured-badge" rel="ugc" target="_blank">
  <img src="https://theaustinnewsletter.com/badges/featured" alt="Featured in The Austin Newsletter" width="240" height="64" style="border:0;max-width:100%;height:auto;" />
</a>

The best restaurants in Austin, ranked.

Uchi

Hestia

Olamaie

Jeffrey’s

Tsuke Edomae

Suerte

Este

Birdie’s

Comedor

Odd Duck

Canje

Dai Due

Fonda San Miguel

Fish Shop

Franklin Barbecue

LeRoy and Lewis

Loro

Veracruz All Natural

One edition, every Thursday morning.