ESK's home on the Drag features trailer favorites like Poor Qui’s pork belly buns and beet fries. Creative and unique, fresh and flavorful, and located in one of the best funky watering holes around.
Think French comfort food in a cozy space. Crazy-good craft brews paired with creative sandwiches, intelligent noshes, and a burger and frites twofer worth the trip alone. Read more.
The independently owned Austin Land & Cattle serves steaks that are succulent, tender, and cooked as-ordered, and you get three sides with your entrée. One downside: Parking can be a real bitch.
Chef Iliana de la Vega operated a world-famous restaurant in Oaxaca. Lucky for us, she made the move to Austin, where her classically modern restaurant and traditional Mexican cuisine are a huge hit.
Manuel's excellent presentation of regional Mexican cuisine has made it a Downtown mainstay for more than 25 years. The menu offers a nice mix of new ideas and tried-and-true. Read more.
This tiny snuggery seems like it jumped out of a postage stamp. Entrées include pulled pork and a terrific lentil soup, while bourbon buttermilk pie and ancho chocolate brownies are standout desserts. Read more.
The atmosphere – we're tempted to say "art direction" – is superb, and the food's splendid, too. Meats and produce genuinely are farm fresh, often picked in the morning at neighboring urban farms. Read more.
Superior micheladas, legit Interior Mexican cuisine, a beautiful patio, some of the best carnitas in the city, and killer mezcal and sotol cocktails. Viva Mexico! Read more.
Unctuous rib meat barely clings to the smoke-stained bone before it melts in your mouth. John Mueller, the Yoda of beef ribs, dispenses fantastic barbecue in a relaxed, comfy trailer set-up. Read more.
This vintage 1960 Comet trailer serves all kinds of meat, from duck sausage to smoked brisket, and they’re all flat-out delicious. Micklethwait Craft Meats belongs up with the elite of Austin BBQ. Read more.
The Teishoku lunch specials are one of the best deals going: a bowl of savory clear noodle soup, a farm-fresh salad, soft steamed rice, homemade Japanese pickles, and an entrée all for $8-$12. Read more.
From the sublime teas and sandwiches to the stellar scones, cupcakes, and tortes, we adore this tea shop & bakery. Just as tranquil as the original Domain location, but without the stressful commute. Read more.
This innovative Thai venture from ESK and Uchiko vets has even the staunchest center-city dwellers making the trek out to Cedar Park. The Thai basil mint sangria makes a refreshing coda to a warm day. Read more.
Taquerias are a dime a dozen in this town, but only a handful are truly priceless. Among the treasures here are the carnitas, the cabrito consommé, the pastor, aguas frescas, and the famed salsa bar. Read more.
Housed in a gorgeous mid-century-modern structure, this is Italian grandmother-inspired cooking with a sophisticated spin. Classic dishes meet seasonal, local ingredients in unexpected ways. Read more.
Brave the constant crowds and be rewarded with skillfully made, belly-busting, Southwestern-styled comfort food like Chicken-Fried Beef Ribs. Nab a mason jar of amazing pimento cheese on the way out.
Vietnamese cuisine made with grass-fed meats, pastured eggs, local organic produce, and seafood fresh from the Gulf makes us happy, but not as happy as the dreamy drip coffee served iced or hot.
The original Torchy's Taco Trailer is both a destination and a landmark. Fabulous, enormous tacos filled with inventive and excellent "Texican" filling combinations, with shady outdoor seating. Read more.
El Mesón boasts a lavish tequila selection and authentic Mexican fare. We adore the amuse-bouches here, like the unexpected tiny bowls of fideo or a little street-style corn on the cob. Read more.
Interior and traditional and a South Austin gem. The empanadas de huitlacoche of handmade corn masa are stuffed with corn truffle or "corn smut" to make a real delicacy. Read more.
People get religious about the extra-hot Dona sauce, for good reason: It's just that delicious. Don't overlook the handmade mole, and the brisket Tacoloco may be the best four bucks you ever spent.
When executive chef and owner Tyson Cole first opened shop in 2003, Uchi instantly became both a sushi and a fine-dining game changer. Quality and craft still out of this world. Reservations a must.
If you have a taste for wacky sweets, you must be one of the legions of fans of these off-the-wall doughnuts, featuring fillings and toppings from crushed candy bars to fried chicken strips and bacon. Read more.
