Launderette – Delicious small plates served up in a converted laundromat. One of our absolute favorite meals in Austin. Don’t leave without trying their famous homemade Birthday Cake Ice Cream Sandwiches.
Kamuri Tatsu-ya – The coolest and most unique restaurant in Austin. Japanese-Texan Fusion. Fantastic small plates, noodle bowls and an interesting side menu that includes things like fried jellyfish. Don’t leave without trying their street corn. Excellent saki flights to go with your meal as well.
Elizabeth Street Cafe – The best Vietnamese you’ll find outside of Vietnam. Fantastic Pho, delicious fresh made noodles, amazing Banh Mi, and some of the best macarons in town.
Emmer & Rye – Austin’s fine dining at its best. This Rainey Street restaurant is fancy, upscale and perfect for a special occasion. It’s pricey but the tasting menu is out of this world.
Uchi – One of the most perfect sushi experiences you will ever have.
Apis – Apis Restaurant and Apiary features an elegant, locally sourced seasonal menu featuring their own natural honey in their dishes. A bit out of the way, but well worth the drive for a special date night.
Soto South Lamar – Want the highest quality sushi in Austin but without Uchi’s prices. Head right across the street on South Lamar and check out this hidden gem. It’s not as high end as Uchi, but the quality and inventiveness of the dishes is fantastic and the service is much more personal as they will take excellent care of you and let you try many different things. Sitting at their bar and having sushi and saki is a great way to kill an evening.
Odd Duck – Small plates mixing high end tapas-style tasting menu with down home comfort food. Reservations need to be made well in advance.
Cafe Josie – Incredibly comfortable and relaxed Austin neighborhood gem serving elegant food and sporting Austin’s only unlimited, never-ending chef’s tasting menu for $49 per person. Seriously…hand them $49 and you can sit there and eat everything off their chef’s tasting menu for as long as you want, no limitations. Absolutely the best high end dining deal in town.
Barley Swine – Farm to table seasonal menu inspired by traditional farm cuisine.
Lucky Robot – Super unique Japanese dishes, sushi and saki. They have some of the best happy hour dining specials in town. Must stop here and try their cool sushi, ceviche starter dishes.
El Naranjo – Best high end Oaxaca-style Mexican food in Austin.
Jack Allen’s Kitchen – Farm to table concept with interesting and delicious comfort foods. Best Sunday Brunch in town. Try the Pumpkin Seed Pesto Marinated Chicken on the portabella mushroom, with spinach, artichoke and a goat cheese drizzle. The sliders, smoked beef rib quesadillas and the barbacoa stackers are phenomenal. And, their burgers are some of the best in town. Honestly the whole menu is fantastic.
Dai Due – Entirely regionally sourced, right down to the beer and wine. Farm to table Texas classics with unique twists, expertly executed. They have a $94 beef rib, big enough for two to four people, covered in sauerkraut, pickled carrots, dill, and ginger caraway glaze that will absolutely destroy everything you ever thought you knew about ribs.
L’Oca D’Oro – The best homemade pastas in town. They have a 6 course pasta tasting menu with optional wine pairing.
Xian Sushi and Noodle – Hand pulled ramen noodles made right there in the kitchen as you wait. Best ramen in town by far can be found at this casual dining restaurant.
Fonda San Miguel – Best classic Mexican cuisine in a stunning restaurant. Reservations recommended.
Billy’s on Burnet – Best wings in Austin and some seriously delicious, high quality bar food. They have excellent reuben sandwiches, chili, and burgers.
Lucy’s Fried Chicken – Your one stop shop for delicious fried chicken based meals. Also features a great oyster bar.
Olamaie – Elevated southern food restaurant featuring some of the best biscuits in town. One of the best and most expensive steaks in Austin as well.
Foreign & Domestic – Adventurous American style tasting menu. If you’re really adventurous try the nose to tail chef tasting menu.
Casino El Camino – Best burgers in town and honestly the best Bloody Mary menu I’ve ever seen. Be warned, however, they rank their Bloody Mary’s on a spiciness scale of 1-10. Anything above a 6 will cause the average human being some significant pain. From 7-10 they use concentrates and oils from things like ghost peppers and reaper peppers. I love spicy food and 6 is probably my sweet spot, 7 is doable but it takes some time and sweat to finish, 8-10 is just painful. If you get a burger, which I highly suggest, get it on a cheddar jalapeno bun.
