Best Brunches

8 standout brunch spots in South Austin: Best new and classic weekend eats

With the restaurant scene in South Austin expanding so speedily, it's quite the task to keep up with all the openings, let alone narrow down the top brunch picks. Not to worry. We've scoured the area for the best new and classic weekend eats. Check out our SoLa and SoCo brunch guides for even more ideas.

Vox Table
It's no secret that this sleek New American restaurant is one of the most exciting openings of 2015, and the brunch game is as on point as the dinner service. Vox Table throws quirky spins on traditional brunch plates, such as the potato churro blini (topped with smoked Tasmanian trout, capers, pickled onions, crumbled egg, and horseradish aioli) and using Yorkshire pudding in place of English muffins in the indulgent butter-poached eggs Benedict. Beyond the inventive cocktail menu, Vox Table also offers tailored brunch beverages like the silly-yet-delicious Saturday Morning 'Toons made with cereal-washed milk and bourbon and served with a side of Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

Elizabeth Street Cafe
Morning eats reign at this French-influenced Vietnamese eatery, mainly because the pastries are so tasty. Besides baked goods, such as flaky croissants and beignets with house-made preserves, the savory dishes are unique standouts too. The breakfast banh mi with scrambled eggs, ginger pork sausage, cilantro, and jalapeños adds a kick to the morning. Another crowd favorite? Pork belly steamed buns with poached eggs paired with a passion fruit mimosa or bold Vietnamese coffee.

Alcomar
This newcomer unveiled its Latin American coastal seafood concept and has earned warm reception. Alcomar serves a daytime menu every day that feels very much brunchy, due to its lavish nature. Highlights include the Mojo Lobster Omelette with poblanos, goat cheese, and asparagus and a softshell crab torta with grilled lemon aioli, avocado, jalapeños, and pickled onions. Yup, you can add an egg to that too. Specialty cocktails include a watermelon basil mimosa, the horchata-based Brandy Alejandro, and a Bloody Caesar topped with an oyster. If seafood is not your thing, sister restaurant El Alma boasts an expansive patio and dishes up familiar Mexican favorites like enchiladas and chilaquiles with their own spin, of course.

Cantine
The airy, light-filled Italian establishment with patio seating is best known for its pizzas, pastas, and rotisserie plates. In addition to the usual menu, brunch features are infused with Mediterranean flavors. Shakshuka, a Tunisian-baked egg dish with a harissa tomato sauce and the lamb burger with whipped feta, muhammara (hot pepper dip), and arugula are standouts. A $20 full bottle of bubbly and a carafe of juice is a no-brainer. For coffee lovers, opt for the earthy Summer of 1840, made with Pierre Ferrand 1840, coffee liqueur, cold brew, and walnut liqueur.

St. Philip Pizza Parlor
One certainly cannot argue with pizza and beer, but this family-friendly joint has plenty more to offer. The brunch menu is filled with over-the-top items such as fried chicken and funnel cake with miso butterscotch glaze and Brulee'd French Toast with candied pecans, house-made jam, and creme fraiche. As an alternative to the typical brunch drinks, give the beer cocktails a try. The citrusy Morning, Sunshine (Hops and Grain Zoe, orange, carpano, orange bitters) and the spicy Matador (Tecate, tomato, lime, hot sauce, spices) are our top picks.

Uncle Billy's
Speaking of beer, hop heads can kick back at this easygoing brewery-slash-smokehouse that recently expanded its beer offerings with the latest Barton Springs Pale Ale and Lazy Day Lager. And on weekends, Uncle Billy's dishes up hefty portions of eggs, bacon, and everything you would expect at a good ol' Texas joint. The smoked brisket hash is a popular choice but the Kickin' Chicken & Waffles with fried bananas, chipotle maple syrup, bacon crumbles, and a dusting of powdered sugar will soak up any remnants of the evening past.

Porter Ale House & Gastropub
Oh, how about one more beer-centric spot? This hip gastropub holds nothing back to deliver punch to each dish. Porter's brunch burger, for example, is stacked with bacon jam, white cheddar, and a fried egg, all served on a toasted English muffin. Other indulgent specialties that pair perfectly with beer include a croque madame smothered with beer cheese fondue, French toast sticks with crisp pork belly, and (take a deep breath) tater tot poutine with mushroom velouté, ricotta, and white cheddar. Besides craft brews, they also offer cocktails and wine on tap.

Café No Sé
This new modern-chic eatery in the recently opened South Congress Hotel welcomes diners with clean lines and plenty of light. The health-driven, California-inspired menu is short and sweet and changes seasonally. The big-eye tuna poke bowl and heirloom tomato and peach soup are refreshing starters in the warm weather. Kale salad with crispy rice and avocado toast with soft boiled egg are lighter picks. Try the milk-braised pork sandwich or cheeseburger on a buttermilk bun for larger appetites. This new South Congress spot offers a select list of wines, beers, and classic cocktails.

Kick back at the easygoing Uncle Billy's for weekend brunch.

Uncle Billy's/Facebook

Kick back at the easygoing Uncle Billy's for weekend brunch.

cocktails where-to-eat bests breakfast breweries brunch burgers coffee

Belles of the Ballroom

9 Austin bar and venue experts take over popular Old Austin space near UT

29th Street Ballroom/Facebook

Changes are coming at the 29th Street Ballroom, but the goal is to preserve what already makes it special.

The evolution continues at the 29th Street Ballroom, the music venue formerly attached to Spider House Café. It's no secret, Resound Presents CEO and co-founder Graham Williams says, that he and a large team of other industry pros are taking over the space; but now they're ready to talk about what comes next for the venue and adjoining bar.

Although Spider House Café closed in 2020, the Ballroom stayed open, and has continued serving University of Texas students and anyone else who wants to see a show outside of the ordinary: punk shows, burlesque revues, fundraisers, and more. It'll stay open through most of the renovations, scheduled through January of 2025, and is expected to hold a grand opening in March.

Now Resound — one of Austin's top live music organizers, which was itself born from the ashes of another Austin institution — is lending two of its co-founders to managing the space going forward: Williams and Ian Orth. They're joining seven other team members from venues around town, many of them overlapping: Amy Mullins, Brian Tweedy, Jason McNeely, John Yaklin, and Shannon LeBoeuf of Hotel Vegas, Chess Club, Kinda Tropical, Tweedy’s, and Yellow Jacket Social Club, in varying capacities; and Brian Buscemi and Mike Sanchez of the Little Darlin’.

Williams emphasizes that although things will be changing at the Ballroom, the goal isn't to change anything people already love.

"Over the next few months as we kind of ease into the spring, we're using this downtime to revitalize things, decorate, revamp some of the stuff in the venue and the bar, and just kind of get things moving in the right direction," Williams says, "taking what's already popular about the venue and just adding to it, really."

Bar updates
The biggest shift will be turning the bar from an accessory to live shows into its own entity that's open even when there's nothing else going on. Amy Mullins, best known as a co-owner of Yellow Jacket Social Club, is overseeing that transition. She's never operated a venue that is primarily focused on music, and has been enjoying learning more about how to do it; she even worked the door recently when a staff member called out sick.

Mullins echoes Williams in assuring that the change is more about logistics than tone. It'll still feel like Old Austin, but she does express a hope to run more than the "typical venue bar," handing out simple drinks as quickly as possible. She's working on a new menu that includes wine, beer, craft cocktails, and non-alcoholic options like tea, kombucha, or mocktails. Regardless of what's on the schedule on any given night, Mullins says the menu will stay the same.

"There's no drink too complicated for us to make, however busy we are," she says.

Food options
Another goal for the team will be making sure the space works when there's not someone onstage to crowd around. They'll expand the front and side patios and create a food truck food court that features the same trucks that are there now, plus one newcomer. All in all, that includes Yalla Burger & Wings, Gyro Center, Li’l Nonna’s Vegan Pizzeria, Guppy’s Indian Fried Chicken, Waylon J’s BBQ, and Ay Chihuahua Tacos.

The expanded patio will connect to Tweedy's Bar next door, which also has its own food trucks. The idea is to create a space to hang out after shows that feels fit for the purpose. It's possible to stick around after events now, but the layout does create a vague feeling of loitering.

Artist and fan-friendly tweaks
On the entertainment side, Williams says some of the renovations include putting in a new sound system, redoing the green room, updating the facade, and repainting signs. Since the winter is a slower time for live music, they'll be taking advantage of the extra time to work on things before packing the calendar with more events than before. Resound will handle most of the bookings in live music, comedy, and DJ sets, welcoming both national and local talent.

Whatever the details end up being, this team has proved to Austinites that they know how to run venues worth visiting. And since they're all friends and business partners on multiple levels, it sounds like having this many cooks in the kitchen just isn't an issue.

"Some of us have been roommates and known each other since we were young," says Williams. "It's a good mix of people who are all very like minded, so a lot is being brought to the table per decision. So yeah, it's it's really exciting. Sometimes that's not the case. .... But with this project, it's a lot of really great, creative people that are good at what they do [and] they trust each other."

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