Meet The Tastemakers

Austin's 16 best new restaurants compete for top Tastemaker honor

Things are heating up in the 2026 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards, and now it's time for one of the most anticipated parts of the entire program: our annual Best New Restaurant Tournament.

Austin's best new restaurants are going head-to-head in an exciting online competition from March 19 to April 7, where your votes will determine the winner. The tournament begins with 16 nominees in eight matchups and continues through four rounds of competition until one winner emerges.

Our 2026 nominees, selected by an esteemed panel of judges, represent the best new establishments in the city that opened between January 1, 2025, and mid-February 2026. They're as diverse as Austin itself, from casual food trucks to chef-driven upscale restaurants and everything in between.

Meet the nominees and learn more about the matchups below, and vote for your favorites once a day.

Who will win? Join us at the CultureMap Tastemaker Awards on April 9 at Distribution Hall to find out. You'll enjoy an array of bites from participating nominees, sip specialty drinks, and be there when the 2026 Tastemakers winners are unveiled. Tickets are on sale now.

Here are our 16 nominees for Best New Restaurant of 2026. Let the voting begin!

Photo by Mackenzie Smith

Siti.

Blue Apsara vs. Parish Barbecue
Austin wouldn’t be a foodie town without its food truck scene, and these two take inspiration from their cultural backgrounds to carve their own paths.

Blue Apsara: Cambodian street food is a cure for all ailments, especially if comfort foods like chicken curry, nom panhg, and papaya salad are involved.
Parish Barbecue: Parish leans on Cajun flavors to enrich its smoked meats and classic sides like fried pistolet buns and crawfish cornbread dressing.

Bread Boat vs. Old Alley Hot Pot
These two eateries filled the culinary voids left by previous restaurants. Both bring a specific cultural experience from their respective continents that Austin could use more of.

Bread Boat: Georgian cuisine is on the rise in the Austin area, and locals can’t get enough of the signature pillowy and cheesy khachapuri (bread boat) or the beef kubdari (meat pie).
Old Alley Hot Pot: Old Alley stands out from other local hot pot concepts thanks to its numbing Sichuan broth base and an extensive list of additions like lamb, duck paw, and fresh lotus root.

Churchrow Tejas BBQ vs. High Road Deli & Bar
It’s nice to "meat" these new restaurants that really focus on their brisket, sausages, and other house-made specialties.

Churchrow Tejas BBQ: This barbecue joint serves up Texas meats on tortillas, along with lots of Mexican sides like elote cups, escabeche, and a Tex-Mex loaded queso.
High Road Deli & Bar: The sandwiches are piled high, the cheesy fries are kicked up a notch with miso, and the atmosphere is well worth lingering for hours.

Garage Pizza vs. Moderna Bar & Pizzeria
These two pizza spots have radically different pie styles and vibes, making this a true test of personal taste.

Garage Pizza: One of Austin’s most popular speakeasies, Garage, now has a practical dinner option: thick, Sicilian-style slices by Chef Philip Speer.
Moderna Bar & Pizzeria: This pizzeria centers thin, Neapolitan-inspired pies on Austin’s best example of a classic Italian-American bistro menu.

Leona Botanical Café & Bar vs. Paprika ATX
Longtime food truck operations gave way to these two brick-and-mortar triumphs. Both of them were instantly a hit thanks to strong reputations and committed follow-through.

Leona Botanical Café & Bar: Food trucks Dee Dee and Veracruz All Natural joined forces on this garden compound, with a beautiful bar that’s more than the sum of its parts.
Paprika ATX: Paprika’s straightforward tacos are becoming more famous all the time thanks to perfectly seasoned meats. The carnitas and suadero are well-earned fan favorites.

Rocco’s Neighborhood Joint vs. Cousin Louie’s
Both of these Italian restaurants are neighborhood staples, but they draw in different crowds: one is open exclusively for dinner, while the other casts a wider net with brunch and lunch hours.

Rocco's Neighborhood Joint: A great place to take a date, Rocco’s is trendy but grounded, with a flavorful menu that does its own thing while honoring Italian cooking.
Cousin Louie's: This Southwest Austin restaurant has a strong focus on its history, with framed family photos lining the walls and hearty family recipes on the menu.

Le Calamar vs. Siti
These upscale restaurants both hail from 2026 Tastemaker Chef of the Year nominees. Chic interiors and artsy plating elevate the experience, while warm service and shareable plates keep the ambiance welcoming.

Le Calamar: The successor to Underdog, this French-Texan restaurant has swept Austin off its feet with gnocchi, oysters, and fancy chicken wings to be savored, not inhaled.
Siti: Blending influences from across Southeast Asia and referencing home cooking in the region, Siti offers a unique and vivid menu where nothing is just one thing.

VanHorn’s vs. Fish Shop
It’s a face-off between surf and turf. Who will reign victorious: a laid-back downtown steakhouse or a friendly East Austin seafood bar?

VanHorn's: “Casual” might not be the first thing someone would associate with a steakhouse, but that’s what gives VanHorn’s its Austin-like charm.
Fish Shop: Fish Shop promises a perfectly poured Guinness that can be enjoyed alongside its menu of fresh-caught seafood, fries, and coastal specialties.

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The CultureMap Tastemaker Awards ceremony is sponsored in Austin by Maker's Mark, Garrison at Fairmont Austin, NXT LVL Event, and more to be announced. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Central Texas Food Bank.

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HOME COOKING

Beloved Austin restaurateur to close Hoover’s Cooking after 27 years

Photo courtesy of Hoover’s Cooking

Hoover Alexander with a football, reflecting his longtime love of the Texas Longhorns and his Love’s Rock ATXcommunity campaign.

East Austin restaurateur Hoover Alexander announced March 19 that he will close Hoover’s Cooking on May 31, bringing a 27-year run at one of the best-known comfort food restaurants in Austin to an end.

Located at 2002 Manor Rd., Hoover’s Cooking opened in 1998, blocks from the East Austin neighborhood where Alexander grew up. In a Facebook post on Thursday morning announcing his decision to close the restaurant, Alexander reflected on the decades of community built around its tables.

“Twenty-seven years. A lot of meals. A lot of memories. A lot of love,” the post read. “But this isn’t the end of Hoover’s. The brand, spirit, and community live on."

Hoover also teased, "More on what’s next, soon."

Hoover's Cooking A meatloaf plate with classic Southern sides including mac and cheese, black-eyed peas, greens, and cornbread at Hoover’s Cooking.Photo courtesy of Hoover’s Cooking

“After much praying and pondering, I know the time for me to transition is now,” Alexander added in a press release. “I’m grateful for the love and support of the Greater Austin community for Hoover’s on Manor Road over 27 years.”

The announcement quickly drew dozens of responses from longtime customers and former employees remembering meals, celebrations, and first jobs at the restaurant. Some commenters said they planned final trips to Austin just to eat there again, while others shared fond memories of working at the restaurant or celebrating holidays with family meals.

The restaurant became known for Texas comfort food blending Southern, Tex-Mex, Cajun, and barbecue traditions. Over the years, diners came for longtime favorites such as chicken-fried steak, fried catfish, biscuits and gravy, smothered pork chops, and banana pudding cheesecake, dishes that reflected Alexander’s mix of Southern, Gulf Coast, and Texas influences.

Hoover's Cooking BBQ Smoked ribs, sausage, and chicken served with homestyle sides at Hoover’s Cooking in East Austin.Photo courtesy of Hoover’s Cooking

The restaurant opened in the former Roy Lee Food Store at a time when Manor Road’s dining scene looked very different. Neighborhood spots like East Side Café and Mi Madre’s anchored the corridor in those early years before a newer wave of pricier restaurants — including Dai Due, Este, and Salty Sow — helped transform the street into one of Austin’s busier dining strips.

Hoover's Cooking will remain open through the end of May, with a final community celebration planned for June 15 as a lead-in to Juneteenth week. After closing, the restaurant plans to operate in a limited capacity for part of the summer with a smaller menu and private events.

Alexander, a fifth-generation Texan born in East Austin, traces his love of food to childhood trips to his family’s farm in Utley, Texas. There he picked vegetables and watched farm-raised meats be prepared, experiences that later shaped the farm-fresh down-home philosophy behind his cooking.

His restaurant career began in 1973 while attending the University of Texas, when he took a job at the historic Night Hawk restaurant chain. Founded in the early 1930s by restaurateur Harry Akin, Night Hawk became known as one of Austin’s pioneering diners and among the first restaurants in the city to integrate both its dining room and service staff.

Alexander started rolling pie dough and making gumbo before learning nearly every job in the restaurant business — bussing tables, washing dishes, bartending, working the line, and managing operations. According to a 2015 interview with Eater Austin, he later became the first male server in the Night Hawk chain’s history.

After working at Austin restaurants including Toulouse, Chez Fred, and Good Eats Café, Alexander opened Hoover’s Cooking in 1998. He told Eater Austin the restaurant launched with the help of a friend’s credit cards after years of trying to secure financing.

Hoover’s Cooking later expanded to a second location in North Austin on Research Boulevard near Anderson Mill Road. Alexander closed that restaurant during a downsizing period in the early 2010s, which he described in an interview with Edible Austin as a “deconstruction year” while refocusing on the original East Austin location.

Alexander and general manager Alvin “Skip” Walker were named Restaurateurs of the Year by the Greater Austin chapter of the Texas Restaurant Association in 2015. In 2021, Hoover’s Cooking was inducted into the Austin360 Restaurant Hall of Fame.

east austin closings comfort food

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HOME COOKING

Beloved Austin restaurateur to close Hoover’s Cooking after 27 years