Meet the tastemakers

All of the Austin nominees vying for 2025 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards

Gather your gal pals for the Tastemaker Awards on May 8 at Fair Market.

Photo by Kristy Duff

The time has come to celebrate all the people and places who make Austin such an exciting city to dine in. The CultureMap Tastemaker Awards are back, and we can now reveal the 2025 nominees.

We’ve asked leaders of the city's hospitality community to tell us which chefs, restaurants, bars, and more have set the standard in dining for the past year. Our judging panel will pick the winners in eight of the categories, including an exciting new "wildcard" contest: Best Coffee Shop. CultureMap readers will pick the winner of Best New Restaurant in a head-to-head, bracket-style tournament that's sure to get heated.

We’ll celebrate the nominees and reveal the winners at our awards ceremony and signature tasting event on Thursday, May 8 at Fair Market.

More than a dozen of this year’s finalists will be serving bites, and our sponsors will supply all of the drinks necessary to keep the party going. Then we’ll reveal the winners in our short and sweet awards ceremony.

A limited number of early bird tickets are on sale now at discounted rates of $60 for general admission and $99 for VIP (includes early access to the event and a dedicated bar). Prices will go up soon, and tickets will sell out. Act fast — you don’t want to miss out.

We’ll dive more deeply into the nominees in a special editorial series that celebrates their accomplishments. But first, a round of applause for all of this year's finalists:

RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR

Barley Swine
Craft Omakase
Dai Due
DipDipDip Tatsu-Ya
Emmer & Rye
Este
Hestia
InterStellar BBQ
LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue
Nixta Taqueria

CHEF OF THE YEAR

Damien Brockway, Distant Relatives
Edgar Rico, Nixta Taqueria
Evan LeRoy, Leroy and Lewis Barbecue
Fermín Núñez, Suerte/Este
Jesse Griffiths, Dai Due
Kareem El-Ghayesh, KG BBQ
Laila Bazahm, El Raval
Peter Klein, Holiday
Sonya Coté, Store House Market & Eatery
Tavel Bristol-Joseph, Canje

PASTRY CHEF OF THE YEAR

Abby Love, Abby Jane Bakeshop
Amanda Rockman, Rockman Coffee + Bakeshop
Ariana Quant, Uchi
Derrick Flynn, Bar Toti/Este/Suerte
Jam Sanitchat, Gati
Sarah Foremski, Custard Prison
Sarah Lim, OMG Squee
Tiffany Dejesus, Dai Due

BAR OF THE YEAR

Busty's Bar & Jukebox
Cape Bottle Room
Daydreamer
DrinkWell
Equipment Room
Hestia Bar
Small Victory
The Cavalier
The Dead Rabbit
Trona

RISING STAR CHEF OF THE YEAR

Alejandra Kuri, Este
Alexa Mejia, Emmer & Rye
Clark Costello, Soigné Supper Club
Derek Zampacorta, Bar Toti
Erik Trotman, Canje
Heejae Galluccio, Birdie’s
Seth Helmly, Loudmouth

NEIGHBORHOOD RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR

Distant Relatives
Dovetail Pizza & Bar
Komé
Korea House
Mum Foods Smokehouse and Delicatessen
Sour Duck Market
The Little Darlin'
The Peached Tortilla
Uptown Sports Club
Usta Kababgy

BREWERY OF THE YEAR

Austin Beerworks
Central Machine Works
Fitzhugh Brewing
Hopsquad Brewing Co.
Live Oak Brewing Co.
Prost Alehouse Texas
St. Elmo Brewing Co.
Vacancy Brewing

BEST NEW RESTAURANT

Bambino
Casa Bianca
Endo
Fig Italian Kitchen & Bar
Knuckle Sandwich
Lao’d Bar
Loudmouth
Mexta
Mian & Bao
Micklethwait Barbecue
OKO
Redbud Ice House
Tancho Sushi
Teddy's
The Dead Rabbit
Toasty Badger

BEST COFFEE SHOP

Better Half Coffee & Cocktails
Captain Quack's Bakery and Coffeehouse
Cosmic
Desnudo Coffee
Epoch Coffee
Figure 8 Coffee Purveyors
Houndstooth Coffee
Proud Mary Coffee
Radio Coffee & Beer
Spokesman Coffee

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The CultureMap Tastemaker Awards ceremony is sponsored by The Yuengling Company, PicMe Events, Audio Visual Consultations, and more to be announced. A portion of the proceeds benefits Central Texas Food Bank.

chefs new restaurant central texas food bank events tastemaker awards

From picnic to dish

Farm-to-table cafe replacing Picnik in South Austin is open now

Photo courtesy of Dish Society

Dish Society is known for its refreshing menu.

When Picnik left its space on South First Street, some locals were disappointed to lose the holistic menu. However, the Houston-based Dish Society swooped in to fill the gap; it's now open at 1600 South First St., Ste. 110.

This is the second Austin location for Dish Society, which also has local ties through its founder, Aaron Lyons, who was born in Austin and went to the University of Texas at Austin. It also fits right in with the local farm-to-table ethos while remaining casual —a balance treasured by many in Austin dining.

The first location arrived in the Mueller neighborhood in 2023. A press release calls it an "overwhelming success."

“Our reception in Austin has been phenomenal, and we’re thrilled to introduce Dish Society to the vibrant South First community,” said Lyons in the release. "South Austin is buzzing with energy and growth. The area is full of amazing restaurants, shops, and plenty of walkable and bike-friendly streets—perfect for the kind of people who love what we do. As always, our goal is to be that go-to neighborhood spot where you can drop in multiple times a week."

Dish Society culinary director Brandi Key, COO Trent Patterson, founder Aaron Lyons From left to right: culinary director Brandi Key, COO Trent Patterson, founder Aaron LyonsPhoto courtesy of Dish Society

The new Dish Society is located within the Willa mixed-use development, which also includes the shoe boutique Blue Suede right across the patio. Another perk is complimentary parking.

The space has been redesigned by Chioco Design, whose work Austinites might recognize from Paperboy on South Lamar Boulevard, Bambino on Springdale Road, and the famous Torchy's Tacos on South Congress Avenue.

The new interior isn't majorly different, with more earthy, neutral colors and a similar seating arrangement. The restaurant still has seating on the covered patio: 60 seats outdoors in addition to 80 indoors. The bar offers full service and TVs for watching sports, plus, there's a walk-up window for takeaway and coffee.

According to the release, Dish Society gets more than three-quarters of its ingredients from suppliers in Texas. While ingredients do the heavy lifting in the restaurant's healthy image, the menu gets to have some fun with comfort foods and "American classics." That's all thanks to the work of culinary director Brandi Key.

Existing fans of Dish Society can enjoy favorites like brisket-loaded sweet potato, a shaved Brussels sprout salad, and fried chicken and biscuits. There are also plenty of new additions: ranch-style eggs, a granola yogurt bowl, and kale-mushroom bucatini.

Grain bowls, salads, sandwiches, and signature sides fill out the menu, plus an option to make your own plate with a protein and two sides. The beverage program also offers cocktails, mocktails, Texas craft beers and wines, coffee, fresh-pressed juices, and more local beverages.

Dish Society South 1st Street interior The new interior of Dish Society.Photo courtesy of Dish Society

Finally, Dish Society is conscious about worker wellness with perks like cross-training opportunities, educational incentives, PTO for hourly staff, paid volunteer hours, and more.

Dish Society maintains the same hours for both locations. They're open from 7 am to 9 pm Sundays through Thursdays, and 7 am to 10 pm Fridays and Saturdays. Social hour is weekdays from 7-9 am and 2-6 pm, and weekends from 4-7 pm. The restaurant will also offer online orders and catering.

openings sandwiches cocktails mocktails