Meet the Tastemakers

These 11 top neighborhood restaurants reveal the heart of Austin

Micklethwait Barbecue is in a new era, getting the same love from locals as ever.

Photo by Andrew Thomas Lee

In a city like Austin, dining out could mean anything — an exciting prospect for visitors and dedicated foodies, but an exhausting one for many locals. Nothing salves the burns of change like a trusty neighborhood restaurant.

These are spots where locals hang out, regulars might recognize each other, and even if you don’t know anyone in the room, you can walk in and feel right at home — no reservation needed.

The judges of the 2026 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards are taking all this and more into consideration when choosing this year's Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year. Only one can walk away with the coveted trophy at our Tastemaker Awards ceremony and signature tasting event on April 9 at Distribution Hall.

Read up on the 11 contenders below, and consider doing your own field research in the meantime.

You can see all of the Tastemaker Award nominees here and learn more about them in our special editorial series leading up to the big event.

A limited number of Early Bird tickets are on sale now at discounted rates of $65 for general admission and $110 for VIP (includes early access to the event and a dedicated bar). Prices will increase March 19. Grab your tickets now, because this party will sell out — just like it does every year.

Hold a seat for our 11 nominees for Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year 2026:

Allday Pizza
Allday Pizza’s classic New York-style pies have earned well-deserved buzz as the best pizza in town, and you can’t beat its creamy soft serve gelato on a warm day. This cozy pizzeria operates two locations, in Tarrytown and Hyde Park, with a third reportedly on the way in Northwest Austin.

Cuantos Tacos
The question is “¿Cuantos tacos?” And the answer is, always more. Even with a taco ecosystem as varied as Austin’s, locals never seem to tire of this trailer. Carnitas tacos are a reliable choice, but Cuantos Tacos is also switching it up with tripa on Tuesdays, lengua on Wednesdays, meaty tortas on Fridays, and an occasional collab.

De Nada Cantina
It’s always a good day for some of De Nada’s signature tacos and a frozen margarita in a bright pink cup; use it to celebrate the start of the weekend or even a typical Tuesday. This East Austin hangout’s recently opened second location is also attracting new fans south of the river.

Discada
Discada handily delivers on its promise to bring “el major sabor” across its menu of Mexico City-style street tacos and fresh-shucked elote cups. They’re confident enough to only offer one taco, and they should be. Taco enthusiasts happily wait in line to place their orders at this nationally-recognized East Austin food truck.

Eldorado Cafe
Eldorado Cafe provides the perfect laid-back atmosphere to honor the homeyness of authentic Tex-Mex cuisine. The carnitas Cubanos and mole enchiladas are must-try menu items, and the restaurant also goes the extra mile to offer a variety of vegetarian and vegan-friendly dishes to cater to all visitors.

House of Three Gorges
Even Szechuan peppercorn can’t numb Austin’s love for this popular but tiny Chinese restaurant. With very sharable portions and rich colors in every dish, each visit is guaranteed to feel like a celebration. Guests love the cumin lamb and eggplant with garlic sauce — two dishes that aren’t getting much play around town.

Justine's Brasserie
At the risk of sounding pretentious, Justine’s Brasserie is really an experience as much as it is a restaurant. Whether folks stop by for steak frites, the eccentric-but-chic atmosphere, live music, or a night market, it feels like Justine’s is a place to pay a visit, not just stop and eat.

Micklethwait Barbecue
Micklethwait Barbecue has been around since 2012, but it’s settling into a new era as a brick-and-mortar restaurant. It’s been just over a year and fans of eating indoors are thriving, while guests who want to stay in the breeze can still opt for picnic tables and beautiful plants. Central Texans will suffer for perfectly smoked barbecue, but why make them?

Taquería de Diez (D/10)
This taco joint has the “it” factor. “It” could be the speakeasy vibes of the original downtown location. “It” could be the feeling of watching line cooks in retro caps carve meats off the trompo. Or “it” could just be the feeling of eating a flavorful street taco. Whatever it is, get onboard because this restaurant is expanding.

Vic & Al’s
The area immediately surrounding Vic & Al’s on Manor Road isn’t quite hidden, but it’s one where locals could spend days on end without tourist burnout. This Cajun restaurant, a revival of a longtime family eatery, fits in perfectly: it straddles the line between sophisticated and unpretentious, never losing sight of what makes this cuisine comfort food.

Whip My Soul
Family-owned restaurant Whip My Soul is an answered prayer for top-tier soul food in Austin. In addition to waffle plates, oxtail, and shrimp and grits, this Northwest Austin eatery also makes three types of “soul egg rolls:” choose collard greens or a mac and cheese combo with shrimp or oxtail.

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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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TxMo Best New Restaurants

Austin spot makes Texas Monthly's best new restaurants of 2026 list

Fish Shop/Instagram

Fish Shop is No. 4 on the list.

Texas Monthly has revealed its 10 best new restaurants for 2026. Published Monday, March 2, the list is open to restaurants that opened between December 1, 2024 and October 31, 2025.

Notably, it’s the first edition of the list written by Paula Forbes, who succeeded veteran writer Pat Sharpe last year. She writes that that 2025 was “a lackluster one for Texas restaurants. . . Restaurant experiences that feel truly worth it, that have the power to wow, are hard to come by. But they’re out there,” she continues.

Forbes found those “worth it” experiences at restaurants in Houston, Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, and Paris, a small town in far northeast Texas near the Oklahoma border.

Austin’s sole representative is Fish Shop. It serves West Coast-inspired seafood such as a Dungeness crab cocktail and halibut crudo alongside Gulf Coast-style fare such as well-sourced oysters. When it opened in July of 2025, husband-and-wife team Chef Justin Huffman and Nicole Rossi hit the ground running thanks to a series of pop-ups that helped get folks excited. Now high-quality dishes and a welcoming atmosphere make it a popular place (although not an inexpensive one) to hang out.

Once again, Houston led the way with four spots. They are:

Agnes and Sherman, an Asian American diner in the Heights
Zaranda, a California-inspired Mexican restaurant in downtown
Di An Pho, a Vietnamese restaurant in Chinatown
Latuli, chef Bryan Caswell’s eclectic neighborhood restaurant in Memorial

Forbes hails Agnes and Sherman as her Restaurant of the Year, writing that it deserves a promotion to four-star status after the three-star review she wrote in October. She praises a number of chef Nick Wong’s dishes, including a French dip sandwich, shrimp cocktail, and crab rangoon. “Wong respects the cuisines he riffs on but is not afraid to contort them. The combinations are irresistible,” she writes.

Zaranda, James Beard Award winner Hugo Ortega’s ode to both the state of California and Baja California, earned its spot for its eponymous dish of seafood cooked in a wire basket, among other items. Forbes hails Di An Pho’s 70-year old chef Hung Van Tran for opening a restaurant that only serves his definitive versions of both beef and chicken pho. She writes that Latuli serves some of Caswell’s signature dishes from across his career, including “a crab-packed crab cake (served with spicy sorghum mustard), a pecan-smoked pork chop, and Shiner-steamed mussels.”

Dallas restaurants take three spots on the list. At Rainbowcat, James Beard finalist Misti Norris is riffing on comfort fare such as chicken tenders, a McMuffin made with porchetta and braised greens, and a dessert inspired by Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Michelin-starred Mamani earns its spot for expertly-crafted French and Italian fare and a lengthy wine list. Sushi Kozy, led by Uchi Dallas alum Paul Ko, restored Forbes’ faith in omakase dining.

San Antonio’s Petit Coquin is Forbes’ “favorite” of the three French restaurants on the list thank to its “streamlined prix fixe menu and laissez-faire atmosphere,” she writes. Diners are encouraged to try dishes such as country pâté, steak au poivre, and rice pudding.

BonFire, a French restaurant in Paris, TX, also has Houston ties. Chef Patten Sommers spent the early part of his career in the Bayou City, working at restaurants such as Triniti, Ciao Bello, and Brenner’s on the Bayou.

The full list is as follows:

1. Agnes and Sherman, an Asian American diner in Houston
2. BonFire, a French restaurant in Paris
3. Zaranda, a Mexican restaurant in Houston
4. Fish Shop, a seafood restaurant in Austin
5. Rainbowcat, a comfort food restaurant in Dallas
6. Mamani, a French and Italian fine dining restaurant in Dallas
7. Di An Pho, a Vietnamese restaurant in Houston
8. Petit Coquin, a French restaurant in San Antonio
9. Latuli, a modern American restaurant in Houston
10. Sushi Kozy, a Japanese restaurant in Dallas

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