It can take months to get into Chef John Carver’s wildly popular Italian restaurant, where there’s a custom woodfired grill at the heart of the industrial space. But it’s worth the wait for fresh pasta and epic steaks, like the cappelletti “bishop’s hats” stuffed with spinach and sauced with brown butter, alongside a 50-day dry-aged porterhouse “la Fiorentina.” Don’t miss the charred veggies, like roasted vine tomatoes with creamy burrata, and wash it all down with a house negroni.

Woodfired steaks, caviar service, and martini carts set the stage at this legendary restaurant that’s been an Austin mainstay since 1975. A James Beard semifinalist nod and a spot on the coveted World's 101 Best Steak Restaurants list in 2024 has only reinforced how good this stunner remains decades on. Settle in for a memorable evening in one of the three different dining rooms, each with their own vibe from red leather booths to a taxidermied antelope head.

From 2024 James Beard semifinalist and acclaimed Suerte chef Fermín Núñez, this chill seafood spot is all about mariscos—think shrimp aguachiles, tuna tiradito, and oysters splashed with salsa negra. The light and airy space features white rafters and hanging plants, and happy hour spills out onto a big back deck. All of it landed Este on Bon Appétit and Esquire’s best new restaurant lists in 2023.

With several James Beard Award nominations under its belt, La Condesa is firmly an Austin favorite. It's ideal for group celebrations, happy hours, and feasting on comforting Mexican fare, thanks to executive chef Rick Lopez, who puts out plates of queso, short rib quesadillas, and cochinita pibil with housemade tortillas in a buzzy, fun environment. Happy hour is especially popular here, when there are $3 tacos and the entire drink menu is half off.

Cocktails and canapés are the name of the game at Prélude, a sophisticated bar located in a historic Austin home. The only American to win the prestigious Bocuse d’Or, chef Mathew Peters applies that fine dining precision to playful dishes like corn hushpuppies with Iberico ham and black truffle sauce paired with clever cocktails like a tequila-forward highball topped with cornflakes and toasted rice.

The music is loud, the jerk chicken is hot, and the cocktails are colorful at Canje, the East Austin hotspot from chef and Guyanese native Tavel Bristol-Joseph. In a lively space decked with palm fronds and tropical wallpaper, dig into Caribbean-inspired dishes like Guyanese-style roti and West Indian curry that earned Bristol-Joseph his first James Beard nod.

Originally from Torreon, Mexico, Eater Austin’s 2018 chef of the year and 2024 James Beard semifinalist Fermín Núñez celebrates his passion for handmade masa at Suerte. It’s the foundation for tacos, tostadas, and more stuffed with everything from duck carnitas to goat barbacoa and drizzled with a host of salsas. True to laidback Austin, it’s all served in a space with light woods and exposed brick walls alongside plenty of mezcal cocktails and natural wine.

When it opened in 2017, this MICHELIN Bib Gourmand quickly racked up accolades—including a spot on Bon Appétit’s best new restaurant list—for chefs Tatsu Aikawa and Takuya Matsumoto’s innovative Japanese izakaya-meets-Texas smokehouse mashup. That looks like smoked chicken wing yakitori, brisket hot pockets, and chili cheese takoyaki chased with beer and whisky in a cozy, wood-lined tavern.

Get top-notch New American food at MICHELIN Green Star Emmer & Rye, James Beard-nominated chef Kevin Fink’s flagship Austin restaurant. Grab a seat on the shaded, wood-paneled patio or in the warehouse-chic dining room for a feast of ever-evolving, hyperlocal dishes like Texas wagyu beef tartare and exquisite pastas made from heirloom grains that have earned raves from the Austin American-Statesman, Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, and more.

James Beard semifinalist Philip Speer leads the team at this striking modern Mexican restaurant in downtown Austin. The award-winning, Tom Kundig-designed building is all glass and steel, setting the stage for hits like bone marrow tacos and smoky mezcal cocktails. Don’t sleep on the seasonal pavlova—Speer got his start as a pastry chef.