Austin is full of everything that makes Texas over-the-top, and it is also full of some pretty amazing food. Don’t miss out on the speakeasy Here Nor There, which requires an app to make a reservation. One of the best restaurants is Uchi- a sushi restaurant group that always delivers (and Austin is our favorite location). We recommend staying on the South Congress side of Austin.
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Top Restaurants
Overall: Highly Consider
First visit- Service: 8.5/10 Atmosphere: 9.5/10 Food: 10/10 Beverage Program: 8/10
Second visit- Service: 9 Atmosphere: 9.5 Food: 8 Beverage Program: 8.5
Started by Uchi alum Yoshi Okai, this 12-seat omakase restaurant is next door to the South Congress Hotel and serves a multi-course sushi and kaiseki menu that will actually leave you full (yum, tempura). 30 minutes before your reservation, you are automatically booked at the attached cocktail bar, which serves great drinks in a dark and trendy atmosphere. Tickets are released on the first of the month on a rolling 3-month basis. They do book up immediately.
Overall: Highly Consider
Service: 9/10 Atmosphere: 7.5/10 Food: 9.5/10 Wine: 8.5/10
A lively wood-fire Italian restaurant that offers unbelievably good food. We tried a large selection of the menu and loved every dish. Do be careful with large parties as it is a very loud restaurant. Reservations are necessary (and they were closed for repairs last time we were in town, so hopefully you will be luckier). Call for a reservation if there are none online.
Overall: Highly Consider
Service: 8.5/10 Atmosphere: 8/10 Food: 8.5/10 Beverage: 7/10
For consistently good sushi and service, Uchi restaurants are always impressive. Our first time at an Uchi was at the Austin location, and it was one of our favorite experiences in the city. We have visited three times and our original review holds up. No dress code, casual and busy scene. Reservations are recommended.
Atmosphere: 8/10 Food: 7.5/10
Terry Black’s BBQ is America’s #1 buyer of prime beef. We learned this from a sweating but smiling pit master who is happy to talk to anyone that walks by. Online, it will tell you that Terry Black’s opens at 11 am, but on a Friday at 10:50 am (to avoid lines), we learned that it opened at 10:30. If you do get stuck in line, you can drink a beer while waiting. This place is always full by 11:30 am. Also, they have WIFI and air conditioning. Do avoid the dry cornbread.
Top Bars
Overall: Highly Consider
Service: 8/10 Atmosphere: 8/10 Bar Program: 8.5/10
One of the hardest reservations in Austin, this speakeasy requires you request a reservation to their ‘semi members-only’ spot via tie app (which is easier to do than it sounds). Their cocktail menu changes often and the drinks are truly great. We recommend you visit before dinner, when you can get more attention from the busy bartenders. To find: Go to the exact address provided on the app, look for a black and white designed wall and enter the nightly code into the keypad).
More Restaurants & Bars...
Overall: Maybe…
Not rated
A comfortable oyster bar with good bar seating. The first time we visited, it was a rainy day and lovely. The second time, they turned off the AC at 2pm to rush everyone out. They have one decent white burgundy on the menu, but otherwise the wine list is very limited.
Overall: Recommend
Service: 6/10 Atmosphere: 6/10 Food: 7/10
For a causal Vietnamese-fusion lunch, this the the place to go.
Overall: Worth A Visit (if you like tiki bars)
Service: 6/10 Atmosphere: 7.5/10 Bar Program: 7.5/10
When it comes to Disneyland-like tiki bars, no one does it better. We would probably have rated it higher if we liked tiki drinks (woops)… but it was a really fun spot, especially with a group. Reservations mandatory.
Overall: Worth A Visit
Service 6 Atmosphere 7 Beverage Program 7
Reservations are needed for this plush & lounge-like cocktail bar located in the middle of downtown Austin. We enjoyed but have only been once.
Overall: Maybe…
Not rated
A good spot for a rooftop cocktail on a beautiful day, but it can get windy. The entrance is outside of the Marriot, in a separate elevator from the lobby.
Overall: Average
Service: 6 Atmosphere: 6 Food: 6 Beverage Program: 6
Not bad for a hotel bar, but unless you want to see the hotel (famed as a ghost hotel), then there is no real point in going. They used to have a delicious queso, so hopefully it is back on the menu if you do visit!
Hotels
The first time we visited Austin, we stayed at the Fairmont downtown. It was a very large hotel, and our room was comfortable, but we kept finding ourselves in other areas of the city. This meant lots of time in Ubers when we would have rather been walking. The bars were comfortable but quite outdated.
We have also stayed at South Congress Hotel, closer to some favorite spots. The best part of this hotel was the location and the bars (especially the pool bar during hot afternoons). It is directly next door to Otoko- one of our favorite restaurants. Overall, the hotel was fine but we would probably not stay there again… it seemed to come with the trendy paradox: it may look nice, but that doesn’t mean it works (this includes all of the hotel’s water, which was out one day for about 5 hours). It is also important to note that if you book a poolside suite on the pool level, you cannot access the pool from your suite. Still, the bartending staff was lovely.
We have also stayed in the Lone Star Suite at The Driskill, which is their largest room at 620 sqft. The room itself was spacious and lovely, but the elevator was a little frightening and we prefer the South Congress side of town.
The Proper Hotel was beautiful when we had lunch at their Mexican restaurant (we do not recommend). If you have visited The Proper in Santa Monica, you know what to expect- stunning design in neutral colors. Jess’s dad stayed at the Omni downtown, and recommends it. Both of those hotels are downtown, and we prefer the South Congress side of Austin (it is safer and a little less seedy)- Soho House would be worth looking into.
Tourism & Travel Notes
Our top recommendation for a tourist activity would be Wonderspaces Art. This interactive art gallery/adventure is 30 mins from downtown Austin and perfect for escaping a hot afternoon. If art galleries aren’t usually your idea of a good time- they also have a full cocktail bar and a virtual reality experience that makes the whole adventure worth it.
Austin is a relatively safe city, but over the years we have noticed an increase in their homeless situation, especially downtown. Ubers are accessible and easy, which we highly recommend taking at night. The South Congress side of town also has seemed safer on our visits.
Notable Places Visited & Not Reviewed
Midnight Cowboy: Pulling a Southern manners card here- if we have nothing nice to say, we shall say nothing at all (the first time we went, the cocktails were good… I’ll give them that). Sammie’s: The pasta was decent, but the wine list was offensive (Tig in the thousands?) Comedor: A Mexican brunch/lunch spot with great fish tacos and a decent dry riesling on the list. However, the mimosas were warm, the service was iffy, and everything except the fish tacos was meh. Guero’s Taco Bar: We can only recommend the good queso and The Purist margarita. La Piscina at The Proper: Okay Mexican food at the ever-beautiful proper hotel, but the real problem was all of the tables are too tiny to fit their giant (and only okay) fajita specials. Whisler Bar: Exactly as out Uber driver described it- a busy… vampire cowboy bar. It is an experience requiring a lot of alcohol. They do have a good food truck.
favorite moments
