The 10 Restaurants That Defined Austin Dining in 2022

When Mashama Bailey, who reignited Savannah dining with The Grey, announced that she was opening a restaurant in Austin, hopes were high — and Diner Bar doesn’t disappoint. For her second restaurant, Bailey incorporated her signature Port City Southern cooking with flavors and culinary influences from Austin and Mexico.

The resulting menu includes indulgent dishes you’re unlikely to find anywhere else, like West African fried ugali served with salsa macha (which is one of Bailey’s personal favorites) and chicken-fried quail over indulgent, velvety artisanal grits. Diner Bar also does a great happy hour — heavy on the oysters and martinis — and a decadent brunch, with options like country pasta with pork belly and Parmesan, and buttermilk biscuits with red-eye gravy. Either way, expect to have a meal you’ll be dreaming of for days to come.

Birdie’s embodies the casual-yet-finessed vibe that’s part of what makes the Austin food scene so special. They serve gorgeous, high-end food, but in a relaxed, no-fuss environment. When wife-and-husband team Tracy Malchek-Ezekiel and Arjav Ezekiel opened their restaurant last summer, they opted for a lower-overhead counter-service model, which allows them to prioritize sourcing the best olive oil, local produce, and wine. As restaurant-goers, we reap the benefits of that decision in a big way.

Tracy, who leads the charge on food, crafts each day’s menu based on the local ingredients she finds — an exhilarating approach that comes through on the plate. Sometimes, she’ll put something on the menu that she’s never made before; luckily, her instincts are always spot-on. Of course, you can’t talk about Birdie’s without talking about the wine list. Arjav’s wine expertise is matched only by his passion, and both manifest themselves clearly in a by-the-glass list that’s the best we’ve encountered in Austin.

No reservations. Find more info here.

Anytime a friend tells us they’re coming to Austin, the first thing we do is open the Resy app and book a table at Suerte. It’s not just that they offer traditional Mexican food, which is a must-have in Austin — it’s also that the menu simply never misses. The fresh-made masa is the star, of course, but what really makes that masa shine is the accompanying all-star ensemble of perfectly seasoned sauces, gorgeous produce, and buttery-tender proteins. The move here is to order family-style, so you can try as many dishes as possible. A few menu highlights include the popular suadero tacos, the ceviche with hibiscus-yuzu broth, and the pescado verde, with green mole and tortillas for serving — but honestly, there are no wrong orders. In other words, Chef Fermin Nunez is cooking up something special, and we’re still excited about it almost five years in.

In many ways, the phrase “we met at a bar” feels like a relic from a pre-COVID past. But at Kinfolk, it’s nearly impossible not to make friends. The place you want to be is the community table, nestled in a swanky private room where the walls are lined with a veritable treasure trove of spirits. Here, you can wax poetic about cocktail-making and spirits unabashedly, knowing that the person next to you is probably an even bigger nerd enthusiast than you are. Of course, the cocktails are excellent, whether you order off the menu or tell your bartender what you like and allow them to work their magic.

With its serene aesthetic and creative cocktail menu, and — most importantly — flavor-packed Korean food, Oseyo is easily one of the most exciting restaurants in Austin. This time of year presents the perfect opportunity to dive into cozy soups like kimchi jjigae (briny, tangy, spicy); dduk mandu guk (delicate flavors, chewy rice cakes); and soondubu jigae (one word: umami). We also love their Sunday chimaek (“chicken and beer”) offering, which is exactly what you think: Korean fried chicken with beer (or, if you prefer, a cocktail made from soju, Worcestershire, lime, and kimchi). Expect to order family-style at Oseyo — the portions are large and made for sharing. But also, don’t hold back, because everything is delicious and works well as leftovers.

Call 512-368-5700 for reservations.

How do we love thee (dumplings at Lin)? Let us count the ways. Shiitake and chicken shumai; beef potstickers; basil and chicken dumplings; and of course, *the* Shanghai seafood soup dumplings. Dim sum at Lin is always a delight, thanks to Chef Ling’s expert technique and ingredient-driven approach to Chinese cuisine. We love all three of her restaurants (which include her just-opened 10-seat tasting-menu spot, Ling Kitchen), but Lin is the one we frequent most often for its lively but casual environment and menu that always has something new and exciting to try.

Seriously — we rarely stop thinking about this spot, where Every. Single. Dish. feels like comfort food. It has everything you want in a Tex-Mex restaurant — large margs, lime-y guacamole, molten queso, and gooey enchiladas — plus some unexpected but wonderful additions, like Clyde’s Fried Chicken Tacos, with fried chicken, bacon, and green chile mayo. Other menu highlights include Rene’s Awesome Enchiladas, filled with roasted short ribs, as well as the salsa sampler, featuring five fresh-made salsas ranging from mild to extra hot. Eldorado Cafe says they aim to create an experience that reminds you of coming home — and between the warm service and cozy comfort food, they achieve just that.

From Wax Myrtle’s and Diner Bar to La Piscina and Carpenters Hall, Austin is full of excellent hotel restaurants. But the one we return to again and again is the luxe-yet-welcoming dining room at Arlo Grey by Kristen Kish — whose name “Top Chef” fans will recognize immediately — located in The Line Hotel downtown. While the restaurant primarily takes its influences from French and Italian cuisine, they also weave in local flavors from Central Texas and inspiration from Kish’s Midwestern upbringing. But what brings many of the dishes to the next level is the selective but impactful use of flavors from outside their stated purview — think chicken schnitzel with yuzu and nori aioli, and heirloom eggplant with berbere spice.

No “Best of Austin” list could be complete without a mention of breakfast tacos, and Veracruz just might make the best ones in town. They’re generously sized and perfectly seasoned; the salsa selection is top notch; and the chips in their Migas taco are always crunchy. But the sisters behind Veracruz aren’t just serving delicious tacos. They’re also helping Austin’s dining scene evolve. By serving regional Mexican cuisine in a city dominated by Tex-Mex, they’re paving the way for other immigrant entrepreneurs to succeed without changing their recipes to conform. And with their growing number of locations throughout the city, it doesn’t seem like they’ll be stopping anytime soon.

No reservations. More info here.

It’s telling that Sazan’s menu only has a handful of items, but we find ourselves going back for more, again and again (and again). The rest of Austin seems to agree: Sazan is expanding to a second location in West Campus sometime before the end of the year — hurrah! In case you haven’t yet paid them a visit, here’s the deal: They don’t offer the typical pork-bone tonkotsu style you’ll find at most ramen shops in town, but instead specialize in paitan ramen, made from a combination of chicken and pork bones. The resulting broth is rich, salty, creamy — everything ramen broth should be — but it’s lighter than tonkotsu, so you don’t leave feeling overly stuffed.  Of course, we’d be remiss not to mention their popular curry-rubbed “Indomitable Chicken Wings” or the juicy, pan-fried dumplings that they get from their neighbors at Steamies.

No reservations. Find more info here.