Now on Resy: El Naranjo, El Raval, Lutie’s, and More Local Favorites
From a soulful Mexican restaurant from an award-winning chef to an inventive tapas hot spot, these are just a few of the beloved Austin spots that are now bookable on Resy. Right this way.
Note: This list will be updated regularly with new additions each month, so be sure to check back often. For Austin’s newest restaurant openings, head here.
El Naranjo South Lamar
Newly added!
Austin mourned when the original location of James Beard Best Chef winner Iliana de la Vega’s soulful Mexican restaurant closed some time ago. But the South Lamar offshoot of El Naranjo is still going strong — do start with the made-to-order guacamole and do not skip the housemade moles with either chicken or duck.
El Raval Zilker
Named after — and channeling the spirit of — the fabled Barcelona neighborhood (where chef-owner Laila Bazahm opened her popular fusion destination, Hawker 45), El Raval serves up inventive tapas, great Spanish wines, and a heck of a paella menu. (Let’s just say it features is a one-of-a-kind paella interpretation with duck confit, dashi broth, and hoisin aïoli.)
Ling Wu Asian Restaurant at The Grove Rosedale
Chef Ling Wu has won fans all over Austin for her restaurants serving richly flavored Chinese fare, and this must-visit Oakmont Heights establishment vividly demonstrates her skills. Whatever else you order, don’t miss the dim sum — Wu’s specialty — which is varied, innovative, and sometimes, even gluten-free.
The Guest House Market District
Elegant but unpretentious, with an American-international menu ranging from BBQ bacon sliders to hamachi crudo to 40-day dry-aged bone-in ribeye, this downtown essential from the New Waterloo group (La Condesa, Sway, etc.) is a perfect date-night choice — but you can also come here just to enjoy the first-rate food and the easy-going setting.
Space Cowboy East Austin
Cowboys and aliens? Not exactly. But the interior of this one-of-a-kind restaurant blends the Wild West with Outer Space, and the Texas-international fare (from Juan Diego Solombrino, ex–Rosedale Kitchen & Bar and North Italia) is brought to you in part by “spaceship bots” — robotic servers on a track — adding a whole new layer of fun.
Lutie’s Hancock
Bring someone special to this verdant paradise of a place at the beautifully restored Commodore Perry Estate resort, where the husband-and-wife team of chef Bradley Nicholson and pastry chef Susana Querejazu (veterans of Vespaio and Barley Swine) create a menu as seductive and memorable as the romantic surroundings.
RedFarm – ATX Downtown Austin
The original RedFarm (opened in Manhattan in 2011 by Chinese-food maven Ed Schoenfeld and master dim sum chef Joe Ng) thrilled diners with its playful takes on dim sum, and now, it’s doing the same in Austin. Look for their unforgettable signatures, like Ed’s pastrami egg roll, yuzu-wasabi shrimp, and applewood-smoked bacon fried rice.
Dai Due East Austin-Cherrywood
Lots of places tout their locavore credentials, but few deliver like this one does. A rustic-chic restaurant with an in-house butcher shop, Dai Due is seriously regional and seasonal in sourcing its ingredients, even specializing in Texas wines and beers. Do look for Texas-raised antelope, quail, and Wagyu beef on the ever-changing, meat-centric menu.
Olive & June Bryker Woods
Chef Shawn Cirkiel (Parkside, The Backspace, etc.) has crafted a small but irresistible Italian menu featuring housemade pastas and other delights (all the way up to a New York strip steak with gorgonzola and aged balsamic) for this three-level West Austin jewel — and you won’t want to miss a bite.
Sushi | Bar – ATX Holly
You could call this East Austin original a sushi speakeasy: The front door is unmarked, the lighting is intimate, and when you sit down at one of the two 10-seat sushi counters for a 17-course feast, featuring imaginative riffs on traditional nigiri (with well-chosen wine and sake pairings), you’ll feel like you’ve discovered a wonderful secret you can’t wait to share.
Trattoria Lisina Driftwood
Here’s a tasty reminder that Hill Country dining is about more than barbecue — a Tuscan-accented trattoria at the Mandola Estate & Vineyard in Driftwood, where Damian and Trina Mandola draw on generations-old family recipes (like Mamma Grace’s meatballs), and fill out the menu with plenty of familiar Italian favorites.
The Backspace – Downtown Downtown
In the converted “back space” behind his thriving Parkside, chef Shawn Cirkiel serves a scattering of antipasti and salads, plus a curated selection of thin crust Neapolitan-style pizzas, which cook magically in just 90 seconds in the heroic-scale wood-burning brick pizza oven. Just so you know, some say it’s the best pizza in town.
Milonga Room East Cesar Chavez
Here’s something different for date night — an intimate Argentinian-themed hideaway with a vintage speakeasy vibe, downstairs from Buenos Aires Café, where the empanadas are unforgettable, and the cocktails celebrate the bittersweet virtues of amaro.
Nixta Taqueria Chestnut
James Beard Award winner and Food & Wine Best New Chef Edgar Rico knocks it out of the park at this gloriously colorful taqueria-plus, with housemade tortillas (using heritage corn from Oaxaca) for his duck confit tacos, roasted carrot tostadas, and other unexpected but spectacularly successful riffs on Mexican traditions.
The T Box at Thompson Austin Downtown Austin
Here’s a take on the fitness experience you won’t want to miss: an interactive sports suite adjacent to the gym at the popular Thompson Hotel, complete with golf simulator, PGA tourneys on a wall-sized screen, virtual football and baseball games, and of course cocktails, craft beer, and craveable snacks.
Cru Hookah Lounge – Austin Central Austin
Come to the Austin outpost of this hookah-focused chain — part of the largest Black-owned nightlife group in America — for the pure fun of it all, from 30 flavors of shisha, premium bottle service, and a menu of seductive “Crutails,” to an array of small plates, ranging from wings to lobster mac & cheese.
Eden Cocktail Room Downtown Austin
This small-scale speakeasy-style cocktail lounge (unmarked door, chiaroscuro lighting) from Christopher Crow, who ran the bar at Here Nor There, offers a tranquil getaway from busy 6th Street, fueled by Biblical-themed libations like the Fruit of the Forbidden (Plymouth gin, Grey Goose vodka, St. Germain, and pomegranate syrup, in case you were wondering).
The Backspace – Anderson Lane Crestview
At this Anderson Lane spinoff from his downtown original, chef Shawn Cirkiel (of Parkside and Olive & June) serves the same don’t-miss-’em thin crust Neapolitan pizzas, but also expands the possibilities with a handful of pasta dishes and a signature chicken parm platter, with spaghetti pomodoro on the side.
Picnik- South First Bouldin Creek
The second brick-and-mortar location of Naomi Seifter’s something-for-everyone restaurant continues the original concept, offering an array of gluten-, sugar-, and peanut-free dishes, pumped up with superfoods and adaptogens, plus sustainable wines, zero-proof cocktails, and Picnik’s signature butter coffees.
