Austin, Texas: Let’s Taco ‘bout Food
For Christmas, John got me a trip to Austin Texas!
I didn’t know it on Christmas morning, but I think the whole trip was just a ploy for him to eat a bunch of BBQ. Regardless of John’s motives…I was pumped!
We booked our trip for February (right before COVID-19) not knowing that was going to be our last vacation! Looking back at our trip, my advice to all is to eat like you’ll never travel again. And I’m proud to say we certainly did that. We strategically mapped out our days in order to hit all the food establishments on our list. For the past few years, Austin has been a hot destination, so we received a flood of recommendations from friends. Here’s the breakdown of our top 10 favorite food spots:
Torchy’s Tacos! (S Congress Ave)
This list is in no particular order other than this first one. Torchy’s taco was our NUMBER ONE…hands down…favorite taco place! I ordered the Baja Shrimp: fried shrimp + cooked cabbage slaw + pickled onions + jalapeños + cotija cheese, cilantro + chipotle sauce.
John got the Chicken Tender taco, along with two other tacos (not pictured). There are SO many locations throughout Austin, so you’ll have no problem finding one near wherever you’re staying.
Vera Cruz: (E Cesar Chavez St):
We went to the outdoor food truck located in East Austin - the other location is a brick and mortar spot. We arrived right when they opened, so we could beat the crowds. Reviews said this line gets pretty long.
There were a bunch of baby blue picnic tables set up under straw umbrellas, which made for a cute ambiance. We ordered breakfast tacos, and honestly…they were pretty darn good. We had these tacos before Torchy’s and at that point we didn’t think they could be beat!
P6 at the LINE Hotel: (
Cesar Chavez St)
One of the nights, we wanted to dress up and enjoy a more formal date night. We made our way to the LINE hotel, to the rooftop bar: P6. This is an amazing wrap around rooftop bar that has indoor and outdoor seating with views of the Colorado river. We made a reservation online a week in advance because we knew they booked up fast. We had a nice table outside and just came for drinks. The decor was on point, with really trendy furniture and an all around great atmosphere! 10/10 recommend!
Lou’s : (E. Cesar Chavez St)
One morning we were walking in our neighborhood, and this amazing corner restaurant caught our eye! Let me tell you - Lou’s has some serious curbside appeal. This restaurant has such a cool outdoor vibe: green turf on the ground, outdoor picnic tables, nice outdoor furniture, plants + cactuses, and….ping pong tables! Ping pong = John’s favorite. It didn’t take John long to find himself an opponent to battle…and of course John beat him.
Flitch Coffee: (East Austin)
This is a cute family owned business! The husband owns the woodworking factory at the back of the lot and the wife has the coffee shop trailer in the front! You order your coffee in a cool retro metal trailer, and take your pick for seating spread out across the gravel pebble stone lot. There’s a stage, so this would be a nice spot to hangout in the evenings to enjoy some live music under string lights.
Jo’s Coffee: (S Congress Ave)
You didn’t visit Austin if you didn’t get the “i love you so much” picture to prove it! Jo’s coffee was just okay - we didn’t love it. Luckily, you don’t have to go out of the way just for the instagram shot because Jo’s is right on the main strip on S Congress Ave. You can just stop by as you are on your way to explore other shops + restaurants nearby.
Lazarus Brewing Co: (East 6th St)
On our travels, John and I love to try the local beers! Lazarus was recommended to us and we it did not disappoint. This brewery has beautiful decor, rustic-chic indoor seating and a large outdoor patio (complete with string lights across of course). John and I sat at a large picnic table outside, enjoyed ONE IPA and we were feeling it! The beer was really, really good. It’s pet friendly, so we had a lot of 4-legged visitors come hang out with us!
Zilker Brewing Co: (East 6th St)
This brewery was one block down from Lazarus, so we did a little brewery hop. There were picnic tables out the front, food trucks parked along the side and string lights across the lot (seriously, enough with the string lights). Inside was a large circular bar that was bustling with people waiting to order their next drink. Depending on what you’re going for, I personally liked the beer and vibe of Lazarus more — but if you’re like us: just go to both!
Juan in a Million: (E Cesar Chavez St): This restaurant is busy busy busy! Juan in a Million is pretty famous, which explains why all the tables inside were packed. We didn’t feel like waiting or being squished inside; so decided to take it to-go. John and I rode scooters back to our Airbnb and when we got back, realized they gave us the wrong order! We somehow ended up with 7 tacos (…I knew the bag felt oddly heavy). The tacos we ended up receiving were all breakfast tacos. They were super eggy, which wasn’t John’s favorite but I enjoyed mine! They were really filling, so I could only eat one - which is telling you something!! These tacos would be the ultimate cure on a Sunday morning after a night out.
The Salt Lick: Ultimate BBQ Heaven (For John)
The Salt Lick is a 30 minute drive to get out here from downtown — but in John’s words: it’s worth it!! This is a “world-renowned” barbecue joint and is the PLACE to get BBQ if you’re in Austin and have the time.
Inside they have a huge stone fire oven grill thingy with all sorts of meat cooking and dangling around (…the things I do for John, sigh). John ordered a sampler platter with a variety of meats that came with two sides - which I enjoyed. They have a really pretty outdoor area (picture above) for the “Salt Lick Cellars.” Really pretty courtyard with long picnic tables. I can definitely envision spending an afternoon out here and having a wine tasting + BBQ. But we had a schedule to get back to and more food to try!
Bouldin Creek Cafe: (Bouldin Creek) Vegetarian restaurant - grungy, artsy vibe with stickers covering every surface. We got the veggie nachos. Nothing more to say - it was decent. We stopped in as we were exploring this neighborhood. It’s right next to the “Greetings from Austin” wall mural.
I know this list isn’t really comprehensive of all of Austin and leans heavily on only certain neighborhoods of Austin. Sadly, we were only there for 3.5 days, so we didn’t get to go to all the places we would’ve liked…which means we have to go back again! Here are a few other spots that were recommended to us:
Franklin BBQ
Fareground
Easy Tiger
Magnolia Cafe (this is where the Austin Texas mural is)
Rainey Street (day drinking or night-time bar hopping)
Elizabeth’s Street Cafe
As we look ahead to brighter days, when traveling is safe again…I hope this guide can help you plan some of your visit to Austin! And a big thank you to all the friends that gave us recommendations!
Stay safe, healthy, and happy!
-Meg
Check out this gallery of pictures from our trip! —> on mobile, the arrows don’t show up, but tap the next picture and you’ll be able to click through the album!
