Austin’s dining scene has been off to a busy start in 2026. Here’s what’s new:
January 2026
🍝 Poeta, 1108 E. 6th St.
Poeta opened inside East Austin Hotel on Jan. 8. The hotel is the third home of the Italian restaurant.
🍸 Sweet Sensi Lounge, 607 Congress Ave.
Cocktail bar Sweet Sensi Lounge opened a block south of Paramount Theatre on Jan. 17. The bar’s menu includes CBD products, brownie flights, and tacos.
☕ Black Sheep Coffee, West 6th St. and Guadalupe St.
Black Sheep Coffee opened downtown on Jan. 15. The shop is currently serving pancake syrup lattes.
🍽️ Ēma, 3120 Palm Way
Ēma, a Mediterranean restaurant serving small plates, opened at the Domain on Jan. 31.
December 2025
🍣 Hokkaisan Omakase, 609 Congress Ave.
Hokkaisan Japanese grocery store downtown opened an Omakase experience in its upstairs dining room at the beginning of December. Omakase is available every other Friday for $69.
🍚 Kiin Di, 2414 S. Lamar Blvd.
Thai food truck Kiin Di had the soft opening for its first brick-and-mortar restaurant in early December and expanded dining hours in January. Kua curry beef ribs, creamy curry crab, and killer noodles are all on the menu.
🍕 Moderna Bar & Pizzeria, 1717 W. 6th St.
Moderna Bar & Pizzeria opened on Dec. 11 in downtown Austin. The Italian restaurant is open for lunch and dinner and has pizza, pasta, sandwiches, and more on its menu.
🍸 Parley, 1628 E. Cesar Chavez St.
Parley is a new bar in East Austin that opened on Dec. 19.
🥪 High Road DelicaTexan, 915 W. Mary St.
High Road DelicaTexan opened in the Bouldin Creek neighborhood in December. Menu items include everything from coffee and a breakfast hot dog to mocktails and sandwiches.
November 2025
🦀 Restaurant François, 401 W. 3rd St.
Restaurant François, a French-American restaurant, opened downtown on Nov. 24.
🥐 Ciccio Bomba, 111 Congress Ave.
Italian bakery Ciccio Bomba opened inside Fareground downtown in November. The bakery is co-owned by comedian Tom Segura.
🥩 VanHorn's, 238 W. 2nd St.
VanHorn’s is a steakhouse serving oysters, shrimp cocktail, lobster, New York strips, and more at its location downtown. The restaurant opened in November.
🐟 Kappo Kappo, 600 W. 2nd St.
Kappo Kappo serves an 11-course tasting menu of French and Japanese dishes. The downtown restaurant opened on Nov. 28.
🫒 Amaya, 80 Rainey St.
Located inside the Paseo apartment complex on Rainey Street, Amaya opened on Nov. 7. The restaurant offers Mediterranean favorites like hummus and falafel.
🍣 Konbini, 908 E. 5th St.
Konbini opened behind papercut cocktail bar in East Austin in mid-November. The restaurant offers nigiri and crudos, and is open until 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
☕ Jo’s Coffee, 701 W. 24th St.
Iconic coffee shop Jo’s Coffee opened a new location in West Campus this month.
🌸 Leona Botanical Cafe & Bar, 6405 Brodie Lane
This new cafe is from the teams behind Veracruz All Natural and DEE DEE, and is on a 5-acre site that includes a botanical garden, pavilion, and cafe.
Jo's Coffee. (Elissa Castles/City Cast Austin)
October 2025
Two Mendocino Farms locations opened in Austin in October – one at 1106 W. 38th St. and another at 4301 W. William Cannon Dr. Offerings include sandwiches and salads.
🍸 Bar Fino, 88 1/2 Rainey St.
Bar Fino is the latest addition to Rainey Street, serving up creative cocktails like a tomato and pineapple margarita. The bar opened in early October.
🍖 Churchrow Tejas BBQ, 1521 W. Anderson Lane
Churchrow Tejas BBQ launched in mid-October. The barbecue joint is run by Simon Madera, the restauranter behind La Holly and Taco Flats.
🌷 Flourish Plant Shop & Wine Bar, 5003 Airport Blvd.
Flourish is part-wine bar and part-plant shop and had its grand opening in October. The shop offers memberships that include discounts on plants.
September 2025
🍝 Rocco's Neighborhood Joint, 5001 Airport Blvd.
Rocco’s opened in mid-September and the menu includes lots of pastas, fried blue cheese olives, fried mozzarella, and more.
☕ Grá Mór, 200 E. 6th St.
Grá Mór began cranking our delicious coffee, including blueberry crumble lattes and banana cream cold brew, at the start of September.
🍷 Nica on 4th, 117 W. 4th St.
Nica on 4th is a craft cocktail bar with live jazz music. The bar opened in mid-September.
🍣 Hokkaisan Japanese Deli Sushi, 609 Congress Ave.
Hokkaisan Japanese Deli Sushi took over the old Royal Blue Grocery location on Congress Avenue in September. It’s the perfect lunch spot to grab sushi rolls, yummy drinks, and fun candy.
🍽️ Twin Isle Caribbean Restaurant, 1401 Rosewood Ave.
Twin Isle opened on Sept. 1. The restaurant’s menu includes items like jerk chicken, roti wraps, and fried plantains.
August 2025
☕ Cenote, 1405 E. 7th St.
Popular coffee shop Cenote reopened on East Seventh Street in August after leaving its spot on Cesar Chavez Street in April.
🥤 Lau Lau, 3701 Guadalupe St.
Drink shop Lau Lau had its soft opening in August. You can find matcha, espresso, and tea drinks here.
July 2025
☕ La La Land Kind Cafe, 1400 S. Congress Ave.
La La Land Kind Cafe, a popular coffee shop with locations in Dallas, Houston, and Los Angeles, opened on South Congress Avenue on July 4. Menu items include a french toast latte and upside-down lattes.
🐟 Fish Shop, 1401 E. 6th St.
Fish Shop had its grand opening on July 25 in East Austin. Seafood towers, steamed clams, lobster toast, oysters, and more are all available here.
🍖 Fiasco BBQ, 641 Allen St.
Fiasco BBQ opened up near Kinda Tropical in East Austin on July 12. Visit for barbecue classics like brisket, pork ribs, turkey, and more.
🍛 Siti, 1123 E. 11th St.
Lobster chili crab, hamachi, laksa, and lamb kolae are all on the menu at Siti. The restaurant opened in mid-July.
🚚 Salam’s Grill, 11220 N. Lamar Blvd.
Salam’s Grill is a Palestinian food truck located at Peace Bakery & Deli in North Austin. The truck had its soft opening on July 26 and menu items include kebabs, falafel, shawarma, and more.
🍧 Hana Organic Shave Ice, 1009 W. Lynn St.
Summer’s not over yet, so why not get yourself a snow cone? Hana Organic Shave Ice makes their shaved ice with organic fruit syrups and opened a permanent truck on July 19 outside Howler Brothers Hacienda.
June 2025
🍳 Paperboy, 1401 S. Lamar Blvd.
Paperboy, which serves up delicious coffee and great brunch options, opened a new spot on South Lamar last month near Odd Duck in Bouldin Creek.
🍝 Poeta, 3012 Gonzales St.
Poeta has moved! The Italian restaurant opened in a new space off of East 7th Street at Swoop House & Wine Garden on June 10. Visit for yummy pastas and desserts.
🪩 East End Ballroom, 4715 E. 5th St.
East End Ballroom opened in June near Justine’s in Govalle. The ballroom offers coffee, cocktails, food, and live music.
May 2025
☕Café Largesse, 2800 Barton Creek Blvd.
You can find coffee, pastries, salads, paninis, and more at Café Largesse. The cafe had its grand opening on May 4.
🍨 Bésame, 300 West Whitestone Blvd.
Bésame opened its third food truck location in Cedar Park in early May, offering ice cream, coffee, and other treats.
🍷 Strangelove, 2614 East Cesar Chavez St.
Strangelove, which serves coffee and wine, had its grand opening on May 10 in East Austin.
April 2025
🎳 Pins Mechanical Co., 4323 South Congress Ave.
You can play duckpin bowling, pinball, foosball, ping pong, and patio pong at Pins Mechanical Co. at its St. Elmo location. Drinks are available too from the joint’s full bar, which had its grand opening on April 17.
🥂 Bar Hacienda, 400 Colorado St.
Located in the basement of Tiger Lily downtown, Bar Hacienda is a speakeasy serving up creative cocktails. It opened April 10.
🍸 Golden Ace Austin, 419 West Second St.
Cocktail lounge Golden Ace Austin opened downtown in April. The bar is led by mixologist Christian Suzuki-Orellana and boasts a "Japanese elegance” with “Texas spirit.”
🍨 Bésame, 2401 Winsted Lane
Bésame, a spot for ice cream, coffee, and other treats, opened a second food truck in Tarrytown with a soft opening in early April.
🥩 Cedar Tavern Bar, 615 South Lamar Blvd.
Cedar Tavern Bar, which was formerly part of Eberly, opened its own concept at the end of April. Along with cocktails, the bar offers up dishes like fish and chips, pot pie, steak frites, and more.
🥪 Knuckle Sandwich, 8504 South Congress Ave.
Knuckle Sandwich, a gourmet sandwich mini food truck, opened at the Far Out Lounge & Stage at the end of April.
🍗 Soul Seoul Sol, 2505 Webberville Rd.
Soul Seoul Sol food truck opened in East Austin sometime in April and serves dishes like chicken and beignets, barbacoa cornbread, and fried chicken sandwiches.
March 2025:
🥇 Golden Boy, 111 Congress Ave.
Golden Boy had its soft opening at Fareground in downtown Austin on March 3. The restaurant will have its full launch sometime this month. The menu includes chicken bowls and wagyu steak salads.
🏀 1972 Pub, 2530 Guadalupe St.
The state’s only women’s sports bar, 1972 Pub, has its grand opening on March 19. Since then, the pub’s been packed with visitors watching The University of Texas at Austin’s women’s basketball team in the NCAA tournament.
🍸 Mother’s Ruin, 1401 E. Sixth St.
Mother’s Ruin in East Austin had its grand opening on March 7. The bar has tasty, creative drinks like the Emergency Confetti, made with rum, lime, kiwi, watermelon, and Aperol, and delicious bar food including a delectable fried Twinkie.
🍔 JABS Burgers & Fries, 111 Congress Ave.
JABS Burgers & Fries opened inside Fareground in downtown Austin in March. The spot serves four kinds of burgers ranging from $9 to $13.
🍴 Electric Gravy, 1050 E. 11th St.
Electric Gravy is a new Indian-Texas fusion restaurant serving up bites like curry queso and curry fried chicken. The restaurant opened on March 26.
🍖 Parish Barbecue, 3220 Manor Road
Parish Barbecue, a food truck serving Texas-style barbecue with Louisiana roots, opened in the backyard of Batch Craft Beer & Kolaches on March 22. In addition to brisket and the like, muffuletta sandwiches and boudin are on the menu.
🏠 Bungalow, 83 Rainey St.
Bungalow reopened on Rainey Street on March 23. The bar closed down in 2022 to make room for development in the area. The reopened version of the bar is located in the old Icenhauer's space.
🌭 YoYo’s Hotdogs, 2308 Rio Grande St.
YoYo’s Hotdogs, a Houston-based hot dog restaurant, opened inside the Dobie Center on the University of Texas at Austin campus on March 2.
February 2025:
🥟 Tian Tian Golden Palace Seafood & Dim Sum Austin, 10901 N. Lamar Blvd.
This Chinese restaurant had its soft opening on Feb. 18 in North Austin.
🥪 Handsome Dan's, 979 Springdale Road
Handsome Dan’s, a sandwich shop in East Austin labeled as “50% bar and 50% bodega,” opened Feb. 21. Menu items include grilled cheese sandwiches, Cubanos, and Italian sandwiches.
🫒 The Greek Bar, 534 E. Oltorf St.
The Greek Bar opened Feb. 26 in Travis Heights. The menu includes Greek dishes like spanakopita, dolmades, and tzatziki with pita bread and pickled veggies.
☕ Radio Rosewood, 1115 E. 11th St.
Radio Coffee & Beer’s third location opened in East Austin on Feb. 12. Radio Rosewood moved into Try Hard Coffee Roaster’s old location.
January 2025:
🍺 Oribello's Bar and Kitchen, 519 W. 37th St.
Oribello’s, an American-Chinese-Filipino-inspired sports bar serving lumpia, pizza, and katsu chicken, opened just north of The University of Texas at Austin in January.
🍖 Micklethwait Barbecue, 4602 Tanney St.
The lauded barbecue joint moved into a renovated East Austin church and opened Jan. 3. Visit for the new digs, and stay for the brisket and jalapeño cheese grits.
🥩 Aris Mediterranean Steakhouse, 1111 W. Sixth St.
This steakhouse opened at the start of January. Menu items include caviar, octopus, and, of course, cuts of steak.
🍕 Small’s Pizza, 1023 Springdale Road
Small’s Pizza moved from Mercado Sin Nombre into Wingman Kitchens at Springdale General during the first week of January. Pizzas are available Wednesday through Saturday.
December 2024:
🐯 Tiger Lilly, 400 Colorado St.
Tiger Lilly had its grand opening this month in Austin’s Warehouse District downtown. The bar, which features cocktails, beer, and wine, took over the space where Estelle’s once was. Estelle’s closed abruptly in September.
🍖 Loro Domain North Side, 11601 Domain Drive
A second Austin location of Aaron Franklin and Tyson Cole’s Asian smokehouse Loro will open at the Domain on Dec. 21. If you haven’t made it to the South Lamar location of the restaurant, swing by the new spot for amazing brisket, chicken karaage, rice bowls, and sandwiches.
November 2024:
🍕 Loudmouth, 1209 Rosewood Ave.
Loudmouth opened Nov. 6 in East Austin. The menu includes pizzas, Italian appetizers like meatballs and focaccia, sweet pepper arancini, and caponata. Grab a sandwich and wash it down with one of the restaurant’s frozen cocktails.
☕ Swedish Hill - Westlake, 3663 Bee Caves Road
MML Hospitality opened its Westlake location of popular coffee shop and bakery Swedish Hill on Nov. 25. Stop in for coffee, tea, juice, pastries, bagels, salads, sandwiches, and more.
🧸 Teddy’s, 1601 West 38th St.
Teddy’s opened in Rosedale on Nov. 18. The menu includes duck confit flautas, stuffed quail, pork chops, and lump crab tostadas.
🐔 Nando’s Peri Peri - Mueller, 1825 McBee St.
Nando’s Peri Peri, a South African chain restaurant, opened in Mueller on Nov. 13. Offerings include chicken bowls, sandwiches, whole chickens, and skewers.
🍫 San Ginés, 2072 South Lamar Blvd.
Madrid-based restaurant San Ginés had its soft opening on South Lamar Boulevard on Nov. 15. Cocktails, coffee, wine, beer, churros, salads, and small plates are all on the menu.
🥇 Black Gold, 1521 W Anderson Lane
Black Gold, a craft meats and cocktails joint, opened in Crestview in North Austin on Nov. 9. Everything on the menu sounds great: Double cut pork chop topped with jalapeño and mango, a filet topped with a baby bella mushroom sauce, and a steak served with chimichurri and corn salsa.
