Austin Restaurants and Dining

(Austin, Texas - TX, USA)

Austin is first and foremost known for its steak houses and traditional Texas-style cuisine, but the buck doesn't stop there; there are plenty of established foreign restaurants here among Austin's popular downtown and Congress Avenue eateries and dining venues. Vegetarians need not despair either as Austin has a growing number of restaurants serving up Tex-Mex cuisine, while many of the city's numerous music clubs also boast extensive menus.

Opening Hours

Cafés and restaurants in Austin open and close at all times of day depending on their location and standing, but as a general rule those serving breakfast will open at 07:00, lunchtime venues at 11:00 and restaurants serving evening meals will open around 16:30.


The exceptions are all-day cafés and coffee shops in Austin, where breakfast may be served all day with no closing time between meal times. Fast-food eateries and restaurants in Austin's shopping malls also generally stay open all day.

Wine and Beer

Many of Austin's upmarket and mid-range restaurants offer fine wines to complement your meal. The best place to find restaurants serving a good selection of wine and beer is in downtown Austin's West End, Guadalupe Street, Sixth Street, South Congress Avenue and around the Town Lake area. You will also find several excellent dedicated wine bars in these areas as well as near the Arboretum shopping mall.

Breakfast

Cafés and coffee shops, where you can enjoy an early breakfast, are plentiful in the downtown area of Austin. Many places open all day and will often serve breakfast into lunch hours, while 24-hour diners are also in abundance. From a full breakfast to pancakes and cereal, there is plenty of choice in Austin.

Lunch

Downtown Austin features numerous trendy sidewalk cafés and delis catering to lunchtime business-folk, where everything from hotdogs, burgers and other greasy delights to fresh pastas and salads is on the menu. The area around the Arboretum shopping mall to the northwest of downtown and Austin's downtown Warehouse district also specialize in lunchtime menus. However, some of the restaurants in this area of Austin may close for lunch and dinner on the weekends.

Dinner

Downtown Austin, especially Guadalupe Street and Sixth Street, and the areas around Fourth and Colorado streets have some quality yet down-to-earth restaurants where the atmosphere is more laid back than in some of the other larger cities in the States, meaning men don't need to wear a tie for dinner here. Those with a hankering for Mexican food should head out to the East Side, while Lake Austin, Enfield and the areas around the Tom Miller Dam are also good spots, with a number of restaurants and dining options outside the bustle of Austin city centre.