Where to Eat and Drink as a Student at University of Texas Austin

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It’s a new school year at University of Texas at Austin, and all of the reading, projects, and tests will soon pile up. Luckily, Eater Austin has done some homework for scholars. For those new-to-Austin freshmen or returning students, this collection of maps and features can teach the most important lesson of all: how to eat and drink well in the Austin.

The Essentials

Let’s start with the basics. Here are the sites to bookmark for Austin’s general dining information gathered to solve happy-hour hankerings, sweet-tooth emergencies, and simply to answer the daily question, what’s for dinner tonight?

An Eater’s Guide to Austin: From coffee to cocktails and late-night pizza to patios with views, this guide will help everyone navigate it all.
The Heatmap: This is a full breakdown of Austin’s hottest restaurants. It gets updated monthly to reflect the city's freshest restaurant options.
The Eater 38: Updated every season, this is a roster of the essential restaurants around town, offering a selection of neighborhood standouts, with a range of locations, cuisines, and price points.
Eater Cocktail Heatmap: Before grabbing that ID and heading out for the night, check out these must-try drinking spots. Updated monthly. For reliable choices, visit the city’s steadfast and true bars and dive bars.
Essential Brunch Map: An antidote to an overindulgent evening, an excuse to meet up with friends, an opportunity to impress parents — brunch can do it all. These are Eater's picks, updated seasonally. For other brunch picks, check out the monthly heatmap with the city’s newest offerings.
Essential Food Trucks Map: The Austin food scene is studded with food trucks (trailers, revamped buses, and the like). Pay heed — some of these could be the humble beginnings of Austin’s next big thing.
Campus Dining Guide: Eater's best bets for dining on and around the campus area. There's a lunch version too.

Austin-Specific Dishes & Drinks

There are iconic dishes that help shape Austin’s culinary scene that might not necessarily be available for those out-of-town students, like kolaches and migas, but this town also does everyday favorites really well. Here’s the rundown.

Barbecue

How Austin does barbecue, a primer to the city’s smoked meat obsession.
Austin’s essential barbecue spots include not-to-be-missed house made sausages at Micklethwait Craft Meats (1309 Rosewood Ave, Central East Austin) and Tex-Mex barbecue mash-ups at Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ (11500 Manchaca Road, Manchaca).

Tacos

Taco heatmap. Because there are so many tacos, so little time, Eater highlights Austin’s latest taco offerings. Trek north of campus to Vaquero Taquero for al pastor tacos straight from the trompo at the food truck’s new restaurant. (104 East 31st Street, Hyde Park)
The best breakfast tacos (the delicacy is basically Central Texas's national treasure and the proper way to start the day). Taco Joint serves up excellent ones near campus (2807 San Jacinto Boulevard, Central Austin)

Pizza

Important pizza needs. For those staying close to campus, check out Detroit-style pizza at Via 313's Guadalupe brick and mortar (3016 Guadalupe Street, North Campus).
Slices are nice, too.

Tex-Mex

Where to find the best classic Tex-Mex dishes, from sizzling fajitas to cheese-laden enchiladas. Don’t miss the massive migas at cash-only spot Habanero Cafe (501 West Oltorf Street, South First).
New to Tex-Mex? Here’s a glossary of terms to know.

Burgers

The city’s best burgers from no-frills to over-the-top creations. Both Crown & Anchor Pub (2911 San Jacinto Boulevard, West Campus) and Dirty Martin’s Place (2808 Guadalupe Street, North Campus) are adjacent to campus.

Queso

Do the dip here. (It’s more than melted cheese, y’all). Bonus: Within campus walking distance are Kerbey Lane (2606 Guadalupe Street, West Campus), Torchy’s Tacos (2801 Guadalupe Street, North Campus), and Posse East (2900 Duval Street, North Campus).

St. Edward’s University

Fear not! Eater didn’t forgotten about St. Edward’s students. There are a bunch of favorites that happen to be close to that campus across the river, from all-day-and-night breakfast diner Magnolia Cafe (1920 South Congress Avenue) to new-school barbecue truck LeRoy & Lewis to drive-thru coffee and empanadas spot Plaza Colombian Coffee to late-night watering hole and music venue Continental Club (1315 South Congress Avenue). Keep up with neighborhood news too: South Congress, South First, and Travis Heights.

Special Diets

No meat? No dairy? No problem — Austin offers vegetarian and vegan options, including the groovy macrobiotic-centered Casa de Luz (1701 Toomey Road, Zilker).
Get gluten-free goods and meals too.

Sandwiches

Sandwich shops students should know. Tip: FoodHeads (616 West 34th Street, North Campus) and Fricano's Deli (2405 Nueces Street, West Campus) are both close to campus.

Caffeine

Get coffee here. 24-hour Bennu (2001 East Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Central East Austin) on the east side fits the bill for coffee and study sessions at any hour.
Great coffee shops with Wi-Fi offer a change of scenery from home or the dorm. Flightpath Coffeehouse (5011 Duval Street, North Loop) is worth a visit for no distractions — the coffee shop doesn't allow any live music.

Adult Beverages

Craft beer in Austin, including the underrated gastropub Hopfields (3110 Guadalupe Street, Central Austin) which is near campus.
The city’s best dive bars. Hole in the Wall (2538 Guadalupe Street, West Campus) offers that sweet blend of live music and drinks.
Tart or spicy, frozen or on the rocks margaritas. Head down to the iconic Texas Chili Parlor (1409 Lavaca Street, Downtown) for the Mad Dog margaritas that musician Guy Clark sang about.
Other essential frozen beverages.
Take tours of the Austin-area’s great breweries.
Eat well at bars with the best snacks.
Self-soothe the next morning with hangover cures. The migas plate at Cisco’s (1511 East 6th Street, East Sixth) has aided many a student.

Miscellaneous

Trying to eat healthy? No need to hate life. The Beer Plant in nearby Tarrytown (3110 Windsor Road) is an all-vegetarian, healthy choice, or grab a grain bowl at Cava (2420 Guadalupe, Campus).
It’s not an oxymoron: quality fast food. Homegrown burger stand P. Terry’s (404 South Lamar Boulevard, South Austin) is worth checking out.
Make all those dessert dreams come true. Plus, sno cones, and sno balls, and shaved ice (welcome to Texas).
Scope out Urban Outfitters’ “lifestyle concept” Space 24 Twenty on the Drag (aka Guadalupe Street) which now houses Austin cafe Lucky Lab, Mediterranean grain bowl spot Cava and Korean fried chicken spot Left Wing. (2420 Guadalupe Street, West Campus).
Poke. (Yup, the beloved and trendy Hawaiian dish made it to Texas.) Poke Bowl is a good bet. (2828 Guadalupe Street, Campus)
Need to entertain a special friend? Try these date night destinations, or go with the city’s best ice cream for a budget-friendly option.
24-hour restaurants for when you can’t stop, won’t stop.
Belt it out at karaoke bars around town. Ego's Lounge is a good place to start (510 South Congress Avenue, South Congress).
Chicken wings for all of that football you're going to watch. Right on campus is Pluckers Wing Bar, which happened to be founded by UT alums (2222 Rio Grande Street, West Campus).
Root for the Longhorns at these sports bars. Nearby Scholz Garten (1607 San Jacinto Boulevard, Medical District) has been the celebratory spot since 1893.

Affordable Eats

For the budget-conscious, these are our picks.

Indispensable affordable eats spots. Near campus are kum-bak burgers from Dirty Martin's Place (2808 Guadalupe Street, West Campus).
Affordable eats heatmap.
Breakfast under $6.
$3 and less for tacos.
Fun and useful happy hours.
Fine dining on the cheap; it can be done.

Tourist Stuff

Watching the bats at the Congress Avenue Bridge

Here are guides and tips to keep in mind when you’re hosting friends and family. And trust us, everyone’s going to want to visit now that you’re in Austin.

How to skip the line at Franklin Barbecue. The key? Preordering.
If you didn’t plan well, there are five other barbecue spots within walking distance of Franklin.
While, yes, everyone goes to these tourist trap restaurants, they are popular for a reason.
Music is important, and of course, there are bars and restaurants featuring live performances.
Classic restaurants everyone should try in Austin.
Scenic dining.
Eater’s favorite patios for dining alfresco, the newest crop of patios to take advantage of, and the best bets for rooftops.
Football fans can eat and drink well during Longhorn games at the Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.

Neighborhoods

Interested in sticking closer to home? Eater Austin’s coverage is organized by neighborhood. Here are a few close to UT, and check out the full directory for more.

Keeping Up With the News

Eater Austin is updated every weekday with breaking news, maps, features, guides, trend pieces, and more. Here's how to stay connected.

Check the Eater Austin homepage for the most up-to-date news and stories.
Sign up for Eater Austin's newsletter for the latest news delivered to your inbox daily.
Like Eater Austin on Facebook and follow on Twitter for updates on new stories and more throughout the day. While you’re at it, follow along on Instagram for pretty food photographs.
Also, visit the national site Eater for news and dining guides from across the country, plus international food news.

Get in Touch

Have other questions not answered here? Have a juicy tip to share? Want a super-specific restaurant recommendation? Here's how to reach us.

Email austin@eater.com to reach the editors.
Share intel through the tipline which can be anonymous or otherwise.

With updates by Nadia Chaudhury and Erin Russell.

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Austin Dining 101: A Guide for Students

The Essentials