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Veracruz All Natural’s migas taco
Veracruz All Natural’s migas taco.
Nadia Chaudhury/EATX

Where to Find Migas in All Its Glorious Forms in Austin

Get the Tex-Mex favorite on a plate, taco, and even a kolache

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Veracruz All Natural’s migas taco.
| Nadia Chaudhury/EATX

Migas, the classic breakfast dish of Mexican or Tex-Mex cuisine, is honored in many forms in Austin. The traditional take involves some version of scrambled eggs and crispy tortilla strips piled up on a plate. Usually the dish also includes some combination of sauce (most commonly ranchero, the mildly spicy red Tex-Mex standard), chiles, onions, and cheese. But the city known for being weird has created its own versions as well.

Excellent plated migas can be found at longstanding Tex-Mex institutions like Amaya’s Taco Village or Habanero Cafe, or try a less-traditional iteration at newer Mexican restaurant Suerte’s brunch. Given Austin’s love of breakfast tacos, there are also options wrapped up in warm, fluffy tortillas. Veracruz All-Natural’s migas taco is the clear local favorite, but El Primo’s version is a close second.

Below is the Eater Austin list of best migas in the city. For further reading, check out the lists for best Tex-Mex, must-eat tacos, and best breakfast tacos.

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Veracruz All Natural

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One of Austin’s iconic dishes is the highly popular migas taco at Veracruz, from sisters and co-owners Reyna and Maritza Vazquez. Their empire includes three trucks and two restaurants, but the industrial-chic restaurant in North Burnet, which has an expanded menu and aguas frescas, will probably provide the most pleasant dining experience, as it has the most seating and the shortest wait. Homemade tortillas differentiate these migas tacos, and the larger-than-average portion size doesn’t hurt. The only question is: traditional migas (egg, tortilla chips, onion, Monterrey Jack cheese, tomato, cilantro, and avocado) or migas poblanas (egg, tortilla chips, mild poblano peppers, red onion, queso fresco, avocado, and black beans)? Neither answer is wrong.

Tacos from Veracruz All Natural
Tacos from Veracruz All Natural
Hillary Dixler Canavan/E

Enchiladas Y Mas

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This family-owned Mexican restaurant may not have much in the way of ambience beyond the colorful papel picados strung up along the walls, but the flair comes out in the house-made salsas made with serrano chiles. The giant migas plate comes with tortillas and optional chorizo or sausage, all best enjoyed with the strong house margaritas.

Amaya's Taco Village

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This homestyle Tex-Mex restaurant with an ample, friendly bar has been around for over 40 years (the South Austin location opened in 2014). Husband-and-wife team Roberto and Susana Amaya own the restaurant with their family, and Roberto was a founding member of what is now the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Austin. The migas are topped with ranchero sauce and come with refried beans, home-fried potatoes, and tortillas.

Kerbey Lane Cafe

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Though Austin institution Kerbey Lane Cafe is known for pancakes, its migas is another shining star on the all-day breakfast menu (and since many locations are open 24 hours, that means migas at any time of the day). Share the dish as part of a wholesome brunch with other families at the Mueller location or go to the chain’s Guadalupe Street address at 2 a.m. to have migas while watching college kids recover from bad decisions. The cafe’s take on the dish is served with your choice between five sauces, rice, and black beans. Don’t miss the smoky chipotle sauce, or go crazy and top yours with queso.

Kerbey Lane Cafe’s migas plate
Kerbey Lane Cafe’s migas plate
Kerbey Lane Cafe/Facebook

Cisco's Restaurant

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East Austin’s Cisco’s has been curing hangovers since 1955, and recently received designation as a historical landmark. The Tex-Mex diner went through changes when it was purchased in 2017 — though one of the new co-owners, Matt Cisneros, is the grandson of the founder Rudy “Cisco” Cisneros. It now stays open for dinner and serves cocktails. However, none of this changes one key fact: the perfectly greasy migas (scrambled with sausage and beans) and migas breakfast tacos remain on the menu.

Hot new restaurant Suerte and its Eater Austin chef of the year Fermín Núñez have received national attention for an upscale take on Mexican cuisine and an obsessive focus on masa. That means the brunch migas, which showcase the masa in the lauded house-made tortillas, are made a little differently. They come with creamy hollandaise as a complement to the spicy salsa made with pequin chile peppers. Though the restaurant is certainly trendy — with millennial pink-striped fabrics and an open-dining, airy dining room — the dishes have staying power.

Suerte’s migas
Suerte’s migas
Suerte [Official]

Tamale House East

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Tamale House East may have only opened in 2012, but it’s still part of the legendary family that has operated Tex-Mex restaurants in Austin for over 50 years, including the original Tamale House (there was even a documentary about them). The essential Austin restaurant is run by the Valera family, the fourth generation of descendants from late founder Moses Vasquez. The restaurant is gorgeous, with a white, well-decorated interior and lush outdoor patio that often hosts live music. “Mom’s Migas” come with ranchero sauce, homestyle potatoes, refried beans, and choice of tortillas (corn, flour, or wheat). There’s also an option to get migas scrambled with chipotle ranchero for a smokey, spicer take. Both come smothered in queso.

South Congress Cafe

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A slightly more upscale offshoot of beloved local Tex-Mex chain Trudy’s, South Congress Cafe serves brunch daily, which includes a great migas option in the touristy district. The traditional migas plate comes with a smoked gouda potato pancake, and there’s also a version of migas enchiladas (corn tortillas rolled with a migas and topped with lime sour cream). The full bar provides many drink options, from a spicy margarita to frozen lemonade.

El Primo

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The ready smile of Humberto Reyes (who goes by Primo) makes the tiny South First taco cart El Primo all the more welcoming. The customizable migas taco is widely recognized as one of the best in its genre in town. The standard version is served with deli ham on a soft, flaky flour tortilla — an anomaly given that corn tortilla is already a critical component of the dish. Add meats like chorizo or bacon to make it your own. Note: El Primo is cash-only.

Habanero Cafe

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This small, homey restaurant in South Austin serves regular migas, but the real star is the chori-migas, a messy, cheesy, chorizo-filled plate of calories. Served with french fries and refried beans, it’s a great option for the morning after a long night out. Famed pitmaster Aaron Franklin and Kanye West have paid this place a visit.

Habanero Mexican Cafe’s chori-migas
Habanero Mexican Cafe’s chori-migas
Habanero Mexican Cafe/Facebook

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Veracruz All Natural

One of Austin’s iconic dishes is the highly popular migas taco at Veracruz, from sisters and co-owners Reyna and Maritza Vazquez. Their empire includes three trucks and two restaurants, but the industrial-chic restaurant in North Burnet, which has an expanded menu and aguas frescas, will probably provide the most pleasant dining experience, as it has the most seating and the shortest wait. Homemade tortillas differentiate these migas tacos, and the larger-than-average portion size doesn’t hurt. The only question is: traditional migas (egg, tortilla chips, onion, Monterrey Jack cheese, tomato, cilantro, and avocado) or migas poblanas (egg, tortilla chips, mild poblano peppers, red onion, queso fresco, avocado, and black beans)? Neither answer is wrong.

Tacos from Veracruz All Natural
Tacos from Veracruz All Natural
Hillary Dixler Canavan/E

Enchiladas Y Mas

This family-owned Mexican restaurant may not have much in the way of ambience beyond the colorful papel picados strung up along the walls, but the flair comes out in the house-made salsas made with serrano chiles. The giant migas plate comes with tortillas and optional chorizo or sausage, all best enjoyed with the strong house margaritas.

Amaya's Taco Village

This homestyle Tex-Mex restaurant with an ample, friendly bar has been around for over 40 years (the South Austin location opened in 2014). Husband-and-wife team Roberto and Susana Amaya own the restaurant with their family, and Roberto was a founding member of what is now the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Austin. The migas are topped with ranchero sauce and come with refried beans, home-fried potatoes, and tortillas.

Kerbey Lane Cafe

Though Austin institution Kerbey Lane Cafe is known for pancakes, its migas is another shining star on the all-day breakfast menu (and since many locations are open 24 hours, that means migas at any time of the day). Share the dish as part of a wholesome brunch with other families at the Mueller location or go to the chain’s Guadalupe Street address at 2 a.m. to have migas while watching college kids recover from bad decisions. The cafe’s take on the dish is served with your choice between five sauces, rice, and black beans. Don’t miss the smoky chipotle sauce, or go crazy and top yours with queso.

Kerbey Lane Cafe’s migas plate
Kerbey Lane Cafe’s migas plate
Kerbey Lane Cafe/Facebook

Cisco's Restaurant

East Austin’s Cisco’s has been curing hangovers since 1955, and recently received designation as a historical landmark. The Tex-Mex diner went through changes when it was purchased in 2017 — though one of the new co-owners, Matt Cisneros, is the grandson of the founder Rudy “Cisco” Cisneros. It now stays open for dinner and serves cocktails. However, none of this changes one key fact: the perfectly greasy migas (scrambled with sausage and beans) and migas breakfast tacos remain on the menu.

Suerte

Hot new restaurant Suerte and its Eater Austin chef of the year Fermín Núñez have received national attention for an upscale take on Mexican cuisine and an obsessive focus on masa. That means the brunch migas, which showcase the masa in the lauded house-made tortillas, are made a little differently. They come with creamy hollandaise as a complement to the spicy salsa made with pequin chile peppers. Though the restaurant is certainly trendy — with millennial pink-striped fabrics and an open-dining, airy dining room — the dishes have staying power.

Suerte’s migas
Suerte’s migas
Suerte [Official]

Tamale House East

Tamale House East may have only opened in 2012, but it’s still part of the legendary family that has operated Tex-Mex restaurants in Austin for over 50 years, including the original Tamale House (there was even a documentary about them). The essential Austin restaurant is run by the Valera family, the fourth generation of descendants from late founder Moses Vasquez. The restaurant is gorgeous, with a white, well-decorated interior and lush outdoor patio that often hosts live music. “Mom’s Migas” come with ranchero sauce, homestyle potatoes, refried beans, and choice of tortillas (corn, flour, or wheat). There’s also an option to get migas scrambled with chipotle ranchero for a smokey, spicer take. Both come smothered in queso.

South Congress Cafe

A slightly more upscale offshoot of beloved local Tex-Mex chain Trudy’s, South Congress Cafe serves brunch daily, which includes a great migas option in the touristy district. The traditional migas plate comes with a smoked gouda potato pancake, and there’s also a version of migas enchiladas (corn tortillas rolled with a migas and topped with lime sour cream). The full bar provides many drink options, from a spicy margarita to frozen lemonade.

El Primo

The ready smile of Humberto Reyes (who goes by Primo) makes the tiny South First taco cart El Primo all the more welcoming. The customizable migas taco is widely recognized as one of the best in its genre in town. The standard version is served with deli ham on a soft, flaky flour tortilla — an anomaly given that corn tortilla is already a critical component of the dish. Add meats like chorizo or bacon to make it your own. Note: El Primo is cash-only.

Habanero Cafe

This small, homey restaurant in South Austin serves regular migas, but the real star is the chori-migas, a messy, cheesy, chorizo-filled plate of calories. Served with french fries and refried beans, it’s a great option for the morning after a long night out. Famed pitmaster Aaron Franklin and Kanye West have paid this place a visit.

Habanero Mexican Cafe’s chori-migas
Habanero Mexican Cafe’s chori-migas
Habanero Mexican Cafe/Facebook

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