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A round gold plate of sliced duck, green leafy vegetables, and a sauce, next to flatbreads on a blue napkin, another white plate of sliced fruit, and a duck-shaped tea pot.
The duck at Zoé Tong.
Courtney Pierce/Eater Austin

The Hottest New Restaurants in Austin, December 2023

Including an omakase from top-notch sushi alums, a new Italian cafe, and two modern Chinese restaurants

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The duck at Zoé Tong.
| Courtney Pierce/Eater Austin

Readers of Eater usually have the same question: Where should I eat right now? As always, the Austin restaurant scene remains as exciting as ever, as new places have continued to open. With all of this in mind, Eater is updating its monthly heatmap (now in its 141st iteration), highlighting a mix of exciting restaurants, trucks, and food services.

This December update adds new Japanese restaurant Craft Omakase; shuttered food truck Fil N’ Viet’s new pop-up pan-Asian chicken wings restaurant; Italian restaurant Intero’s new Italian cafe Poeta; New York modern Chinese restaurant Red Farm; Eater Award-winning pizzeria Allday Pizza’s new second bar location; and another new modern Chinese restaurant, this one from two lauded chefs, Zoé Tong.

Know of something new and exciting that should be on our radar? Email the Eater Austin team at austin@eater.com. To see which places were previously on the heatmap, visit the archive. For a look at Austin’s outstanding dining destinations, check out the Eater 38 map.

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Eater maps are curated by editors and aim to reflect a diversity of neighborhoods, cuisines, and prices. Learn more about our editorial process.

Yellow Bell Tacos

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Celebrated barbecue restaurant Interstellar BBQ opened a South Texas taco truck in October, parked at Austin Beerworks’s second location up in northeast Austin. The lunch and dinner menu includes tacos with smoked chicken, brisket, and lamb as well as quesadillas, crispy dogs, and aguas frescas. There are indoor and outdoor dining locations at the brewery.

Craft Omakase

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The brand-new intimate Japanese restaurant — helmed by three Uchiko alums — opened in the Rosedale neighborhood in early December. The thoughtful 20-course omakase spans simple yet exquisite nigiri as well as composed cold and hot dishes like the tuna tartare tart and a shrimp bisque. And rounding out the dishes are sake- and wine-based cocktails, as well as sakes, beers, and wines. Reservations have to be made online; there are indoor dine-in services. S

East Meets Wings

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Shuttered FIlipino Vietnamese truck Fil N’ Viet came back as a pop-up restaurant in North Loop in mid-November. East Meets Wings is all about pan-Asian chicken wings in flavors like Indonesian ayam goreng and Thai tamarind-basil. The six-month pop-up is the first tenant of new restaurant incubator Playground ATX. Takeout orders can be placed online; there are indoor and outdoor dine-in services.

Bureau de Poste at Tiny Grocer

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Specialty grocery store Tiny Grocer paired with chef Jo Chan (formerly of Eberly and a contestant on Top Chef) to create a French bistro in Hyde Park that opened in October. It’s found in the former neighborhood post office complex along with coffee shop/bookstore First Light Book Shop and a forthcoming location of pizzeria Allday. Look for dishes like steak frites, confit duck legs, roast chicken, and brunch. There are indoor and outdoor dining spaces.

All-vegan fine dining restaurant Fabrik opened in August with influences from Japanese, Italian, and Nordic cuisines. Its ever-rotating tasting menus include dishes like parsnip cappelletti and pickled and smoked tomatoes with cultured cashews and compressed koji melons. Everything from the pasta to the tofu to the infused vinegars is made in-house. There are indoor dining services.

The team behind stellar Italian restaurant Intero opened this new Italian cafe inside of the Frances Modern Inn in Central East Austin in early December. This means a daytime menu of egg dishes like arancini with poached eggs and Florentine tarts; sandwiches; and dinner-time pastas. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in services.

Uchibā

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The much-more casual sibling of Uchi and Uchiko, Uchiba opened downtown in October with Japanese fare like yakitori, bao, buns, and sushi. Unique to the Austin location is a cocktail and sushi bite pairing suggestion, like tepache with house-made “Spam” musubi and oysters with a martini. There are indoor and outdoor dining areas.

Red Farm [Austin]

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The New York City Chinese restaurant expanded with its first out-of-state location in downtown Austin in early November. The star of the menu is its famed Peking duck, alongside lots of dumplings, and other entrees. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in services.

Allday Pizza at Daydreamer

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Okay, so while cocktail bar Daydreamer opened earlier this fall, it is now home to the city’s second location of the newly anointed Eater Award-winning Allday Pizza as of early November. The East Cesar Chavez neighborhood iteration of the pizzeria dishes out those beloved New York-style slices. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in areas.

Zoé Tong

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New York City chefs Simone Tong and Matthew Hyland made Austin their new home and opened their own modern Chinese restaurant in the Zilker neighborhood in early November. The menu makes ample use of its inherited on-site smoker, which means items like sticky barbecue pork ribs and skewered meats and vegetables. There’s also a centerpiece smoked dry-aged duck with sliced breast meat and a whole duck. Don’t miss out on the noodle dishes either. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in services.

Palm Pizza

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Neapolitan pizza specialists Bufalina’s new restaurant Palm Pizza opened in October, focusing on New York-style pizza. Bufalina chef Grae Nonas moved over to develop the menu, which includes thin-crust pies with large slices cooked in gas ovens and chopped salads. Takeout orders can be placed online; there are indoor and outdoor dine-in services.

A round pizza pie with red sauce, blobs of white cheese, and green herbs.
Pizza from Palm.
Palm Pizza

Nomade Cocina y Raw Bar

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This Mexican restaurant opened in October with a gluten-free menu of dishes from Yucatán, like grilled shrimp, sikil pak (a pumpkin seed salsa), and coconut flatbreads. Nomade comes from the team behind popular South Congress sushi spot Lucky Robot. It has indoor and outdoor dining areas.

Elementary

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Former pop-up Elementary opened a restaurant on South Lamar in July for chef and co-owner Colter Peck’s New American fare. That means dishes like ramen risotto and a banh mi eclair along with great cocktails and wines from the full bar. There are indoor dine-in services.

Yellow Bell Tacos

Celebrated barbecue restaurant Interstellar BBQ opened a South Texas taco truck in October, parked at Austin Beerworks’s second location up in northeast Austin. The lunch and dinner menu includes tacos with smoked chicken, brisket, and lamb as well as quesadillas, crispy dogs, and aguas frescas. There are indoor and outdoor dining locations at the brewery.

Craft Omakase

The brand-new intimate Japanese restaurant — helmed by three Uchiko alums — opened in the Rosedale neighborhood in early December. The thoughtful 20-course omakase spans simple yet exquisite nigiri as well as composed cold and hot dishes like the tuna tartare tart and a shrimp bisque. And rounding out the dishes are sake- and wine-based cocktails, as well as sakes, beers, and wines. Reservations have to be made online; there are indoor dine-in services. S

East Meets Wings

Shuttered FIlipino Vietnamese truck Fil N’ Viet came back as a pop-up restaurant in North Loop in mid-November. East Meets Wings is all about pan-Asian chicken wings in flavors like Indonesian ayam goreng and Thai tamarind-basil. The six-month pop-up is the first tenant of new restaurant incubator Playground ATX. Takeout orders can be placed online; there are indoor and outdoor dine-in services.

Bureau de Poste at Tiny Grocer

Specialty grocery store Tiny Grocer paired with chef Jo Chan (formerly of Eberly and a contestant on Top Chef) to create a French bistro in Hyde Park that opened in October. It’s found in the former neighborhood post office complex along with coffee shop/bookstore First Light Book Shop and a forthcoming location of pizzeria Allday. Look for dishes like steak frites, confit duck legs, roast chicken, and brunch. There are indoor and outdoor dining spaces.

Fabrik

All-vegan fine dining restaurant Fabrik opened in August with influences from Japanese, Italian, and Nordic cuisines. Its ever-rotating tasting menus include dishes like parsnip cappelletti and pickled and smoked tomatoes with cultured cashews and compressed koji melons. Everything from the pasta to the tofu to the infused vinegars is made in-house. There are indoor dining services.

Poeta

The team behind stellar Italian restaurant Intero opened this new Italian cafe inside of the Frances Modern Inn in Central East Austin in early December. This means a daytime menu of egg dishes like arancini with poached eggs and Florentine tarts; sandwiches; and dinner-time pastas. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in services.

Uchibā

The much-more casual sibling of Uchi and Uchiko, Uchiba opened downtown in October with Japanese fare like yakitori, bao, buns, and sushi. Unique to the Austin location is a cocktail and sushi bite pairing suggestion, like tepache with house-made “Spam” musubi and oysters with a martini. There are indoor and outdoor dining areas.

Red Farm [Austin]

The New York City Chinese restaurant expanded with its first out-of-state location in downtown Austin in early November. The star of the menu is its famed Peking duck, alongside lots of dumplings, and other entrees. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in services.

Allday Pizza at Daydreamer

Okay, so while cocktail bar Daydreamer opened earlier this fall, it is now home to the city’s second location of the newly anointed Eater Award-winning Allday Pizza as of early November. The East Cesar Chavez neighborhood iteration of the pizzeria dishes out those beloved New York-style slices. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in areas.

Zoé Tong

New York City chefs Simone Tong and Matthew Hyland made Austin their new home and opened their own modern Chinese restaurant in the Zilker neighborhood in early November. The menu makes ample use of its inherited on-site smoker, which means items like sticky barbecue pork ribs and skewered meats and vegetables. There’s also a centerpiece smoked dry-aged duck with sliced breast meat and a whole duck. Don’t miss out on the noodle dishes either. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in services.

Palm Pizza

Neapolitan pizza specialists Bufalina’s new restaurant Palm Pizza opened in October, focusing on New York-style pizza. Bufalina chef Grae Nonas moved over to develop the menu, which includes thin-crust pies with large slices cooked in gas ovens and chopped salads. Takeout orders can be placed online; there are indoor and outdoor dine-in services.

A round pizza pie with red sauce, blobs of white cheese, and green herbs.
Pizza from Palm.
Palm Pizza

Nomade Cocina y Raw Bar

This Mexican restaurant opened in October with a gluten-free menu of dishes from Yucatán, like grilled shrimp, sikil pak (a pumpkin seed salsa), and coconut flatbreads. Nomade comes from the team behind popular South Congress sushi spot Lucky Robot. It has indoor and outdoor dining areas.

Elementary

Former pop-up Elementary opened a restaurant on South Lamar in July for chef and co-owner Colter Peck’s New American fare. That means dishes like ramen risotto and a banh mi eclair along with great cocktails and wines from the full bar. There are indoor dine-in services.

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