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A black plate of black rice and round seafood and green peas and yellow dollops.
The arroz negro y uni from El Raval.
Nadia Chaudhury/Eater Austin

The Hottest New Restaurants in Austin, June 2023

Korean wine bar, a new ramen spot, and revamped tapas destination.

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The arroz negro y uni from El Raval.
| Nadia Chaudhury/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 135th iteration), highlighting a mix of exciting restaurants, trucks, and food services.

It’s been a busy month. This June update adds the newly redone Violet Crown Wine Bar and Social Club, tapas bar El Raval, ramen omakase spot Daiboku, Korean snacks and wine bar Underdog, tea shop ChiCha San Chen, gorgeous downtown restaurant Estelle’s, colorful bar Lovebirds, and downtown oyster spot Bill’s Oyster.

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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Ramen Del Barrio

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Truthfully, this North Austin restaurant, which opened in February, is one of the most exciting restaurants of the year. Chef Christopher Krinsky’s food court stall inside of Hana World Market in the Scofield Farms neighborhood offers ramen and tacos in Mexican and Japanese ways. Of the former, the mole tsukemen is a wonder; of the latter, he places grilled meat skewers on corn tortillas. It’s a counter-service restaurant, be patient with ordering and be aware they may run out of food. There are indoor dine-in areas.

The Violet Crown Wine Bar & Coffee Shop

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As has become typical in Austin, the former location of Violet Crown Clubhouse became a natural wine bar and coffee shop in May. The morning menu includes pastries and espresso drinks, come evening there are 20 wines by the glass and snacks like tinned fish and almonds. There are indoor and outdoor dining services.

Soupleaf Hot Pot

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The newcomer Highland hot pot restaurant offers all-you-can-eat ingredients for its boiling soups, including vegetables, noodles, and dumplings available buffet-style, since April. And for those who want a little something more, there are a la carte meat and seafood options. There are indoor dine-in services.

ChiCha San Chen

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A Taiwanese shop for tea enthusiasts, ChiCha San Chen, opened its first Texas location in Austin in May. Teas include green, black, and oolong available highly customized with boba and more, while its signature “teaspresso” machines ensure that each tea is brewed at the right temperature and for the right duration of time. The shop is open for indoor dining.

Gràcia

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The new Mediterranean restaurant opened in Rosedale in March, offering a seafood-focused menu with items like gnocchi in a calamari bolognese, swordfish skewers, and more. Owner Cameron Lockley operates neighboring Italian restaurant Gusto and executive chef Jason Tallent worked at Austin Italian restaurant Cipollina. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in services.

Allday Pizza at Flo’s Wine Bar and Bottle Shop

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The highly anticipated pizza spot opened its first location this March in Tarrytown, slinging all sorts of New York-style pies and slices topped with creamy cheese blobs, pepperoni, and more. Pair the pies with glasses of wine from host site Flo’s. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in areas.

Rosé Gosé

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This new European restaurant took over what had been ATX Grill/Sala & Betty in North Loop as of March. The menu offers New European and New American dishes with what the owners call comfort food angles. There’s a raw bar with all sorts of tartares, mussels in tomato sauce, and pavlova topped with sorbets. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in services.

Veracruz Fonda and Bar

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Best Austin taco truck Veracruz expanded with a new Mexican restaurant in Mueller in April, offering, yes, those brilliant breakfast tacos alongside newer dishes like picadas, chilaquiles, wonderfully decadent whole-fried fish, and delightful tres leches cakes. It’s also the first time the restaurant is offering a full cocktail bar with lovely drinks. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in services.

Daiboku

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The team behind Sazan Ramen opened Daiboku in May as an omakase restaurant that also has casual counter service. On the omakase menu, there are two kinds of ramen and other dishes with beverage pairings (which begins June 16), whereas the counter service menu has ramen as well as other Japanese dishes. The restaurant is in West Campus with indoor dining services.

Bar Toti

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The teams behind Mexican restaurants Suerte and Este opened a third little restaurant. Found on the same grounds as Este in Cherrywood, Bar Toti is an intimate indoor and outdoor space serving dishes with Spanish/French/Mexican tinges, take the Mexican hamburguesa with seared ham, the croquetas, and the burnt Basque cheesecake with strawberries. Keep in mind it’s only open on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Estelle's

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Part restaurant, part bar, part lounge, part flower shop, the gorgeous Estelle’s took over the downtown location of Truluck’s in May. The cocktail menus feature floral drinks while dishes include caviar paired with everything-seasoned English muffins, seafood towers, and crispy-grilled pork belly. There are indoor dine-in services.

A table of food and champagne bottles.
Estelle’s
Richard Casteel

Bill's Oyster

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Old-school-vibes restaurant and bar Bill’s Oysters moved into downtown in May with seafood towers, martinis, and of course, oysters. There are indoor and outdoor dining available.

Uptown Sports Club

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It’s another Aaron Franklin-James Moody collaboration (see: Hot Luck Festival) in restaurant form, which opened in March. The casual East Austin spot focuses on New Orleans fare with the help of chef de cuisine Rene Garza. There are po’ boys made with bread from NOLA bakery Leidenheimer, chicken and sausage gumbo, and a raw bar with shrimp cocktails and fancy caviar paired with Zapp’s chips. Obviously, there are good drinks. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in services.

La Popular

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Mexico City restaurant La Popular opened its second-ever American location in Austin’s West Oak Hill neighborhood in April. The menu is a classic taqueria one with lots of tacos, enchiladas, quesos, ceviches, and more, alongside cocktails. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in services.

Lovebirds

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The owners of excellent vegan burger truck Arlo’s are behind Lovebirds, a colorful bar in East Austin that opened in May. Drinks from Midnight Cowboy alum Jon Stephenson include the spicy Old Flame (blanco tequila, blood orange cordial, arbol chiles, and lime) and Head Over Heels (gin, fig syrup, lemon, and prosecco), while on-site Hawaiian-ish food truck Wow Poke serves teriyaki bowls and homemade doughnuts. Located in the former Counter Culture, the new interior has velvet couches and eclectic art for a “cool aunt’s house” vibe.

An array of cocktails in fun glasses including one that looks like a bird. Daniel Cavazos

Holiday

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The new Govalle bar’s food menu is meant to feel like a dinner party, per the all-star team behind Holiday (co-owners bar genius Erin Ashford and Kinda Tropical’s John DiCicco with executive chef Peter Klein) in March. Find New American dishes like the soothing steamed mussels with giant beans, a savory-sweet chicken liver mousse with a white port gelee and strawberry-green garlic mostarda, plus a lovely olive oil cake with dense whipped cream. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in services.

The Emmer & Rye team opened its latest restaurant in late April: Ezov, with a whole Tel Aviv vibe and menu, in the Holly neighborhood. Leading the kitchen is Berty Richter, who had operated the now-closed restaurant TLV. On deck’s falafel paired with tahini, halloumi with date molasses and dukkah, chicken shawarma, and baklava. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in services.

El Raval

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South Lamar tapas bar Barlata was revamped under new ownership to become El Raval in May. Under chef Laila Bazahm, formerly of Eberly, the restaurant will serve modern tapas that take cues from the different immigrant groups in the Barcelona neighborhood of Raval. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in services.

Underdog

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A wine bar, wine shop, and Korean-American restaurant, the hotly anticipated Underdog opened in May. The wine list highlights low-intervention and sustainable wineries, and especially winemakers who are Asian women. To go along with the wines are dishes like galbi, an ebi (shrimp) burger, and fried chicken with nori seasoning.

A pink shrimp patty burger.
The ebi burger at Underdog.
Nadia Chaudhury/Eater Austin

Gangnam Korean BBQ

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Another all-you-can-eat restaurant, but this Sweetbriar spot offers Korean barbecue since it opened in April. There are the usual meats available for grill-it-yourself purposes, plus banchan and a la carte dishes like tteokbokki and stews, plus cocktails and Korean alcoholic beverages. There are indoor dine-in services.

Ramen Del Barrio

Truthfully, this North Austin restaurant, which opened in February, is one of the most exciting restaurants of the year. Chef Christopher Krinsky’s food court stall inside of Hana World Market in the Scofield Farms neighborhood offers ramen and tacos in Mexican and Japanese ways. Of the former, the mole tsukemen is a wonder; of the latter, he places grilled meat skewers on corn tortillas. It’s a counter-service restaurant, be patient with ordering and be aware they may run out of food. There are indoor dine-in areas.

The Violet Crown Wine Bar & Coffee Shop

As has become typical in Austin, the former location of Violet Crown Clubhouse became a natural wine bar and coffee shop in May. The morning menu includes pastries and espresso drinks, come evening there are 20 wines by the glass and snacks like tinned fish and almonds. There are indoor and outdoor dining services.

Soupleaf Hot Pot

The newcomer Highland hot pot restaurant offers all-you-can-eat ingredients for its boiling soups, including vegetables, noodles, and dumplings available buffet-style, since April. And for those who want a little something more, there are a la carte meat and seafood options. There are indoor dine-in services.

ChiCha San Chen

A Taiwanese shop for tea enthusiasts, ChiCha San Chen, opened its first Texas location in Austin in May. Teas include green, black, and oolong available highly customized with boba and more, while its signature “teaspresso” machines ensure that each tea is brewed at the right temperature and for the right duration of time. The shop is open for indoor dining.

Gràcia

The new Mediterranean restaurant opened in Rosedale in March, offering a seafood-focused menu with items like gnocchi in a calamari bolognese, swordfish skewers, and more. Owner Cameron Lockley operates neighboring Italian restaurant Gusto and executive chef Jason Tallent worked at Austin Italian restaurant Cipollina. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in services.

Allday Pizza at Flo’s Wine Bar and Bottle Shop

The highly anticipated pizza spot opened its first location this March in Tarrytown, slinging all sorts of New York-style pies and slices topped with creamy cheese blobs, pepperoni, and more. Pair the pies with glasses of wine from host site Flo’s. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in areas.

Rosé Gosé

This new European restaurant took over what had been ATX Grill/Sala & Betty in North Loop as of March. The menu offers New European and New American dishes with what the owners call comfort food angles. There’s a raw bar with all sorts of tartares, mussels in tomato sauce, and pavlova topped with sorbets. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in services.

Veracruz Fonda and Bar

Best Austin taco truck Veracruz expanded with a new Mexican restaurant in Mueller in April, offering, yes, those brilliant breakfast tacos alongside newer dishes like picadas, chilaquiles, wonderfully decadent whole-fried fish, and delightful tres leches cakes. It’s also the first time the restaurant is offering a full cocktail bar with lovely drinks. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in services.

Daiboku

The team behind Sazan Ramen opened Daiboku in May as an omakase restaurant that also has casual counter service. On the omakase menu, there are two kinds of ramen and other dishes with beverage pairings (which begins June 16), whereas the counter service menu has ramen as well as other Japanese dishes. The restaurant is in West Campus with indoor dining services.

Bar Toti

The teams behind Mexican restaurants Suerte and Este opened a third little restaurant. Found on the same grounds as Este in Cherrywood, Bar Toti is an intimate indoor and outdoor space serving dishes with Spanish/French/Mexican tinges, take the Mexican hamburguesa with seared ham, the croquetas, and the burnt Basque cheesecake with strawberries. Keep in mind it’s only open on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Estelle's

Part restaurant, part bar, part lounge, part flower shop, the gorgeous Estelle’s took over the downtown location of Truluck’s in May. The cocktail menus feature floral drinks while dishes include caviar paired with everything-seasoned English muffins, seafood towers, and crispy-grilled pork belly. There are indoor dine-in services.

A table of food and champagne bottles.
Estelle’s
Richard Casteel

Bill's Oyster

Old-school-vibes restaurant and bar Bill’s Oysters moved into downtown in May with seafood towers, martinis, and of course, oysters. There are indoor and outdoor dining available.

Uptown Sports Club

It’s another Aaron Franklin-James Moody collaboration (see: Hot Luck Festival) in restaurant form, which opened in March. The casual East Austin spot focuses on New Orleans fare with the help of chef de cuisine Rene Garza. There are po’ boys made with bread from NOLA bakery Leidenheimer, chicken and sausage gumbo, and a raw bar with shrimp cocktails and fancy caviar paired with Zapp’s chips. Obviously, there are good drinks. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in services.

La Popular

Mexico City restaurant La Popular opened its second-ever American location in Austin’s West Oak Hill neighborhood in April. The menu is a classic taqueria one with lots of tacos, enchiladas, quesos, ceviches, and more, alongside cocktails. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in services.

Lovebirds

The owners of excellent vegan burger truck Arlo’s are behind Lovebirds, a colorful bar in East Austin that opened in May. Drinks from Midnight Cowboy alum Jon Stephenson include the spicy Old Flame (blanco tequila, blood orange cordial, arbol chiles, and lime) and Head Over Heels (gin, fig syrup, lemon, and prosecco), while on-site Hawaiian-ish food truck Wow Poke serves teriyaki bowls and homemade doughnuts. Located in the former Counter Culture, the new interior has velvet couches and eclectic art for a “cool aunt’s house” vibe.

An array of cocktails in fun glasses including one that looks like a bird. Daniel Cavazos

Related Maps

Holiday

The new Govalle bar’s food menu is meant to feel like a dinner party, per the all-star team behind Holiday (co-owners bar genius Erin Ashford and Kinda Tropical’s John DiCicco with executive chef Peter Klein) in March. Find New American dishes like the soothing steamed mussels with giant beans, a savory-sweet chicken liver mousse with a white port gelee and strawberry-green garlic mostarda, plus a lovely olive oil cake with dense whipped cream. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in services.

Ezov

The Emmer & Rye team opened its latest restaurant in late April: Ezov, with a whole Tel Aviv vibe and menu, in the Holly neighborhood. Leading the kitchen is Berty Richter, who had operated the now-closed restaurant TLV. On deck’s falafel paired with tahini, halloumi with date molasses and dukkah, chicken shawarma, and baklava. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in services.

El Raval

South Lamar tapas bar Barlata was revamped under new ownership to become El Raval in May. Under chef Laila Bazahm, formerly of Eberly, the restaurant will serve modern tapas that take cues from the different immigrant groups in the Barcelona neighborhood of Raval. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in services.

Underdog

A wine bar, wine shop, and Korean-American restaurant, the hotly anticipated Underdog opened in May. The wine list highlights low-intervention and sustainable wineries, and especially winemakers who are Asian women. To go along with the wines are dishes like galbi, an ebi (shrimp) burger, and fried chicken with nori seasoning.

A pink shrimp patty burger.
The ebi burger at Underdog.
Nadia Chaudhury/Eater Austin

Gangnam Korean BBQ

Another all-you-can-eat restaurant, but this Sweetbriar spot offers Korean barbecue since it opened in April. There are the usual meats available for grill-it-yourself purposes, plus banchan and a la carte dishes like tteokbokki and stews, plus cocktails and Korean alcoholic beverages. There are indoor dine-in services.

Related Maps