Truthfully, this North Austin restaurant is one of the most exciting restaurants of the year, which opened in February. 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 if they run out of food. There are indoor dine-in areas.

The newcomer Highland hot pot restaurant offers all-you-can-eat ingredients for its boiling soups, including vegetables, noodles, and dumplings available buffet-style. And for those who want a little something more, there are a la carte meat and seafood options. The restaurant is open for reservations only through Monday, May 15. There are indoor dine-in services.

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.

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.

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.

Six-time James Beard Award nominee Steve McHugh opened his first Austin restaurant in a new downtown hotel, Hyatt Centric Congress Avenue Austin, in February. The San Antonio chef’s menu includes charcuterie (which he is known for at his restaurant Cured) and seasonal Texas fare. Luminaire is on the ground floor of the hotel with indoor and outdoor seating options, and there’s also a rooftop bar, Las Bis, with cocktails, snacks, an outdoor terrace, and skyline views.

The massive downtown restaurant space is now home to a Latin American-leaning live-fire spot courtesy of hospitality financial startup InKind as of February. The upscale-ish menu spans steaks with salsas, caviar atop sopes, and a fully loaded seafood tower paired with veracruz sauce. There are indoor dine-in services.

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.

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.

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.

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.