Address book: Austin, TX

The South wasn’t somewhere I’d pictured myself, not until we relocated to Austin. I’d heard the stories, of course, specifically the city’s reputation for drawing in all sorts. I worried it might be too transient, too elusive to pin down, and I fully expected to stay on the fringes. But I didn’t.

As with anywhere, a few of the stereotypes do hold up. The traffic is every bit as bad as it’s said to be, and the driving here is, well, distinctive. The food culture is solid, if not quite as eclectic as some would have you believe, but there’s more than enough variety to keep things interesting.

Anyway. I’ve been meaning to assemble this list for a while now. It's a patchwork of places I kept going back to, plus a handful locals recommended once they realised I wasn't just passing through. Fair warning: it’s far from comprehensive. Austin conjures up new places faster than I can log them, and I gave up trying some time ago.

So, a short visit, a new job or just to see what the fuss is about. However you got here, I hope this nudges you to find your own version of Austin. It is 100% a strange, strange place. But it’s wonderful, too.

Commodore Perry Estate - An Auberge resort set in an Italian Renaissance manor on 10 acres, which in Austin means actual grounds, an almost anomalous feature for the market. The restoration detail is noteworthy. And if you want a slight European grandeur transplanted to central Texas, this is the closest Austin gets.

Carpenter Hotel - A former carpenter’s union hall conversion in Hyde Park. The F&B programme (Goodall’s) runs with heart, and it’s much quieter than the SoCo cluster.

The Loren Hotel - The draw is the rooftop and the Lady Bird Lake views, and the hotel is honest enough to build its identity around them. As a design object, it’s competent without being particularly interesting, but its location is what it capitalises on. The water, the walking trails… You’re set.

Austin Proper - Kelly Wearstler’s interiors are the primary reason to book this. Custom murals and bold textiles, all without being kitsch. Peacock, the on-site restaurant, is good enough, which is more than can be said for most design-hotel F&B.

Hotel San José - Minimalist, very much plant-forward and a nice courtyard. It was in this courtyard that my husband and I laughed at the prospect of ever living in Austin. This was back in 2022. Fast forward two years, and it’s exactly where we landed. If you want to get an idea as to why Austin gained a reputation for this kind of boutique hotel, stay here first.

Hotel Magdalena - A slightly more polished Bunkhouse property on Music Lane. Equipment Room in the basement (see: Bars) somewhat justifies the stay on its own. A little less iconic than San José but arguably more comfortable, and the programming around it is the most animating of any property on this list right now.

Hotel Saint Cecilia - I believe this is the most expensive and most deliberately curated of the Bunkhouse portfolio. Musician-themed, of course, without appearing too literal about it. Poolside suites and serious hi-fi.

Frame Hotel - Two adjacent properties (Treehouse and SoCo) operating under a Japanese omotenashi ethos. This means no front desk, keyless digital entry and adults-only throughout. The Treehouse is the former award-winning Kimber Modern, reimagined under century-old oaks. Meanwhile, the SoCo property is built around a koi pond garden.

The Inn at Green Pastures - No longer the wedding venue it was best known as. Since December 2025, there’s a 63-room inn grafted onto the historic Bouldin Creek estate. Clayton Korte design, La Corsha behind it. Private pool, a bar/lounge and two restaurants on the grounds. Mattie’s for Southern (see: Restaurants) and the newer Henry’s.

The Frances Modern Inn - A 14-room East Austin boutique with individually decorated rooms. Despite being on the smaller side, it has a rooftop and an in-house Southeast Asian restaurant guided by Chef Laila Bazahm. It’s eclectic and charming. And worth it, depending on your tolerance for colour and accumulated detail.

Heywood Hotel - A small East Austin property designed from the ground up as an owner-operated boutique. Guest rooms have full kitchens and private patios, so it’s almost like a mini apartment rather than a traditional hotel. Good for longer stays.

COFFEE SHOPS

Swedish Hill - The pastries are the real draw, especially the kouign-amann and the buckwheat scone. The coffee is consistent and worth whatever wait materialises. Personally, I prefer the West Lake Hills location.

Proud Mary Coffee - An Australian import, which means the espresso is really, really good. The all-day food menu goes harder than most Austin coffee shops.

Cosmic Pickle - More accurately Cosmic Coffee + Beer Garden on Pickle Road. It’s a permaculture-certified outdoor campus with a self-sustaining ecosystem, food trucks and a National Wildlife Habitat designation (random, yes). The transition from morning coffee to afternoon beer is seamless.

Desnudo Coffee - Cuban-inspired and strong-willed. It went viral on social media without adjusting accordingly, so that’s respectable. One of the best matcha lattes you’ll get in the city.

Two Hands - Another Australian import, which tracks. Aussies really understand how to do an all-day café. The brunch is good, especially the burgers, and the space is nice and bright.

Civil Goat - A small, local chain with a food-forward approach. Think acai bowls, avocado toast, omelettes, and famously, a live pygmy goat living on the grounds, whom I’ve never actually seen.

Houndstooth - Pretty much an institution from what I’ve come to understand. The baristas take their craft seriously without being pretentious about it—a solid option downtown.

Figure 8 - An East Austin spot on Chicon, founded by Ryan Hall and Kathleen Carmichael with a philosophy of well-sourced coffee. They’ve stuck to that mission, which earns a level of trust that newer arrivals are still building. Sometimes serves wine.

Mercado Sin Nombre - Specialises in Mexican heirloom corn and speciality coffee sourced from small farms in Mexico and roasted in Austin. The 100-hour biscuit is notable, as well as the masa pancakes and honey buns.

El Tigre - Part of Tatanka Guerrero’s Dreamers & Doers Hospitality Group, which also runs Trona (see: Bars). The coffee shop has a sister relationship with that broader East 12th ecosystem.

Tiny Grocer - A tightly, tightly curated corner shop in one small space. As I’m writing this, I believe the South Congress store is closing, relocating to East MLK and reopening later in 2026. The Hyde Park location, however, is still going strong.

First Light Bookshop - An independent bookshop with a coffee shop attached.

BRB Coffee - Middle Eastern coffee inside a working laundromat, which would totally be a gimmick but it isn’t. Such a warm and kind family runs it, and you’ll get 10% off if you’ve got a load to wash.

RESTAURANTS

Kemuri Tatsu-Ya - This became one of my favourite restaurants in the city. Japanese Texas BBQ. Smoked brisket in dashi and Texas barbecue technique passed through izakaya logic.

Craft Omakase - A serious omakase programme. Michelin star. The fish sourcing is incredible and so are the conversations to be had. But book well ahead.

Bufalina - Neapolitan pizza with a natural wine list. The Cesar Chavez original remains small and fills by 6 pm. Bufalina Due on Burnet is easier to get into, does weekend lunch and is in the same strip mall as Barley Swine, which is either convenient or a cruel decision to have to make.

Suerte - Fermín Núñez nixtamalises corn in house and the entire menu proceeds from that. East Sixth, so expect noise.

Este - Ceviches, aguachiles, tostadas. Michelin has it in Recommended rather than starred, which is about right.

Güero’s Taco Bar - A South Congress landmark celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2026 inside the old Central Feed and Seed building. Known for Old Austin vibes, hand-shaken margaritas, a self-serve salsa bar and an open-air Oak Garden with live music from Wednesday to Sunday. Great for people watching.

Mattie’s - Housed inside The Inn at Green Pastures. It delivers upscale Southern hospitality and comfort food, with gorgeous interiors, and resident peacocks famously populate the grounds.

Barley Swine - Bryce Gilmore has been doing this since 2010, which in Austin terms is geological. Now on Burnet Road, one seasonal chef’s tasting menu.

Nixta Taqueria - Edgar Rico’s East 12th taqueria. Indoors is reservation-only; the patio is communal and first-come. Queue anyway.

la Barbecue - One of four Texas smokehouses that became the first American barbecue to receive Michelin stars in 2024. Wednesday to Sunday, and they run out. Go before noon or accept what’s left.

Paperboy - The East 11th brunch that graduated from food truck to proper diner. SuperThing coffee and a seasonal menu. Design-forward and popular enough that a weekend walk-in will more than likely cost you an hour. Now cloned on South Lamar and, improbably, in Denver. Next door to Take Heart (see: Shopping), so pair them.

Kiin Di - Four years as a food truck and now a proper restaurant on South Lamar in the former Mr Natural space. Women-owned, run by chefs Arme Chaikantha and Bee Ruengphanit, who met at college in Memphis and cook the spicy northern Thai street food they grew up on without dialling it down for anyone.

Sangam Chettinad - Probably the only Indian restaurant you need to know about in Austin. Authentic flavours. Nothing fancy. But really bloody good.

Pecan Square Café - Truly nothing to write home about, but it's such a quaint spot for a girls' night.

BARS

Flo’s Wine Bar and Bottle Shop - A wine bar, a bottle shop and a pizza window sharing one covered patio out on West 35th. Half off bottles to take away, which turns one drink into a whole evening.

The Meteor - A mid-century former convenience store on South Congress running as a café, natural wine bar and bike shop all at once, which is either too much or exactly Austin. Reach-in coolers stacked with low-intervention bottles and proper grower Champagne. No corkage if you’d rather take one to the patio. One of the founders actually started Intelligentsia, so the coffee is noteworthy, but the wine is the reason to come after dark.

Midnight Cowboy - One of Austin’s oldest speakeasies, in a building that spent years as a brothel of the same name. Tim League of Alamo Drafthouse bought it and left the single red bulb. Reservations only.

Strangelove Coffee & Wine - A converted house on East Cesar Chavez that opens at 7:30 am for coffee and doesn’t shut until 11 pm with wine. Syrups and chai made in-house. Parking is bad; walk.

Equipment Room - The listening bar in the basement of Hotel Magdalena. Real hi-fi and a Side A and Side B menu.

Trona - Down an alley off East 12th, part of Tatanka Guerrero’s Dreamers & Doers group and sibling to El Tigre. It’s dark and intimate with great cocktails.

SHOPPING

South Congress - Something similar to what we Brits call a high street. Hermès, Le Labo, Garrett Leight, Reformation, Soho House, etc. Rising rents have pushed the funk (Uncommon Objects, Lucy in Disguise, Tesoros) out or under. But Allen Boots remains. And so does Lucchese (which is where I got my first pair of cowboy boots—core memory). An essential stroll, but don’t come expecting the weird it’s named for.

Westside Market - ByGeorge’s answer to losing its South Congress lease. A 10,000-square-foot multi-brand hall in Clarksville, opened in 2025. Fashion, ceramics, books, florals under one skylit roof. Curated, not crammed. High-end.

Four Hands - Founded in Austin in 1996 and still headquartered there. Trade-focused at heart but the retail floor is open to anyone.

Take Heart - Nina Gordon’s shop on East 11th in a Furman + Keil building, as considered as the objects inside. Incense, handmade ceramics, wooden kitchen goods, each tagged with who made it and where. Not cheap and doesn’t pretend to be. Next to Paperboy, so make a morning of it.

Uncommon Objects - An antique collection that predates most of what SoCo has become. Two dozen dealers, colour-coordinated chaos. Treasures and junk share shelves.

CULTURE

Blanton Museum of Art - The reason to come is Ellsworth Kelly’s Austin. The only building he ever designed, finished in 2018: a stone chapel of coloured glass, a totem, and black-and-white marble. People cry in there. The rest is a university collection. Free on Tuesdays.

The Contemporary Austin - Two sites, one ticket. The Jones Center is the downtown white-cube half; Laguna Gloria is the other half—an Italianate villa on Lake Austin with a sculpture park in the grounds. Same-day admission covers both.

Harry Ransom Center - A humanities archive on the UT campus that has a Gutenberg Bible and the Niépce heliograph. For anyone who works in words or images, it’s a little pilgrimage.

WALKING ROUTES

Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail - The 10-mile loop around Lady Bird Lake, and the one everyone walks. The Boardwalk stretch out over the water on the southeast side is the best of it. Flat and shaded in parts.

Barton Creek Greenbelt - 12 miles. Wilder than the lake loop. Limestone creek crossings, swimming holes when the water’s up. Seven-odd access points, so pick your entrance by how hard you want to hike. Goes dry in high summer.

Mayfield Park - A 1920s cottage estate on a bluff over Lake Austin. Free and small, with peacocks.

Mount Bonnell - The oldest tourist view in Austin, roughly 100 stone steps to the highest point in the city. Worth doing once, ideally at sunset and ideally on a weekday when you aren’t sharing the overlook with three engagement shoots. As a walk, it barely qualifies, but the view does deliver.

Thank you for stopping by! I’ll catch you next time with more address book additions. In the meantime, have a great weekend.