Aris. Credit to Bethany Ellen Ochs. 

Austin's ever-evolving food scene is keeping it fresh with Filipino food at a sports bar, new places to chow down on Texas barbecue, a Mediterranean steakhouse and lots more.

Once a popular food truck, Micklethwait Craft Meats now offers its renowned barbecue in a new brick-and-mortar restaurant. The Austin staple was recently recognized with a MICHELIN Bib Gourmand award for its excellent scratch-made menu items at great prices. Offerings include oak-fired meats by the pound (brisket is a best seller) and sides like jalapeño cheese grits, citrus beet salad and chili beans. Arrive early to ensure you get a seat. The restaurant is open from 11 a.m.– 4 p.m. (or until selling out) Thursday through Sunday.

American fare gets an infusion of Filipino flavors at Oribello’s sports bar, a tribute to the owners’ American-Filipino-Chinese heritage, with Spanish and Italian influences. Sip a handcrafted cocktail while perusing the menu that includes lumpia, katsu chicken sandu, and roasted Buffalo-style chicken wings with soy ginger and five-spice options. Pizzas offer a unique twist — Filipino longganisa sausage is featured in the Sal Supreme and Meat Lovers versions. End your meal with made-from-scratch tres leches cake.

Get a taste of Texas barbecue with Cajun influences at the Parish Barbecue food trailer located in Batch Craft Beer & Kolaches’ shady backyard, complete with picnic table seating. In addition to barbecued meats like brisket and ribs, the menu features tasty smoked ham muffuletta, pulled pork sandwiches and more. Any meal should include the baked mac ’n’ cheese with pureed house-roasted red peppers folded into the cheddar-smoked gouda-gruyere cheese sauce, tossed with shellbows pasta and topped with crushed Zapp’s Voodoo potato chips. So good!

Tancho Sushi offers fresh fish in a relaxing atmosphere, with natural light streaming through the restaurant’s large windows. Indulge in carefully curated omakase or one of the chef’s signature selections. Pair your meal with sake that ranges from Kikusui (known for its gentle, fruity aroma and dry finish) to the sparkling, semisweet Akagison. Sushi newbies are welcome here — the staff takes pride in answering questions to help enhance your experience, whether you choose sashimi, rolls or nigiri.

Courtesy of Tancho.

Schedule your brunch, lunch, happy hour or dinner at Teddy’s, a Southwestern-style grill. Appetizers with an upscale Texas twist include crab-and-sausage hush puppies and duck confit flautas. For an entree, try the Midland Dip with shaved prime rib, a jalapeño-cheddar bun and pepper jelly, or go big with the New York strip steak in a pineapple-chipotle marinade. Craft cocktails include the Cactus Cooler (vodka, pineapple, orange), Ancho Villa (chili-infused gin, cilantro syrup, cucumber) and Tex-Mex Martini (reposado, sherry, pickled jalapeño, orange).   

Barbecue and Tex-Mex flavors meld perfectly at Black Gold. Menu items include pulled barbecue pork sliders, Mexican street-style cornbread, brisket tacos, and crispy smoked duck draped with a poblano cream-mango-habanero sauce. Pair your meal with a Black Gold margarita or Texas beer. Banana pudding cheesecake and seasonal smoked cobbler make for sweet endings. Housed in a former mechanic shop, Black Gold has both indoor and outdoor dining.

Family-owned Kochu offers a fast-casual Korean barbecue experience with counter service. In addition to egg rolls and crispy chicken wings, you’ll want to try the bulgogi (marinated beef) platter, as well as favorites like buldak (spicy barbecued chicken) and birria shin ramen. Be sure to order the fries topped with stir-fried kimchi, spicy barbecue sauce, melted cheese, cilantro and chives. Several flavors of soju — a Korean distilled liquor similar to vodka — are available, as well as tangy tamarind juice, hibiscus tea and brown sugar lemonade. Ask the friendly staff for a recommendation if you’re new to Korean cuisine.

Live music, shaded outdoor seating, cocktails, specialty coffees, THC drinks and trivia nights draw fans to Stargazer. The all-day cafe is open from 7 a.m. – 10 p.m. daily. On-site food trucks offer a variety of eats. Choose from Lucky Lime’s salads and deviled eggs, sweets at Maaribu Pastries, Batch Kolaches’ rotating selections, and frozen treats like Caramel Salt Lick and Roasted Beets & Mint from Lick Ice Cream. Kids will love the rocket ship outdoor play area.

For special occasions, make a reservation at Aris, a chic Mediterranean steakhouse featuring a U-shaped bar, private booths and an open kitchen. Check out the steaks displayed behind glass in an aging room at the restaurant’s entrance. Diners will delight in the dry-aged beef, raw bar, craft cocktails and extensive wine list. Start with fresh oysters, octopus or the fattoush salad layered with cucumber, feta cheese, creamy labneh and chickpeas. In addition to prime steaks that are butchered in house, entrees include Moroccan tiger shrimp, duck cavatelli, and lamb chops with baharat risotto.

Nixta Taqueria. Credit Arts+Labor.

These tried-and-true restaurants are some of the locals’ favorite dining spots for barbecue, tacos and everything in between.

With the addition of a Rosewood restaurant, Radio Coffee & Beer has expanded to three locations, all open from early morning to late night. The drink menu offers a variety of options, ranging from seasonal coffees and flavored lattes to beer, wine, cocktails, mocktails and THC-infused cocktails. Depending on the location, food menus include tasty Veracruz tacos, a brisket-and-egg sandwich, Thai dishes and classic diner fare. Stick around for fun events like talent shows, live music, trivia games, a writer’s salon and more.

Uchiba, an extension of local Japanese restaurant Uchi, is an izakaya-inspired cocktail bar that also serves food from the grill and Uchi favorites at its West Second Street location. Order one of the Japanese whiskeys or a specialty cocktail like the Zilker Park Swizzle with mint, jasmine tea and rum. Dine inside or out and relish small bites like sushi rolls, wagyu beef skewers, rutabaga noodles and the hot fried chicken bun.

Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew is a favorite neighborhood spot for savoring slow-smoked meats and cold craft beers. Try the brisket or Switch original sausage with a side like corn casserole or the fried brussels sprouts spiked with serrano peppers. And be sure to order the homemade peach cobbler for dessert.

Intimate farm-to-table neighborhood restaurant Foreign & Domestic has held true to its nose-to-tail spirit and focus on local farms. The menu changes seasonally, so you can return over and over again for tasty new delights.

Modern Mexican restaurant Comedor serves reimagined tacos and tostadas in an industrial-chic dining room. The bone marrow tacos are a must at this Austin Monthly 2019 Restaurant of the Year.

For a more casual Mexican meal, sample the house-made tortillas at the MICHELIN Bib Gourmand Nixta Taqueria. The team here uses corn from Oaxaca to create their own masa daily in this bright, cozy taco joint. Favorites include the duck carnitas tacos and yellowfin tuna tostada.

Interior Mexican spot El Naranjo also makes their own heirloom corn tortillas, but their menu is more traditional. Look for flavorful moles, rotating ceviches, and chamorro with pork shank slow cooked in brine for 24 hours.

Ramen Tatsu-ya. Credit Jane Kim.

Get your ramen fix at Ramen Tatsu-ya. Their rich pork bone broth and chewy noodles introduced Austin to truly slurp-able “fancy” ramen. Customize your bowl with a bomb — a ball of extra spice and flavor — to make your soup just how you like it. 

Recognized as a MICHELIN Bib Gourmand with Green Star status, Emmer & Rye highlights heirloom grains and in-house fermentation. Order from the daily menu or choose dishes from the rolling cart that will make several stops at your table.

One of Emmer & Rye's sister concepts, Hestia, recently earned one MICHELIN Star. A custom 20-foot hearth is the culinary centerpiece of this live-fire New American grill. Halibut, king trumpet mushrooms and wagyu ribeye all get the open-flame treatment.

Olamaie, which was awarded one MICHELIN Star, puts a modern spin on Southern cuisine with a fresh twist on comfort food. The charming restaurant serves up dishes like braised short ribs atop white grits and golden fried catfish with blue crab rice, best sided by their beloved buttermilk biscuits.

Discover more dining options at visitaustin.org/food