4 Best Restaurants in Downtown with Sixth Street and Rainey Street, Austin

A gem in the midst of Dirty Sixth, Parkside’s austere interior features exposed brick walls, a shotgun bar, and bare light bulbs suspended by black cables. Celebrated chef Shawn Cirkiel has created an equally simple menu, but delivers on taste with fresh oysters and ceviche-style offerings from the raw bar, in addition to a meat-centric array of bone marrow appetizers, savory grilled lamb, and shareable portions of steak and (perfectly crisped) fries. Floor-to-ceiling windows look onto 6th Street for ideal people-watching while lingering over desserts like homemade doughnuts, served warm and sugar-dusted in paper sacks. Dinner can be pricey, but the daily happy hour (5:30–7 pm) is one of the best bargains in the city.

This flagship endeavor by Top Chef winner and host Kristen Kish, located on the ground floor of the LINE hotel, has elevated the bar for Austin hotel restaurants. The elegant presentations of French- and Italian-inspired dishes, infused with elements from Kish's Korean upbringing and crafted with seasonal Central Texas ingredients whenever possible, result in impressive but pricey offerings. The menu is constantly changing, but the crispy rice dish with crab, bacon, haricot vert, and saffron aioli has been a staple since the restaurant's opening. It's a luxurious on-site amenity for hotel guests, and the sleek dining room also offers a great spot to view the Congress Bridge bats.

After an award-winning debut in 2013, this sophisticated spot for modern Mexican cuisine has remained a staple of downtown's Second Street District. Diners can expect reliable mainstays, such as crispy carnitas tacos, carne asada with mole, and cochinita pibil, a traditional Yucatec Mayan slow-roasted pork dish. The popular weekend brunch service doesn’t disappoint.

Pricey-but-excellent fish, shellfish, and steak are served in handsome surroundings that suggest a businesspeople's yacht club here at Truluck's, part of an upscale chain with restaurants in Texas and Florida. Every Monday is all-you-can-eat crab claw night, but you can get Truluck’s signature stone crab any day of the week at the downtown and northwest locations. Alaskan king crab is also expertly rendered, if expensive. Don't miss the jumbo lump crab cake and the hot-and-crunchy trout over citrus aioli sauce with a mango-jalapeño marmalade. The second-story dining area has floor-to-ceiling views of the surrounding Warehouse District and skyline.