9 Best Restaurants in North Austin, Austin

This approachable pizza place and brewpub is a great addition to the burgeoning Burnet Road food scene. The parking lot can fill up fast on weekends, but an award-winning selection of beers makes it easy to wait for signature house-made pies, like the Armadillo, with artisan sausage, jalapeño, ricotta, and poblano peppers, or the Shroomin' Goat, with local goat cheese and roasted mushrooms.

Austin’s ramen craze went into full swing a few years ago, and this happening spot was one of the city’s first (and favorite) establishments. And it still ranks at the top of every "best ramen in Austin" poll. Try the “Ol’ Skool,” a chicken-based shoyu ramen with a traditional array of toppings, like aijitama (marinated soft-boiled egg), and optional “flavor bombs” from creamed corn and butter to Thai chili and habanero pepper paste. All ramen varieties are massive, but a small-plate menu offers modest portions of Japanese comfort food, like the Katsu slider (a juicy deep-fried burger on a fluffy Hawaiian roll) and sweet-and-sour “yodas” (fried brussels sprouts with apricot vinegar and curry spice).

This welcoming Hyde Park hangout has kept the locals coming in since 1982 with a classic, Southern comfort food menu and signature French fries. Interiors are cozy and decorated with pleasant, colorful paintings (for sale) by local artists, and there's an easygoing atmosphere for both the shorts-and-T-shirt crowd and the dressier, special-occasion fraction. The variations on simple fare run from black-bean veggie burgers and chicken-fried steaks to fresh seafood. Weekend brunch and lunch hours are busiest—look for the hungry crowd milling around the fork-in-the-road sculpture staked in the front parking lot.

This local favorite combines the founder's El Paso and Jewish roots to create some of the best flat-top burgers, "border-style" burritos, and homemade potato latkes in town. Highlights include "the Goyim" burger (a JewBoy patty with grilled pastrami, bacon, Swiss, pickles, and mustard) and the "Que Pasa" carne asada burrito with marinated rib eye and grilled onions and poblanos. Save room for fried sides like green chili and cheddar potato latkes and their classic tots.

This North Austin sushi joint is the best place to find superior sashimi, sushi rolls, and Japanese cuisine without daunting prices. The izakaya-style menu (an homage to Japan’s casual pub-style eateries) offers a wide range of cold, fried, grilled, and rice dishes. Sit at the sushi bar to watch the experts at work, creating specialties like the crunchy dynamite roll (tuna, avocado, and crunchy tempura flakes), or grab a table to enjoy Japanese comfort food like yakitori skewers (beef tenderloin, chicken thigh, and chicken and taro croquettes), gyoza (pork dumplings), and ikayaki (grilled squid).

Houston restaurateur (and cofounder of the Carrabba’s restaurant chain) Damian Mandola brought his "neighborhood grocery store" and Italian ristorante to The Triangle apartment and retail complex, just north of the UT campus, and the cafeteria-style café has become a favorite for families and hungry college students looking to carbo-load on a budget. Hearty portions of southern Italian specialties, from pizza to daily-rotating raviolis, hit the spot at the right price. Fresh artisanal bread, various antipasti, and seasonal cheeses are available for grab-and-go diners in the deli-style market. Homemade gelato in flavors like pineapple and pumpkin is popular among the dessert options.

This Hyde Park seafood market and raw bar is a great date night destination with a reputation for some of the freshest and best seafood in a town that doesn't necessarily have a coastal reputation. There's a focus on Gulf Coast offerings like the popular red snapper and fish tacos with chipotle crema, plus classics like fish-and-chips and lobster rolls.

Serving the landlocked city's freshest seafood (fresh off the plane, if not the boat), this combination seafood market and casual eatery traces its history back to 1938 and has been at its Airport Boulevard address—on one of Austin’s major commercial arteries—since 1970. Prices are low, preparation is straightforward, and blackboard specials include regional and Cajun favorites like gumbo and bacon-wrapped scallops. The oyster bar serves up po'boys, steamed mussels, seafood tacos, and platters with catfish, cod, salmon, shrimp, or rainbow trout. A full lunch menu is offered, along with beer and wines by the glass.

Locals take their out-of-town guests to this legendary "real Texas food" locale. The original location opened on North Lamar in 1933 as a gas station that soon evolved into a honky-tonk that drew local musicians, including a pre-fame Janis Joplin in the early '60s. Today, live music is still a huge priority, but Threadgill's is now a friendly restaurant with cleaned-up Texas charm, and the main attraction is the massive chicken-fried steak, followed by homemade cobbler and ice cream. Some other mains may fall flat, though veggie sides are satisfying. There's a breakfast buffet on Sunday from 10–1. The atmosphere is a bit hokey, but Threadgill's has earned it.