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We've compiled the best of the best in Dripping Springs - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
Drawing Texans and visitors alike to the Hill Country since 1967, Salt Lick offers barbecue plates à la carte, but most folks opt for the family-style option, which comes with unlimited brisket, sausage, pork ribs, potato salad, coleslaw, and beans. You can BYOB or head to the adjacent Salt Lick Cellars to purchase beer and wine made from the estate’s own fruit (including a BBQ Red designed to accompany the food). It's located about 8 miles southeast of Dripping Springs.
Find a taste of Tuscany at this Texas Hill Country bistro in an Italian-style olive vineyard making 18 types of olive oil from its own olive trees. You can wander through the vineyard, book an OO tasting, savor burrata or bruschetta with a glass of rose—and house-made dipping oils and balsamic vinegar—and stop in at the gift shop to take home a unique taste of Texas.
A local favorite, famous for delicious coffee and pastries—sweets and savories attract a crowd camped out at their laptops in this two-room coffeehouse, or outside on the adorable patio. Try a fruit-studded scone or croissant sandwich for breakfast, spicy vegan chickpea sandwich for lunch, and stay as long as you like.
Just outside town, this was someone’s cozy house before it was transformed into a great coffee shop and wine bar with delicious food (the Sourdough BLT sandwich is jammed with thick-cut bacon; ask for avocado), all-natural wine flights, and home-baked goods like the olive oil cake that is truly hard to resist. The owners are winemakers and have launched a new natural wine label, Summer Revival Wine Co., here in Texas.
The owners brought the building over from Vietnam and reconstructed here in Texas. The American Nouveau cuisine is outstanding for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but the afternoon tea is truly delightful (one of the owners is English), as the Hill Country meets the Cotswolds. Enjoy a perfectly calibrated blend of sweet and savory offerings including beef Wellington with charred horseradish mash, ham and Gruyère puff, deviled egg sandwich, and a pile of lovely sweet treats. Visit the chapel and sculpture garden while you’re here.
