2021 Top New Restaurants of Austin

2021 has came to a close. Here is a list of the top new restaurants we tried in 2021!

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1. Birdies

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A counter service restaurant featured in the New York Times, birdies does not disappoint. They don't do reservations and they honestly don’t need to. Birdies changes their menu frequently and when we visited we ordered their beef tartare, amatriciana pasta and malfadini pasta. The pasta was made in house and everything was very fresh and delicious. They deserve recognition for being one of the top I’ve had this year! 

Location: 2944 E 12th St Unit A, Austin, TX 78702

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2. Luties

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Luties is arguably the most beautiful restaurant I’ve ever seen. The inside is surrounded with ornate decorations and hanging plants. The vibes made you feel like you’re in a Wes Anderson movie. They specialize in a fusion of different cuisines inspired by the chefs travel. Overall the grand aioli and delta blues rice was our favorite. You must get the kouign Amann ice cream with crème caramel. The grand aioli is a signature dish with plenty of roasted veggies and fruit to eat with the aioli dipping sauce. May be hard to get a reservation.

Location: 4100 Red River St, Austin, TX 78751

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3. Yenis Fusion

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Yenis is a new Indonesian fusion food truck parked outside of the aristocrat lounge on burnet. Although it’s fusion, the flavors and Indonesian flavors are delicious and authentic. Their menu features daily/weekly specials and more. Be sure to order their Bakmi ayam/ egg noodle soup and fried dumplings.

Location: 6507 Burnet Rd, Austin, TX 78757

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4. Bad Larry Burger Club

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Not quite a restaurant, Bad Larry earned his spot on the list because he serves delicious smash burgers. You either love or hate his personality but one thing is for sure, they make a mean burger that keeps people lining up for more. For now he did a month-long pop-up at Little brother bar, but who knows, maybe they’ll open a brick and mortar or establish a permanent location soon. The person behind the account is actually the owner of multiple bars and restaurants in town including better half and little brother bar.

Location: Varies (Check his IG for details here)

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5. Spicy Boys North

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Spicy Boys is a concept by the beloved Soursop. After covid soursop permanently rebranded to spicy boys and we aren’t complaining. Most recently spicy boys opened a location at Fair Weather Brewery. The 5 piece is popular but nothing can beat the OG sandwich with papaya slaw and fried chicken. Spicy Boys has the most amazing spicy fried chicken in my opinion.'

Location: 10609 Metric Blvd #108, Austin, TX 78758

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6. Cafe Eden

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Cafe Eden is a new Korean spot serving high tea. We did the afternoon high tea for 40 dollars a person. You have to reserve in advance through dm or email, you get your choice of tea and also 2 rolls. The tiers have a assortment of desserts, fruit, and also made in house appetizers. We also ordered their kimchi fried rice with katsu which was super delicious! I was worried this spot would be all looks but  the food was super good and I would come back. The rolls we got were the eden roll and blueberry crunch!

Location: 12221 Riata Trace Pkwy unit 190, Austin, TX 78727

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7. Fat City Stacks

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Fat city stacks is a new concept from the owners of Peached Tortilla. They serve beef sliders and chicken sliders. They sell the sliders individually or by packs. We were a big fan of this spot and it makes for a really affordable meal.

Location:  500 E 51st St, Austin, TX 78751

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8. Ramen 512

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In the good old days before covid we used to help vinh at his ramen 512 pop up at Seoulju. We were waiting for his spot to open for years and now finally he has a location, technically in cedar park, but close enough to Austin. You’ll find his signature bowls of delightful tonkotsu ramen and shoyu broth. Be sure to try the mazesoba!

Located: 1420 Cypress Creek Road Ste 300, Cedar Park, TX 78613

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9. K-BBQ

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K-BBQ is arguably the most hyped Asian restaurant of 2021. Korean BBQ is hard to find in Austin and there’s only one other AYCE spot in town. They have different set menus that come with different bbq and appetizers. We ordered the set B. The food here was really good and prices were fair when we tried it. Over time the prices may rise and change, but for now we like their bbq and highly recommend the wagyu beef belly!

Located: 6929 Airport Blvd suite 176, Austin, TX 78752

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10. Tsuke Edomae

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An omakase concept that opened in Mueller at the old kyoten spot. The menu is pre-fixe with the option to order a la carte at the very end. Chef mike is passionate about his sushi and has gone from being a food truck owner to a fancy brick and mortar restaurant. If you can score a reservation, expect classical music, dimmed lights, and delicious sushi creations! 

Location: 4600 Mueller Blvd #1035, Austin, TX 78723

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11. Steamies Dumplings

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Steamies is a local dumpling shop and food stand concept that recently started serving dine in! You can find them locally at the muellers and lakeline farmers market every weekend. They are also at the SFC farmers market saturdays. Eventually their brick and mortar will feature more delicious eats but for now they have their classic soup dumplings on Sunday’s and their delicious dumplings of the month, and more.

Located: 6929 Airport Blvd Ste 148, Austin, TX 78752

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12. JewBoy Sub Shop

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Jew boy sub shop is a concept by jew boy burgers. This sub shop is delicious and they also serve brunch. We highly recommend their shrimp po boy and meatball sub. You must also get their classic matzo ball soup! They specialize in various types of subs and sandwiches and have something for everyone. 

Located: 6701 Burnet Rd Unit A3, Austin, TX 78757

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13. Love Supreme

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A new pizza concept by bird bird biscuit. They serve square pies and tasty crispy pizzas. They use fresh ingredients and the pizza here tastes very light and delicious. Love supreme has an open bar concept and you order at the bar or the counter. Plenty of indoor and outdoor seating available. 

Location: 2805 Manor Rd. Austin, TX 78722

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14. JJim BBQ

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Jjim bbq is a spot that specializes in Korean galbi jjim, a braised short rib dish. The food here is really good and very comforting. I highly recommend getting their galbi jjim and their brisket kimchi fried rice. They have plenty of korean dishes here.

Location: 1100 S Lamar Blvd Ste 2140, Austin, TX 78704

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15. Golden Castle

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Golden Castle is stationed at King bee. They feature sliders inspired by White Castle. The steamed hams here do not disappoint and before they were a food truck, they were a pop up concept by golden tiger that sold out constantly. Now you can get them whenever you want! 

Location: 1906 E 12th St, Austin, TX 78702

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16. Choo Sandos

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Chef choo is a popular sushi chef in Austin , recently he started to make Japanese sandos that you can order for pick up at various locations throughout the week. You can order on the link in his bio or DM him on instagram to order. These sandos include katsu sandos, tamagoyaki sandos or more. The sandos make a great picnic date and I highly recommend ordering some! 

Locations: vary (Check his IG for details here)

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17. 1417

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1417 is a French inspired restaurant with delicious brunch. We recently stopped by and ordered some of their pastries and eggs with purgatory. They took over the old sway location and they made some beautiful changes to the spot. We recommend coming here for their weekend brunch! The lemon bomboloni was a must too.

Location: 1417 S 1st St, Austin, TX 78704

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18. Taste of home Dumplings

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Located inside prep ATX, taste of home serves authentic chinese dumplings. . Prep ATX is takeaway only commercial but you can order food from different vendors and eat on site at their picnic tables. I ordered an assortment of their dumplings to try including the pork and preserved veggies, the pork, shrimp, and chive, the egg and chive, and the beef and celery. Thoughts? You gotta get the egg and chive and the shrimp, pork, and chive dumplings. You can pay extra to get them panfried and they were delicious! The boiled and steamed were also super tasty.

Location: 1300 E Anderson Ln Building D, Austin, TX 78752

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19. Honeymoon and Spirit Lounge 

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Arguably the most beautiful spot on this list, this restaurant serves a mixture of different cuisines. The steak and frites were worthy of a mention and we were obsessed with their oysters. This is definitely a photo worthy spot you need to check out. Reservations can be hard to get, at the time we made ours about a month in advance to try this spot.

Location: 624 W 34th St, Austin, TX 78705

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20. Plank Seafood

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A seafood restaurant concept from the owners of Anthem. They expanded this most recent location to the domain. They serve seafood and more. I recommend their squid ink linguine with scallops. Everything here was actually really good. The price point is on the higher end but that seems pretty standard for the domain.

Locations: 11410 Century Oaks Terrace Suite 136, Austin, TX 78758

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21. Swifts Pizza Co

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One of my top picks this season. Swift is a concept from the owners of Jacobys. They serve family friendly concepts like pizza, pasta, and cheese sticks. The food here was actually really good. I highly recommend their mozzarella sticks and their spaghetti marinara. You can build your own pizzas here too. 

Location: 3223 E 7th St, Austin, TX 78702

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