The Best New Restaurants in Texas for 2019
Where to eat now: The state’s best chefs take eclectic to a whole new level.
Executive editor Patricia Sharpe grew up in Austin and holds a master’s degree in English from the University of Texas at Austin. After working as a teacher (in English and Spanish) and at the Texas Historical Commission (writing historical markers), she joined the staff of Texas Monthly in 1974. Initially, she edited the magazine’s cultural and restaurant listings and wrote a consumer feature called Touts. She eventually focused exclusively on food. Her humorous story “War Fare,” an account of living for 48 hours on military MREs (Meals Ready to Eat), was included in the anthology Best Food Writing 2002. Many of her stories appear in the 2008 UT Press collection Texas Monthly on Food. Her story about being a restaurant critic, titled “Confessions of a ‘Skinny Bitch,’ ” won a James Beard Foundation award for magazine food writing in 2006.
Sharpe has contributed to Gourmet, Bon Appétit, Saveur, and the New York Times. She writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.
Where to eat now: The state’s best chefs take eclectic to a whole new level.
Founded in 1985, this Fort Worth institution goes back to perfecting the bistro basics. Mais oui.
Who made the cut? Petra and the Beast in Dallas, Nancy’s Hustle in Houston, and Carnitas Lonja in San Antonio.
With his two new restaurants, both in the same building, the acclaimed Atlanta chef continues what he started with State of Grace.
Chef Jesse DeLeon has created a decidedly modern menu in an 1890 Victorian house.
Learn more about five of the not-so-traditional ingredients used in our chefs' globally inspired recipes.
Chef Steve McHugh, of San Antonio’s Cured, creates a through line from Wisconsin to Louisiana to Texas with a meal built around roast duck, grapefruit, and chile pequins.
Austin chef Maribel Rivero, of Yuyo, creates a celebratory feast inspired by the highly acclaimed cuisine of Peru.
Chef Kiran Verma, of Kiran's, started a Houston Thanksgiving tradition years ago for many customers with her tandoori turkey and Indian trimmings.
Like he does each night at Sachet, Dallas chef Stephen Rogers celebrates the flavors of one of his favorite regions in the world with a meze-inspired meal.
We asked five of the state's top chefs to create festive meals to serve this season. What we got was a cornucopia of global flavors. Follow these recipes and your Texas table will never be the same again.
The celebrated chef revives the spirit of his now-closed Underbelly while creating something new and beguiling.
Italian sausages and charcuterie are the meat of the matter at the new restaurant from the owners of Lucia.
It might be oversaturation, but what these recent lists say about how we are eating now is pretty fascinating.
Cultural influences come together in delicious harmony at this exciting global restaurant.
Austin's Suerte, Houston's Theodore Rex, and Carnitas Lonja in San Antonio receive national acclaim.
In 2016, the James Beard Award-winning chef Chris Shepherd unveiled a novel restaurant concept in Houston’s busy, culturally diverse Montrose neighborhood. Called One Fifth and located in a former church, it was designed to change cuisines every year for five years, after which it would cease
A couple of well-known local chefs open dual concepts at the same location.
Ahead of today’s opening at the Line Austin hotel, the chef chats about her background, the restaurant’s name, and biscuits versus bagels.
The traditional corn dough forms the basis of a culinary adventure at this new Mexican restaurant.
Some of the restaurant industry’s biggest names will pair with local chefs starting this summer to benefit a Texas nonprofit.
No winning chefs from our state this time, but the restaurant celebration was a big night for women, chefs of color, and immigrant rights.
With a Southern-inspired menu, John and Elise Russ draw diners from all over the city to their neighborhood eatery.
Chefs Rico Torres and Diego Galicia have earned national acclaim for their newfangled takes on age-old dishes.
Native Nicki Longoria offers up her favorites from before the city’s big culinary boom.
The long-awaited collaboration between two of the state’s biggest names in food opens April 4. Here’s a sneak peek.
One of the most renowned names in food scores big with Zaytinya, at the home of the Dallas Cowboys in Frisco.
Austin and San Antonio chefs makes the final round, as does Anvil in Houston. Winners will be announced May 7.
La Gloria restaurateur Johnny Hernandez takes the all-American burger on a tour of Mexico at this vibrant new joint.
Where to Eat Now: The state’s best chefs are serving up quail egg shooters, smoked chocolate cake, and a sense of adventure.
Houston and Austin got the most nods, but the biggest surprise is that the revered Tootsie Tomanetz of Snow’s BBQ is up for Best Chef: Southwest!
Chef Bruno Davaillon strikes gold with his take on classic French cuisine in a lush, glamorous setting.
Indulge with abandon at these three popular seafood restaurants places in Austin, Dallas, and Houston.
With a magnificent medley of Mediterranean snacks, tapas, and appetizers, the entreés can wait at Gemma’s new sibling.
From Asian flavors to seasonal, live-fire surprises, some of Texas’s best chefs went for the unexpected at The Edge of Texas nighttime events.
By Kathy Blackwell and Patricia Sharpe
Foodies freaked when the famously fastidious chef closed Oxheart. But there’s much to like about its easygoing successor, Theodore Rex.
Ceviche and pisco sours, sí! Guinea pig, no!
Cheryl Jamison’s new cookbook adapts Texas classics for busy chefs.
Austin chef Sonya Coté takes her expertise to Clifton (population 3,392).
Don’t let the folksy branding of this Austin newcomer fool you.
The restaurant promises French ambiance, pastries, and a raw bar in downtown Austin.
Elevated American food and killer views of downtown Dallas make Mirador destination dining.
The ramen/barbecue shop in East Austin was the only Texas joint to crack the "hot ten."
From his childhood in Winnipeg to stops in New Orleans and Hong Kong, Ryan Lachaine goes his own way with an eclectic menu that spans the globe.
The founding chef of Fonda San Miguel has passed away at age 72.
California’s Impossible Foods is rolling out its revolutionary veggie burger at Hopdoddy on Friday.
San Antonio’s Battalion serves primo Italian, including some of the best pasta in the state.
Mix one part Parisian bistro with one part American diner and voilà! Philip Speer’s Bonhomie.
Our December cover guy won big at the culinary Oscars.
Everyone thinks he’s nuts, but if any Texas chef can pull off rehauling an entire restaurant every year, it’s Chris Shepherd.