Restaurant reservations and reviews platform OpenTable has examined its data to determine the top 100 restaurants in the country for 2025, and Austin has an enormous slice of the pie — especially when it comes to Texas. Austin was represented eight times on the list, followed by one each in Houston and Dallas.
OpenTable emphasizes that professional critics didn’t compile this list. Instead, it’s based on more than 10 million reviews by verified OpenTable diners along with other metrics. A restaurant had to have a minimum threshold of reviews to be considered — so no matter how great a new restaurant is, it might be too early to count it — and further data included the percentage of five-star reviews, number of alerts set, and more.
Some, like percentage of reservations made in advance, mean this list awards points for exclusivity rather than casual dining. However, the number of direct searches could be an equalizing factor.
Most important to readers, the restaurants are not ranked.
Here are the eight restaurants that made the cut in Austin:
Aba – 976 reviews with an average of 4.8 starsClark’s Oyster Bar — 246 reviews with an average of 4.9 starsJ Carver’s — 548 reviews with an average of 4.9 starsJeffrey’s Restaurant — 407 reviews with an average of 4.9 starsRed Ash Italia — 1176 reviews with an average of 4.9 starsSammie’s Italian — 441 reviews with an average of4.8 starsSuerte — 708 reviews with an average of 4.8 starsUchi Austin — 242 reviews with an average of 4.8 stars
The list is very similar to the one in 2024. Uchiko dropped off and Clark’s Oyster Bar and Suerte joined the gang.
Savvy Austinites may notice that three of these restaurants are part of the same hospitality group. MML Hospitality owns Clark’s, Jeffrey’s, and Sammie’s. J Carver’s and Red Ash are also siblings by restaurateur John Carver, and the other restaurants on the list have sibling restaurants, but they aren’t represented here. This is a list that favors restaurants with big branding behind them.
Similarly, in Houston and Dallas respectively, the worldly BCN Taste & Tradition and exceedingly fancy Mister Charles made the list.
An emphasis on fine or fancy dining isn’t necessarily a bad thing. These restaurants live up to their own fanfare, according to reviews, which is no small feat for a restaurant like Uchi. It was named the 60th greatest restaurant in the country this century by luxury lifestyle publication The Robb Report this month. After more than 20 years, adapting to the times and staying fresh is sometimes the greatest thing a restaurant can do.
Although Austin crushed the competition (is it a competition?), two cities had even more representation. New York City has 10 spots on the list, and Chicago has an unbelievable 16.