It’s that time of year again. The Eater Awards recognize the restaurants and bars that defined how a city eats and drinks, and we’re proud to present the winners of the 2025 Eater Awards here in Austin.
This year’s selections reflect a dining scene driven by intention and craft. In East Austin, a seafood restaurant channels its warm hospitality with fresh seafood like tuna carpaccio and mussels. A few blocks away, a cocktail bar turns fine art into liquid. A beloved community-minded cafe returns after a stretch of uncertainty. And a campus-adjacent institution continues to prove why it remains one of the most enduring fixtures in the city. Meanwhile, a North Austin favorite shows exactly what it means to build a space that keeps calling people back.
Together, these spots show what happens when hospitality workers reject the idea that their jobs aren’t “careers” and instead create something beautiful through skill, care, and the simple desire to make someone’s day or night magical. And isn’t that the magic that keeps us hungry for more in Austin, year after year?
Fish Shop: Best New Restaurant
On a low-key weeknight, when business is steady but far from a circus, Fish Shop co-owner Nicole Rossi might step away from the host stand and slip behind the bar to squeeze a grapefruit herself. It’s a small gesture, but it reveals a certain know-how about how restaurants work and genuine personal investment in a space. The same night, a cook might stop in on his day off, half-joking about whether he should be sitting at the bar, being waited on, only for Rossi to remind him that they’re in the hospitality business — why wouldn’t they be happy to take care of him?
That commitment happens in ways unseen, too. Rossi’s husband and Fish Shop’s co-owner, chef Justin Huffman, drives to the airport three times a week to pick up fish. There’s also an old taxidermied marlin passed down from Huffman’s grandfather that hangs on the wall — reinforcing Fish Shop as a mom-and-pop, family-run place built to feel like an energetic neighborhood spot.
The burger with fries at Fish Shop. Cat Cardenas/Eater Austin
Huffman and Rossi met at Justine’s, where he was a chef and she a server. It’s the kind of place that teaches you how a room should feel and how a service should run, and it’s clear the pair have brought that same energy to Fish Shop.
A great atmosphere can only take you so far, though, especially with a restaurant that isn’t exactly cheap. People (unfairly) knock Fish Shop for its prices, but for fresh seafood in a landlocked city, restaurants that commit at this level are rare. The mezcal octopus tostada is an explosion of tender, smoky, tangy flavors; the crudo a la swan takes three cuts of fish — sliced sashimi-thin — and hits them with shallots, olive oil, and salt-cured capers for a bright, lightly fatty, citrus-leaning plate; and the uni-whipped butter with sourdough from Sour Duck turns something as simple as bread and butter into a little moment of luxury. The spaghetti and clams, tossed in white wine and seaweed butter, is a reminder of how excellent pasta can be when it stays simple. And then there’s the stellar wagyu quarter-pounder burger with American cheese, sauce, and pickles.
Mezcal octopus tostada at Fish Shop. Cat Cardenas/Eater Austin
The raw bar at Fish Shop. Cat Cardenas/Eater Austin
Take together Fish Shop’s warm atmosphere, core philosophy of great hospitality, and deep dedication to ingredients, and you start to understand why this restaurant feels so dialed-in. Every part of Fish Shop is a labor of love, down to the finest detail.
Cocktails at Papercut. Cat Cardenas/Eater Austin
Every Papercut menu is paired with a showing from one (usually) local artist, and the cocktails are crafted from the person’s work on display or from answers to a detailed questionnaire about taste and memory. Opened in December 2024 by co-owner Eric Schild with partners Corey O’Neil and bar manager Dragan Milivojević, the bar is currently on its fifth menu, featuring the work of Adreon Henry.
The conceit of a bar digging its heels into a highly conceptual menu was not invented by Papercut. Trick Dog in San Francisco is legendary for this. And we’ve all seen the pop-culture menus with cheeky names and drinks that lazily gesture toward the subject, like a Prince cocktail that is just… purple. What makes Papercut special is that its concept is inseparable from the process. The drinks are tied to the artist in a real way, and they are built with techniques that require skill, time, and discipline.
The menu paired with Henry’s work features the Liquid Kolache, inspired by the artist’s love for the beloved Czech pastry. It has the silky texture that only milk-washing can provide, but the bar staff takes it further by fat-washing with condensed milk, too, which adds richness and homes in on a drink with as many layers as the pastry it nods to.
Recently, Papercut expanded the back room that houses Konbini, the sushi spot led by Tare chef Michael Carranza. Konbibi has been operating inside the bar for months, serving a tight lineup of mostly nigiri and sashimi. The bright, playful room covered in pop-culture decor comes with an expanded menu — including a hot dog topped with salmon roe — that pairs well with the drinks. Most of these bites are just filling enough to keep you satiated, and while very tasty, they let the complex drinks be the star of the show.
Papercut flirts with perfection as a baseline because while its pitch black walls showcase works of art, the bartenders bring it to life in liquid form.
Papercut’s salmon roe-covered hot dog. Cat Cardenas/Eater Austin
The artwork at Papercut. Cat Cardenas/Eater Austin
A salad topped with chicken at Cenote. Cenote
When Cenote opened in 2012 on Cesar Chavez, it quickly became one of Austin’s most beloved coffee shops. It ticked all the boxes of a proper neighborhood cafe: a place to work, play, eat, or linger — maybe all in the same day. In 2017, a second location opened in Windsor Park, a sign of a flourishing business. But owner Mary Jenkins closed Windsor Park in 2021, following the tragic death of her husband, co-owner Cody Symington, from an accidental fentanyl overdose. In honor of her late husband, Jenkins hosted a NICE Project Narcan vending machine at the former Cenote location, dispensing more than 4,000 free doses.
When the shop closed in April after the building sold and the cafe was bought out of its lease, Jenkins ensured that the machine found a new home at the Terrazas Library on Cesar Chavez, which is now the first library in Texas to host one.
Fortunately, Austin didn’t have to wait long for Cenote’s return. The cafe arrived on 7th Street with a liquor license and extended hours in September. Cenote’s new menu is an argument for why chain coffee shops should be reserved for airports or a road trip pick-me-up. Why get confused about whether a venti is a large or a small for the billionth time when you can have an horchata cold brew with a breakfast burrito stuffed with chorizo?
Jenkins tells Eater that some folks are looking into getting a vending machine on site at the new Cenote, which Jenkins is fine with under one condition — the NARCAN must remain free.
Posse East: Best Piece of Old Austin
UT fans sit a the bar and watch football at Posse East. Kara Elyse Henderson/Eater Austin
In Austin, change is the only constant. Your favorite local shop? Who knows how long that’s gonna last before the owners are hurried out and it turns into some national chain, a concept dreamed up by developers, or *shudders* a mixed-use luxury apartment building.
But, thankfully, some spaces endure. Posse East, founded in 1971 by a UT chemical engineering major, is one of them. That’s the best thing about great college bars: They tend to stay consistent. The beer is cold and cheap, the patio overflows on game nights, and the burgers are decent — or taste like heaven after a few cold and cheap Lone Stars.
Posse East has remained in the lives of generations of Austinites. Students who once staggered in after class are now dropping their kids off at school on chaotic move-in days. Isn’t that something? Go back to 1971 and cruise around The Drag or East Campus, and everything will be virtually unrecognizable. But step inside Posse East and the only thing that’s really changed is the addition of flat-screen TVs. The bar’s already got 50 years under its belt, so here’s to 100 more.
Chips and dip at Posse East. Kara Elyse Henderson/Eater Austin
Komé: Best Place to be a Regular
5301 Airport Boulevard, #100
A spread of food at Komé, Komé
Opened in 2011 by Také and Kayo Asazu, Komé, is one of those rare restaurants that hits the sweet spot between fancy and casual. You can pop in for a quiet lunch of donburi or ramen with iced tea and walk out spending roughly $20. Come back and ball out with fatty bluefin tuna, multiple plates of rolls, miso-glazed fish collars, and bottles of aromatic sake. Komé can be whatever you need it to be in the moment.
Restaurants that deserve regular status require consistency and range, and this Airport Boulevard spot delivers on both. The menu is big enough that you can rotate through dishes without getting bored. The specials are thoughtful additions. The sushi and sashimi options work for purists who want simple fish and rice and for people who want rolls with multiple toppings, sauces, and even something fried.
Komé is open seven days a week for lunch and dinner. That reliability is part of the appeal. The staff are friendly and attentive and the calming space makes you want to settle in for a while. And return again and again.
Open for: Lunch, Dinner
Price range: $$
Co-owners Také and Kayo Asazu offer their takes on homestyle Japanese fare at this laid-back North Loop restaurant that offers excellent quality at a reasonable price. The menu offers a little bit of everything: starters like brie tempura, creative rolls like the sunshine roll with salmon, mango, and avocado, and luxe cuts like otoro nigiri, when available. Drinks-wise, there’s surprisingly good house wine, beer, and sake. The interior is beautiful, with natural wood and calming blue tiles and artwork, and there’s a small outdoor patio, too.
Know before you go: Stop by during the day for satisfying lunch-only options like filling ramen or loaded donburi bowls — the rich hokkai-don with salmon sashimi, ikura, and scallops