{"id":374621,"date":"2026-07-15T21:52:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T21:52:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/374621\/"},"modified":"2026-07-15T21:52:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T21:52:09","slug":"texas-hill-country-beckons-as-most-scenic-road-trip-in-u-s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/374621\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas Hill Country beckons as most scenic road trip in U.S."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As Americans increasingly<\/a> make travel plans around dining, hotel restaurants have blossomed from handy amenities to destinations in their own right. Now, OpenTable says three Austin standouts are worth adding to the itinerary.<\/p>\n

The Austin picks on the reservation platform\u2019s Top 100 Hotel Restaurants in America <\/a>are Dean’s Italian Steakhouse at the JW Marriott Austin, Kappo Kappo at the Austin Proper Hotel, and Lutie’s at the Commodore Perry Estate, Auberge Resorts Collection.<\/p>\n

All are relatively new compared to other acclaimed Austin restaurants, although this is not surprising considering how hotel dining has changed and Austin has grown as a tourist destination: Lutie’s is the oldest of the bunch, having opened in 2021<\/a>, followed by Dean’s in 2022<\/a> and Kappo Kappo in the fall of 2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There is also diversity among the Austin picks in cuisine, but they’re all upscale (one might even say fancy) and located downtown or in Central Austin.<\/p>\n

Lutie’s is New American cuisine at its best, featuring seasonal and local ingredients guided by a global sensibility. Southern ingredients like Texas pork and beef, okra, and Blue Jasmoon rice give Lutie’s a sense of place without tying it down to one particular region.<\/p>\n

Dean’s has an Italian slant, though as the name suggests, it does focus on classic steakhouse fare. Throughout the restaurant’s tenure, that intersection has resulted in dishes like wagyu meatballs, short rib gnocchi, and a pork tomahawk Fiorentina with pancetta and polenta. <\/p>\n

Kappo Kappo also comes with a twist that is harder for diners to pick up on just by looking at a list of dishes. The restaurant calls itself French Japanese, since brothers Haru and Gohei Kishi prepare Japanese dishes with French technique. Austinites looking to splurge to have quickly taken to the omakase experience, and this special service makes for an extra memorable travel experience. <\/p>\n

Of course, Austinites can enjoy a meal at any of the above restaurants without incurring costs beyond a few miles of gas and parking. But if they want to get into the spirit of OpenTable’s list, there are other places to visit in Texas. <\/p>\n

The closest is Signature<\/a> at the Signia by Hilton La Cantera Resort & Spa, the only Alamo City spot to be named in 2026, despite splashy openings like Oak & Amber<\/a> at The Monarch and Esencia<\/a> at the St. Anthony Hotel. Signature is not attached to the main property, making it a destination for both locals and out-of-town guests. And it has been the home of some of San Antonio\u2019s most accomplished culinary names, including Andrew Weissman, Brasserie Mon Chou Chou chef Laurent Rea, and current chef (and Botika alum) John Carpenter.<\/p>\n

Hotel restaurants have come a long way since legendary food writer Richard Olney famously sneered at \u201cinternational hotel cooking.\u201d OpenTable\u2019s research says onsite dining by travelers is up 13 percent year-over-year.<\/p>\n

“Restaurants aren’t just an itinerary line item anymore; they’re the anchor,\u201d said Matt Davis, Head of North America Hotels at OpenTable, via a release. \u201cOur research backs this up, as half of Americans have booked a hotel specifically because of its restaurant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Overall, Texas boasted nine of the entries on the top 100 list, more than any other state save for Florida and Nevada. The full list of Lone Star restaurants includes:<\/p>\n

Dean’s Italian Steakhouse (JW Marriott Austin) \u2014 AustinKappo Kappo (Austin Proper Hotel) \u2014 AustinLutie’s (Commodore Perry Estate, Auberge Resorts Collection) \u2014 AustinMastro’s Steakhouse (The Post Oak Hotel) \u2014 HoustonSignature (Signia by Hilton La Cantera Resort & Spa) \u2014 San AntonioSister (Casa Duro) \u2014 DallasStillwell’s (H\u00f4tel Swexan) \u2014 Dallas97 West Kitchen & Bar at Hotel Drover (Hotel Drover, Autograph Collection) \u2014 Fort WorthTrick Rider (Omni PGA Frisco Resort) \u2014 Frisco <\/p>\n

Courtesy of Commodore Perry Estate, Auberge Resorts Collection<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As Americans increasingly make travel plans around dining, hotel restaurants have blossomed from handy amenities to destinations in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":374622,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133,3290,6700,64368,4390,4178,34407,359,49812,85390,85391,6208,11700],"class_list":["post-374621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news","tag-bests","tag-conde-nast-traveler","tag-enchanted-rock","tag-fredericksburg","tag-hill-country","tag-marble-falls","tag-new-braunfels","tag-road-trips","tag-route-66","tag-texas-road-trip","tag-travel","tag-vacation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=374621"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374621\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/374622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=374621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=374621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=374621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}