The Best Tex-Mex Restaurants In Austin

Joe’s Bakery has been open for 60 years, and there’s still a wait almost every weekend morning. Everyone’s here for the same thing—carne guisada, huevos rancheros, barbacoa, and the world’s crispiest bacon (call our bluff, we dare you) served on the fluffiest flour tortillas in town. This is an old-school joint with a lively, bare-bones dining room set to a soundtrack of Tejano jukebox jams. It’s a perfect cross-section of Austin throughout the years. Show up during the week and you can probably walk right in.

This is the full monty of classic Tex-Mex experiences, set in an enormous restaurant with multiple dining rooms, a sprawling patio, and seating for 500 people. Even then, there’s almost always a wait for a table. It’s pretty kitschy—with an outdoor fountain and giant metal suns hanging from the walls—but in an endearing way. Head to Matt’s after an afternoon at Zilker Park up the road. Order a margarita and the Bob Armstrong dip—it’s a mix of queso, beef taco meat, and guacamole—then close your eyes and point anywhere on the menu. Rest assured that you’ll end up with some glorious mess of tortillas, meat, and melted cheese.

Habanero is home to some of the best fajitas in town, and that alone makes it worth a visit at any time of the day. (But not at night—they're closed for dinner.) Get the fajitas ranchera style and they’ll arrive extra spicy with with charred jalapeños, onions, and tomatoes tossed in. It’s been around since the ’90s, amassing a following of old-school Austinites and new transplants alike. Show up during prime breakfast or lunch hours on the weekends, and you’ll inevitably find a wait. It’s worth it.

The exterior of Enchiladas Y Mas might not look like much, but the long line of people waiting outside is the first indicator that through those doors is a lively, always-bustling restaurant with enchiladas, fajitas, and strong margaritas. The inside is about as bare as the outside—don’t expect any theme park level decor—but it’s the food that has given this place a cult-like following of locals. We like to get the cheese enchiladas topped with more cheese and a side of beef fajita meat on top. It’s like a savory crown on an already rich plate, and it makes a hearty enough meal on a Sunday afternoon to soak up even the worst of hangovers.

Simultaneously functioning as a dive bar and Tex-Mex eatery since the 1970s, Texas Chili Parlor is probably one of the only spots in town where you can sit back with a Mad Dog margarita (that’s as potent as it sounds) and order a plate of enchiladas covered with a giant scoop of Texas-style chili. Walking into Texas Chili Parlor feels almost like entering a cave—it’s dimly lit and chilly inside—and there are usually a handful of people sitting at the bar that look like they’ve been there since the restaurant’s inception.

La Mancha leans fully into the playful, almost kitschy image of what it means to be a Tex-Mex restaurant, and that’s what makes it so much fun. Don’t expect to leave with a new outlook on life after eating their enchiladas (and if that’s ever happened to you anywhere, please let us know where it was). Instead, expect a large menu of solid food that serves equal parts as a tasty dinner and a means for soaking up one too many potent margaritas.

We often go to Tex Mex Joe’s for brunch on the tree-lined deck out back because of the great breakfast plates like chilaquiles and the huevos rancheros, as well as an enormous menu of Tex-Mex hits and nearly every combo plate imaginable. When we’re feeling particularly indecisive, we’ve come to rely on the “Tacos Locos” menu with more out of the ordinary combinations, like a breakfast taco that combines carne guisada, scrambled eggs, and cheddar cheese.

The casual and family-owned restaurant Eldorado Cafe self-styles itself as “Mexican comfort food,” but it occasionally veers wholeheartedly into Tex-Mex territory. The broad menu includes queso, burritos, crispy tacos, carne guisada, and enchiladas (even Dart Bowl-inspired enchiladas, RIP). It’s extremely popular for its bold flavors and big portions—and there’s almost always a wait during peak dinner hours. There are heavy Old Austin vibes, with a colorful, low-key, and kid-friendly space. The service is big-hearted, and with that there’s a passionate community of regulars.

A Tex-Mex staple that’s been around since 1990, Mi Madre’s is not a fancy spot by any means, as the whole building kind of feels like it’s being held together by some duct tape and string lights. But there are two air-conditioned dining rooms and a small, comfortable patio populated by some hungry grackles who have very good taste. While Mi Madre’s is open for lunch and dinner, our favorite time to go is during brunch hours for the enormous breakfast tacos or breakfast plates like huevos rancheros and migas.

Fajitas are the name of the game at Polvos, so much so that there’s an entire portion of the menu dedicated to them. You can keep it classic with beef or chicken fajitas, venture into the sea with grilled fish and shrimp, or go all out with a “market price” ribeye. Whatever you decide on, it’ll come out on a dangerously-hot skillet, with a handful of house-made flour tortillas and a ticket to the salsa bar inside where you can mix and match to your heart’s delight, like a 12-year-old kid at a soda fountain. There are three locations in Austin: a newer, slightly sterile one Downtown, another by the mall, and the original on South First.

Known best perhaps for their huge and affordable breakfast tacos, Ken's Subs, Tacos, & More is built for volume, and the food comes out fast and fresh. As the name implies, they do indeed have subs, including a very good Philly cheesesteak. It’s the Tex-Mex side of the menu that we like a lot, including the old-school crispy taco, carne guisada, carnitas, and solidly executed beef enchiladas.

You go to El Chile when you want a margarita menu with almost a dozen different options, and some Mexican food or Tex-Mex to go with it. Which means they have both queso flameado and a creamy queso blanco on the menu. There’s a big patio on a relatively busy stretch of Manor Road, and all of the food—from the tacos to the chicken mole to one of our favorite ceviches in town—is consistently good.

Right across the street from The Domain, on Burnet Road, Dos Salsas is a two-story Tex-Mex restaurant bursting with energy, sizzling fajitas, and strong margaritas. This is a great spot to go with a big group of friends when you just want somewhere unpretentious and fun to grab dinner before going out for a night on Rock Rose. There’s also a 75% chance you’ll hear the staff come out to sing happy birthday on any given night. 

Joann’s on South Congress is part Tex-Mex restaurant and part American diner with a retro decor, lots of pastels, and a heavy reliance on theme and interior design à la Wes Anderson—all in the lobby of the Austin Motel. But that doesn’t mean that eating here is all show and no substance. Instead, you can expect to get tasty renditions of Tex-Mex classics, like green chicken enchiladas, barbacoa plates, and skirt steak fajitas. Just don’t be surprised when you also find green peas in your guacamole or soyrizo on your queso. 

In the shell of what was probably a Japanese restaurant in a former life right next to the I-35 upper deck, Hornitos is no-frills Tex-Mex at its best. The enchiladas come in just about every variety—including a sampler version if you can’t decide between the ultra-classic ranchero, tangy chicken verde, or a more savory chile con carne—and the fajitas come out on a skillet hotter than the Austin summer sun. And even though their location by an underpass on an I-35 frontage road might not sound ideal, it makes for a really convenient stop on the way home from work.

Despite being in a strip mall next to an Office Depot and an indie film theater, Vivo is a remarkably cozy spot with an interior that will instantly transport you to an old house in Hyde Park. And if that doesn’t take you there, the margaritas certainly will. You’ll find most of the classic Tex-Mex staples here, but you’ll also find a few house specialties that are a little less common in Austin, like some very good puffy tacos, pambazos, and sopapillas.