When I first moved to Austin in 2007, there were 3 Asian restaurants in Austin and one of those was Panda Express. It’s been very exciting to see several Asian restaurants open in the city where we can have Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Thai food. Below is a paragraph that I wrote during lockdown of March 2020.
MYTH: Asian food gives you Coronavirus.
But across the nation, Asian restaurants and Chinatowns are suffering because people are too scared to go there now. While I think Austin has been immune to this racism, I do think that the mom and pop Asian restaurants in Austin have been affected.
So in light of recent events with Coronavirus (COVID-19), I thought this would be an appropriate time for me to write a guide to the best Asian food in Austin. The reason why I haven’t written anything on this topic in the 10 years that I’ve been blogging and I have a blog post on practically everything at this point is because the Asian food in Austin hasn’t been that great.
SEE ALSO: 24 Spots With The Best Brunch In Austin
Harsh right? But compared to NYC, Houston, or even Taiwan – where I was born – the Asian food in Austin is lacking. HOWEVER, it has improved over the years so here are my favorite spots for Asian cuisine in Austin for Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, and Vietnamese food with price ranges.
Table of Contents
Chinese restaurants
Bamboo House
The Peking duck, thin beef slices with sauerkraut stew, and Sichuan fried chicken at Bamboo House on Chang Street was one of my favorite meals in 2022, as quoted in this Eater article. I am v happy this Houston restaurant, offering a delightful blend of American, Texas, and Xian flavors, is here.
Price Range: $$
What To Order: Peking duck, thin beef slices with sauerkraut stew, and Sichuan fried chicken
7010 Easy Wind Dr Unit 100, bamboohouseaustin.com
SEE ALSO: 7 Best Spots For Bubble Tea In Austin
House of Three Gorges
I adore House of Three Gorges, but the distance is a challenge. This authentic Chinese spot, though, is worth the trek. Affordable and generous portions make it a gem. My favorites include the shrimp fried rice, Sichuan Dry Stir Fried Chicken, and for the adventurous, the blood jelly and intestine in spicy soup. It’s my go-to spot, but sometimes I yearn for a touch of American flair or a taste of Texas. I wonder if they’ll ever introduce some street food vibes or draw inspiration from a Vietnamese restaurant. A fusion of flavors with a hint of Xian charm could make this place even more irresistible!
Price Range: $
What To Order: shrimp fried rice, Sichuan Dry Stir Fried Chicken, and Mapo Tofu with ground pork.
8557 Research Blvd Suite 144, houseofthreegorges.com
Asia Cafe
For anyone who is willing to make the drive up to Asia Cafe in North Austin, they have the best Chinese food in Austin IMO. Generous portions, affordable, and this is where my parents will eat.
If you like spicy, hot & spicy lamb or the spicy fish fillet. It’s their iconic dishes but I personally opt for the braised pork and spicy beef noodle soup.
Price Range: $
What To Order: honey walnut shrimp, braised pork with preserved veggie, stir-fried water spinach, and spicy beef noodle soup
8650 Spicewood Springs Rd #114a
SEE ALSO: My Favorite Asian Noodles & Ramen In Austin
Qi
If I’m wanting fancy Chinese food or wanting to entertain friends, I take them to Qi in downtown Austin. There’s both indoor and outdoor dining and the restrooms have TOTO toilets. The food is really, really good. They have dim sum on the weekends.
Price Range: $$
What To Order: Shanghai soup dumplings (pork and crab), hot & sour soup, har kaw, salt and pepper lobster tail, pecan shrimp, Peking duck, truffle egg fried rice.
835 W 6th St Unit 114, qiaustin.com
Chen Z Noodle House
If you’re willing to make the drive up to North Austin, located right next door to Asia Cafe is Chen Z Noodle House.
Price Range: $
What To Order: Beef soft noodle, house pan fried noodle, stir fried beef flat noodle
6705 US-290, chenzaustin.com
Old Thousand
If you want to take someone on a date that includes Chinese food, I recommend Old Thousand on the East side. It’s a hip spot with a cocktail bar. Happy time is Monday to Friday from 5 – 6:30pm with food discounts and 50% off all bottles of wine.
Price Range: $$
What To Order: mapo eggplant (vegan), green beans, kung pao cauliflower, general tso chicken, and char siu
1000 E 11th St
Din Ho Chinese BBQ
Din Ho Chinese BBQ is a classic Taiwanese restaurant – roasted bbq duck, BBQ pork, chai sui, ma po tofu, dungeness crab, steam fish, live lobster, walnut shrimp, and more.
8557 Research Blvd #116
Peached Tortilla
The Peached Tortilla serves Southern/Asian comfort food with a more casual lunch menu of tacos, tostadas, and bowls. I personally like the dinner menu more, specifically the lush pork belly bowl, dan dan noodles, and Hainan chicken. I think Peached is the only place in Austin that you can get Hainan chicken and it’s SO good with the ginger scallion dipping sauce.
You can also book The Peached Tortilla food truck for events and weddings.
Price Range: $$
What To Order: Hainan chicken, pork belly bowl, and dan dan noodles
5520 Burnet Rd #100
Sugar Pine
This beautiful spread of food is at Sugar Pine, a new cafe in North Austin. You’ll find onigiri, chicken karaage, soba noodles, sets, and homemade ice cream. Not only is everything beautifully plates, it’s also delicious.
Price Range: $$
What To Order: onigiri, chicken karaage, soba noodles, sets, and ice cream
8578 Research Blvd
Julie’s Noodles
For authentic Taiwanese beef noodle soup, go to Julie’s Noodles. Add chili crisp for an experience.
8557 Research Blvd #110
Wu Chow
If you’re celebrating a special occasion and you want Chinese food, Wu Chow in downtown Austin is the spot. Wu Chow has iconic Chinese dishes like Lion’s Head meatballs, Hunan style beef, Singapore noodles, seafood bird’s nest, salt & pepper squid, pork dumplings, and whole fish.
Happy hour is Monday to Friday from 5 – 6pm.
Price Range: $$$
What To Order: whole fish and seafood bird’s nest
500 W 5th St
Lin Asian Bar
And if you want a fancy dim sum brunch, Lin Asian Bar on West 6th is a great spot. There are vegan and gluten-free options. It does get pretty busy on the weekends so be prepared to wait.
Price Range: $$
What To Order: soup dumplings, fried dumplings, and pork buns
1203 W 6th St
Best frozen dumplings
And the best for frozen dumplings, honestly, buy a bag at the Asian supermarket. This is the brand that my parents always buy so I’ve always bought this brand. It’s super cheap – about 30 dumplings for $5 – $6.
How to cook dumplings: Bring a pot of water to boiling and then boil dumplings for 3-4 minutes. Or until they float and the skin looks slightly translucent.
Taste of Home Handmade Dumplings
Taste of Home Handmade Dumplings opened this year in Austin and I was pleasantly surprised by all the different dumpling options – steamed, boiled, and pan fried. You can even get abalone dumplings here!
10901 N Lamar Blvd Ste B-203
Korean
Korea House
For an authentic Korean meal, go to Korea House in North Austin. Korean House tucked in a strip center but the food is authentic and is reminiscent of a home-cooked meal.
The Dosirak (Korean lunch box) is a steal during the week from 11am – 2pm with a beef bulgogi lunch box that includes 2 banchan, ginger salad, Korean egg drop soup, mandu, and rice for only $11
Price Range: $$
What To Order: bulgogi, Galbi Tang, bibimbap, and haemul pajeon (seafood and scallion pancake)
2700 W Anderson Ln #501, koreahouseaustin.com/#menu
bb.q Chicken Highland Village
Popular KFC (Korean fried chicken) is now available in Austin at BBQ Chicken!
Chosun Galbi
I just went to Chosun Galbi for the first time recently and it’s at the top of my list of favorite Korean restaurants in Austin because of the Korean bbq meat is really good and at a reasonable price and the banchan (complimentary side dishes) are really good too.
Between the four of us, we ordered the Assorted BBQ (for 3) – a combination of fresh short ribs, marinated short ribs, thinly sliced beef brisket, beef bulgogi, pork bulgogi, chicken bulgogi, and 3 jumbo shrimps for $83.95. I really liked that the staff helped us cook the meat and checked on us periodically to restock banchan.
We also got the Gam Ja Tang hot pot and didn’t think it was that great.
713 E Huntland Dr, chosungalbiaustin.com
Chi’Lantro
Everyone loves Chi’Lantro’s kimchi fries but they also have chicken wings, tacos, rice and noodle bowls.
Price Range: $
Multiple locations in Austin
Charm Korean BBQ
I love Charm Korean BBQ because it’s the only all-you-can-eat Korean bbq spot in Austin. It’s best experienced with a group of friends with soju/sake. It ranges from $25.99 to $49.99 depending on if you want premium meats like prime rib.
Price Range: $$$
1200 W Howard Ln
Oseyo
My favorite spot for Korean food is Oseyo, the newest Korean restaurant in Austin that’s located in East Austin. The food is more expensive and a smaller portion than Korean House but I think the food is better and the space is gorgeous. So if you’re wanting to do date night or impress clients, then I highly recommend Oseyo. Oseyo has a private room in the back that’s available for events.
I love the kalbi tang soup and kalbi!
What To Order: kimchi jigae, kalbi (beef short rib), bulgogi (thinly sliced marinated ribeye), jajangmeyon, and kalbi tang.
Price Range: $$$
1628 E Cesar Chavez St
Thai
Thai Fresh
If you ever get the chance to meet Jam at Thai Fresh, which is pretty likely as she’s always at her restaurant, she’s super sweet. Thai Fresh is a bit more expensive than your typical Thai restaurant in Austin but that’s because gratuity is included the cost already.
Thai Fresh also does cooking classes so you can learn how to make your own drunken noodles or pad thai.
What To Order: drunken noodles, pai thai, fried chicken skins, and any of the ice cream
Price Range: $$
909 W Mary St
SEE ALSO: 24 Best Healthy Restaurants In Austin
DEE DEE
Dee Dee is a food truck that is currently parked at Radio Coffee in South Austin. If you really want authentic Thai food, Dee Dee is the most authentic as you can get. The Pad kaprow and laab moo is so good but it’s really, really spicy, Tame the fire with their mango & sticky rice, and an iced Thai tea.
What To Order: pad kaprow, laab moo, and mango & sticky rice
Price Range: $
4204 Manchaca Road
Madam Mam’s
When I was in college at UT Austin, I would treat myself to a meal at Madam Mam’s after an exam. Madam Mam’s has the best fried rice IMO but only when it’s paired with their homemade chili oil. It’s so good that people started stealing the jars so they only give you a little plastic container of it now.
What To Order: fried rice with chili oil
Price Range: $$
2514 Guadalupe St
Titaya’s
For pad Thai, I recommend going to Titaya’s. When I’m craving Asian takeout, I usually order the pad Thai and tom kha soup from Titaya’s.
What To Order: pad Thai and tom kha soup
Price Range: $$
5501 N Lamar Blvd
Sway
You’re probably seeing a trend here on this best Asian food in Austin blog post with affordable options up to a fancy option that’s $$$$. Sway is one of the highly recommend fine dining restaurants in Austin and they serve authentic Thai cuisine. I will warn you that most things on the menu are super spicy.
What To Order: chicken wings, jungle curry, blue crab fried rice, son in law, and tiger cry
Price Range: $$$$
3437 Bee Caves Rd
Japanese
Komé
The teishoku (combination lunch) is a great lunch deal. Happy hour is Monday to Thursday from 5 – 6pm with $5 izakaya cocktails, $5 well drinks, discounted snacks and sushi. (Read more about Komé here.)
What To Order: shrimp tempura, age-dashi tofu, kara-age, takoyaki, any of the teishoku (combination lunch), and sushi lunch
Price Range: $$
5301 Airport Blvd #100
Asahi Imports
Have you been to this Japanese supermarket in Austin? @asahiimports opened their first location in 1967 on Burnet & now in South Austin.
- over 30,000 Japanese products
- 🍙 handmade onigiri rice balls in traditional “konbini” style setting
- 🍣 sushi grade fish
- 🍚 30 different kinds of rice
- 20 different kinds of miso
- 🥟 dumplings, ramen, ramen kits, kewe mayo, fish cakes & more
- 🍶 100 different kinds of sake, beer & plum wine
6105 Burnet Rd & 3005 South Lamar, asahiimports.com
Ramen Tatsu-ya
Who doesn’t Ramen Tatsu-Ya?! Their pork tonkotsu pork bone broth is magical. I recently had the veggie ramen and unfortunately, it was disappointing but read down for a good veggie ramen!
What To Order: tonkotsu orginal, mi-so-hot, and ol’skool ramen
Price Range: $$
8557 Research Blvd, East 6th, South Lamar
Fukumoto
This Japanese izakaya is a popular alternative to Uchiko but has Japanese serving skewers, sushi and cooked seafood imported from Japan in a lofty, hip space. The uni pasta here is heavenly.
What To Order: any of the sushi and uni pasta
Price Range: $$
514 Medina St, fukumotoaustin.com/
Sushi Junai Omakase
Sushi Junai just opened their third location in downtown Austin on 3rd and Congress but this isn’t their all-you-can-eat sushi like their first location. Sushi Junai Omakase is their fine dining concept with an 18-course omakase.
The $150 18-course omakase features an A5 wagyu beef from Japan with shaved truffle and 24k edible gold on top.
There’s also a 15-course omakase option for $75 but doesn’t include the wagyu, caviar, and foie gras.
What To Order: 18-course omakase
Price Range: $$$$
315 Congress Ave #100
Uchiko
Everyone knows that the best Japanese restaurants in Austin are Uchi and Uchiko so I feel like I don’t need to explain too much. Uchiko does more modern Japanese cuisine whereas Uchi is more traditional Japanese cuisine. Sit at the sushi bar if you want the full experience.
Both restaurants are pricey but they have happy hour every day! Sake social is every day from 5–6:30pm.
What To Order:
Price Range: $$$$
4200 N Lamar Blvd
Uchi
Uchi is really known for the omakase tasting menu. I went recently for happy hour and sat at the sushi bar and loved it.
What To Order: hot rack wagyu beef, foie gras sushi, and other sushi obviously
Price Range: $$$$
801 S Lamar Blvd
SEE ALSO: 10 Best Options For Omakase in Austin
Tenten
TenTen just is a new modern Japanese rsetaurant that just opened in downtown Austin on West 6th street. Check out my video on Instagram for my dining experience!
What To Order: charred edamame, giant tiger prawns, sashimi platter, crab leg, a5 wagyu strip ($140 for 9 pieces), and peach blossom cocktail⠀
Price Range: $$$$
501 W 6th St
SEE ALSO: 20 Best Breweries In Austin For Craft Beer
Vietnamese
Pho Dan
My favorite spot for pho is Pho Dan in North Austin – it’s affordable, clean, and hits the spot when I need something soupy. My go-to pho order is #13 but I recommend for you to look at what kind of meat you like. I like marble brisket because it’s more tender than round steak.
I also like #40A – the steamed rice with charbroiled beef and egg rolls.
Price Range: $
1220 N Lamar Blvd
Sip Pho
If I want pho in a fancy setting, I go to Sip Pho. Located next to UT Campus, Sip Pho is beautifully designed by Magic Architecture. The pho is more expensive at $12 – $13 but still delicious. Sip Pho also has chicken broth pho, vegan pho, banh mi sandwiches, and a kids menu. Also bubble tea! Black milk tea, coffee, taro, brown sugar, passion fruit, mango, Thai tea, and matcha green Thai tea.
Price Range: $$
512 W 29th St, sippho.com
Thanh Nhi
The best vermicelli bowl in Austin IMO is Dong Nai. It’s a hole-in-the-wall small restaurant located in a strip mall so it’s not fancy by any meals but the food is cheap and really good. The grilled pork vermicelli bowl comes with perfectly marinated and barbecued pork, fried spring rolls, and a little saucer of fish sauce.
I love Thanh Nhi’s #A1 special spring rolls with grilled pork sausage, a deep-fried spring roll wrapped rolled up inside the spring roll.
Price Range: $
1335 E Whitestone Blvd T100
Baguette House
For banh mi, I always go to Baguette House located in the MT shopping center. They bake the baguettes from scratch and the sandwiches are long and skinny.
What To Order: #1 house special combination banh mi
Price Range: $
10901 North Lamar Boulevard
888 Pan Asian Restaurant
If you go to 888 on any Friday, there’s a one hour wait for this popular Pan Asian restaurant that serves Vietnamese and Chinese dishes in South Austin.
What To Order: roast duck egg noodle soup and beef flat rice noodles
Price Range: $
2400 E Oltorf St #1A
1618 Asian Fusion
Another spot if you want Asian food in a fancy space is 1618 Asian Fusion on Riverside. They have cocktails (a stellar, smokey old fashioned cocktail), lobster, whole Peking duck, fried whole fish, and live music.
What To Order: filet mignon pepper steak, Thai crispy red snapper, and spicy chili Singapore lobster
Price Range: $$$
1618 E Riverside Dr
Elizabeth Street Cafe
I only go to Elizabeth St Cafe is someone else paying because, to be honest, it’s just expensive. By comparison, their pho is $18 versus the typical bowl of pho that’s $7. I do love their kaffir lime fried chicken bún (vermicelli bowl).
What To Order: spring rolls and kaffir lime fried chicken bún
Price Range: $$$
1501 S 1st St
I know I am missing Indian food on this list but I plan on writing a separate blog post on best Indian restaurants in Austin.
This guide is part of the Austin Food Blogger Alliance’s 2021 City Guide. Check out more of the best eats in Austin, curated by Austin food bloggers, on the full list of guides.
