Several restaurants have come to call Southwest Austin home in the past few months, bringing with them variety and a few new types of cuisine to the area.

Local residents will be able to try Cuban, Ethiopian and Japanese food at area restaurants making their debut. Guantanamera, which offers traditional Cuban cuisine, opened in March at 6800 West Gate Blvd., Ste. 11 (See more on Page 11).

Pflugerville-based eatery Taste of Ethiopia will open a second location this summer at 3801 S. Congress Ave., owner Woine Mariam said. Food is served on a platter that everyone eats from, she said, explaining one thing that drew her to Southwest Austin was the many families who live in the area. Mariam added the new restaurant could offer breakfast and add a full bar.

"I will have more space to use," she said. "I may be able to offer a cooking class and things like that because my kitchen will be bigger."

Michi Ramen, a former food truck, is slated to open a south Austin restaurant in a 1,500-square-foot space at 3005 S. Lamar Blvd., Ste. D-114, this spring, owner Fredrick Lee said.

"That part of town, just like Austin as a whole, is growing and developing with all these multiuse condos [and apartments], and it seemed like a good fit," he said, noting the site will only offer takeout and delivery.

On Jan. 25, Ramen Tatsu-ya opened a location at 1234 S. Lamar Blvd., building on its Northwest Austin restaurant's success.

"We saw a lot of customers coming from South [Austin] and just heard, 'We need this over here, south, south of the river,'" owner Tatsu Aikawa said.

Japanese soul food is Ramen Tatsu-ya's focus, and diners are encouraged to slurp loudly to aerate the noodles, Aikawa said.

"We just try to keep it simple," he said. "I just want to represent ramen as how you can actually get it if you're in Japan. For South Austin people, now they don't have to drive north to get it, [and] they don't have to fly to Japan and get it. They can get it here."

Tex-Mex options, pizza succeed

Several new Tex-Mex restaurants are also being drawn to the area: Rosa's Cafe Tortilla Factory opened Dec. 29 at 509 W. Slaughter Lane, and Taquerias Arandinas opened a new location called Casa Arandinas in mid-December at 9001 Brodie Lane. Jalapenos Taco Bar and the new location of Flores Mexican Restaurant both opened recently on William Cannon Drive.

David Amaya, owner of Amaya's Taco Village, grew up in South Austin and said he thought Southpark Meadows was a perfect fit for the local restaurant's second location, which opened in October.

"We definitely knew there was a lot of growth coming out here looking at all the housing and apartments going up here, all through South Austin and Southwest Austin. So we knew there was a great need for more restaurants here," he said.

He said he doesn't think the local Tex-Mex market can be oversaturated.

"In Texas and Austin you can go on almost any corner and find a Tex-Mex restaurant," he said.

It helps that there is a diverse mix of cuisine nearby, he said, citing a Chinese buffet, a pizza place and Buckets Backyard Sports Bar & Grill, which opened in the Southpark Meadows shopping center in mid-February.

Offering pizza, Uncle Maddio's Pizza Joint opened on Brodie in December.

Via 313 Pizzeria co-owner Brandon Hunt said there is pent-up demand for local eateries in the Southwest Austin area, which is dominated by chains. Via 313, which launched as a food trailer in East Austin, will open a brick-and-mortar location at 6705 W. Hwy. 290 in April, he said.

"The Southwest Austin restaurant scene is just starting to take shape, really. People probably started taking it more seriously with the arrival of Jack Allen's a few years back," he said in an email, adding other independent restaurants have also opened.

Pinthouse Pizza will renovate an existing 6,000-square-foot space and open a South Austin location at 4236 S. Lamar Blvd. this summer, owner Tyler Norwood said.

The restaurant, which opened the original 4,700-square-foot Burnet Road location in October 2012, brews about half of the beers offered on tap. Norwood said "off-the-map" specials have included banh mi pizza, made with pepperwurst, pickled carrots and onions, jalapenos and cilantro. Pinthouse also features specialty pizzas such as The Armadillo, with olive oil, cheese, sausage, ricotta and cilantro garnish.

South Lamar's eclectic businesses and new housing attracted him, Norwood said.

Locally owned restaurants such as St. Philip, which opened Oct. 2, and North by Northwest Restaurant and Brewery have seen value in the area, Norwood said.

Other restaurateurs will likely capitalize on the areas in-demand housing scene and residents interest in staying close to home for dinner as well, he said.

"That market is really vibrant now and the population [is growing]," Norwood said. "I think that trend is only going to continue, and I think it's great for the market and the people that live there."

Additional reporting by Joe Olivieri.