The Turkey Pep sandwich ($17) at Astra Restaurant Bar includes housemade and oak-smoked pepperoni and turkey. (Courtesy Astra Restaurant Bar) (Courtesy Astra Restaurant + Bar)
Two Austin favorites are making comebacks this week: Michelin-recognized Ramen Del Barrio returns on Kramer Lane after a hiatus, while A Little Shady revives the spirit of the dearly departed Shady Grove in Kyle.
Rounding out the roundup are open-kitchen tacos in West Lake Hills, scratch-made Italian in Rosedale, a Mediterranean-Asian tapas lounge downtown, Texas Roadhouse's Bastrop debut and a Cedar Park sports bar slinging a 34-by-48-inch, $119 pizza, and, in this week's feature, a farm-to-table newcomer in Buda.
Taqueria de Diez has served downtown Austin since 2024, offering a variety of tacos, burritos and quesadillas along with traditional sides like chips and guacamole. The restaurant—which operates as an open-kitchen style where customers can watch their food be prepared—is also in the process of opening two other locations on Guadalupe Street and at The Domain, according to its website.
After one year in Venice, California, this restaurant’s co-owners decided to move the restaurant to Austin, making it Cinque Terre West ATX. The Italian restaurant joined the couple’s other venture, Ciccio Bomba. Cinque Terre West ATX is open five nights a week, serving food from scratch, including pastas that are made in-house daily. The restaurant offers dishes like Spaghetti Vongole E Bottarga made with Manila clams, garlic, Fresno chile, white wine, parsley and shaved dried mullet roes. The eatery also has a full bar and wine menu. The cuisine at Cinque Terre West ATX is led by chef Gianba Vinzoni, who was born in Broni, Italy, and discovered a passion for cooking while watching his grandmother in the kitchen.
Now shaking up craft cocktails and serving small plates in downtown Austin, this Mediterranean-Asian fusion tapas lounge serves sushi rolls and raw fish, as well as hummus-based dishes, salad and more. Patrons can dine on tuna tartare, yellowtail crudo, spicy salmon crispy rice or a tempura mushroom roll made with daikon radish, carrot, cucumber, eel sauce and sriracha. At the top of the menu, there is a paragraph that incorporates each cocktail’s name. The Silk Road drink features Another Hendrick's, Kanada Yuzu Liqueur, Grapefruit Liqueur, Mediterranean Tonic and Kota Pandan Mist. The space also features DJ sets starting at 9:30 p.m. playing Afro House music.
This Michelin-recognized restaurant specializes in Japanese-Mexican fusion, offering ramen with classic flavors from the two cuisines. Menu items include the carnitas tonkotsu ramen, which comes with pork broth, mixed carnitas, grilled pepper and onions, radish and tortilla strips; and the mole tsukemen, made with thick noodles, house-made mole, mixed carnitas and tortilla strips. The restaurant has been on a hiatus since it had to relocate due to the closing of Hana World Market in 2025, the Asian grocery store where Ramen Del Barrio first opened.
The steakhouse now serves hand-cut steaks, scratch-made sides and its signature rolls at the Sendero development. Diners can choose proteins like hand-cut steaks, seafood and chicken; scratch-made sides such as baked potatoes, macaroni and cheese and green beans; and the restaurant’s popular freshly baked dinner rolls served with whipped honey-cinnamon butter.
The sports bar is owned by Jeremy Tracy and Ramon Kreher. The menu includes an assortment of salads, burgers, pizza and wings, and also boasts the Gridiron Pizza, a 34-by-48-inch rectangular pizza for $119. Among the 50 draft beers is a selection of U.S. domestic beers, Texas craft drafts and Austin local brews, including beverages from Austin Beerworks. Halftime Sports Bar & Grill also serves seltzers as well as classic, signature and premium cocktails.
Sangam Chettinad Indian Cuisine & Bar will open a restaurant in the Cedar Park-Leander area, marking the third location in the Austin metro, according to a representative of the concept. Sangam Chettinad serves authentic Indian food, more specifically cuisine of the Chettinad region of Tamil Nadu, according to the restaurant’s website. The expansive menu includes an assortment of vegetarian and non-vegetarian soups, biryani, Indo-Chinese and tiffin combinations. Additionally, Sangam’s authentic entrees include meals like Chettinad egg masala and Karaikudi nattu kozhi varuval.
Opening end of July
14300 Ronald Reagan Blvd., Bldg. 1, Ste. 104-106, Leander
Resurrected from an old Austin staple, A Little Shady is a new take on an old favorite. The new spot will combine comforting favorites—including Frozen Shady Thangs, Green Chile Cheese Fries, Grilled Wings, Chicken Fried Chicken and The Hippie Sandwich—with vintage design and modern vibes inspired by the iconic Shady Grove restaurant that sat at 1624 Barton Springs Road from 1992 to 2020. A Little Shady will open Aug. 4 at 11 a.m., according to a Facebook post from the business, and has both indoor and outdoor seating as well as a stage for live music and events.
The Merguez Goat ($20) at Astra Restaurant + Bar includes pickled red onion, harissa red sauce, chevre, loterria vecchio and mint. (Courtesy Astra Restaurant + Bar)
A new restaurant serving locally sourced, scratch-made cuisine has opened in downtown Buda.
Astra Restaurant + Bar held a soft opening in February and celebrated a ribbon-cutting with the Greater Buda Chamber of Commerce on May 18, marking its shift to being open seven days a week.
Meet the owner
Owner Mattison Bills said the concept is one she'd been developing for a decade. Bills co-founded Mum Foods, a smokehouse and delicatessen, before opening Three Six General in San Marcos, a grocer and butcher shop that cures and smokes the meat served at Astra.
"The local sourcing, everything scratch-made, the sourdough program is really a huge part of my identity; the handmade pasta," she said.
On the menu
Every item is scratch-made with no commercial ingredients, with produce locally sourced or grown in the restaurant's own 6,000-square-foot urban farm in San Antonio. Even the sourdough—fired daily in a wood-fired oven—uses local organic flour from Barton Springs Mill, which also supplies the flour for Astra's pizza dough and handmade pasta.
The menu includes sandwiches like the Turkey Pep, starters like the Redfish Crudo and wood-fired pizzas such as the Confit Coppa Ham, alongside an artisan cocktail program from Beverage Director Lauren Beckman.
