Austin’s tastemaker winners
Austin crowned its 2026 Tastemaker Award winners on April 9, spotlighting current local stars and bars to try now — Odd Duck won Restaurant of the Year, Daniela and Rosa Landaverde of La Santa Barbacha were named Chefs of the Year, Parley took Bar of the Year, and Moderna Bar & Pizzeria won Best New Restaurant. Those awards are useful if you’re planning a food trip to Austin and want to eat where local critics say the city is peaking. (austin.culturemap.com)
Austin just got a fresh cheat sheet for where to eat right now, and the biggest winner was Odd Duck, which took Restaurant of the Year at the April 9 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards in Austin. The live ceremony happened at Distribution Hall after a month of nominee coverage and a public vote for one category. (austin.culturemap.com) That makes the list more useful than a generic “best of Austin” roundup, because these awards were built around what judges said shaped the city’s food scene over the past year, while readers picked Best New Restaurant in a bracket-style tournament. The judging panel included industry experts, past winners, and CultureMap editors. (austin.culturemap.com 1) (austin.culturemap.com 2) Odd Duck won with the kind of menu that explains Austin in one sitting: Texas pickles, redfish ceviche, cast iron cheddar cornbread, braised goat pizza, and a wagyu burger all on the current dinner list. CultureMap called it one of the city’s most well-rounded restaurants, and the restaurant’s own menu shows how wide that range really is. (austin.culturemap.com) (oddduckaustin.com) The chef prize went to sisters Daniela Landaverde and Rosa Landaverde of La Santa Barbacha, a food truck they opened in Austin in 2021 after growing up in a family barbacoa business in Central Mexico and later attending culinary school in Mexico. CultureMap said their tacos helped earn five years of praise, and the Michelin Guide currently lists La Santa Barbacha as a Bib Gourmand in Austin. (austin.culturemap.com) (lasantabarbacha.com) (guide.michelin.com) The bar winner, Parley, tells you something about where Austin drinking culture is heading in 2026: less velvet-rope mystery, more neighborhood hangout with serious cocktails. CultureMap described it as a new East César Chávez bar with an Irish pub spirit, Guinness on draft, and food from Oseyo’s kitchen, run by two veterans from the downtown speakeasy Here Nor There. (austin.culturemap.com) (parleyatx.com) (theinfatuation.com) The most traveler-friendly winner may be Moderna Bar & Pizzeria, because Best New Restaurant was the one category decided by readers, not just judges. Moderna won a 16-restaurant tournament, and CultureMap described it as a place built around thin, Neapolitan-inspired pies and a classic Italian-American bistro menu. (austin.culturemap.com) The nominees around those winners show what Austin critics are rewarding right now: old guard places like Fonda San Miguel and Jeffrey’s sat beside newer names like Le Calamar and Parley. In the restaurant category alone, the finalists ranged from barbecue at La Barbecue to Japanese cooking at Fukumoto to farm-driven cooking at Barley Swine. (austin.culturemap.com 1) (austin.culturemap.com 2) (austin.culturemap.com 3) So if you are planning an Austin food weekend, this year’s map is unusually clear. Book Odd Duck for dinner, find La Santa Barbacha for tacos, stop at Parley for a pint, and put Moderna on the list if you want the place Austin readers pushed through the bracket themselves. (austin.culturemap.com)
