AUSTIN, Texas — Every year, Yelp releases its lists of the best new restaurants in each U.S. region based on user reviews.
This year, five Texas restaurants made the top 25 of the Best New Restaurants in the South 2024 – two in Austin, two in the Houston area and one in Dallas.
All the businesses that made the list were opened after Jan. 31, 2023, and remained open as of May 1, 2024.
While a Nashville Asian grill topped the list, Nomade in Austin was only a couple of spots down at No. 4.
Nomade, which is the newest endeavor from the team behind the popular sushi restaurant Lucky Robot on South Congress, is a take on Southern Mexican cuisine, specifically the Yucatán Peninsula.
“You’ll feel transported to Tulum at this bohemian-chic hotspot, which specializes in gluten-free Yucatecan cuisine,” the Yelp article said.
Chef Jay Huang, who co-owns the restaurant with Adam Weisberg, said he wanted the food to feature the cultural influences of the region from Mayan and Spanish to African and Caribbean.
Some dishes Yelp reviewers recommended were the Tuna Crudo and Enmoladas Verdes.
The app calls reviwers Yelpers, and one of them said that “every entrée was a revelation” and the restaurant has quickly become their “favorite spot in Austin.”
The next two Texas restaurants came in at No. 9 and 10 on the list – Yūjō in Dallas and Fabrik in Austin.
Yelpers have declared that Yūjō, which means friendship in Japanese, is the “best sushi spot in DFW.”
The North Dallas restaurant’s owners Tony Ma and Viet Nguyen, along with Executive Chef Eric Bui, say they “make it their mission” to educate diners about the art of sushi making.
Some can’t-miss dishes Yelpers recommended were the Uni Pasta and the Fried Brussels Sprouts.
“From the intricately designed presentations to the fresh and vibrant colors on the plate, they truly understand the artistry of sushi,” one Yelper said. “The chef and staff’s knowledge of the menu and recommendations were spot-on. They made the dining experience truly exceptional.”
Fabrik is Austin’s latest plant-based restaurant by Executive Chef Je Wallerstein and her husband Silas Wallerstein. The small chef-to-table-style restaurant has just 22 seats and offers seasonal tasting menus with “thoughtful” wine pairings.
“We celebrate plants, using amazing local ingredients and unique garnishes,” Je Wallerstein, who has been a vegan for the past two decades, said in the article.
The most recommended item was the house-made sourdough focaccia, which takes 18 hours to make.
Coming in at No. 12, Xalisko Cocina Mexicana is the first Houston-area restaurant to make the list.
In Woodlands, the restaurant pays homage to the Mexican state of Jalisco.
Chef and co-founder Beatriz Martines has a unique story of how she became a restaurateur. Martines started as a cafeteria lunch lady and then went to culinary school, but Jalisco is where she learned to cook growing up.
Two of the most popular dishes are the Trompito Al Pastor and Tamal del Elote.
A little further down the list, another H-Town restaurant, BASO, was featured at No. 22.
BASO is a fusion restaurant of three different cultures, Japan, the Basque country in Spain and Texas.
“Almost all of BASO’s dishes are touched by flame. Both the cooking and decor are minimalist: BASO emphasizes simple preparations over elaborate ones to bring out the flavor of fresh, high-quality meats, seafood, and vegetables,” the article said.
Along with the rankings, the article listed some of the newest noteworthy trends these Southern restaurants are bringing to the scene. The four most popular trends Yelp found were the use of flame cooking, staying true to their Southern roots, channeling unique global cuisine and using fresh and local ingredients.