All The Austin Restaurants on Diners, Drive-ins And Dives (And Which Ones Are Worth Visiting)
We’ve all seen at least a few episodes of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on The Food Network. Even if you’re not a regular at watching bleach-haired Guy Fieri drive around in his cherry red ‘68 Camaro, stopping at popular foodie destinations around the country and devouring 4-pound cheeseburgers, you’ve most likely seen an episode while you’re at the hair salon or on a lobby waiting room tv. Guy goes to pretty epic places, and there are a good number of Austin restaurants on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives that have been featured in various seasons.
There’s something kind of fun about stopping by a restaurant that’s been featured on a major tv show. It just feels special (in part because a foodie celebrity has eaten there.) But not all of the Austin restaurants on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives are really all that worth going to. In fact, some of them have already closed. But there are a handful that are excellent places to add to your Austin bucket list, and I'll mention them all below.
About me: I’m Kelsey, a bestselling travel book author and the creator of 3 Texas travel websites. As a native Texan, I spend my own time and money exploring this state to help millions of readers find the best food, things to do, places to stay in Austin and beyond. Check out my other sites: TheSanAntonioThings.com and TheWacoThings.com!
All The Restaurants Featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
Here’s a list of every single Austin restaurant that’s been featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. Note that some of these restaurants have been permanently closed. Read on for the full list, and then scroll down to see which restaurants are actually worth visiting.
Casino El Camino
A burger dive bar located on Dirty Sixth Street in Austin, Texas.
WEBSITE | 517 E 6th St, Austin, TX 78701
Taco Xpress
Casual taco truck in south Austin serving famous migas tacos in an eclectic setting.
WEBSITE | 1210 Barton Springs Rd, Austin, TX 78704
Luke’s Inside Out
(PERMANENTLY CLOSED)
Small food truck serving toasted sandwiches, burgers, and fries.
WEBSITE | 1109 S Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78704
Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ
South Austin trailer serving smoked meats, Tex Mex favorites, and a famous breakfast taco called the “Real Deal Holyfield.”
WEBSITE | 11500 Menchaca Rd, Austin, TX 78748
Foreign and Domestic
A neighborhood farm-to-table American restaurant.
WEBSITE | 306 E 53rd St, Austin, TX 78751
Pieous
Neapolitan pizzas, epic sandwiches, and baked goods.
WEBSITE | 166 Hargraves Dr h, Austin, TX 78737
Louis Mueller BBQ
Famous BBQ joint from one of Texas’s legendary pitmasters.
WEBSITE | 206 W 2nd St, Taylor, TX 76574
Onetaco
All-day taqueria serving everything from pancake tacos to Mexican street food-style tacos.
WEBSITE | Multiple locations
Boteco
South Austin food truck serving authentic Brazilian cuisine.
WEBSITE | 1720 Barton Springs Rd, Austin, TX 78704
Counter Cafe
Locally sourced diner favorites, including crab cake benedicts, fried chicken biscuits, and burgers and fries.
WEBSITE | Multiple locations
Homeslice
Popular NY-style pizzeria in Austin Texas serving large, thin-crust pizza and New York subs.
WEBSITE | Multiple locations
Monument Cafe
Classic restaurant in Georgetown, Texas famous for their scratch-made pie and lunch staples like chicken fried chicken.
WEBSITE | 500 S Austin Ave, Georgetown, TX 78626
Green Mesquite BBQ
An Austin bbq joint located in Barton Springs since 1988.
WEBSITE | Multiple locations
SLAB BBQ & Beer
A BBQ mini chain famous for their double meat BBQ sammiches.
WEBSITE | Multiple locations
Magnolia Cafe
24-hour eatery in Austin Texas with all-day breakfast, Tex-Mex staples, and famous “Mag Mud” queso.
WEBSITE | 1920 S Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78704
Noble Sandwich
(PERMANENTLY CLOSED)
Epic meat-heavy sandwiches made with farm-to-table ingredients.
WEBSITE | 4805 Burnet Rd, Austin, TX 78756
Holy Roller
(PERMANENTLY CLOSED)
Punk rock diner in downtown Austin with a boozy all-day brunch.
WEBSITE | 509 Rio Grande St, Austin, TX 78701
How many of these have closed?
It’s actually a bit shocking how many are still around! In a city where restaurant turnover can be brutal, the majority of the Austin restaurants on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives are still functioning.
Of course, lots of them have closed one or more of their locations, moved to a different spot in town, or just completely permanently closed.
Casino El Camino
Still open
Taco Xpress
The original location on South Lamar has permanently closed. Taco Xpress has moved to a food truck located on Barton Springs Rd.
Luke’s Inside Out
Permanently closed
Holy Roller
Permanently closed
Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ
Permanently closed
Foreign and Domestic
Still Open
Noble Sandwich Co
Permanently closed
Pieous
Still open - moved to a bigger location
Louis Mueller BBQ
Still open
Onetaco
Still open - has expanded to more locations
Boteco
Still open
Counter Cafe
Still open, but the original location on the show has closed
Homeslice
Still open, now has a second location in north Austin
Monument Cafe
Still open
Green Mesquite BBQ
Still open
SLAB BBQ & Beer
Still open, and it has new locations
Magnolia Cafe
Still open, but one of the two locations has permanently closed.
Which Diners Drive-ins and Dives in Austin Are Worth Visiting?
If you really have a hunger for greasy diner food and you want to say you’ve been to some of the places where Guy Fieri ate in Austin, here are the nine Austin restaurants you should visit that were featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.
Casino El Camino
It’s totally worth visiting because the burgers are actually that good. They’re featured in our guide to the 30 best burgers in Austin. And yes, their giant burgers, and part of the fun of Casino is that the burgers are photographed really well (there’s definitely a reason why Guy Fieri chose this Austin burger bar), but they’re actually delicious burgers. Full stop.
Pieous
Pieous is a sneaky little place, because it’s typically mentioned as a pizza spot (and those authentic Neapolitan pies really are a great option for best pizza in Austin), but the sandwiches, salads, and baked goods are equally good (maybe even better?) than those pizzas! The ½ pound pastrami sandwich is absolutely insane, the housemade mozzarella is craveable again and again, and the clubhouse salad is so hearty and decadent, it’s probably the only salad you might crave even more than a pizza.
Onetaco
Literally some of the best tacos you can find in Austin, and ever since their feature on Guy Fieri’s show, Onetaco has totally exploded all over Austin! They have more locations than ever, including two locations at Q2 Stadium.
Counter Cafe
Truly delicious diner food. It doesn’t feel greasy and “diner-y” at all. It’s fresh and can be healthy (depending on what you order!), and that Counter burger is easily one of the best burgers in Austin.
Homeslice
If you’ve visited Austin at least once or lived here for more than a minute, you’ve probably already been to Homeslice. But it’s worth repeating: get the pizza, of course, but also get the meatball sub and the Italian sub. That housemade bread is dense and chewy and everything a NY-style sub should be.
Monument Cafe
It’s a bit north of Austin (Georgeotwn, which is about 30 minutes north on I35), but Monument Cafe feels small-town Texas and it’s an adorable place to stop for lunch on your drive from Austin up to Waco or Dallas. And yes, the pie is that good.
Taco Xpress
Half the fun of visiting Maria’s Taco Xpress was the giant statue of Maria on top of the building, holding out her arms and welcoming in customers. And now that the original location has closed and it’s a smaller food truck on Barton Springs, a bit of the fun has disappeared. But Taco Xpress still has the hippie culture, and the tacos are good. If you want to visit an Austin restaurant that was on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, try to stop by this food truck in south Austin.
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Valentina’s moved to a brick & mortar, then permanently closed shortly thereafter