The Biggest Austin Restaurant News This Month, May 2025

The TLDR of Austin food and dining news this May, including where to eat in the airport, the saddest restaurant closings, the best THC drinks, and an inside look at omakase performance art

Catch up on each month’s most exciting food and dining news in this Eater Austin column.

5) Texas Wine Country Confronts the Challenges of Its Boozy Boom

Famed for its German heritage and rolling hills, Texas Hill Country is best known for its wine. Considered the region’s crown jewel, Fredericksburg started with just three wineries in the 1970s and has since blossomed, experiencing one of its most significant booms in tourism over the last five years, says Brady Closson, the CEO of Fredericksburg Convention and Visitor Bureau. Today, the city has more than 80 wineries and generates the second-highest revenue in wine tourism dollars in the country, falling just behind California’s Napa Valley, Closson adds. But with more than 3 million people visiting each year and its designation as the second-most visited wine destination in the U.S., residents are feeling the effects. Locals say some visitors are drinking a little too much while visiting wine country.

4) Highly Opinionated: The Best THC Drinks in Austin

While the future of THC drinks in Austin is up in the air — for now — THC products are still available throughout Austin. Eater sleuthed out which Austin coffee shops, bars, food trucks, and cafes serve THC products and taste-tested 14 different drinks. Here’s a final list of the best of Austin’s THC offerings, including everything from fruity seltzers with a mild buzz to a creamy latte that nearly knocked writer Lane Gillespie off his feet.

3) This San Antonio Taco Shop Is Closing After 63 Years, Plus More Austin Restaurant Closings to Know Right Now

Another month means, sadly, another restaurant closing. This month brings a handful, including the departure of a hotel restaurant, a non-alcoholic bottle shop, and a Jewish deli. Fortunately, some of these establishments are giving diners time to say goodbye. For Northeastern Thai and Laos food truck Dee Dee, it’s just a see-you-soon, since they’re opening a brick-and-mortar at the forthcoming Leona Botanical Café and Bar later this summer.

2) In Texas, Omakase Is Performance Art

Rather than working in a traditional kitchen where chefs are hidden behind doors, free to yell at servers and accidentally set things on fire, the omakase chef remains inches away from diners, facilitating conversation, slicing fish, and preparing bites under close scrutiny. But how do these chefs learn and manage the special skills unique to their craft, along with the performance art aspect of the service? Eater contributor Erin Russell interviewed omakase chefs across the Lone Star State to find out.

1) Where to Eat at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA)

Summer is basically here, and that means people are flying in and out of Austin. Fortunately, the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is a dining destination on its own, offering samples of the city with its many food vendors, including local favorites like Amy’s Ice Creams, East Side Pies pizzeria, Hut’s Hamburgers, South Asian-fusion restaurant the Peached Tortilla, and barbecue icon the Salt Lick BBQ.

In Case You Missed It:

Need more travel inspiration? Here are some of Eater’s recent maps pointing you to the best restaurants in tourist destinations, including Dripping Springs, Round Top, Fredericksburg, and all of Hill Country. Check out our recent guide to Fredericksburg, and if all else fails, get some ice cream.