The Most Anticipated Austin Restaurant Openings for Summer 2025

Summer is historically slow in the Texas restaurant world — Austinites are off elsewhere for vacation, and tourists aren’t exactly flocking to experience Texas’s heat and humidity. While it’s a great time to visit hard-to-reserve spots, new restaurant openings slow down. 

Still, there is excitement on the horizon. A new Southeast Asian restaurant is coming to an East Austin hotel, featuring Singaporean chili crab and other authentic street food. The sisters behind a beloved taco spot are opening a new mezcal bar with snacks. And downtown is getting another fancy steakhouse from the team behind Red Ash. Seafood spot Fish Shop, announced earlier this year, has experienced some delays but is expected to finally open this summer. Here are the most exciting restaurant openings of summer 2025.

Siti

Location: Frances Modern Inn at 1123 East 11th Street

Key player: Laila Bazahm

Projected opening date: July 2025

Chef Laila Bazahm will open Southeast Asian restaurant Siti (the Malaysian word for woman) to take over the former Poeta space at the Frances Modern Inn. Bazahm, who is of Brazilian and Filipino descent, also owns Spanish Restaurant El Raval on South Lamar and has a colorful culinary career that includes serving as executive chef at Eberly and owning restaurants in Barcelona, Houston, and Ibiza. Siti will offer dishes she craved during her time living in Asia, such as Singaporean chili crab, beef rendang (previously a signature dish at her restaurant in Barcelona), and a raw bar. The space will add a climate-controlled patio where Bazahm will grow herbs for her dishes. 

La Mezca

Location: 1905 Aldrich Street

Key player: Reyna Vazquez, Maritza Vazquez

Projected opening date: mid-July 2025

The sisters behind Veracruz All Natural taco trucks are opening a mezcalería, La Mezca, in Mueller next to Veracruz Fonda and Bar, their restaurant that earned a Bib Gourmand from the Michelin Guide. The mezcalería will feature over 20 mezcals and agave spirits from small family producers across Oaxaca, Guerrero, Durango, and San Luis Potosí. The bar team, led by Sebastian Cajas and Bryan Ruiz, will offer cocktails and guided tastings. There will also be snacks, including street tacos like carnitas de hongos (mushroom carnitas), barbacoa, and citrusy fish. 

The Kimberly

Location: 200 West 6th Street

Key player: John Carver

Projected opening date: Early Summer 2025

The group behind Italian restaurant Red Ash and steakhouse J. Carver’s is opening another downtown restaurant centered around a wood-burning grill. The Kimberley in Downtown Austin will be a fine-dining spot serving dry-aged steaks, seafood flown in daily, and pastas made in-house. There will be a full bar with martinis and a wine room that holds more than 1,000 bottles. 

Fish Shop

Location: 1401 East 6th Street

Key players: Justin Huffman and Nicole Rossi of Justine’s and Le Beef

Projected opening date: July 2025

The team behind the burger pop-up Le Beef is opening Fish Shop, an East Austin seafood restaurant featuring a well-stocked raw bar. Expect specialty seafood, such as spiny lobsters, raw clams, and Dungeness crab, along with martinis and other classic cocktails, wine on tap, and Champagne. Don’t worry — that super-juicy burger is on the menu, too.