ACL 2025: The Ultimate Dining Guide to Austin City Limits Music Festival

by @ianofAustin

Chappell Roan at ACL in 2024. | Rick Kern/Getty Images

TThe Austin City Limits Music Festival returns for another two weekends of music, food, drinks, and fun in the dust. Festival attendees from just down the street and all around the country have the opportunity to see Doechii, Sabrina Carpenter, Hoizer, The Killers, Luke Combs, The Strokes, John Summit, Maren Morris, and others perform live. That’s the reason for the season, but there’s also a ton of superb food and drink options during those three full days at Zilker Park.

C3 Productions, the festival organizers, have tailored the offerings to suit the event and it remains a much better food court than a music festival has any right to be. Naturally, Austin’s main food groups — tacos, barbecue, beer, and burgers — are featured prominently and homegrown companies are showcased the most, which certainly adds to the overall experience.

Every year adds new food to the fold and this year is no different. Among first timers are Oko, the hot Filipino restaurant on East Sixth, Pflugerville’s Brotherton’s BBQ, and JABS Burgers & Fries from the Fareground food hall. The big theme here is that 2025’s ACL seems like an opportunity for recently shuttered restaurants to get back in the groove. The former East Austin butcher, Salt & Time will serve smash burgers and Koko’s Bavarian is on-site before reopening on South Lamar this October.

Below are Eater’s tips for navigating the festival, and picks for on-site dining, as well as selections for brunch, late-night, cocktails, and more outside of the grounds. The festival takes place from Friday, October 4 through Sunday, October 6, and then again from Friday, October 11 through Sunday, October 13, all at Zilker Park.

ACL Eats Main Lineup

(* denotes new vendor)

Austin’s Pizza: Longtime fixture on ACL grounds for a reason — there aren’t many foods as dependable as a slice.
BBG’s: Expect burgers and other bar classics from this downtown sports bar.
Blenders & Bowls: Get acai bowls and smoothies for a light meal and a cleaner energy boost than a Red Bull.
Brotherton’s BBQ*: Slabs of smoked brisket, fall-off-the-bones rib,s and more are a given at this Pflugerville joint.
Burro Grilled Cheese: Stop here for gooey, cheesy sandwiches that lean into indulgence — none of that Kraft singles stuff.
Chi’Lantro: This beloved local chain combines Korean and Mexican food with kimchi fries that are a massive hit.
CM Smokehouse: Texas BBQ with some twists — try the brisket crunchwrap or smoked-and-fried baby back rib wings.
Come & Take It Fresh Squeezed Lemonade: Everyone knows lemonade is a one seed in a bracket of refreshing drinks. Hard to beat. Maybe a Coke — but fountain only!
Cuantos Tacos: In a town full of great tacos, these Mexico City–style bites are some of Austin’s best.
East Side King: Asian street food from embattled chef-owner that recently closed its permanent location.
Four Brothers Venezuelan Grill: Arepas, empanadas, and other Venezuelan comfort food.
Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken: Spicy fried chicken with plenty of crunch.
Happy Chicks: Really good fried chicken, for Chick-fil-A fans that want something a little more homegrown and a lot better.
Hawk’s Hot Chicken: Nashville-style hot chicken sandwiches and tenders from our neighbors up north in Waco.
Iron Burger*: Smash burgers are all the rage these days, if you’ve got a hankering stop here.
JABS Burgers & Fries*: Another vendor to satiate the smash burger desire. This one’s homebase in the Fareground food hall downtown.
JuiceLand: Smoothies, juices, and vegan bites from adored Texas-based chain.
Kababeque: Shawarma wraps, bowls, and loaded fries from Mediterranean food truck.
KG BBQ: Texas barbecue layered with Egyptian flavors and spices — an often overlooked destination for the best barbecue sides in Austin.
Koko’s Bavarian: German-style beer hall with sausages and pretzels that closed its location at 4715 East 5th Street earlier this year with plans to start up again on South Lamar this month.
La Santa Barbacha: Tacos, agua frescas and more from 2024 Michelin Bib Gourmand winner.
La Taquicardia: Mexican food standards, as well as some new school like the cheesy quesabirria that requires a handful of napkins.
Lamba’s Indian Kitchen: Indian food truck that’s eight years deep as an ACL Eats vendor. Their curry wraps are probably what keep them in repeat demand.
Lonesome Dove Western Bistro: One of the fancier things you’ll eat at the festival. Swing by for bites of wild game and hearty burgers.
Mama Fried: The name of the game here is loaded fries drenched in toppings, but don’t sleep on the corndog.
OKO: Excellent Filipino cuisine from a tough-to-score reservations restaurant on the east side. Now’s your chance.
Saigon Le Vendeur*: An Sustin destination for Vietnamese street food like banh mi, which can come with unique fillings like prawns.
Salt & Time: A return of sorts. Last year, the butcher and restaurant closed its doors on East Seventh Street, but they’ll be on the festival grounds serving wagyu smash burgers, beef fat fries, and onion rings.
Shawarma Point: Mediterranean bowls and pitas from Rainey Street late-night spot.
Show Me Pizza: Neapolitan-style pizza joint with 800-degree oven serving up the standards and left-field options like a pie with a bechamel sauce base.
Skull & Cakebones: The I Can’t Believe It’s Not Meat vendor of the fest, offering things like Buffalo cauliflower bites and corndogs.
Southside Flying Pizza: Good New York–style, no funny business pizza pies.
Steamies Dumplings: Handmade frozen dumplings stuffed with savory fillings that began as a farmers market stand.
T-Loc’s Sonora Hot Dogs: Take in the post-concert staple of bacon-wrapped hot dogs, drenched in onions and peppers during the show.
Tender Dady & Nachos: Loaded nachos from San Antonio chef and Food Network star, Jason Dady.
The Cavalier’s Party Dogs: Hot dogs with eyebrow-raising, yet salivating toppings.
The Corndog Company*: Where corndogs and deep-fried Oreos are a speciality.
The Mighty Cone: Canon and an essential part of the ACL Eats lineup, back after taking a one-year break, known for a conical paper lined with a warm tortilla filled with fried foods.
Vaquero Taquero: Austin has no shortage of great taco joints, but you know what it does have? A shortage of good places that treat a flour tortilla with as much as the nixtamalized corn one — here get fresh hand-rolled flour vessels for meat, cilantro, and onion dishes.
Veracruz All Natural: Austin’s taco legends — so great we named them one of the 38 most essential restaurants in America.
Wholly Cow Burgers: Grass-fed organic burgers that balance flavor and sustainability.

ACL Sweets

For anyone with a sweet tooth, or a hankering for desert, ACL Sweets, near the Lady Bird Stage and Austin Kiddie Limits, gathers a mix of dessert vendors in booths, trucks, and carts, serving everything from local staples like Amy’s Ice Creams, Bananarchy, Blenders & Bowls, and Sno-Beach to indulgent treats from CVT Soft Serve, Dulce Amor Mio, Gelato Paradiso, Tiff’s Treats, and more. Newcomers like Gati Ice Cream, Oro Bianco, and San Ginés round out the lineup.

VIP Exclusives

VIP lounges come with their own food and drink options. The lineup includes Desnudo Coffee, Dovetail Pizza, Mexico C-eat-Y, NADC Burger, Rockman Bakeshop, Royal Blue Grocery, The Party Cart Co., and Zee’s Weiner System.

ACL Festival Tips

With all outdoor festivals, the best experiences result from advanced planning. Note the following food and drink-related rules and related things to know:

Obviously, outside food and drinks aren’t allowed.
There’s a strict bag policy (clear bags no larger than 12 inches by 12 inches by 6 inches and/or regular bags that are not bigger than 6 inches by 9 inches and/or smaller bags with only one pocket. i.e. clutches and fanny packs).
Empty wearable hydration packs with at most two pockets and plastic/metal/aluminum water bottles are allowed. No glass containers. Refill stations are available within the park.
Stay hydrated! Water is your friend.
The weather predictions for both ACL weekends at this point will have sunny skies and hot days with pleasant evenings. Bring a layer. Check for rain too, and remember that umbrellas are banned.
Blankets and chairs are allowed. Coolers are not.
It’s fair to expect restaurants along Barton Springs Road to sell to-go booze again this year.
General admission bars will serve cocktails.

Drinks

Cocktails

ACL is still serving mixed drinks in the main festival area. There are its general admission bars (plus bars available to varying VIP-style wristbands) as well as sponsored areas. From the main bars, expect Tito’s vodka-sparkling lemonade ($15 for 12 ounces and $23 for 16), tall beers, and seltzers among other options.

Wines

The ACL’s Wine Grove is a good bet for carafes of wines, typically lighter ones like sparklings, rosés, and whites.

Nonalcoholic drinks

Lemonade: The Come and Take It stand is offering freshly squeezed lemonade at ACL Eats.
High Brew Coffee: These portable coffees are ubiquitous in Austin for a reason. Fuel your rally to the finish with a can — the double espresso is the most balanced of the selections, with less sugar than flavored offerings.
Rambler Sparkling Water: The Texas-based fizzy water company will offer its signature plain fizzy water as well as flavored ones.

Food Near Zilker Park

For those looking to escape the festival grounds for a bit, check out Eater’s vetted list of food and drink options right near Zilker Park. It covers migas, barbecue, cocktail bars, ramen, and everything in between.

Outside of the ACL Festival Grounds

Other Austin Essentials

Eater’s comprehensive city guide is a cheat sheet of sorts for newbies to town. Looking for more options? Here are a few more maps and guides that may be of interest.

Breakfast

The first meal of the day is the most important to prepare your body for standing, dancing, and drinking. Fuel up.

Drinking

Hydration is important, but so is the happy juice.

Late-Night Food

Embrace the fact that you’re probably going to stay up really late (or really early, depending on how you look at things). Might as well take in some food during those waking hours.

This guide was originally written by Tom Thornton and Nadia Chaudhury.