A great choice for breakfast or a lazy lunch. It's a French bakery and Vietnamese cafe in one, so you can get a croissant and a bowl of pho in the same sitting. Shady garden patio, great macarons. Weekend brunch gets busy, so go early or make reservations in advance! About 10 minutes from Hotel Ella.

Coffee shop by day, beer garden by night, set in a restored 1900s train depot in the Saltillo district. Big indoor-outdoor space with plants everywhere and a taco window on site. Get the Cosmic Comet if you want coffee or a boozy coffee if you're already on vacation time. Open 8 AM to 10 PM Sun to Wed, and until midnight Thu to Sat.

An East Austin institution and the answer to "where do I get a huge Tex-Mex breakfast." The famous Don Juan taco is eggs, bacon, potatoes, and cheese piled on a tortilla, and it is genuinely enormous. Cash-friendly, no-frills, and the owner has been shaking hands at the door for decades. Open 7 AM to 3 PM daily, and there's usually a line, so go early!

One of Austin's best breakfast sammies. Fried chicken and egg biscuit sandwiches, plus the cinnamon sugar biscuit doughnut holes. Order ahead online and grab it at the pickup window, since seating is limited and the line moves faster that way. Great before or after a morning walk, and the Manor Rd spot is about 10 minutes from Hotel Ella. Plus....check out their location on S. Lamar!

Texas barbecue with Egyptian and Middle Eastern flavors. The owner learned from Aaron Franklin and picked up a Michelin Bib Gourmand after opening this spot. Get the brisket, the lamb, the sumac chicken thighs, and the Mediterranean sausage, then grab a beer from Oddwood next door. Thursday to Sunday only, and they close when they sell out, so go early!

Short for "Not a Damn Chance," and it's the wagyu smash burger that ruined all other burgers for us. American cheese, secret sauce, onions, pickles, jalapeños, nothing fancy, all correct. Don't ask to customize it. they won't! Open until midnight most nights and 3 AM Friday and Saturday, which makes it the ideal lunch or late-night decision.

Wood-grilled chicken al carbón on a tree-shaded patio is about as South Austin as it gets. Get the achiote chicken, the flautas and a frozen prickly pear margarita. There's a full bar and a to-go window if you'd rather take it to the park! Plus, a Happy hour Monday to Friday, 3 to 6 PM.

A New York transplant that lands somewhere between a proper cocktail bar and a good dive, which is exactly the right spot to be. Solid drinks plus a kitchen that whips up some amazing food for late nite snacks. Open 11 AM to 2 AM every single day of the year, kitchen goes until 1:30 AM. No reservations, just walk in. BONUS: it's right across from our Welcome Party spot!

If we had to choose, this is our favorite taco in Austin. A late night taco truck parked on a bar patio, which is exactly the setup you want at 1 AM. Al pastor, carnitas, birria, and tortas that could feed two people, plus salsas that actually have heat. Open 5 PM to 2 AM, so this is your after-drinks move, not your lunch plan.