The Best Queso in Austin
Austin is known for its incredible Tex-Mex, and the best part of Tex-Mex is queso. Queso is a favorite food for many who seek it when choosing a restaurant. We’ve already given our thoughts on the best Tex-Mex in the DFW area, but Austin being a hub for Tex-Mex restaurants and experiential food has some of the best queso in the country. Nothing is better than a salty tortilla chip with melted to perfection queso.
Kerbey Lane Cafe
Kerbey Lane has been in Austin since 1980 serving comfort food, and chips and queso are the ultimate comfort food. This restaurant is a veteran in the queso game, which is apparent when tasting their perfectly crafted queso. Their queso is an Austin classic, topped with guacamole and pico de gallo. If you also want to go full Texan, try the cowboy queso, their offering mixed with black beans.
Torchy’s Tacos
Torchy’s Tacos, another Austin classic, is impeccable when it comes to chips and queso. The restaurant prides itself on keeping its soul and culture from its humble beginnings, even as the restaurant now has about 75 locations. Torchy’s Tacos offers a green chile queso, topped with guacamole, cotija cheese, cilantro, and diablo sauce, and hillbilly queso, which is the green chile queso upgraded with chorizo.
El Alma
El Alma has one of the most unique quesos in Austin. Their Blanco y Rojo is a fan favorite, as it features white cheese with a red salsa. They also top their queso with pepper strips, onions and mushrooms. To top it all off, the exquisite cheese is served with fried tostadas. If you are looking for ultramodern queso, this is definitely the place to go.
Matt’s El Rancho
This Tex-Mex joint is famous for its queso. Matt’s El Rancho serves a Bob Armstrong dip which Female Foodie calls “the queso of all quesos”. Bob Armstrong, who was a Texas land commissioner, cleverly thought to transform queso for the restaurant. This dip includes queso mixed with onions, tomatoes and peppers, homemade guacamole, and sauteed ground beef. This combination brings a mix of extravagant flavors to a once simple queso.
Chuy’s
The first ever Chuy’s was established on Barton Springs Rd in Austin. Chuy’s is known for its authenticity and soul. With this in mind, the restaurant offers two traditional quesos: a chile con queso, green chile and ranchero sauces, and the queso compuesto, with ground sirloin, guacamole and pico de gallo.
The first ever Chuy’s was established on Barton Springs Rd in Austin. Chuy’s is known for its authenticity and soul. With this in mind, the restaurant offers two traditional quesos: a chile con queso, green chile and ranchero sauces, and the queso compuesto, with ground sirloin, guacamole and pico de gallo.
Maudie’s Cafe
Maudie’s has seven locations in Austin, but the traditional Maudie’s Cafe is on West 7th Street. The cafe started in 1954, but turned from a homestyle to Tex-Mex restaurant in 1993. With this history, Maudie’s serves a queso that recognizes tradition within the taste. The cafe offers a chile con queso and a diablo sol food, which is chile con queso mixed with taco beef and pico de gallo.
