Want to try Austin's best Thai food or pizza pie? Here's your 2024 restaurant bucket list

The New Year is upon us. And, I care not what Larry David says, I still wish you “Happy New Year” at this late date.

Some people approach the New Year with “fitness goals;” I’m more about “fittin’ this big slice of New York-style pizza in my mouth goals.”

If you’re like me, even a little bit, you may have in mind a few restaurants you want to check out this year. I’m here to complement your undertaking, or maybe encourage you into such an undertaking.

This 2024 Austin Restaurant Bucket List isn’t meant to be a list of simply the best restaurants in the city (though quite a few of those are here), but to give you an easy-to-use guide broken down by category.

The list includes some favorites by cuisine, more than a few new places that landed in the 2023 Dining Guide, a handful of spots that have yet to open, and some that have been open for a little while that I’ve been planning to visit.

Here’s where to visit if you love …

Bagels

I’ve probably visited Casper Fermentables more than any restaurant in town over the past year. I go for the lox and everything sourdough bagels, but always leave with more. (casperfermentables.com)

Chinese

If you appreciate Chinese food, intimate and unique experiences and have ever enjoyed Lin Asian Bar or Qi, you need to try chef Ling Qi Wu’s Ling Kitchen. About a dozen diners gather around a metal table in a commissary kitchen for a tasting menu that delivers dishes like egg custard laced with foie gras and truffle. (lingkitchen.com)

Iconic Austin dishes

I made a list of 25 iconic dishes (some decades old, some modern classics) in the 2023 Austin360 Dining Guide, and you should try all of them at some point, but my quick cheat sheet of the contemporary bangers would include the shiitake dumplings at Barley Swine (barleyswine.com), carne guisada at Joe’s Bakery & Coffee Shop (joesbakery.com) and suadero tacos at Suerte (suerteatx.com).

Related: These 25 iconic dishes give a taste of Austin dining then and now

Indian

I can’t believe I waited until last year to visit Sangam Chettinad on Parmer Lane. The mutton sukka varuval, brightened with warming and electric spices, might have been the best dish I ate last year.

Pizza

Allday Pizza staked its claim to the best NY-style pizza in Austin when it opened at Flo’s Wine Bar & Bottle Shop last year. Now they have a location at East Austin bar Daydreamer and one coming soon to the building that is home to Tiny Grocer and First Light Books in the old Hyde Park U.S. Post Office (allday.pizza). I have yet to visit, but if the owners of Bufalina do NY-style pizza on the level of their Neapolitan creations, Palm Pizza is going to impress everyone who visits (palm.pizza).

Recently opened restaurants that are on my radar, though I’ve yet to visit

Jo Chan looks to be creating top notch French-inspired comfort food at Bureau de Poste, which is situated inside Tiny Grocer in Hyde Park (bureaudeposteatx.com). The resumes, photos and descriptions have me very curious about Craft Omakase, situated on North Lamar Boulevard in the shadow of Uchiko, where the chefs cut their teeth. (craftomakase.com)

The owners of one of my favorite Italian restaurants, Intero, recently opened Poeta, an all-day Italian cafe on East 11th Street serving panini and pasta in the day and more complex dishes (and pasta) at night (poetarestaurant). The chef from Juniper and the operator of Nickel City have a way with flavors and vibes, so I’m expecting Murray’s Tavern, an East Austin ode to NYC taverns, with their whiskey, wood and beef, to nail it. (murraysaustin.com)

Restaurants that are closing soon

Chef Thai Changthong, whose Thai Kun has earned him accolades as one of the city’s best Thai chefs, is closing his P Thai’s Khao Man Gai shop in Hong Kong Supermarket in late January, so if you want that sumptuous, clean chicken fat rice, go now. (Instagram.com/pthaiatx)

Related: 15 Austin restaurants are planning to open in 2024. Here's what we know.

Restaurants that are opening this year

I imagine I don’t even yet know about my new favorite restaurant for 2024, but Redbud Ice House from the chef-owner of Olamaie; Bambino, a pizzeria from the L’Oca d’Oro owners; and the brick-and-mortar version of LeRoy and Lewis barbecue have all of my attention.

Sushi

In addition to Craft Omakase, if you’re looking for an alternative to your regular sushi programming, you should check out Yuki Handroll Bar in Westlake. The word handroll is right there in the name, but don’t let that distract you from the rest of the menu, like a torched salmon belly and yellowtail belly spotted with chives or sweet shrimp served with a fried head. Yuki made my list of 20 Best New Restaurants in Austin in 2023. (yukihandroll.com)

Thai food

I was late to another new favorite of mine last year: I’ve only been twice, but I think Ros Niyom Thai near the border of Austin and Round Rock serves the best Thai food in Central Texas, from the seeming simplicity of moo ping to the gargantuan fried whole trout. Their hot and sour soup stuff with pork ribs and brimming with lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, chili and lime juice has more flavor in a bowl then some restaurants have on their entire menu. (rosniyomthaitx.com)

2023 Dining Guide: Here are 20 of the best new restaurants in Austin

Vegetarian

Anytime someone emails or texts and asks where they should take a vegetarian for a nice meal, I always tell them that any great restaurant can easily accommodate a vegetarian, especially with a little notice. But, now I can tell them to check out Farbik. The service and shoebox location presented a little cognitive dissonance, but the carrot tartare with yuzu gel and agnolotti in miso butter from the tasting menu made it an easy spot to recommend for vegetarians or anyone looking for artful presentations of the earth’s bounty. (fabrikatx.com)

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: From best Thai to pizza pie, your 2024 Austin restaurant bucket list