Austin, TX
For Soul Food in Austin, the local food press points to Sam's BBQ, Lucy's Fried Chicken, and Mama’z Soul Kitchen. Picks from Visit Austin and The Infatuation, updated July 2026.
Editor’s picks
Press picks, until locals rank their own Top 5s. Sourced from the local food press. As seen in Visit Austin, The Infatuation, and Austin Chronicle. Updated July 2026.
Sam's BBQ · East Austin
Sam's BBQ is a Black-owned East Austin institution at 12th and Chicon serving brisket, ribs, sausage, and mutton since 1957. Smoke fills the small dining room, orders come on butcher paper, and the mutton is a rare Central Texas find. Open late and steeped in East Side history, it is a living piece of the neighborhood's barbecue and soul-food legacy.
Lucy's Fried Chicken · South Congress
Chef James Holmes built Lucy's Fried Chicken around buttermilk-brined birds fried to order on South Congress. The plates come with black-eyed peas, collards, and smashed potatoes, and the deep-fried deviled eggs are a signature start. Casual and Southern to its core, it has become a dependable comfort-food stop that also anchors the city's fried-chicken and soul-food conversation.
Mama’z Soul Kitchen · Windsor Park
Mama'z Soul Kitchen is a Black-owned trailer on Wellington Drive with a rotating daily menu of smothered oxtails, pork chops, and smoked fish. Sides of mac and cheese, greens, and cornbread come heaped, and the specials sell out when word gets around. It is a homestyle, plate-lunch operation that has become a Windsor Park favorite for genuine soul cooking.
Sawyer & Co · Govalle
Sawyer & Co. is a retro diner on East Cesar Chavez blending New Orleans cooking with Texan flavors. Crawfish etouffee, pork grillades over grits, and pain perdu fill a menu that leans Creole while staying all-day-breakfast friendly. The chrome-and-vinyl room and its Cajun-Creole leanings give it a foot in both Austin's soul-food and Southern camps.
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