When Hunger Strikes, Hit Up These 13 Austin Food Trucks
Falafel, brisket, tacos—the possibilities are nearly endless, but all delicious.
Austin’s exciting culinary landscape spans fine dining, casual, and, yes, food trucks. In fact, the city’s many food truck parks harbor some of the best bites in town. Tacos, burgers, sandwiches, barbecue brisket, sushi, and vegan snacks—if you and your lunch crew can’t decide on one, why not head to a park with several? Hitting up a food truck park is a truly Austin experience, so waste no time, head out into the Austin sun, and get ready to chow down. To help you with that—here’s the definitive guide to Austin’s absolute best food truck parks.
South Menchaca Food Truck Park
Menchaca
All the way down on Menchaca sits a humble row of food trucks. Up first is the charming Lebanese spot Hummus Cuisine. With friendly owners and consistently delightful food, it’s well worth the visit. Next up is cheese-heavy brunch place SouthSide Sandwiches, which will satisfy your cravings for everything from mozzarella sticks to Po’ Boys. Lastly, the fried chicken sandwich joint Las Abuelas marries fried chicken with Texas and Mexican cuisines.
West Campus
Smack-dab in the heart of West Campus and available nearly any time of day, you’ll see dozens of college students flocking to this large collection of quality food trucks. At the forefront of this location are chicken and waffle maestro, Longhorn Chicken, Brazilian grilled meat pros Espadas de Brazil, and one-of-a-kind dessert shop JP’s Pancake Company. If those don’t scratch the itch, Atx Gyro, Le Beirut Pizza & Pastries, and Morales Tex Mex more than help round out the selection.
East Austin
Situated on East 12th Street, Arbor Food Park is home to gems like Cachitos 512, known for melt-in-your-mouth Venezuelan eats, and Cuantos Tacos, which brings you a superb range of Mexico City street-style tacos. Also on site are the flavorful Philly-style hoagie shop Papi’s, and the well-loved pizza joint Sammataro—the Classic Pie comes topped with aged parm, EVOO, and fresh basil. While there is no dedicated bar on the property, the venue is BYOB friendly, meaning you can craft a nice hang-out for yourself and your friends. Feel free to bring your dogs as well!
Riverside
Buzz Mill is a community patio, coffee shop, and bar all rolled into one. One of the few venues in town that operate 24/7, they host a ton of regular programming like comedy shows and concerts alongside, of course, plenty of excellent food trucks for you to peruse. Check out the well-reviewed Mr. Pimento, an authentic, top-quality Jamaican food spot with plenty of vegan options to boot. There’s also the newly minted Buzz Burger for delicious burgers and fried chicken, and Bully Bagel, for, you guessed it, bagels.
Menchaca
With a massive South Austin patio, Radio Coffee & Bar hosts just a handful of food trucks. But what they lack in quantity, they make up for in quality. There’s Briscuits, where you can get sweet and savory mixes of brisket, biscuits, and jam. Get your hands on a Pork Belly & Jelly. Then there’s Dee Dee Thai, which features acclaimed Thai country-side cuisine (can’t go wrong with Mango Sticky Rice). Rounding out the group is Veracruz Tacos and its great eats served on homemade tortillas.
South Austin
Thicket is a charming food truck park surrounded by shady trees and colorful art, complete with a free seed swap box stashed next to their community garden. One of the biggest parks on this list, there are around more than a half-dozen trucks on the property, so you’re sure to find something for everyone. There’s Revolution Vegan Kitchen, which features tasty quesadillas and burritos, and Vietnamese joint Hanh’s Homemade Mekong Delta Cuisine (has anyone ever been unsatisfied with a bánh mì?), known for its summer rolls and banh mis. The most popular places on the lot are arguably Brooklyn Breakfast Company (the Sausage Biscuit Sandwich always hits) and Arti Pasta Italian Food, which have continued to satisfy customers for a good few years now.
Burnet Road
Despite its location off of a fairly busy road, 5000 Burnet has been able to carve out a serene family-friendly escape. To give you a taste of the many options, there’s esteemed T-Loc’s Sonoran Style Hot Dogs, Budare’s Venezuelan Food, and Dawa Sushi. There’s also a small playscape and some nicely maintained indoor bathrooms—always a plus.
South First Food Court
South First & West Gibson Street
As this list indicates South First Street is home to a boatload of food truck parks. And if you’re heading up from South Austin, one of the first you’ll encounter is the South First Food Court. This quaint hideaway offers everything from fresh pasta aficionados Il Saporis to the meat-focused TX Shawarma. Other trucks include Manolis, known for badass pastries and ice cream, as well as 747 Burgers and cheekily named farm-to-table specialist The RAD-DISH. And while you’re there, you might as well take a jar of pickles home from Fickle Pickles.
Barton Springs
If you had to draw the quintessential food truck park, you’d probably come up with something pretty close to The Picnic. Not all too far from Barton Springs pool, this crowd-pleasing venue has a much-appreciated BYOB policy and features high-quality trucks like Coat & Thai, The Burger Truck, and from-scratch Italian place Cannone Cucina Italiana. You can also do yourself a favor by stopping by Brazilian food joint Boteco, which you may have seen on Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Expect ample parking, shade, and actual restrooms.
Mueller Trailer Eats
Mueller
The Mueller Trailer Eats food park is easy to find—just look for the historic Browning Hangar, the structure that serves as a landmark for the former Robert Mueller Municipal Airport. There you’ll find Hey Cupcake!’s dreamy desserts, Conscious Cravings’ mouth-watering vegan wraps, and The Stonehouse Woodfire Grill, which has a surprisingly extensive menu of grilled burgers, toasted sandwiches, pitas, and kebabs, as well as special options just for kiddos.
Must-try food: Treat your sweet tooth to a Mini Assortment ($15) from Hey Cupcake and thank us later.
South First & Gibson
Located across the street from El Mercado, this tasty trailer park is where you’ll find the brand new El Super Taco, recently imported from Pflugerville King Krab atx, and the second location of JP’s Pancake company. Perhaps most notably, this is where you can find the beloved dessert shop Bananarchy. Here, Arrested Development fans will appreciate The G.O.B., two frozen bananas doubled dipped in chocolate and covered in extra nuts.
East 11th
Spread across a square block or two near East 11th and Lydia street perches this vibrant food truck hub strewn with murals and a whopping 10 or so game-changing kitchens bound to delight the whole crew. The unique lineup includes the island-style Tony’s Jamaican Food, Detroit-inspired Delray Cafe inside Nickel City, Micklethwait Craft Meats’ Texas-style barbecue (definitely get the Frito Pie), Cosmic Taco for “out of this world” tacos, and the aptly titled vegan joint Community Vegan.
Rainey Street
One of the most bustling late-night destinations in town, Rainey Street hosts a giant roster of great eats. There’s colorful mini-donut hotspot Little Lucy’s and no-fuss Mexican joint Wild Taco. Four Brothers Venezuelan churns out killer arepas, Gerby’s BBQ & Catering for brisket and pulled pork, and Burro Cheese Kitchen dishes out some next-level grilled cheese sandwiches. And the fun doesn’t stop there—there’s also Wrigleyville Dogs, turkey burger specialists Gobble Gobble, hearty sandwich suppliers Big Fat Greek Gyros, and so much more.
Jade Fabello is a contributor for Thrillist.