Where to Eat and Drink Before a Show at The Concourse Project

Where to Eat and Drink Near The Concourse Project in Austin

The restaurants and bars within a short drive of the South Austin music venue, from tacos, to barbecue to late-night French classics.

Eater’s list of restaurants near The Concourse Project spans the gamut of upscale Italian date night vibes to quick food truck bites — but all are worthy options to fuel a night of music and most importantly, dancing. Because pickings right by the venue are slim, you might need to go into East Austin to grab your perfect meal, but all the restaurants in this list are a 12 minutes’ drive from The Concourse Project or less.

Henry’s Barbecue

You can still get some of the best smoked meat in the city from the hole-in-the-walls — and without the wait. Enter Henry’s Barbecue, which serves quality barbecue in a bare-bones space across the street from the Austin airport and about 10 minutes from The Concourse Project. The sliced brisket by the meat is the dish to get here, but you can also order the brisket in the form of a quesadilla, sandwich, or taco, and all three are well worth an order.

The Front Page

Sure, there’s other items on the menu here, like a barbecue-ladden salad, homemade chex mix, and pretzel bites, but the star of the show at The Front Page is the sandwiches. The cozy East Austin pub, about 10 minutes from The Concourse Project, offers a range of affordable cold or hot sandwiches, offered either on sourdough, a hoagie, or a roll. (The sourdough is generally considered the bread of choice here.) Aside from your typical deli sandwiches and hot options like a Cubano and brisket sandwich, there’s also a vegetarian-friendly caprese with fresh mozzarella, pesto, and spinach, as well as two vegan options, including one with tofu, spinach, avocado, dijon mustard, and red onion. If you’re looking to pregame before catching a show, the drinks menu includes classic cocktails, canned cocktails and sours, and a beer selection highlighting options from the nearby Live Oak Brewing.

Justine’s

At this point, Justine’s is the landmark cool restaurant in Austin. The French brasserie on the East Side has a bustling energy, and is the restaurant around town you’ll see people happily putting together fits that combine formality with funky self expression. The menu has classics like steak frites, escargot, duck confit, oysters, and aperitifs, and the best pairing of all are the late hours — 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays and 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. on the weekends.

Intero Restaurant

As to be expected from a high-end Italian restaurant, Intero has pasta, pizza, and focaccia on the menu, but you’ll find that many dishes have a Texan spin thanks to the inclusion of local ingredients and creative twists. The menu changes frequently, but you could expect grilled quail from Lockheart over risotto; wagyu beef carpaccio; and a salad with baby greens, radish, blue cheese, walnut, and Texas pears. That’s not all that stands out — co-owner and pastry chef Krystal Craig is a chocolatier, and Intero also offers beautiful, gem-like housemade chocolates to cap off your meal.

Radio/East

CJ’s Tacos

Is it even a night out in Austin if you don’t make a stop at a taco truck? CJ’s Tacos’ Burleson location is a 20-year-old food truck less than 10 minutes away from The Concourse Project, and serves a straightforward menu of street tacos and other Mexican-inspired entrees. Birria has a notable presence on the menu, coming in the form of quesabirrias, tortas, ramen, and even CJs’ self-proclaimed hangover cure: 12 ounces of consomme, loaded with onion, cilantro, lime, green salsa, and more birria. There’s a small seating area next to the truck, so grab a Jarritos and a seat and dig in.

Distant Relatives

Distant Relatives, an African- and African diaspora-inspired take on Texas barbecue, isn’t content with salt-and-pepper brisket. The meats here are intensely seasoned, like brisket slathered with smoked mustard seed butter and rib chops smothered in gravy. Fresh, sour pickles elevate the pulled pork and beef brisket sandwiches, and the deceptively simple selection of slides takes a similar twist, with offerings like black eyed peas and brisket burnt ends as well as roasted peanuts. Distant Relatives is a food truck serving food from a huge, tree-filled lot at Meanwhile Brewery, about 8 minutes from The Concourse Project, so feel free to grab a brew from the brewery to have with your meal. (Distant Relatives really is worth a try, but if you just can’t have barbecue that day, there are other food trucks in the lot, serving banhi mis, ice cream, and pie, among other options.)

888 Pan Asian Restaurant

If you’ve ever felt you couldn’t choose between one of Austin’s different excellent Asian cuisines, 888 Pan Asian Restaurant is for you. The East Riverside-Oltorf spot, about 12 minutes from The Concourse Project, offers a large menu across the spectrum of Vietnamese, Thai, and Chinese cuisines. If you need help narrowing the options down, the generous portions of soups and curries stand out here, especially the pho, which, besides the typical option of beef cuts or chicken, also comes with seafood like fish balls, squid, and scallops.

Catfish Parlor

Even if you aren’t headed to Concourse, Catfish Parlor is worth a trip. The South Austin location (there’s also a location in Georgetown) is about 9 minutes from the venue, and offers hefty portions of Southern-style fried goodness like fried chicken and hushpuppies in a kitchy, heavily decorated space. There’s a lot of seafood on the menu here, including cornmeal-fried catfish, popcorn shrimp, blackened tilapia and redfish, and oyster po’boys. Be sure to load up on sides, though, especially the aforementioned hushpuppies and fried pickles.

Het Say Vietnamese Kitchen

Het Say Vietnamese Kitchen, about 12 minutes from The Concourse Project in East Riverside-Oltorf, is classic, affordable Vietnamese in simple digs — but still delicious. The braised pork belly and egg is a highlight: chunks of savory braised pork in a sweet broth of coconut juice, fish sauce, garlic, onions, and egg, served with white rice and salad. Diners also frequently go for the meaty bao buns and, of course, the pho, which you can load up with tender beef or go simple, with no meat or veggies like tofu and bok choy. Unusually for a Vietnamese restaurant, Het Say also offers a small handful of Thai dishes, like a yellow curry and pad thai.