MenuSpy / City reports / Austin, TX
Market snapshot · October 2026
Austin, TX restaurant market snapshot
What local menus charge, which weeks fill the town, and which rules change the math, for operators in Austin, TX. Every number links to the page it came from.
In Austin, TX (checked October 2026), we read 7 prices from 2 local menus. Restaurant meals are taxed at 8.25%, the minimum wage is $7.25 per hour ($2.13 tipped cash wage), and 4 events have published dates in the next twelve months.
Population and income: US Census QuickFacts.
Observed menu prices
7 prices read from 2 independent menus on October 1, 2026, from the restaurants' own websites or first-party ordering pages. Delivery-app prices are excluded. A median is shown only when three or more observations exist. This is a small sample; use it as a range check, not a rule.
| Benchmark item | Observations | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheeseburger | 1 | $8.00 | n too small | $8.00 |
| Chicken sandwich | 1 | $10.90 | n too small | $10.90 |
| Taco plate (3 tacos) | 1 | $5.00 | n too small | $5.00 |
| Breakfast plate (2 eggs, meat, side) | 1 | $14.95 | n too small | $14.95 |
| Entree salad with protein | 1 | $14.50 | n too small | $14.50 |
| Fountain soda | 2 | $3.50 | n too small | $3.50 |
Part of the MenuSpy Menu Price Index. Restaurant names are kept in our source file and not published; a paid report names them and links each menu.
The next 12 months
Dates come from organizer or official pages opened on October 1, 2026. An event with a published 2026 or 2027 date is marked confirmed. Everything else is a recurring pattern with its date not yet announced, listed so you can watch for it, not staff for it.
Confirmed dates
Texas Longhorns 2026 home football season (DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium)
Home games Sep 5 (Texas State), Sep 12 (Ohio State), Sep 19 (UTSA), Oct 17 (Florida), Oct 24 (Ole Miss), Oct 31 (Mississippi State), Nov 21 (Arkansas) · Texas Athletics
Seven Saturday home games push gameday crowds into West Campus, the Drag and downtown.
Austin City Limits Music Festival 2026
October 2-4 & 9-11, 2026, Zilker Park · ACL Festival
Two three-day weekends of festival-goers drive late-night and pre-gate demand around Zilker, Barton Springs and South Lamar.
Formula 1 United States Grand Prix 2026
October 22-25, 2026, Circuit of The Americas · Circuit of The Americas
An international race weekend that fills hotels and premium dining across the city.
SXSW 2027 (EDU + Conferences & Festivals)
March 13–21, 2027 (SXSW EDU March 13–16; SXSW Conferences & Festivals March 15–21), Downtown Austin · SXSW
Nine days of conference and festival crowds saturate downtown and east-side restaurants, bars and food trucks.
Recurring, dates not yet announced
Texas Book Festival
Held in and around the State Capitol grounds; the fetched page did not state a 2026 or 2027 date · Texas Book Festival
A fall weekend festival that brings tens of thousands of readers to the Capitol district and nearby restaurants.
Rules that hit the P&L
Minimum wage: $7.25 per hour, tipped cash wage $2.13
Effective July 24, 2009. Texas adopts the federal rate by reference. Federal tipped cash wage per US DOL.
Sales tax on restaurant meals: 8.25%
Texas state sales and use tax 6.25% + Austin (Travis Co) city 1.0% (.010000) + Austin MTA 1.0% (.010000); Texas Comptroller city table lists Austin total rate .082500.
Food service license
The licensing agency for this city was not confirmed when this page was checked. Start with the county or state health department.
Local signals
Recent local reporting on the Austin restaurant scene. One article is a signal, not a trend; a trend needs two independent publishers.
April 2026 openings rebound; 27-year-old Hoover's Cooking closes
CultureMap's April roundup lists openings including Modern Bar on Rainey Street and Enoteca Sportiva on South Lamar, alongside the closure of 27-year-old Hoover's Cooking and news of Katz's deli renovation and Eldorado Cafe's expansion.
Modern Bar and Community Kitchen and Taproom open
CultureMap reports Modern Bar (from the group behind Codependent Cocktails + Coffee) has opened and Community Kitchen and Taproom launched a brick-and-mortar plant-based comfort food spot in Tarrytown.
Coverage and limits
This is a dated snapshot built from public pages opened on October 1, 2026. It is not a sales forecast, legal advice or a site approval. Menus, calendars and rules change; open the linked source before acting.
Not confirmed when this page was checked:
- Tipped minimum wage not confirmed from a fetched page (US DOL state page omits it).
- Food service licensing agency (Austin Public Health / Texas DSHS) page not fetched within budget.
- No official tourism bureau visitor figure captured.
- Price observations: 7 from 2 restaurants; no large cheese pizza (Home Slice Toast page said online ordering unavailable), wings, Cuban, or draft beer pint captured; taco price is per single taco.
- Texas Book Festival 2026 date not confirmed on the fetched organizer page.
Questions operators ask
What is the sales tax on restaurant meals in Austin, TX?
8.25%. Texas state sales and use tax 6.25% + Austin.
What is the minimum wage for restaurant workers in Austin?
$7.25 per hour, with a tipped cash wage of $2.13, effective July 24, 2009. Texas adopts the federal rate by reference. Federal tipped cash wage per US DOL.
Want this for one restaurant in Austin?
A one-time $79 report names the nearby menus, links every price, lists a year of local dates and the rules that apply to your address. Sources linked. No account.
Related: all city reports · menu price index · restaurant pricing strategy guide