texas tastemakers

Texas' top restaurants and chefs crowned at the 2026 Tastemaker Awards

After months of hard work and culinary determination, CultureMap has completed its statewide journey to honor the best chefs, restaurants, and more with the 2026 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards.

The series kicked off April 9 with our Austin Tastemaker Awards at Distribution Hall, then we moved to Houston on April 16 for our tasting event at Silver Street Studios. Next up was North Texas, for the Fort Worth celebration at Social Space on April 30 and Dallas fête at Astoria Event Venue on May 7. Our Texas culinary tour finished strong with a San Antonio extravaganza at the Briscoe Museum on May 14.

The 2026 Tastemaker Awards celebrated Texas' diverse culinary landscape and honored those who've made the biggest impact in Lone Star State dining in the past year. A host of nominated chefs and restaurants showcased their flavorful bites and treats during each of the celebrations, and winners were revealed in an onstage ceremony.

Guests dined on chef-created dishes and sipped on a variety of creative cocktails. But nothing could take away the focus from our acclaimed nominees and winners, who are the reason we bring these celebrations to life each year. Readers in each city got to know all the nominees through a special editorial series for weeks leading up to the events.

Nominees were, as always, determined by a panel of local industry experts, including previous Tastemaker winners and CultureMap editors. They voted on winners in categories such as Chef of the Year, Restaurant of the Year, Bar of the Year, and more. The champion in the Best New Restaurant category was determined by our readers in an online, bracket-style tournament. Our 2026 "wild card" category celebrated the Best Sandwich in each city.

Photo courtesy of Nicosi

San Antonio Dessert Program of the Year winner Nicosi.

Let's raise a glass to our 2026 CultureMap Tastemaker Award winners all across Texas, listed by city:

Dallas:

Restaurant of the Year: Mamani
Chef of the Year: Peja Krstic; Mot Hai Ba, Pillar
Bar of the Year: Ayahuasca Cantina
Best New Restaurant: Frenchie
Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year: Beverly's Bistro & Bar
Rising Star Chef of the Year: Eduardo Osorio, Meridian
Dessert Program of the Year: Lucia
Coffee Shop of the Year: Ascension
Best Sandwich: Trades Delicatessen

Fort Worth:

Restaurant of the Year: Cattlemen's Steak House
Chef of the Year: Jon Bonnell; Bonnell's, Waters, Buffalo Bros., Jon’s Grille
Bar of the Year: Crystal Springs Hideaway
Best New Restaurant: Cocodrie's Bayou Kitchen
Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year: Rex's Bar & Grill
Rising Star Chef of the Year: Levi Gardner, Westland Hospitality
Dessert Program of the Year: FunkyTown Donuts & Drafts
Coffee Shop of the Year: Buon Giorno Coffee
Best Sandwich: Carshon's Deli

Austin:

Restaurant of the Year: Odd Duck
Chef of the Year: Daniela Landaverde and Rosa Landaverde, La Santa Barbacha
Bar of the Year: Parley
Best New Restaurant: Moderna Bar & Pizzeria
Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year: Allday Pizza
Rising Star Chef of the Year: Ale Kuri, Este
Dessert Program of the Year: Rockman Coffee + Bakeshop
Coffee Shop of the Year: Palomino Coffee
Best Sandwich: Mum Foods Smokehouse & Delicatessen

Houston:

Restaurant of the Year: Casaema
Chef of the Year: Manabu Horiuchi; Kata Robata, Katami, Sushi Horiuchi
Bar of the Year: Donna's
Best New Restaurant: Barbacana
Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year: ChòpnBlọk
Rising Star Chef of the Year: Adrian Torres, Maximo
Bartender of the Year: Julia Miles, Refuge
Dessert Program of the Year: Barbacana
Coffee Shop of the Year: Un Caffe
Best Sandwich: B'Tween Sandwich Co.

San Antonio:

Restaurant of the Year: Cullum's Attaboy
Chef of the Year: Sue Kim, The Magpie
Bar of the Year: Jue Let
Best New Restaurant: Honey's Chicken Joint
Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year: Con Huevos Tacos
Rising Star Chef of the Year: Matt Garcia, Gigi's Deli
Dessert Program of the Year: Nicosi
Coffee Shop of the Year: NoFi Slow Bar
Best Sandwich: Beacon Hill Market & Deli

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The Dallas CultureMap Tastemaker Awards ceremony was brought to you by Maker's Mark, Shutto, NXT LVL Event, Seedlip, Ritual Zero Proof, H-E-B, Marine Foods Express, and S.Pellegrino Acqua Panna. A portion of the proceeds benefited Harvest Project Food Rescue.

restaurants tastemaker awards chefs texas

RIP Mico

Restaurateur Mico Rodriguez, 'Godfather of Dallas Tex-Mex,' dies at 68

Courtesy photo

Mico

A Dallas restaurant legend has died: Michael "Mico" Rodriguez, dubbed the "Godfather of Dallas Tex-Mex," died on October 1; he was 68. According to a friend of the family, Rodriguez exhibited symptoms of a heart attack and died late Thursday night.

Rodriguez co-founded a number of successful Tex-Mex restaurant chains, most famously Mi Cocina, which debuted in 1991 at Preston Forest Village. Its combination of gringo-friendly Tex-Mex, as well as its signature Mambo Taxi frozen margarita-sangria swirl, was an instant hit.

But it was the buzzy celebrity-packed location at Highland Park Village, which opened in 1993, that sent the concept into the stratosphere, launching an entire chain. Under the M Crowd umbrella name, he helped launched a number of other concepts, including the pioneering Taco Diner chain.

Rodriguez was born on October 30, 1957 and entered the restaurant industry not long thereafter: busing tables when he was only 6 years old at El Chico, where his parents worked, until he went to work at Mia's Tex-Mex, the restaurant his mother opened in 1980.

He also experienced personal challenges, and was eventually ousted from Mi Cocina due to alleged financial improprieties.

Driven and ambitious, he went on to found other similar concepts, beginning in 2011 with Mr. Mesero (later shortened to Mesero), which he opened at 4444 McKinney Ave.

Mr. Mesero served as a template for the Mesero chain, which currently has seven locations across DFW and two outside Texas.

But in 2018, Rodriguez and Mesero Restaurant Group parted ways. He kept the original Mr. Mesero, now named Doce Mesas, and opened more locations before being ousted in 2025.

Most recently, he became involved in the Maple Street Food Hall, a food hall launched by entrepreneur Ray Quintanilla in 2022.

Rodriguez can be seen sharing some of his memories on a podcast with Jeff Crilley. He's survived by his daughter, Bianca, and his ex-wife, Caroline. Services have not been announced.

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