ATXReview
photo credit: Nicolai McCrary
Nixta Taqueria
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Nixta Taqueria is the kind of place that could only exist in Austin. It’s a lo-fi East Side spot, with colorful corn murals, fluorescent lighting, and a golden disco ball—the restaurant version of an independent film on a shoestring budget. It may be a little rough around the edges, but that doesn’t stop Nixta from winning multiple Restaurant Academy Awards, including the Taco We Want To Eat Most This Year and the Best Supporting Beet in a Series, Miniseries, or Tostada.
Scrappy as the space might be, the food at Nixta is more like what you’d find in a blockbuster restaurant. It treads a line between the super-traditional (they make their own masa) and the unconventional (you don’t see many taquerias where duck confit stands in for carnitas). All the tortillas are homemade, leaving your hands smelling of corn hours later, like they should. Unlike a typical Austin taqueria, however, the influences are more than Tex-Mex. Many of the dishes, like the cured tuna tostada with chipotle mayo, feel like Mexico by way of California by way of Texas (which makes sense, because the chef here used to work in some of the best restaurants in LA and Mexico City).
Then there’s the wine list—which reads like one you’d find at a restaurant with $39 entrees instead of a taqueria with paper napkins—with interesting natural wines from Texas, France, and Mexico. But you can also just get a Modelo.
Overall, Nixta reminds us of the early days of Veracruz All Natural, or when Barley Swine was just a tiny, buzzy spot on South Lamar—in other words, some of the best of Austin’s indie hits. When you get to spend a sunny afternoon outside on the picnic tables, you feel like you’re at the next restaurant version of Bottle Rocket, Clerks, or Dazed and Confused— and it won’t be long until everyone else discovers how good it is, too.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Shanna Hickman
Duck Carnitas Taco
photo credit: Shanna Hickman
Tuna Tostada
photo credit: Shanna Hickman
Beet Tostada
photo credit: Shanna Hickman