Vivo Restaurant

Vivo is a Tex-Mex restaurant that feels like a cozy old neighborhood joint that got plucked out of Hyde Park and placed in a strip mall at The Linc in Highland. The dining room is dark, with red walls and dozens of framed mirrors and paintings in varying shapes and sizes, that all give off the impression of a funhouse built in a living room from the 1980s, but in a way that feels more inviting than dated. The bustling, pergola-covered patio does a surprisingly good job of hiding the fact that it overlooks a large, nondescript parking lot next to an Office Depot and an indie film theater.

photo credit: Nicolai McCrary

You can expect to find all the classic Tex-Mex staples here—like fajitas, flautas, and enchiladas—at about the quality you’d expect out of a classic neighborhood joint. But you’ll also find a few house specialties that are a little less common in Austin, including puffy tacos, pambazos, and sopapillas, that make a visit to Vivo worth more than just a lunch stop after getting some photocopies made next door.

Quality-wise, the margaritas bat above their price. They even come dressed with an orchid that makes the whole experience feel a little more premium than the strip-mall location would suggest. And during Happy Hour, margaritas get knocked down to just $5, putting them near the top of the value-to-quality margarita rankings.

photo credit: Holly Dirks