We did our first family trip to the State Capital of Texas with the kids during the holidays and it was so much fun (you can read all about our stay at Hyatt Lost Pines here) So many mural spots to stop and capture, food places with indulgent dishes that you must try, and overall a unique “weird” city you have to experience for yourself. Perhaps that’s why they have kept the slogan ‘Keep Austin Weird’. Growing up my family and I would visit Austin quite often for the holidays since we have family there but now that I am older I have realized there is so much to explore in the city.
What to do in Austin
Austin, Texas is a kid friendly city with an outdoor view that makes it the perfect getaway with families with kids of all ages. While my husband and I do plan to do a weekend trip in the near future to experience the adult night life for ourselves there are still so many thing to do, enjoy, and places to eat while traveling with kids. I am already counting down the days for our next visit to this city. There are just so many places to visit that it is quite impossible to do it all in just one weekend.
Austin Food
Austin is pretty much known as the Live Music Capital of the World and is also home to an incredible food scene, where Tex-Mex and BBQ take over the city. On our first day just as we arrived to Austin the first stop was to
ATX Cocina
110 San Antonio St Suite 170
ATX Cocina is a modern and lofty restaurant that features floor to ceiling windows with a greenhouse like atmosphere. It is sophisticated, vibrant, and fresh and recently new- located near the 2nd Street District in the Northshore Residences building. They have taken traditional Mexican dishes and turned them to a modern approach that is 100% gluten free.
Loro Austin
2115 S Lamar, Austin, TX
Loro Austin is also another recently opened location. It is an Asian Smokehouse and bar brought to you by James Beard Award winners, Chef Tyson Cole of Uchi and Aaron Franklin of Franklin Barbecue. Their lunch and dinner is full of smoked meats and dishes with Asian influence. Lots of variety to choose from and lots of spicy options but still a very kid friendly environment although it gets more crowded with adults during night time.
Lotus + Cleaver
11501 Rock Rose, Suite 152, Austin, TX
Lotus + Cleaver is a family owned business with the sweetest most attentive owners. Everything is fresh and handmade from their dumplings to their freshly wok rice to their lo mein noodles. This was the kids favorite place to eat from the entire trip.
*A special thanks to ATX Cocina, Loro Austin, and Lotus + Cleaver for hosting us.
Austin Mural Hunting
You can’t visit Austin without checking this off your list -hunting down a few murals. Hunting down mural walls was on my list but with kids it was a little chaotic to fit in just one day. On our third day while we were in the area in S. Congress we got lucky to find three spots- all very close to each other. I knew there were 3 places I wanted to go to that had been on top of my list.
The all time favorite mural in Austin is the large vintage “Greetings from Austin” postcard. Located at 1720 S. First Street.
The “I love you so much” mural can be found on the side of Jo’s Coffee Shop. Located at 1300S Congress Ave.
Love From Austin located at Magnolia Cafe, 1920 S Congress Ave.
Located at Rock Rose at the Domain
Rainy day in Austin?
We experienced a cold and rainy day in Austin but that was no problem. We went to Moviehouse (few locations in Austin) You can order food and drinks/ alcohol (they also have a bar) from your seat throughout the movie. We were hosted in the new location in Lantana. The location is beautiful with a full on luxury details from the lobby to the bar and to the plush recliner seats and wall to wall screen. We left this place really wishing we had one in our city.
We couldn’t had done our road trip without our 2019 Mazda CX-9. It instantly became my all time favorite family car. It is so spacious, comfortable, with luxury interior, and the best safety features. The winner for our kids were the two rear TVs that you can even hook an HDMI up to. The ultimate best way to drive when you are on the road. There was plenty of space for all 3 kids, car seats and our luggage, my bags, the kids backpacks (because they tend to over pack all their toys, coloring books, and games)
*A huge thank you to Mazda for letting us drive this dream car for our weekend trip.
If you’re planning to visit get ready to eat your way through the city. We cannot wait to tackle the city once again and visit all the popular food trucks everyone talks about until then stay tuned for more. Any place you recommend be sure to let me know in the comments down below. If you’ve been to the city before what are your favorite places to eat in Austin? Let me know!
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