Round Top’s Best Restaurants: Hotspots That Need to Be On Your Radar
From steakhouses and fine dining retreats to bakeries and barbecue, this is your guide.
Patio seating at the adorable Prost Wine Bar. (Photo by Courtney Dabney)
On any whirlwind trip to the antiques mecca of Texas, there’s no need to go hungry in Round Top. You’ve just got to know where to look. Round Top’s Best Restaurants run the gamut from steakhouses and fine dining retreats to bakeries and barbecue.
The ever-growing dining options in these tiny hamlets in Texas antiques country are as much fun to explore as the amazing antiques, fashion and design finds you may be seeking.
Of course the Round Top Antiques Show venues always have a great selection of offerings and food trucks, but here we’ll focus on the restaurants themselves. This is your guide to Round Top’s Best Restaurants from brand new spots to old favorites.
Burton
Blue Willow Cafe
From hearty homemade breakfasts to some of the prettiest bakery items you’ll find anywhere, Blue Willow Cafe is filled with wonders from jalapeno cheese biscuits to chocolate muffins and fluffy stacks of blueberry lemon curd hotcakes piled high on Blue Willow china.
Los Patrones Mexican Grill
If you are in search of true Tex-Mex, Los Patrones Mexican Grill brings an extensive menu. With eight shrimp dishes, more than 10 types of fajitas and 12 enchilada plates, this is a menu that almost has everything. Los Patrones even serves lunch specials seven days a week.
Carmine
JW’s Steakhouse
You’ll find all the down-home classics at JW’s Steakhouse. Along with great steaks, there are crusty onion rings, platter-size chicken dishes and fresh meringue pies.
Weikel’s Store and Bakery
With locations in La Grange, Brenham and Carmine, Weikel’s Store and Bakery gets around and its kolaches are legendary. Beyond the bakery case — if you can get beyond the bakery case — there is also a great deli to fuel your Round Top shopping adventures.
Round Top
Mill Street Cafe
Mill Street’s menu features freshly made smoothies, avocado toasts and scratch-made gluten free baked goods and a full coffee bar, making it the best place to fueled up for your Round Top shopping adventures.
Round Top Brewing & Kitchen
Sharing the same shady backyard as Lollitop, there’s the new Round Top Brewing & Kitchen also from Paul and Brooke Michie. This is the place to get scratch-made tortillas filled with duck confit or grilled redfish. Plus panini sandwiches, salads and appetizers to nibble on as you sip.
Round Top Brewing’s first homegrown brews won’t debut till after the Spring Antiques Show, but it boasts 12 taps filled with local and regional beer to enjoy this spring.
Royers Cafe
The world famous Royers Round Top Cafe will be serving lunch, dinner and pie by reservation – as is tradition. We recommend the Glorified Grilled Pimento Cheese and Todd’s Pork Tenderloin with peach and pepper glaze. Can’t make it to Royers this season? Try your hand at some of their most requested recipes at home by purchasing their new cookbook, Cooking with JB & Jamie, now available for purchase online and in the restaurant.
Royers Pie Haven
This little outpost, with metal tables surrounding it under the oak trees, is usually filled with serious pie eaters. Royers Pie Haven is a must-visit Round Top institution, with pies that would make your grandmother blush. Think blueberry lemon, original buttermilk and Texas trash. Just to name a few.
The Little Cheese Shop in Round Top
With an assortment of local and import cheeses, plus all the accoutrements, this is the perfect spot to create your own cheese platter to enjoy at your hotel room or vacation rental. The Little Cheese Shop in Round Top, located in Henkel Square, has also recently added some delish grab-and-go meals such as its Texas King Ranch Chicken Casserole.
Merritt Meat Company
Merritt Meat Company (formerly Round Top Smokehouse) is still smoking over post oak in Henkel Square. New owners Abbie Byrom-Botello and Leonard Botello of Truth Barbecue are serving up classic Texas comfort food favorites, with more surprises that will include live fire meats and vegetables on the way.
Round Top Mercantile Company
For party trays, with snacks and nibbles galore, to a selection of 50 local and import beers to choose from, Round Top Mercantile Company is way more than the humble general store it appears to be. Don’t miss their coveted made-to-order deli sandwiches, available at the back counter.
Lulu’s Restaurant
The quaint ambience of the white table cloth dining room at Lulu’s is more than big city worthy. A menu of Italian classics awaits. From calamari to a grilled Caesar salad dressed with white anchovies and pasta specialties like lobster ravioli. The charming Il Cuculo bar is the perfect spot for a before or after dinner cocktail.
Duo Modern
Houston chef Gino Llanes is the creative force behind Duo Modern: The Restaurant at Market Hill. Serving a rotating menu served buffet style including pan seared cod and lamb shank, Duo Modern is open for lunch, dinner and brunch.
Prost Wine Bar and Patio
Located in a historic stone building with a quaint patio, Prost Wine Bar and Patio offers charcuterie and gourmet pizzas on the weekends. You can sip your favorite glass of wine from their curated collection, share a bottle with friends, or take home a special case.
The Stone Cellar & Jon Perez Lounge
The Stone Cellar is a local landmark. It’s worth a stop even if it’s just to enjoy the live music or to scoot your boots at the historic Round Top Dance Hall, which is also located on the Stone Cellar property. Burgers, pizzas, fresh salads and more are offered at the main bar. Don’t miss the special menu and top shelf cocktails in the tucked away Jon Perez Lounge, or upscale drinks and cocktail bites at The Mark speakeasy.
The Garden Co. — Feed & Firewater
The Round Top version of The Garden Co. – Feed & Firewater serves brunch as well as dinner. It took up residence in Rummel Square in 2017. The Firewater section of the menu includes a cocktail named Life on the Farm. It’s a blend of Don Julio anejo with a charred pineapple bourbon sauce, fresh pineapple and lime juices.
Round Top Coffee Shop
A brisk breakfast crowd fills up tiny Round Top Coffee Shop in a hurry. This full service coffee spot also serves breakfast burritos and baked goods. Look for the line out the door.
Mandito’s Tex Mex
Brought to you by the family behind Houston’s Armando’s Restaurant, Mandito’s Tex Mex remains a go-to in Round Top. With classic ingredients and an inviting cantina-style space, you’ll feel right at home as your taste buds travel South of the border.
Popi Burger
Classic milkshakes and sides like fries, onion ring and tater tots accompany the scrumptious burgers at Popi Burger. Not in the mood for some old fashioned comfort food? There is also a Beyond Burger and a fried chicken sandwich. Or you can get your Popi Burger without a bun and in a bowl of iceberg lettuce instead.
Belleville
22 North Holland
Cody Vascek brings a chef-driven menu to 22 North Holland, located on the North Side of the square in Bellville. Look for gulf seafood, house-smoked meats and prohibition style cocktails.
Fayetteville
Orsak’s Cafe
Whatever you are in the mood for, chances are Orsak’s Cafe has it. From steaks, chicken and seafood to burgers, sandwiches, homemade soups, stews, and chili. There is even a salad bar and a variety of homemade desserts.
Joe’s Place
Likewise, Joe’s Place serves up a wide range of food. Well known for its steaks, you can also find some fine seafood ― catfish, redfish, salmon and ahi tuna — at Joe’s Place. And for breakfast, Joe’s Place has you covered with French toast, omelets and pancakes.
Wine Bar Restaurant at the Grand Fayette Hotel
The cocktails and evening meals are only topped by Sunday’s champagne brunch at the Wine Bar Restaurant at the Grand Fayette Hotel. The menu features an Italian frittata or crème brulée French toast, along with a flute or two of champagne.
All that shopping can really work up an appetite. Not to worry. In the Round Top region, there are plenty of great restaurants that will satisfy.