Austin Monthly Critic Calls Nixta Taqueria ‘A True Austin Original’

Austin Monthly critic Jolène Bouchon reviewed burgeoning sensation that is Nixta Taqueria this month, calling the East Austin restaurant “a gushing love letter to corn.” Joining praise from Statesman critic Matthew Odam and other Austin dining experts, she lauds the team’s “particular mix of high-and-low, old-and-new.”

Inside the colorful building that “that manages to feel like ‘old’ East Austin,” Bouchon found several tacos that are “accessible and approachable” despite sourcing and technique more common at higher-end restaurants. She loved the vegan butternut and fingerling potato taco (which are no longer on the menu) with “rounds of pickled Fresno peppers that pop against the earth tones of the root vegetables.”

Bouchon did not enjoy the duck carnitas, though she called the misstep rare, wishing that it had something to cut through the richness of the “bistro-worthy” meat. However, she liked the enchilada Potosina, and, despite being an “avowed beet hater” called the beet tartare tostada “astonishing:”

Robust and with enough umami to fool an old Texan into believing it’s beef, the beets come tossed in a tangy salsa macha aioli whose heat is toned down to augment, not overwhelm, their natural sweetness. A delicate avocado crema provides just enough heft, while minute curls of fresh horseradish shavings tease hints of cool pepper.

While Bouchon noted that the higher prices may put off some diners, she felt the ingredient quality and skill of co-owner and chef Edgar Rico make it a bargain. She ended the review by calling Nixta “a high-end restaurant playing in the purview of a neighborhood taqueria [...] that has the markings of a true Austin original.”

• Restaurant Review: Nixta Taqueria [Austin Monthly]
• All Coverage of Nixta Taqueria [EATX]