Best restaurants in New Braunfels, by occasion

It's 6:40 on a Friday and you're both in the truck, buckled, engine running, going nowhere.

"Where do you want to eat?"

"I don't know... where do you want to eat?"

New Braunfels has too many good answers for that question to go this badly. So this guide sorts them the way you actually decide: not by cuisine, but by the night you're having.

The best restaurants in New Braunfels depend on the occasion: the Gristmill and Gruene River Grill own the tables over the water, Old City Hall, Wilhelm & Werner, and Myron's own date night downtown, Black's Barbecue and Tin Top Burger Shop feed the family, and dinner for two runs anywhere from about $25 at a burger counter to $100 and up for prime steak.

Twelve spots. Four kinds of night. Pick your moment and go.

What does dinner in New Braunfels cost?

Dinner for two in New Braunfels runs from roughly $25 for burgers to $100 and up for a prime steakhouse, and every spot in this guide is priced below so nobody gets a receipt they didn't see coming. The tiers are simple: burger-and-taco money, sit-down money, and occasion money.

These are honest ranges from each spot's own business profile, not menu math. Prices drift, menus change, and when they change enough to matter, this page gets updated.

Where should you go for date night in New Braunfels?

For date night in New Braunfels, the answer is downtown: Myron's Prime Steakhouse is the established standard, and 2026 handed the town two new rooms, Old City Hall and Wilhelm & Werner inside the Faust Hotel. All three sit within a few blocks, which makes drinks at one and dinner at another a real strategy.

Old City Hall

Old City Hall opened this year at 200 N Seguin Ave, an upscale neighborhood restaurant in a storied downtown setting from the group behind McAdoo's and Huisache Grill, which is a pedigree this town already trusts. The menu plays the classics straight: steak frites, pasta, a serious burger, and a martini list that takes itself seriously.

Order the steak frites, start with a martini, and book ahead. The room filled up the week it opened and hasn't emptied since.

Old City Hall on Hill35.

Wilhelm & Werner

Wilhelm & Werner is the new one, a Texas brasserie inside the Faust Hotel, which reopened in May 2026 after sitting dark for more than two years. The 1929 landmark got a full restoration, and the kitchen came back swinging: Gulf shrimp over saffron pasta, roast chicken with savory bread pudding, and a cocktail list that tips its hat to the hotel's own ghost stories.

There's live music Thursday through Saturday evenings, the lobby bar alone is worth the walk in, and it's closed Mondays.

New Braunfels waited two years for these doors to open again. Go see what the wait bought.

Wilhelm & Werner on Hill35.

Myron's Prime Steakhouse

Myron's serves Chicago prime beef, the top slice of the grading scale, in the old Palace Movie Theatre downtown, and it's been the town's special-occasion steakhouse for a generation. White tablecloths, a deep wine list, and a room that used to show westerns.

This is anniversary territory. Doors open at 4 every evening; budget $100 and up for two, more if the wine list wins the argument.

Myron's Prime Steakhouse on Hill35.

Where should you take the family?

For family night, the reliable trio is Black's Barbecue for a tray everyone shares, Inferno's Wood Fired Oven for pizza in Gruene, and Tin Top Burger Shop when the crew wants burgers without a wait for a table. All three are loud-kid-proof and nobody dresses up.

Black's Barbecue

Black's Barbecue at 936 TX-337 Loop carries the Lockhart lineage that started in 1932, and the New Braunfels outpost smokes to the same standard: brisket first, then sausage, beef ribs, and turkey off the same counter line. Trays land on butcher paper and the sides hold their own, mac and cheese especially.

Counter service means the food arrives as fast as the kids' patience runs out. That's not a small feature.

Order the brisket, moist if they ask, and let everybody fight over the mac and cheese.

Black's Barbecue on Hill35.

Inferno's Wood Fired Oven

Inferno's at 1198 Gruene Rd fires pizzas in a wood oven a short walk from Gruene Hall, which makes it the family answer on a Gruene evening: pizza for the table, a beer for the grown-ups, and the historic district for an after-dinner wander.

There's a playground for the kids and live music some nights, which buys the adults a second beer's worth of peace. Pizza night with a two-step available next door. Not many towns can offer that.

Inferno's Wood Fired Oven on Hill35.

Tin Top Burger Shop

Tin Top at 283 S Union Ave is the local burger default: a tight menu done right, priced so feeding four doesn't feel like a decision. When the family vote deadlocks, burgers win, and this is where they win. There's a small playground, picnic tables outside, and an ice cream counter sharing the building, which is the whole evening solved in one address.

Tin Top Burger Shop on Hill35.

Where can you eat on the river in New Braunfels?

To eat over the water, head to Gruene: the Gristmill and Gruene River Grill both put decks above the Guadalupe River, and The Birdhouse covers the brunch shift a few steps away. River tables are the most in-demand seats in the county on summer weekends, so go early or go patient.

Gristmill

The Gristmill has been serving from the ruins of an 1878 cotton gin beneath the Gruene water tower since 1977, with dining decks stacked over the Guadalupe and a chicken-fried steak that made the Food Network's Texas list. The famous onion rings arrive in a pile that could shade a small dog.

It's the single most recognizable restaurant in the county, and it earns the line that comes with that.

Locals know the move: weekday lunch gets you the same river view without the Saturday crowd.

Gristmill on Hill35.

Gruene River Grill

Gruene River Grill shares the same stretch of river a few doors down, with water-view tables and a menu that runs Texas casual. When the Gristmill quotes you ninety minutes, this is where smart people walk.

Same river. Shorter story.

Gruene River Grill on Hill35.

The Birdhouse

The Birdhouse handles the slow-start shift near the heart of Gruene: Southern plates, hot chicken, a pet-friendly patio, and weekend brunch from 10 with mimosas doing their part. It's the river day that starts easy instead of ending late.

Pair it with the breakfast guide if mornings are your whole personality. We wrote a separate one for a reason.

The Birdhouse on Hill35.

Where do you take visitors?

When company's in town, the job is showing off: Cowboys & Cadillacs downtown for the rooftop and the Texas of it all, Krause's for German plates and a biergarten, and a Gruene evening built around the spots above. New Braunfels shows well. Let it.

Cowboys & Cadillacs

Cowboys & Cadillacs at 125 N Castell Ave gives visiting relatives the Texas evening they were promised: upscale dining downstairs, a rooftop bar with views over downtown, live music, and a room that doesn't do quiet. It sits directly across the street from Myron's, so the two make an easy pair: steak at one, nightcap on the other's roof.

Closed Mondays, open late the rest of the week.

Cowboys & Cadillacs on Hill35.

Krause's Cafe

Krause's at 148 S Castell Ave is where the town's German roots show up on a plate: schnitzel, sausage, a biergarten with a long table for a big group, and a beer list that takes the assignment seriously. It also happens to serve one of the better breakfasts downtown, which the breakfast guide covers in full.

One address, two guides. That's a New Braunfels institution for you.

Krause's Cafe on Hill35.

And if the visitors want barbecue, you already know: Black's, from the family section above. Some answers work twice.

FAQ

Where do locals eat in New Braunfels?

Locals lean on Tin Top Burger Shop and Black's Barbecue for regular nights, Krause's downtown for German plates and a biergarten table, and they save the Gristmill for when company's in town. The pattern is simple: weeknights close to home, Gruene when it's an occasion.

What are the best restaurants in Gruene?

The Gristmill is the landmark, built into an 1878 cotton gin under the Gruene water tower with decks over the Guadalupe. Gruene River Grill next door shares the river view, The Birdhouse handles brunch and mimosas, and Inferno's Wood Fired Oven covers pizza night.

Where can you eat on the river in New Braunfels?

The Gristmill and Gruene River Grill both put tables over the Guadalupe River in Gruene, and they're the two everyone means when they say dinner on the water. Ask for deck seating, come before sunset, and expect a wait on summer weekends.

What's a good date night restaurant in New Braunfels?

Myron's Prime Steakhouse is the downtown standard, and this year added two new rooms: Old City Hall, upscale American classics at 200 N Seguin, and Wilhelm & Werner inside the reopened Faust Hotel. All three sit within a few blocks, so drinks at one and dinner at another is a legitimate plan.

The Hill35 take

New Braunfels doesn't have a shortage of good restaurants. It has a shortage of people who pick on purpose.

Here's what we believe. The right restaurant isn't the best one, it's the one that fits the night you're having: the river deck for the slow evening, the burger counter for the loud one, the white tablecloth for the night that matters. All twelve of these fit something. None of them fit everything.

And the list keeps moving. The Faust sat dark for two years and came back with the best new table in town, which is the kind of thing that happens in a place growing this fast. When the next one opens, the Hill 35 Insider is where we'll say so first.

Get the Hill 35 Insider

Every spot in this guide lives in the New Braunfels restaurants listings with addresses, phones, and hours.

Pick the night. The restaurant picks itself.