Emmer & Rye
1 / 10

Emmer & Rye

4.6
·491k reviews·,

Emmer & Rye offers an innovative farm-to-table experience with a focus on heritage grains, fermentation, and a unique dim sum cart service.

Highlights

Highlights

Must-see attractions

Social content

Social

From TikTok & Reddit

Best Time

Wed/Fri 18-21h

Blue hour photography, calmer galleries

CrowdLow
Emmer & Rye

Emmer & Rye

Highlights

Highlights

Must-see attractions

Emmer & Rye offers an innovative farm-to-table experience with a focus on heritage grains, fermentation, and a unique dim sum cart service.

4.6
(491k reviews)

"Emmer & Rye delivers a memorable dining experience with great food, warm service, and a buzzing Austin vibe."

TIP

Chef's Counter Experience

Opt for the chef's counter to witness the culinary team in action.

Pasta is a Must-Try

Don't miss out on their pasta dishes, which are a consistent favorite among diners.

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Quick Facts

Closed·Opens 5:30PM

Cuisine

New American, Italian

Price

$$$

Phone

(512) 366-5530

Address

SkyHouse, 51 Rainey St UNIT 110, Austin, TX 78701, USA

Insta-Factor

High

Highlights

Discover the most iconic attractions and experiences

Innovative Farm-to-Table Cuisine

Innovative Farm-to-Table Cuisine

Experience a unique culinary journey with innovative dishes showcasing seasonal ingredients and house-made fermentation.

Pasta Perfection

Pasta Perfection

Indulge in expertly crafted pasta dishes, with the Cacio e Pepe being a highly recommended standout.

Interactive Dim Sum Service

Interactive Dim Sum Service

A unique dining experience with a roving dim sum-style cart offering spontaneous, off-menu small plates.

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Insider Tips

from TikTok, Instagram & Reddit

For my butter lovers 🧈💛 #emmerandrye #austinfood #austinrestaurant #butter
@isa_inthecity
468 likes • 17.3K views

Chef's Counter Experience

Opt for the chef's counter to witness the culinary team in action.

Pasta is a Must-Try

Don't miss out on their pasta dishes, which are a consistent favorite among diners.

Dinner @ Emmer + Rye to Esses Bazaar = perfect Austin evening pipeline 🪩 @essesmag @Visa Cash App RB F1 Team @emree #austin #f1 #travel #citylife #thingstodoinaustin
@stephndo
11 likes • 289 views
was in AWE of the pasta & service!🍾 @emmer.and.rye #pasta #dinner #austin #datenightideas
@lolo.elder
54 likes • 1K views

Reservations Recommended

Book in advance, especially for weekend dining, to secure your table.

Embrace Menu Changes

Be aware that the menu changes seasonally, with only a few staple items remaining constant.

Watch me eat my way through Emmer and Rye in Austin, TX #austin #austintexas #fyp #austinfood #foryou @stufftodoinaustin
@malsthoughts
20 likes • 2K views

Tips

from all over the internet

Chef's Counter Experience

Opt for the chef's counter to witness the culinary team in action.

Pasta is a Must-Try

Don't miss out on their pasta dishes, which are a consistent favorite among diners.

Reservations Recommended

Book in advance, especially for weekend dining, to secure your table.

Embrace Menu Changes

Be aware that the menu changes seasonally, with only a few staple items remaining constant.

What Travellers Say

4.6
(491k reviews)

Reviews Summary

Emmer & Rye is lauded for its inventive and meticulously prepared farm-to-table dishes, with pasta and unique flavor combinations frequently highlighted as standouts. While many praise the exceptional service and creative culinary experience, some diners found the cost to be high for the portion sizes, and a few noted a tendency for dishes to share a similar flavor profile.

"Emmer & Rye is a lively and inventive spot on Rainey Street, perfect for an evening of sharing plates and trying new flavors.

We sat at the counter, which gave a great view of the kitchen team at work.

The menu is designed for sharing, with several small to medium plates that change seasonally.

Each dish was beautifully presented and packed with flavor, and the pace of service was excellent , dishes arrived promptly but without feeling rushed. Staff were friendly, attentive, and happy to answer questions or recommend favorites.

This is a very popular place, especially on weekends, so I’d recommend making a reservation in advance. The Rainey Street location adds to the atmosphere.

Overall, Emmer & Rye delivers a memorable dining experience with great food, warm service, and a buzzing Austin vibe."

Dirk Singer

"Long story short: not worth it for the cost.

Crudo was tasty.

Oysters had too much going on with them where you couldn’t even tell there was an oyster underneath.

Mushroom pasta was delicious and creamy !

Texas Wagyu was good but… $70 for 6 medallions?! Not worth it.

Overall food was pretty good but just not worth the prices. Ambiance and service was nothing above average either. Skip."

Noodle Man

"The place did not particularly stand out. Many of the dishes I tried shared a similar flavor profile, primarily salt and pepper. However, the bread and butter were quite nice. We ordered a majority of the dishes recommended by other reviewers, and they were just average. The service, on the other hand, was commendable."

Binoy Subhakumar

What People Like

Creative and seasonal farm-to-table dishes
Exceptional and attentive service
Standout pasta preparations like Cacio e Pepe

What People Dislike

High cost relative to portion size
Occasional lack of flavor distinction

Frequently Asked Questions

Emmer & Rye is known for its innovative farm-to-table cuisine, house-made pasta, and a unique dim sum-style cart service.

Yes, the tasting menu is recommended to experience the full scope of the restaurant's offerings.

The Best Bars And Restaurants On Rainey Street - Austin

Reservations are highly recommended, especially for weekend dining, as the restaurant is very popular.

Google Review+1

Yes, sitting at the chef's counter provides a great view of the kitchen team at work.

Google Review

The menu is designed to change seasonally, focusing on fresh, local ingredients.

11 Best Brunches in Austin

The roving dim sum-style cart offers a dynamic experience with spontaneous, off-menu small plates.

Google Review

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The high-end New American restaurant Emmer & Rye doesn’t really fit much into Rainey Street’s food and beverage scene (other than its geographical location). The food showcases their in-house fermentation program and local ingredients, and while you can order a la carte, the tasting menu is where you really get to try all that the restaurant is about. This probably isn’t a place where you’d casually stroll in for a snack during a night out, but if there were any restaurant on Rainey Street worth making the trek for, this is it.

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Since opening on Rainey Street in late 2015, Emmer & Rye has been generating serious buzz—and with it, serious crowds. It’s the kind of space you want to ogle: towering shelving peppered with vintage cookbooks and copper pots serve as a room divider, and an open-format kitchen reveals a very organized culinary team. The menu features rustic takes on New American cuisine, like the white Sonoran pappardelle with pork ragout, polenta with fermented mushrooms, shiitake, mint marigold espuma, and a grand dry-aged ribeye.

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The standard for Rainey District fine dining since 2015, eating at Emmer & Rye is an immersive experience that's best enjoyed when the expert servers take the reins. Prix-fixe dinner menus of their signature rustic American cuisine, with savory standouts like Texas Wagyu steaks and Berkshire pork are available, but this exclusive dining delight comes with the option to partake in creative dim sum offerings from a circulating fleet of carts that crisscross the lavish interiors.

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This kitchen offers a rotating menu, planned around the fresh, local ingredients that are available daily, and dim sum-style dishes off of tableside carts. Both the cauliflower starter and the cacio e pepe are wildly popular. The same sourcing concept applies to the seasonal cocktail list—and you can also ask the bar to whip something up based it on your favorite ingredients.

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Rand Egbert is the creative director for the Emmer & Rye Hospitality Group (emmerhospitality.com), of which he has been a partner since 2018. Egbert started as a general manager at Emmer & Rye in that Rainey Street stalwart’s inaugural year and has focused his efforts on interior design, branding and creative development, as the group has opened Hestia, Canje and Ezov, along with multiple concepts in San Antonio. “Emmer & Rye Hospitality Group has a very diverse ownership team and through our agreed commitment to the community, my partners have always allowed me to create space to support the Austin LGBTQ+," Egbert said. “We have been actively supporting local charities and provide representation for our team and community by hosting an annual Pride Party Charity event.

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Emmer & Rye – I consider Emmer & Rye to be one of the restaurants that put Austin on the map (aside from Bryce Gilmore or Tyson Cole) as Chef Kevin Fink was named one of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs in 2016, the year after they opened. It’s the only real restaurant on Rainey — RIP— and won a Michelin Green Star for sustainability. The chef’s counter is almost like an omakase, but you get to order whatever you want and watch the chefs as they move through courses, from bread to pasta and dessert, in their different stations.

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Emmer & Rye is a farm-based restaurant that focuses on solely reducing carbon emissions in the Austin area. The company believes that by working to reduce emissions, residents of the Austin area will no longer be at risk of elevated blood pressure and increased heart rate. The company is so dedicated to reducing emissions that they have partnered with “Zero Footprint” to help reduce the carbon emissions in their products in order to ultimately lead customers to have a healthier cardiac and respiratory system.

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SkyHouse, 51 Rainey St UNIT 110 | Helmed by Owner and Executive Chef Kevin Fink, Emmer & Rye brings cuisine that is rustic and seasonally inspired to Rainey Street. Emmer & Rye opened in late 2015, and Chef Fink was quickly named one of FOOD & WINE Magazine’s “Best New Chefs” and one of the “Best New Restaurants 2016” by Bon Appetit. Fink was named a 2018 James Beard semifinalist and 2019 finalist for “Best Chef Southwest” and in 2017 he received the StarChefs Rising Star award.

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Carbs reign supreme at this hip Rainey Street restaurant, which features a seasonal menu that’s anchored by heritage grains. With an airy decor and creative food, it’s no wonder it landed on Bon Appetit’s 50 Best New Restaurants list last year. Order a pasta, likely milled in house and then transformed by Chef Kevin Fink, and sample at least one of the delights from the dim sum cart that circles the room, such as white corn Johnny cakes with onion, dill, cheddar and soubise.

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Sample creative, seasonally inspired cuisine at the award-winning Emmer & Rye, hailed by Bon Appétit as one of the best restaurants in the country. The menu changes daily and includes nightly dim sum specials, best enjoyed on the restaurant’s covered patio. Post up on the patio overlooking East Sixth Street at Suerte and dig into elevated Mexican cuisine like the oak-grilled carne asada with a bold salsa de arbol and beef tallow-black bean puree, sided with a rosé sangria.

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Emmer & Rye has received a plethora of awards, including a James Beard nomination and being called one of the best new restaurants in America by Bon Appetit the year it opened in 2015. And as those awards continue to accumulate, the quality and experience seem to just get better and better. A farm-to-table, nose-to-tail, root-to-tip restaurant with a focus on ancient heirloom grains, Emmer & Rye rotates their menu constantly to serve whatever is seasonal and fresh.

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Located on the bottom floor of the Skyhouse Austin Apartments, Emmer & Rye is far from ordinary with a menu that changes daily based on the local farmer’s haul. The flavors of each dish are inspired by Chef Kevin’s unique experience cooking in Copenhagen. Chef Kevin Fink was a James Beard Finalist for the Best Chef in Texas, and the restaurant has also been recognized by The New York Times, Austin American-Statesman, and Bon Appetit.

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If you’re a fan of cacio e pepe, fermentation, and incredible wine, then look no further than Emmer & Rye. From the same team behind Canje, Kalimoxto, Hestia, TLV and more opening in San Antonio, we love this spot for date night, celebrations, or simply saddling up to the bar for a few bites and a good glass of wine. The menu changes seasonally, and we love how experimental the chefs are with in-season ingredients.

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Emmer & Rye boasts a curated, weekly shifting farm-to-table menu with innovative craftsmanship that pays homage to local farmers. You can order off a menu that changes weekly or partake in the evening’s seasonal small plates passed on circulating carts. The menu features a wide range of flavors and ingredients through dishes such as handmade pasta, bread, and empanadas featuring heritage grains milled fresh daily

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Focusing on grains from around the world, the small plates are sent out dim sum style on push carts for all to see. You still order starter and mains from the menu but I love the push carts because I love seeing food before ordering. Much attention is shown to the food such as advanced fermentation techniques.

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SkyHouse, 51 Rainey St UNIT 110, Austin, TX 78701Phone: 512-366-5530 Visit Website. View this post on Instagram. A post shared by Emmer & Rye (@emmerandrye)

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