Odd Duck

On paper, Odd Duck is a seasonal, locally driven small-plates restaurant, which might sound terribly cliché and very 2008. But there’s a incredible, distinctly Texan twang happening at this South Lamar spot, brought together through the building blocks of woodsmoke, fire, chiles, game, and Gulf Coast seafood. More than Texas, Odd Duck exemplifies a pretty classic Austin story: that of an innovative, scrappy food trailer going brick-and-mortar. The trailer might be long gone, but it’s been replaced with one of Austin’s truly great restaurants—a casual operation quietly turning out a constantly evolving menu of sophisticated and unforgettable food, staffed by people who genuinely seem to like working there.

With a menu that changes at a rapid-fire pace, from day to day, week to week, meals here are never the same. But there’s a through line, and it’s Texas, with riffs on classic Texan dishes like tamales, green chili pork shoulder, or icebox cake. There’s a free-for-all international bent added to the mix—that’ll veer Mexican , Peruvian, Indian, Korean, Thai, Ethiopian, and beyond—but it feels intentional and never forced. You should also expect dishes like a quail stuffed with dirty rice, a not-boring grilled kale salad with local citrus, and then some larger, shareable options like a blackened redfish or a wagyu strip. Only a few dishes appear on the menu consistently—the ceviche , a cast iron cornbread, and an epic and comically large burger —and even those are subject to wild changes. But whatever you do: Always, always order the goat.

Odd Duck has the whole “as it comes” small plate timing down to a science, with a pacing that never feels rushed. The sister restaurant Barley Swine only offers a tasting menu, and while there are similarities between the two in the whole local/seasonal/wood-fired angle, Odd Duck just hits differently, with a choose-your-own-small-plates adventure, all served on mismatched vintage dishware. The space itself is a square-ish glass box at the base of an apartment building done up with shiplap, decorated with random farm knickknacks and duck-themed trinkets, and glass jars full of pickled produce. It’s charming, if not especially stylish, and we’ve found that the best experience here is seated at the bar, with cocktails in hand while you figure out the ordering game plan. The welcoming service staff, a lot of them longtime, all seem happy to be there, and they seem equally happy you’re there, too.

So come solo , come for your significant other’s birthday , come for your cat’s birthday, come with a big, celebratory group and order a bunch of tiny plates, or come because you went to the farmers market and you saw some okra and wondered what Odd Duck might do with it. It’s the kind of place you go back to over and over again, and it never gets old. It pays to be a regular. We’re not the only ones who think this way—there’s a plaque at the bar celebrating a regular’s 200th visit. We hope they also got a free T-shirt out of it.

Food Rundown

photo credit: Richard Casteel

Cocktails

You should always get a cocktail at Odd Duck, whether it’s the best-in-class frozen margarita, a barrel-aged negroni, a nitro espresso martini, or the top shelf “odd-fashioned.” We’re also partial to the “Nice, Bryce,” which is named after the chef/owner, Bryce Gilmore, and combines amaro, mezcal, and Cynar.

photo credit: Richard Casteel

Kale Salad

A grilled kale salad with citrus might sound dull and tame, but is decidedly not. When was the last time you grilled some kale, segmented some citrus, and cured pork belly for some chunky lardons?

photo credit: Richard Casteel

Ceviche

The ceviche here is one of the constants on the menu, but the specifics constantly change and it’s constantly delicious. It might come with a strawberry-fresno aguachile, or maybe a carrot leche de tigre. It usually comes with some freshly fried potato chips.

photo credit: Richard Casteel

Quail

There’s often a local quail on the menu. Sometimes it gets stuffed with crab XO rice, sometimes with dirty rice. This is easily shareable with two people, but not so easy with four. It’s a quail, they’re tiny.

photo credit: Richard Casteel

Cornbread

The cheddar cornbread is another menu constant. Cooked in a cast iron, sometimes it might come with a radish kimchi butter, other times it might come with a green garlic butter. This portion is pretty big, so be prepared to take some home.

photo credit: Richard Casteel

Burger

The burger at Odd Duck is a towering, monstrous, and nearly comical affair. And it changes all the time. Sometimes it’s topped with three enormous onion rings, or a deep-fried soft shell crab, or a mountain of birria jam and a tostada. It is a commitment. Unless you’re really craving an epic burger moment, skip it—you’re better off sampling more of the menu.

photo credit: Richard Casteel

Steak

Dinner at Odd Duck is mostly small plates, but there are a few larger format dishes that change around, like an aged pork loin with salsa macha, or a short rib with a chili beer glaze, or better yet, a grilled Texas wagyu strip.