Twentysomethings: Austin follows eight, you guessed it, twentysomething-year-old strangers living in two adjacent homes, with the men living on one side and the women living on the other. Throughout the show, these housemates are thrown headfirst into the realities of young adulthood: They’re trying their best to discover themselves, spark their careers and hook up a little bit in between.

You won’t find any of the crazed outbursts and offensive villains that often pop up on reality TV. Save for Abbey’s attention-seeking romantic ploys (that she’s totally aware of), there isn’t much messiness here. At its crux, the show blends a “Will they or won’t they?” romantic comedy and a coming-of-age story starring surprisingly mature twentysomethings who spend their days and nights gallivanting through Austin’s exceptional food and dining scene. They ride mechanical bulls, gorge themselves on tacos and wash them down with margaritas. Guy Fieri is probably really proud and ironing a camp collar shirt with orange flames on it somewhere. 

The houses themselves are located right next to each other in Austin (it's common for developers in Texas to build two homes on one lot), and many fans have been trying to pinpoint where exactly the singles take a load off. But beyond the group's home bases, if the show has you hankering for a trip down south to try the different flavor towns in Texas’ most eclectic city, here’s a guide to Austin’s essential spots to eat and drink like a Twentysomething, curated by an erstwhile twentysomething (30 is the new 20, right? Right!) from the Lone Star State.

From Whataburger

Whataburger

Best Place To: Grab fast food like a true Texan

We never see the Twentysomethings cast actually visit a Whataburger (although we do see them eating it at one point), but we’d be remiss not to sneak a little reference in here. Whataburger is the shining star of fast food chains in the Southwest — so much so that people steal about a million of their table tents a year to keep as memorabilia. And those tents have a tendency to pop up on eBay for sale. You’ll find Whataburgers all over Texas, but if you’re flying into town, the most convenient place to grab a burger is across the street from the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

Address: Almost anywhere you can imagine. Just drive. You’ll find one eventually.

Nick Conn

Wheatsville Co-op 

Best Place To: Get dizzy because you ran up a check on locally sourced organic produce

After the housemates get settled in their new digs, they head to the Wheatsville Co-op, an Austin staple that’s been around since 1976. Here, you’ll find a gamut of locally sourced organic food. Think of it as Whole Foods (also born in Austin), but a hyperlocal co-op version with more than 24,000 owners. 

Address: 4001 S. Lamar Blvd., Austin, TX 78704 
Address: 3101 Guadalupe St., Austin, TX 78705

From Consumable Content

Nightcap

Best Place To: Blur the lines between fine and casual dining

In the first episode, Michael, our aspiring stand-up comic, matches with Laura, a woman in her early 50s, on Hinge. As expected, the roommates make a little noise about their age difference, but as Michael accurately points out, he doesn’t have much to offer since he’s “a lot more poor, and lost and sexually inexperienced.” Their time at Nightcap, a perfect place to navigate the awkwardness of a first date, goes surprisingly well. The relaxed new American-style restaurant, which is repurposed from a house and painted purple, is quaint, isn’t too fussy and has a delicious seasonal menu. 

Address: 1401 W. 6th St., Austin, TX 78703

From the Long Play Lounge

Long Play Lounge 

Best Place To: Get your live music fix

Austin is known as the live music capital of the world. Sadly, because of the tech boom in Travis County, rising rents, displacement and other side effects of gentrification, that title might be up for grabs — Nashville, Dallas, Chicago, are you listening? However, there’s still plenty of spots to catch live music in a city that birthed Spoon, Daniel Johnston, Janis Joplin, Willie Nelson, Townes Van Zandt and Lucinda Williams. For some great music from a wide range of genres, check out one of the Long Play Lounge’s two locations, where the housemates end their first night in Austin. 

East: 1910 E. Cesar Chavez St., Austin, TX 78702 St. Johns: 704 W. St. Johns Ave., Austin, TX 78752

From Asmita Prasla

Quickie Pickie

Best Place To: Pick something up… quickly. Damn, that’s a great name.

This corner store has the essentials you need in a pinch, like dry pasta, beer, wine, deodorant, tampons, condiments and condoms. They also serve coffee, beer on tap, tacos in the morning and sandwiches in the afternoon. Bodegas aren’t very popular in the South. You’re more likely to find corporate gas stations like Valeros and 7-Elevens on every street corner, but the Quickie Pickie is a better bet — local and friendly, with food that tastes good, not like cardboard sprinkled with Lawry’s seasonings. 

Address: 1208 E. 11th St., Austin, TX 78702 

From Sawyer & Co

Sawyer & Co.

Best Place To: Submerge yourself in the Southern diner experience

Kamari, Abbey and Natalie visit Sawyer & Co. for cocktails and snacks. This New Orleans–tinged diner is rife with delicious Southern and Creole classics. It doesn’t matter if you’re ordering red beans and rice, jambalaya, shrimp and grits, or a chicken fried steak — any choice really is the perfect choice. While you can’t truly fault the gang for sitting on the patio and getting their Sheryl Crow on here, there are tons of patios all over Austin. Very few restaurants have the same type of beautiful and ornate retro-diner interior design as Sawyer & Co. Best to sit inside if you can and bask in the restaurant’s gorgeous aesthetic. 

Address: 4827 E. Cesar Chavez St., Austin, TX 78702

De Nada Cantina 

Best Place To: Get tacos and margaritas ranch waters

Right next door to Sawyer & Co. sits De Nada Cantina, a Mexican hot spot where Keauno meets Nate, the first potential partner or friend he’s had since coming out. This cantina serves up delectable tacos, a long list of margaritas, and cocktails, including a killer ginger paloma. While everyone should be familiar with the cocktails offered here, if you aren’t up on your game, it’s time to get to know ranch water too. There are few things in this world that are better than this mix of lime juice, tequila and sparkling water as the hot Texas sun slaps you in the face. 

Address: 4715 E. Cesar Chavez St., Austin, TX 78702 

Rain on 4th

Best Place To: Break a sweat and feel mighty real 

The gang tags along with Keauno for his very first gay bar experience, which proves to be an eventful night for the twentysomethings. Keauno gets stood up, but meets someone new; Bruce does the archetypical pro move and trades T-shirts with a bartender; and Kamari and Abbey make out in the club — basically, everything you could want out of a night out. But if dancing up a sweat to loud music isn’t your thing, Rain on 4th does Thursday night bingo — perfect for hearing tons of O-69 jokes! 

Address: 217 W. 4th St., Austin, TX 78701

Latchkey Patio 

Best Place To: Go where everybody knows your name and they’re always glad you came

Latchkey Patio is a dive bar with a sense of humor. They proclaim to be a “day care center for adults,” and, based on the number of regulars here, it’s an apt description. In one of the show’s more memorable moments, Abbey puts her bartending chops to the test — and spectacularly fails. Don’t worry — when you visit, the bartenders will pour you drinks that actually taste good. You can put 1,000 times more faith in the folks behind the bar here who, unlike Abbey, probably aren’t lying about having bartending experience. 

Address: 1308 E. 6th St., Austin, TX 78702

From Exposed by Light Photography

Desert Door Distillery 

Best Place To: Die and go to cocktail heaven 

Everyone knows and loves tequila (or hates it, because of that night they wished they could remember and the hangover they wish they could forget). Meanwhile, mezcal, its more sophisticated agave familia, has gained popularity in the last few years. But let’s not sleep on sotol. Often referred to as desert spoon, sotol is a cousin of the agave plant that’s distilled into an earthy and vegetal spirit. The Twentysomethings cast visits this Central Texas–based sotol distillery for delicious cocktails made from one of the most underrated spirits available. 

Address: 211 Darden Hill Rd., Driftwood, TX 78619

Carolina Colantuoni

Eden West Food Truck 

Best Place To: Satiate yourself after drinking sotol

During the roomie visit to Desert Door Distillery, Michael and Isha swing by this food truck for some fries. You can get fries here, as well as a salad, butternut queso or ceviche shrimp tacos, standard truck-food fare, but also… a steak. It’s not every day you can order steak frites from a food truck — except here, it is. 

Address: 211 Darden Hill Rd., Driftwood, TX 78619

From XVII MEDIA LLC

Revival Coffee 

Best Place To: Get some work done with a good cup of joe

Revival, a Latina-owned café, is totally unique. Pink walls. Pink couches. Pink velvet ropes. Pink floors. Pink neon lights. A whole lotta pink. So, it makes sense that girly girl Natalie applies to work here (and gets hired!). It’s a beautiful space — a nice change of pace from your typical local coffee shops that have a design aesthetic best described as minimalist abyss or junkyard chic.  

Address: 1405 E. 7th St., Austin, TX 78702

Buck Wild

Best Place To: Experience Dirty Sixth

This bar is located in a part of town called Dirty Sixth, essentially Austin’s answer to New Orleans’ Bourbon Street, which is where most of the city’s chaotic partying and bar hopping take place. Naturally, this is where the roomies head for a spin on a mechanical bull. Prepare for lots of yelling, frozen drinks, a sea of burnt orange polos and T-shirts from Tyler’s. Sure, there might be a lot of college kids here, but it’s one of few places you might meet a real cowboy in Austin. Address: 310 E. 6th St., Austin, TX 78701

Fierce Whiskers Distillery 

Best Place To: Get a taste of some spirits before they hit the market

Welp, this is where Natalie goes to meet up with the guy who sent her an unsolicited nether regions pic — and he stands her up! Anyhow, Fierce Whiskers Distillery is new in town. Here, you can sample their expressions of gin, rum, rye, bourbon and agave spirits before they hit the market in 2023. 

Address: 5333 Fleming Ct., Austin, TX 78744

Brian Almaraz

Coconut Club

Best Place To: Boogie oogie oogie ’til you just can’t boogie no more

Kamari and Roxy finally seal the deal — their destiny from the beginning — with a kiss at the Coconut Club, one of Austin’s hottest nightclubs. The “Keep Austin Weird” thing has become a bit passé as of late as many of the city’s lovable weirdos have skipped town or passed away (RIP Leslie Cochran!). But at the Coconut Club, people are getting fits off and breaking a sweat keeping the spirit alive for the millennial and Gen Z sets. Address: 310B Colorado St., Austin, TX 78701

Roger Ho

Lustre Pearl

Best Place To: Visit somewhere iconic

Lustre Pearl is something of an icon, even though it’s not old enough to buy a drink. In 2009, the space was transformed from a home into a bar and opened its doors at the top of Rainey Street — one of Austin’s booming entertainment districts known for houses turned into drinking establishments. In 2014, owner Bridget Dunlap had to close Lustre Pearl down to make way for condos. Instead of letting it get demolished, she physically moved the vintage building to 114 Linden St. where Lustre Pearl East stands today. There are three Lustre Pearls in Austin and one in Denver. And check out the innovatively constructed “container bar” on Rainey Street, just down the road from the original spot. 

Rainey: 94 Rainey St., Austin, TX 78701 
South: 10400 Manchaca Rd., Austin, TX 78748 
East: 114 Linden St., Austin, TX 78702

Jasmin Porter

Bull & Bowl 

Best Place To: Party with a large group 

You may have never thought that an upscale bowling alley with velvet and leather seating and entrees like New York strip steak and shrimp scampi was something you needed, but guess again. Aside from the fantastic food and drinks, Bull & Bowl also offers a big selection of games such as shuffleboard, karaoke and a mechanical bull. Roxy, Kamari, Natalie and Zach stop here for a double date. The night serves as a litmus test to see if Zach is a good match for Natalie; thankfully, the roomies approve. 

Address: 501 W. 6th St., #200, Austin, TX 78701

Jessica Tantillo

Kitty Cohen’s

Best Place To: Feel like you’re in Boogie Nights

For their last night, the roommates head to Kitty Cohen’s to bid one another farewell. This glamorous spot — with a pool that Austinites like to dip their toes in during the brutal summer months — is a perfect choice. The best way to describe this bar is that it’s like traveling back to the 1970s, but with Hollywood actually located in Austin. Thankfully, you’re much less likely to run into someone going on and on about “the industry,” mantras or auditions.

Address: 2211 Webberville Rd., Austin, TX 78702