Kappo Kappo and Fabrik earn Austin's newest Michelin stars
A twin-run Japanese-French counter and a plant-based Tarrytown kitchen both take their first star in the 2026 Michelin Guide Texas, taking Austin to seven.
Kappo Kappo and Fabrik have each earned their first Michelin star in the 2026 Michelin Guide Texas, announced on 8 October, taking Austin to seven one-starred restaurants.
Kappo Kappo sits inside the Austin Proper Hotel, where twin brothers Haru and Gohei serve French and Japanese fusion from an L-shaped counter. Raised in Paris by Japanese parents, the two run a livelier room than a typical formal omakase, talking with guests as they cook.
Fabrik, a plant-based restaurant in Tarrytown run by chef Je Wallerstein and her husband Silas, is the other new Austin star. Inspectors singled out vegetable-forward dishes built around mushrooms, beets and corn. The eight-course menu runs $105 a head, with a wine pairing adding $65.
One star for an L-shaped sushi counter, one for a plate built around a beet.
Both restaurants join Austin's existing one-star roster, which now stands at seven. The city lost one star in the same selection: La Barbecue, starred in 2025, dropped off the list this year.
The Texas guide, published online with no in-person ceremony, also promoted Goldee's Bar-B-Q in Fort Worth to one star, that city's first, and named six new Bib Gourmand restaurants among 149 entries statewide.
Michelin's Texas coverage has grown steadily since the guide launched in the state in 2024, adding cities and categories each year rather than expanding the headline list of starred kitchens all at once.
Two kitchens, two different bets
Kappo Kappo and Fabrik represent opposite ends of what earns a star in Austin right now: an imported, tightly worked counter format on one side, and a vegetable-led tasting menu built from Texas produce on the other.
Neither restaurant had previously appeared in the guide's starred tier, a reminder that Michelin's Texas list is still young enough to reshuffle meaningfully year to year.
Austin's roster keeps turning over
La Barbecue's exit shows the same list that adds restaurants can just as easily drop them; Michelin gives no public reason for a removed star beyond a fresh inspection.
Michelin's next Texas selection is due in 2027; both new restaurants will be defending a grade they have held for only a few months.
