5 Best Restaurants in New Braunfels, The Hill Country

Hidden near the train tracks off San Antonio Street, the Huisache (pronounced wee-satch) is a must-stop. Consistently delivering fantastic soups, salads, sandwiches, and main dishes, there's a lot to love about this place, and the beautiful 1920s building only adds to the experience. For lunch the ham and gouda sandwich with sweet caramelized onions offers a nice adult version of a grilled cheese. Pecan-crusted pork chops soar with a rich bourbon-butter sauce.

At Krause's, you can even have schnitzel for breakfast: the Bauern schnitzel comes topped with two eggs and hollandaise sauce plus home fries, hash browns, and grits. Texas-German mashups can be found throughout the rest of the menu, too. Order Kartoffel (potato) poppers with apple sauce and sauerkraut for dipping, or elevate your sausage game with the wild-game plate, which comes with wild boar, venison, and “jackalope” (rabbit and antelope) sausages, plus bier mustard, cheese, pickles, and crackers. Outside, in the Munich-inspired beer hall, live music lights up the stage every weekend.

Even if the food here wasn't so good, McAdoo's would be worth a visit for the beautiful interior alone. Set inside a converted post office from 1915, the restaurant features upscale Southern and Cajun-style plates, with a focus on seafood and cocktails. Brunch brings creative dishes like crawfish chile relleno, jambalaya-stuffed quail, and bananas Foster French toast—plus a Bloody Mary bar with more than 30 items to add to your drink.

Set in a 164-year-old home in downtown New Braunfels, this restaurant specializes in food from the Alps, with a focus on Germany. Schnitzel offerings reach beyond basics to include Rahm schnitzel (pork or chicken schnitzel topped with sour-cream gravy) and Zigeuner schnitzel, which is a pork or chicken version topped with spicy paprika, bell pepper, and onion gravy. Other entrées include lesser-known dishes, such as Rinderrouladen (beef roulades), thinly sliced steak stuffed with pickle, onion, bacon, and German mustard, smothered in gravy, and served alongside spaetzle, red cabbage, and freshly baked bread. Enjoy a meal in the dining room, which features area artifacts and exposed stone walls, or relax on the spacious patio surrounded by twinkle-lit trees.

The name of the game here is playful, modern Southern cuisine made with local Texas ingredients. You can choose from corn fritters with hot honey and jalapeño ranch, chicken-fried chicken with duck-fat cream gravy, Wagyu meat loaf, and so much more. You really can't go wrong, whether you opt to enjoy the farmhouse-style interior or relax on the expansive patio lit with twinkle lights. But the best night to visit might be Sunday, when there's a three-course special supper starring fried chicken and set to the tune of a live music soundtrack.