Enjoying yourself Texas
Timetable Texas
Most restaurants stay open between 5pm and 9pm. Some restaurants also function as cocktail bars and may have later opening hours, usually until midnight. Texans dine earlier than Europeans, usually around 6pm. On weekend evenings, it can be very difficult to find a table. Since restaurants are a very common social gathering place - Texans even go there up to four times a week! -you'll find that there's always a small waiting list at the entrance. We therefore recommend booking in advance, or not showing up too late. However, there's often a bar where you can enjoy a cocktail while you wait.
Budget & Tips Texas
Given that Europeans are used to eating much smaller portions than we do here, we recommend sharing dishes between two people, which is really easy to do, or taking leftovers home to finish off. The restaurants where this tip is most easily applied are Tex-Mexes, but also American diners or chain restaurants. Plates are very large and hard to finish, so why not simply share a plate between two people?
A low price range means spending around US$10 to US$20 per person for the main course, to which you add a drink (often unlimited). Count on around US$40 for a more upscale restaurant, and US$100 per person for a luxury restaurant.
Generally speaking, tex-mex and diners are among the cheapest restaurants, as are food-trucks. But beware: some food-trucks are trendy hipster addresses where you can pay exorbitant prices for a tiny vegan sandwich. Some restaurants also offerbring-your-own-bottle (BYOB) service, often in Asian restaurants.
What costs extra Texas
What always comes as a surprise to foreigners is the 6% tax and the 15-20% tip that must be added when paying the bill. In general, you'll automatically be charged 20% of the bill, which is no mean feat! But it's important to remember that waiters don't have a very high fixed salary, and much of their income comes from tips. It's very bad form not to pay a tip.
The local way Texas
Texas and New Mexico are known for their spicy cuisines, with hot sauces always available on restaurant tables. If you're looking to eat locally, you'll want to go to a Tex-Mex restaurant, a barbecue joint or an American diner . So there's often plenty of meat on the table. In Texas, you'll be able to sample Southern cuisine: hushpuppies, okra, fried chicken, cookies and gravy, and so on. Then, Mexican influences add enchiladas, tacos, salsa and guacamole to the menu.
All served with hot sauce. In New Mexico, you'll find sauce specialties with local green or red chiles, including chile soups or fried tacos called sopapillas. The size of the dishes is impressive, and you'll leave with a belly more than full. Tex-Mex dishes are often accompanied by lots of melted cheese, salsa, beans and rice. You eat with cutlery, except for tacos and barbecue, which you eat with your hands.
Another very local habit when it comes to drinks: there will always be ice cubes in your glass. And try American-style ice teas, which are real iced black tea.
Texas specialties include craft beers. We recommend Jester King Atrial Rubicite, Real Ale Axis IPA, Live Oak Hefeweizen, and many more.
Kids Texas
Children are not allowed in bars in Texas. You must be at least 21 to drink alcohol in the USA. However, in most restaurants you can bring your family.
Smokers Texas
You can't smoke indoors, and very often even outdoor areas prohibit it. Smoking is not common practice, and some bars reserve dedicated areas.
Take a break Texas
Timetable Texas
Cafés open early in the morning, sometimes as early as 6.30 or 7am. On the other hand, they often close early too, between 3pm and 4pm. Bars often have their happy hour between 3pm and 5pm, or 4pm and 6pm. Weekends are the most crowded evenings, especially for craft beer breweries, which are becoming beloved rural destinations for Texans in search of a good cold beer. Bars are often closed at the beginning of the week (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday). Cafés are open every day.
Budget & Tips Texas
A coffee can cost between 3 and 6 US$. You'll always be asked for a tip (as in a restaurant) of at least 15 or 20%. It has become common practice to pay with a contactless card, where you add the tip on a touch screen or in pen on the receipt. A little trick is to ask for a filter cafe, which most coffee shops can refill as often as you like. So you get unlimited coffees for the price of one (but they're not necessarily very good).
As for bars, you can get good deals on a shot of booze and a beer of your choice. The cheapest beers are Bud Light or Budweiser.
Age restrictions Texas
As in the rest of the U.S., you're not allowed to consume alcohol until you're 21. You must be 21 to enter a bar, and we recommend that everyone carry an ID card to avoid being turned away, even if you're obviously older. Security guards or even the bartenders themselves will ask for it.
What's very local Texas
The local drinks are the Gin & Tonic, the Aperol Spritz, but above all the Margarita. You'll see Margaritas served in tall glasses with coarse salt around the rim in all Tex-Mex restaurants and bars. This Mexican cocktail is indeed one of Texans' favorite drinks, as is tequila itself, which can be of very high quality. Otherwise, beer is a widespread beverage, with the classic American beers: Budweiser, Bud Light, Yuengling and so on.
Kids Texas
Children (and even teenagers) are not allowed in bars.
Smokers Texas
Bars often have smoking areas. It's not uncommon to see smokers on the terraces of bars and coffee shops. Be careful, however, not to smoke in an area where smoking is prohibited, as in most public spaces.
