Austin's Restaurant Health Report: The Highest and Lowest Inspection Scores From May 2026

In May 2026 — the most recent month of Austin restaurant inspections in Austin Public Health's records — the city logged 451 inspections averaging a 92.5 score, with 65 perfect 100s and exactly one restaurant below 70. According to ATX Things' analysis of the full dataset, a short stretch of North Lamar Boulevard in Austin, Texas accounted for three of the city's ten lowest scores that month.

Why This Report Covers May, Not August

Austin Public Health's inspection data is folded into ATX Things' database on a monthly sync — the most recent sync ran July 25, 2026, well within our 45-day freshness threshold for publishing scored claims. But the underlying inspection records themselves run only through May 22, 2026; the city's own dataset hasn't posted anything newer as of this report. So this is genuinely the latest full month of Austin restaurant inspections available anywhere, even though it's a few months behind the calendar. Every score below is exactly as recorded, with its real inspection date — treat any restaurant's current cleanliness as unconfirmed since that date, not as today's condition.

How Austin's Restaurants Scored in May 2026

Of the 451 inspections Austin Public Health conducted in May 2026, the vast majority came back clean:

The median score was 95. Sixty-five inspections — everything from Widen Elementary School's cafeteria to a Cloud Kitchen location on North I-35 — came back a perfect 100.

The Lowest Score: Shoal Creek Saloon, 63

The single lowest score in Austin's May 2026 inspection data belongs to Shoal Creek Saloon at 909 N Lamar Blvd, which scored a 63 on May 5, 2026. Austin Public Health's own dataset tags this location "OOB" — the city's shorthand for out-of-business — as of that visit, though a status flag isn't proof of a closure date; we could not independently confirm whether the bar is still operating.

Two other addresses within a few blocks on the same stretch of North Lamar also landed in the bottom ten for the month: 24 Diner, a long-running neighborhood diner at 600 N Lamar Blvd, scored 70 on May 6, and Wink, the tasting-menu restaurant at 1014 N Lamar Blvd, scored 71 on May 19.

Downtown had its own soft patch: across 23 inspections in the 78701 ZIP code, the average score was 87.1 — below the citywide 92.5 — weighed down by a run of hotel food-service scores in the high 70s and low 80s, including the Driskill Hotel's 1886 Cafe (78, May 11) and Swift's Attic (78, May 19).

Which ZIP Code Had the Cleanest Restaurants

For neighborhoods with a real sample of restaurants inspected in May 2026 (at least eight visits, excluding ZIP codes dominated almost entirely by schools), Hyde Park and North Loop's 78751 came out on top: 27 inspections, an average score of 93.8, and not a single one below 81.

The 78751 sample reads like an actual cross-section of a neighborhood's food scene, not just chains: Antonelli's Cheese Shop (98), Rositas Tacos and More (99), Kome Sushi Kitchen (97), Donkey Mo's Korean Fried Chicken (97), and Rocco's Italian (94) all posted scores in the mid-to-high 90s the same month.

The Follow-Up Inspections: Who Turned It Around

May's data also captured three follow-up inspections — the check Austin Public Health schedules after a restaurant scores low enough to need one — and the results split between a real comeback and a case that hasn't cleared the bar yet.

Tian Tian Golden Palace Seafood and Dim Sum, on North Lamar Boulevard near US 183, improved from 68 (April 10, 2026) to 77 on its May 1 follow-up — real progress, though still short of the 80 mark that separates a comfortable score from one that invites another look.

What Locals Should Know

• A score isn't a snapshot of today. Every number here traces to a specific inspection date — some as recent as three weeks before this dataset synced, others from earlier in May. Always check a restaurant's most current listing at Austin's own inspection portal before assuming a score still applies.
• "OOB" doesn't always mean closed for good. It's the city's internal flag for a facility it believes has gone out of business — useful context, not a guarantee.
• Follow-up inspections are public too. If a restaurant scored low, Austin Public Health's re-inspection result — pass or not — is in the same dataset, which is how we could track MEXTA's and Tian Tian's turnarounds above.

Method & Sources

This report analyzes all 451 rows in Austin Public Health's restaurant inspection dataset with an inspection_date in May 2026 (May 1–22 — the last date present in the synced data), pulled from ATX Things' database, which mirrors the city's own open dataset and was last synced July 25, 2026. Scores, dates, and addresses are reported exactly as recorded; restaurant names with a city-jurisdiction prefix (like "PF" for Pflugerville) have been cleaned to their real business name, with the correct city noted. ZIP-level averages required at least 8 inspections in that ZIP during the month. Cite this report as "ATX Things analysis of Austin Public Health inspection data, May 2026." Look up any current Austin restaurant's inspection history at austintexasthings.com/inspections, or browse the city's own open records at data.austintexas.gov.

This is the first entry in ATX Things' monthly Restaurant Health Report series — the same recurring format we use for the Austin Development Report and Austin Economy Snapshot, each built from a dataset no other Austin outlet tracks month over month. Compare tonight's dinner pick against its real score with our best restaurants in Austin guide.

FAQ

What counts as a good health inspection score in Austin? Austin Public Health scores on a 0–100 scale, and most restaurants land in the 90s — the May 2026 citywide median was 95. Scores in the 80s are common and not necessarily alarming; anything below 70 is the range where the city typically schedules a follow-up visit.

What happens after a restaurant scores below 70? Austin Public Health generally schedules a follow-up inspection to confirm the violations have been corrected. In May 2026's data, two of three follow-ups improved but didn't clear 80, and one — MEXTA — climbed 20 points to an 87.

Why does this report cover May 2026 inspections instead of a more recent month? Because that's the most recent month present in Austin Public Health's own inspection data as of this report — the underlying records run through May 22, 2026, even though the sync that pulled them into ATX Things' database ran in late July. We report the real inspection dates rather than implying the scores reflect current conditions.

Where can I look up a specific restaurant's current score? Search any Austin restaurant's full inspection history, including dates and follow-ups, at austintexasthings.com/inspections.

Does a low score mean a restaurant is unsafe to eat at right now? Not necessarily, and we don't make that call. A score reflects conditions on one specific inspection date, which may have changed since — especially if a follow-up inspection happened afterward, as it did for three restaurants in this report.