Austin's table opener: melted white American cheese, peppers, ground beef or chorizo, served warm with house tortilla chips. The Bob Armstrong dip at Matt's adds a guacamole and taco-meat shell.
Chile con queso is a Tex-Mex tradition dating to early 20th-century San Antonio, but the Austin version was codified at Matt's El Rancho on South Lamar. The Bob Armstrong dip was invented in 1973 when Matt Martinez Jr. made a custom plate for Texas Comptroller Bob Armstrong, building queso with a center of taco meat and guacamole. The dip became a permanent menu item by 1974 and remains the city's signature queso plate. Beyond Matt's, queso runs at Kerbey Lane, Magnolia and most Tex-Mex tables.
3 editor picks for Queso (chile con queso) in Austin, ranked by editorial score. All Austin signature dishes · Queso (chile con queso) across every city.
Matt's El Rancho ★ 4.3
south-lamar · 2613 S Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78704
Matt's El Rancho in Austin is the Martinez family's South Lamar Tex-Mex room, opened in 1952 and home of the canonical Bob Armstrong queso dip.
Bouldin Creek Cafe ★ 4.3
south-first · 1900 S 1st St, Austin, TX 78704
Bouldin Creek Cafe in Austin is South First's vegetarian neighbourhood cafe since 2000, a bungalow-cum-coffeeshop with all-day breakfast and gluten-free and vegan options.
Joann's Fine Foods ★ 4.2
south-congress · 1224 S Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78704
Joann's Fine Foods in Austin is the Bunkhouse Group's Tex-Mex diner at the Austin Motel on South Congress, a palapa-bar patio of fajitas, queso and frozen margaritas.