Austin City Limits Music Festival: Best Food and Drinks at ACL

The Austin City Limits Music Festival (ACL for short) returns this October 2024 for two weekends in a row, with lots of music, food, drinks, and general merriment. Festival attendees returning to the Austin music festival will be able to debate the lineup and figure out what they’ll see. As guests arrive from around the country to see Chappell Roan, Dua Lupa, Chris Stapleton, Tyler the Creator, and others perform live, it’s worth thinking about how to maximize your dining and drinking enjoyment during those three full days at Zilker Park.

C3 Productions, the festival organizers, have tailored the food and drink offerings to suit the event over time — and it remains a much better food court than it needs to be. Naturally, Austin’s greatest hits — tacos, barbecue, beer, and burgers — feature heavily. Thankfully, the offerings also showcase local food and drink for weekend visitors, which certainly adds to the overall experience.

There are always annual tweaks and changes to ACL’s food and drink lineups, and this year is no exception. There’s the first-ever taco court featuring some of the best Mexican restaurants in town like Con Todo, Paprika, and Veracruz All Natural, curated and including Cuantos Tacos and Discada. Likewise, Neapolitan pizzeria Bambino is slinging pies within the formerly named Springs Beer Hall (now called the Big Tent). There’s still the desserts-forever section ACL Sweets. And most importantly, festival standby the Mighty Cone is back. There are 62 food vendors this year.

Below are Eater’s tips for navigating the festival, and picks for on-site dining, as well as selections for brunch, late-night, cocktails, and more outside of the grounds. The festival takes place from Friday, October 4 through Sunday, October 6, and then again from Friday, October 11 through Sunday, October 13, all at Zilker Park.

ACL Festival Tips

With all outdoor festivals, the best experiences result from advanced planning. Note the following food and drink-related rules and related things to know:

• Obviously, outside food and drinks aren’t allowed.
• There’s a strict bag policy (clear bags no larger than 12 inches by 12 inches by 6 inches and/or regular bags that are not bigger than 6 inches by 9 inches and/or smaller bags with only one pocket. i.e. clutches and fanny packs).
• Empty wearable hydration packs with at most two pockets and plastic/metal/aluminum water bottles are allowed. No glass containers. Refill stations are available within the park.
• Stay hydrated! Water is your friend.
• The weather predictions for both ACL weekends at this point will be nice, with sunny skies and hot during the daytime (low 90s) and pleasant-to-chilly in the evenings (high 60s the first weekend and low 60s the second). Wear layers. There’s an under-20-percent chance of rain the first weekend, but remember that umbrellas are banned.
• Blankets and chairs are allowed. Coolers are not.
• It’s fair to expect restaurants along Barton Springs Road to sell to-go booze again this year.
• General admission bars will serve cocktails.

ACL Festival Grounds Eats

Taylor Regulski for ACL Fest 2023

For those new to Austin’s food scene, the choices at the food courts can be daunting, especially when lines get long during peak dinner hours. Here’s where to focus your dining during those food breaks to save some time. Eater didn’t receive finalized menus from the festival in time for this guide, so we’re making general suggestions for your lunch, dinner, and dessert picks over the weekend.

Friday

Lunch

Stop by Nervous Charlie’s at ACL Eats: The bagel slingers will offer all-day sandwiches made with its everything bagels: bacon/egg/cheese ($12), the vegetarian-friendly avocado/egg/cheese ($12), and even what it’s calling a bagel dog (!!!) where said-frank is placed in an everything-bagel bun ($8).

or

Head to the La Pachanga Eatery for Con Todo: The Eater Award-winning food truck will be slinging what it’s calling XL carnitas tostadas ($16), where two corn tostadas will be topped with slow-cooked pork, guacamole, cilantro, onions, and salsas. Per the name of the business, everything should be ordered “con todo” (with everything).

Dinner

Opt for barbecue truck CM Smokehouse at ACL Eats: the crunchwraps are a portable way to fit in this meal while you’re making your way to the headlining stages to secure good views. There’s the brisket one ($13 for half, $24 for whole) and the vegetarian-friendly cauliflower version ($24) made in either corn or flour tortillas.

or

Cuantos Tacos at ACL Eats: The essential food truck serves fantastic Mexico City-style tacos. During ACL, it’ll offer trios of brisket ($18), carnitas ($18), and grilled mushrooms with adobo sauce ($18) for filling meals.

Dessert

End the day with JP’S Pancake Company at ACL Sweets: The little pancakes in cups from the food truck work very well for wandering the grounds. Of the available flavors, make it a festive course with the birthday cake option ($11), where the pancakes are covered in a birthday cake glaze and sprinkles. Gluten-free and vegan pancakes are available, plus you can add all the toppings you want.

Musical performances

Check out Chris Stapleton, Blink-182, the Marías, Santigold (weekend two), Dasha, Norah Jones, and Mannequin Pussy (weekend one).

Saturday

Lunch

Try T-Loc’s Sonora Hot Dogs at ACL Eats: Get a taste of Arizona in Austin through the Sonoran hot dogs ($15) from this food truck. The bacon-wrapped hot dog is doused in pinto beans, sauteed onions, diced tomatoes, mayonnaise, mustard, and jalapeño sauce.

or

Tiny Pies at ACL Eats: Yes, the bakery doles out great sweets, but the savory options work for a filling meal. The chicken hand pie ($14), which is basically a chicken pot pie, is the best bet.

Dinner

Venture over to Paprika at La Pachanga Eatery: The food truck’s suadero taco trio ($16) isn’t to be missed, with confit brisket and goodies atop corn tortillas.

or

Even though New Texan butcher shop and restaurant Salt & Time is technically closed, it’s still serving at the ACL Eats food court: Find a version of its iconic burger, but this time, it’s a smash burger ($12 for a single patty, $16 for double) made with wagyu beef layered with cheese, mayonnaise, pickles, and optional bacon for an extra $3.

Dessert

Scope out Holla Mode: The ice cream truck dishes up fun rolled Thai ice creams, a perfect way to cool off after a day of music. The sticky rice mango ($10) is a great pick.

Musical performances

Check out Dua Lipa, Reneé Rapp, Vince Staples, Khruangbin, Remi Wolf (weekend two), the Beaches, and Something Corporate (weekend one).

Paprika

Sunday

Lunch

It’s apt to get tacos for the last day of the festival, no? Make your way over to Discada at La Pachanga Eatery: The truck will be making its namesake tacos, the discada, available in threes ($16). The meaty mixture is made with confit beef and pork, plus onions, cilantro, pineapples, and habanero escabeche.

or

Steamies Dumplings at ACL Eats: Chinese dumplings make for an excellent lunch, and the farmers market stand-slash-cafe-slash-shop serves up some of the best iterations in Austin. Half-dozen potstickers will be available in pork-cabbage ($16), chicken-shiitake mushrooms ($16), and vegan ($16).

Dinner

For the final (savory) meal of ACL, head to La Santa Barbacha at La Pachanga Eatery: The food truck is all about barbacoa, per the name, so, yes, order the trio of barbacoa tacos ($16) served on corn tortillas with cilantro, onions, salsa, and limes.

or

Burro Cheese Kitchen at ACL Eats: The grilled cheese truck’s been a staple at the festival for quite some time. Opt for one of the vegetarian-friendly sandwiches, especially the sweet-savory Via 206 ($12) with cheddar cheese and a balsamic-apricot-fig sauce on sourdough bread. Bonus: there’s vegan cheese and gluten-free bread available too.

Dessert

Close out ACL with ice creams from newcomer Dulce Amor Mio at ACL Sweets: The ice cream truck focuses on Mexican-ish flavored frozen sweets available in cups ($10) or waffle cones ($12). The fresa con cream (aka strawberries and cream) sounds absolutely refreshing.

Musical performances

Check out Tyler the Creator, Sturgill Simpson, Chappell Roan, Dom Dolla, Kehlani (weekend one), and Orville Peck.

Bambino

Drinks

Beers

ACL turned what was previously the Barton Springs Beer Hall into the Big Tent, but it’ll still offer beer cans and draft cocktails. Also new this year is a whole pizzeria setup by Austin restaurant Bambino. It’ll fire up pies like the Mi Scusi (smoked mozzarella, marinara sauce, basil, and olive oil with a sesame seed crust), the Little Stinker (a white pie with provoline cheese, mozzarella, red onions, kale, and optional sausage), and the Joe Mars aka the Tracksuit (with those picturesque cupping pepperoni slices, mozzarella, ricotta, hot honey, basil, and marinara sauce). There are also gluten-free crust options and dairy-free cheeses. Expect the tent to be very crowded midday on Saturday, October 12 as people watch the University of Texas at Austin versus the University of Oklahoma college football game.

Cocktails

ACL is still serving actual mixed drinks in the main festival area. There are its general admission bars (plus bars available to varying VIP-style wristbands) as well as sponsored areas such as the Hendrick’s Gin garden, Tito’s Vodka’s setup, Topo Chico’s hard seltzer bar, Aperol Spritzes, and the Flor de Cana rum bar at the Barton Beach Club tiki bar. From the main bars, expect Tito’s vodka-sparkling lemonade ($15 for 12 ounces and $23 for 16), among other options.

Wines (alas, there are no Texas options)

The ACL’s Wine Grove is a good bet for carafes of wines, typically lighter ones like sparklings, rosés, and whites.

Nonalcoholic drinks

• Lemonade: The Come and Take It stand is offering freshly squeezed lemonade at ACL Eats.
• High Brew Coffee: These portable coffees are ubiquitous in Austin for a reason. Fuel your rally to the finish with a can — the double espresso is the most balanced of the selections, with less sugar than flavored offerings.
• Rambler Sparkling Water: The Texas-based fizzy water company will offer its signature plain fizzy water as well as flavored ones.

Ashley Osborn for ACL 2022

Food Near Zilker Park

For those looking to escape the festival grounds for a bit, check out Eater’s vetted list of food and drink options right near Zilker Park. It covers migas, barbecue, cocktail bars, ramen, and everything in between.

Outside of the ACL Festival Grounds

Other Austin Essentials

Eater’s comprehensive city guide is a cheat sheet of sorts for newbies to town. Looking for more options? Here are a few more maps and guides that may be of interest.

Breakfast

The first meal of the day is very important to get you prepared for all the standing, dancing, and drinking that is ahead of you at ACL. Fuel up.

Katrina Barber/ACL Fest

Drinking

Hydration is important, but so is booze, and Austin has all kinds of cocktails, beer, and happy hours to keep you going.

Late-Night Food

Embrace the fact that you’re probably going to stay up really late (or really early, depending on how you look at it). Might as well take in some food during those waking hours.

This guide was originally written by Tom Thornton.

10001 Metric Boulevard, , TX 78758

2100 Barton Springs Road, Austin, Texas 78746