Hill Country Restaurant Updates 8/21/26

⭐ Nectarine Cafe & Bakehouse is our Featured Spot — an organic, allergy-friendly all-day cafe and scratch bakehouse hiding in plain sight on Hwy 290 in Dripping Springs.

✅ The Tea Nook just opened on Wimberley Square, pouring premium loose-leaf teas from the world's great estates, with homemade baked goods to match.

✅ The Alley brought handcrafted boba, milk teas, and crispy "croffles" to the 290 corridor just west of the Y.

Quiet week for brand-new announcements — nobody broke ground on a new project this week. The big pipeline we've been tracking is still cooking: Neon Armadillo's 30,000-sq-ft Tex-Mex barbecue hall is on for November at The Junction, and over on Wimberley Square The Forager Botanical Infusions (aiming for September) and The Cat's Meow Boba Bar & Tea House are both still building out. We'll flag the next new one the second it surfaces.

🆕 The Tea Nook (Wimberley) — A cozy little tea shop on the Square pouring premium, handcrafted loose-leaf teas — black, green, white, oolong, plus blooming and herbal blends — sourced straight from the world's great tea estates. Pull up a seat for a tasting and grab a homemade baked good while you're at it.
⏰ ETA/Opened: Now open (spring 2026)
📍 Address: 106 Wimberley Square, Wimberley
🌐 Website: https://www.instagram.com/teanookshop
📞 Phone: TBD

🆕 The Alley (Dripping Springs / Hwy 290) — A handcrafted bubble-tea shop that graduated onto the 290 corridor just west of the Y, slinging boba drinks, milk teas, and smoothies alongside crispy "croffles" (that's a croissant-waffle mashup). Try the Ube Taro Brown Sugar Boba Milk or the Cocoa Crème Brûlée croffle.
⏰ ETA/Opened: Now open (2026)
📍 Address: 12400 W. Hwy. 290, Ste. 230, Dripping Springs
🌐 Website: https://www.thealleyatx.com
📞 Phone: TBD

No fresh restaurant filings or permits hit the Dripping Springs and Hays County logs this week. The forward signals already on our board (see Coming Soon) are still the ones to watch — and we'll surface the next new permit here the moment it lands.

The Vibe — Tucked into a Hwy 290 storefront just east of downtown, Nectarine is the rare all-day cafe built for people who read labels. It's warm, unfussy, and about 80% organic, with a menu engineered so celiac, keto, vegetarian, and vegan neighbors can all actually order off the same board. Owners Kate and Charles Smith built the place they wished their own family had — and you can taste the care in it.

Must-Order Items — The plantain-crusted hot chicken sandwich is the sleeper hit: crispy, gluten-free, with pickles, hot honey, and a spicy mayo aioli. From the bakehouse, the sourdough pizzas do the heavy lifting — the Pesto-Rita and the Cheesy Goddess — and there's a full espresso bar and a case of scratch-baked, seed-oil-free goods to round it out.

Pro Tip — Come hungry and stay curious: much of the produce comes from local organic farms and Texas artisan vendors, and they rotate. Keep an eye out this fall for their prepared-meal service — heat-and-eat dinners aimed at busy Hill Country families who still want the clean-ingredient thing.

📍 2001 W. Hwy. 290, Ste. 116, Dripping Springs, TX 78620
🌐 https://lovenectarine.com
📞 (512) 607-4300

📖 Want the full story on Nectarine? Read our complete write-up — backstory, hours, and what to order — at LocalEats.News/austin-hillcountry

🍷 Beer Ranch Project (Wimberley) — MAJOR UPDATE — The tasting room we've been watching finally poured its first glass: the Tasty Room is now open on RR 12, serving craft beer, wine, espresso drinks, and light snacks. The full ranch-house brewery is still on the way to join it, but you can pull up a stool today.
⏰ ETA/Opened: Tasty Room now open (brewery still coming)
📍 Address: 13510 Ranch Road 12, Wimberley
🌐 Website: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/tbd
📞 Phone: TBD

Good news — nothing new shuttered around the Valley this week. We'll always flag real closings here first.

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✌️ Until next Friday,

Nolan K.

P.S. Corrections welcome. If I got something wrong, email me at [email protected] — I try to double-check everything, but I’m human.