Organic, allergy-friendly, and quietly excellent — meet Nectarine, the Hwy 290 bakehouse feeding all of us at once
If your family dinner-out negotiations usually end with somebody quietly ordering a side salad and calling it a meal, Nectarine Cafe & Bakehouse was basically built for your table. Tucked into a Hwy 290 storefront just east of downtown Dripping Springs, Nectarine is an all-day cafe and scratch bakehouse where the celiac cousin, the keto in-law, the vegan teenager, and the "I just want a really good chicken sandwich" partner can all order — happily — off the exact same board.
The place comes from Kate and Charles Smith, who describe it simply as the restaurant they wished their own family had access to. Charles brings the restaurateur experience; the couple opened their first Nectarine in California back in 2018 before bringing the concept home to the Hill Country in 2024. Working with chef and business partner Rhiana Glor, they've built a menu that's roughly 80% organic and seed-oil-free, with produce and ingredients pulled from local organic farms and Texas artisan vendors whenever they can get them. It's health-food that doesn't taste like a compromise — which is a harder trick than the wellness industry lets on.
What to order: the sleeper hit is the plantain-crusted hot chicken sandwich — crispy, gluten-free, stacked with pickles, hot honey, and a spicy mayo aioli that earns its name. From the bakehouse, the sourdough pizzas do the heavy lifting; regulars go for the Pesto-Rita and the Cheesy Goddess. Add a pull from the full espresso bar and a detour through the case of scratch-baked, seed-oil-free goods, and you've got the kind of lunch you start planning the next one during.
Good to know: the menu is genuinely built for dietary range — celiac, vegetarian, keto, and vegan neighbors all have real options, not afterthoughts. And keep an eye out this fall: Nectarine is rolling out a prepared-meal service aimed at busy Hill Country families who still want the clean-ingredient thing on a weeknight. Sourcing rotates with what's fresh and local, so it's worth asking what just came in.
📍 2001 W. Hwy. 290, Ste. 116, Dripping Springs, TX 78620
📞 (512) 607-4300 · order online via Toast at lovenectarine.com
🌐 https://lovenectarine.com
📷 Instagram: @nectarinecafe
👍 Facebook: Nectarine Dripping Springs
🕒 Hours: check lovenectarine.com for current hours
Tag them when you go: @nectarinecafe — and tell 'em LocalEats sent you.