De Nada Cantina - South 1st
Nicolai McCrary calls these
among the best margaritas in Austin, and the large ones are limited to two a head.1
Why go
The drinks lead and the kitchen keeps up. McCrary scored this branch 8.0 for The Infatuation. The agave list, in his phrase, reads like an encyclopedia.1 The kitchen presses its own blue corn tortillas and puts everything from squash to shrimp in them. The quesadillas are Mexico City style, a fried corn tortilla with a lot of meat and a sprinkle of cheese, which reverses the usual Austin build.1 The original opened on the East Side in 2021 and had a line out the door before long. This is the second and larger room. The building was El Mercado, Tex-Mex on this stretch of South 1st for over forty years.1
Order this / avoid
- Order a margarita first, before anything else reaches the table.1
- Tacos, barbacoa or fish, which are the two versions McCrary singles out of the blue corn tortillas.1
- The quesadillas, Mexico City style, which he calls excellent.1
- Guacamole for the middle of the table.1
- Set your expectations on the crispy tacos. They are a good version of the classic and nothing revolutionary.1
What locals & experts say
- Nicolai McCrary rated it 8.0 for The Infatuation, published March 2026:
De Nada throws a good party.
He frames the food as a supporting role to the drinks and the atmosphere, and describes a dining room and adjoining patioin a constant state of buzzy chatter, accented by the bright pink plastic cups that the margaritas come in
. He also notes the tacos run a dollar or two over what a small taqueria charges, which he treats as a small tax on an otherwise affordable meal.1 - Where The Infatuation places it: on its best restaurants in South Austin guide, and on both its Austin and national Spots Of The Summer lists.1
Good to know
- Which branch: this is 1302 S 1st St, in Bouldin. The East Cesar Chavez original holds a separate review and separate inspections.1
- Book early. The room tends to fill well in advance.1
- Call for hours. I haven't found them published.
- Hygiene: Austin Public Health has published no inspection for De Nada at 1302 S 1st St. A branch reviewed in early 2026 can simply have opened inside the three-year window the city publishes, so this is missing data and not a finding.2
- Do not borrow the original's scores. The East Cesar Chavez premises scored 95, 95, 95, 94 and 91 across five inspections since 2023, and those belong to 4715 E Cesar Chavez St.2
Verdict
should-visit — Book early and take the patio. Drink first and eat second, because that is the order this room is built for.