Rocco's

Nicholas Ford cooked at Sammie's and Favorite Pizza inside the McGuire Moorman Lambert group before he and Wade McElroy opened this room on Airport Boulevard in September 2025. The menu runs five antipasti, two salads, five pastas and one dessert. Austin Monthly made it Best Italian in the city in August 2026. The pasta is made in the room, and McCrary says the red sauces are where the kitchen peaks.

Why go

Taylor Tobin, reviewing it for the Austin Chronicle that December, framed the whole thing as a refusal: Rocco's ditches Resy table bookings and influencer marketing in favor of a locally driven, IYKYK service model.1 Ford came to Austin from the Northeast, and Tobin traces the room back to the family-style pasta restaurants of Brooklyn and Boston: dim light, dark polished wood, framed vintage photographs.1 The short menu is deliberate. Tobin thinks it is why the cooking holds up: it allows the kitchen to hyperfocus on their ingredients and preparation techniques.1 Matthew Odam ranked it fifth among the city's best new restaurants of 2025. He put the credit on the people. It is the warmth of the place and its comforting dishes, not the vision board or design budget, that make it what it is.3 Ford and McElroy opened a second room, the Rainey Street sushi bar Kinsho, in March 2026.6

Order this / avoid

Order: the fried mozzarella, in wedges rather than sticks. Tobin's instruction is flat: Do not leave without ordering at least one dish of these.1
Then the caesar. Nicolai McCrary calls it one of the best in Austin, because the kitchen buries cubes of sharp parmesan in the leaves alongside the shredded cheese.2
For pasta, the casarecce in the house bolognese, and pay for the scarpetta add-on: slices of Sour Duck bread to drag through what is left.1
Or the lumache, which was Tobin's standout, with sweet corn, black garlic, chanterelles and crispy salumi.1
The two reviewers disagree about the noodles, and it is worth knowing which camp you are in. McCrary found the housemade pasta cooked to a perfect al dente; Tobin found that if you really love an al dente bite, you may balk a bit at their softness.2 1
Avoid: the meatballs, if dry crumb bothers you. Tobin wanted more moisture in them and thought the breadcrumbs on top made it worse.1

What locals & experts say

The Infatuation rated it 8.3 in November 2025, and McCrary set it against the rooms it is not: Rocco's may not have the same celebratory pizzazz as destinations like Sammie's or Red Ash, but it has an everyday appeal that's even more comforting.2
Matthew Odam put it fifth among the Statesman's best new restaurants of 2025.3
Austin Monthly named it Best Italian in its Best of ATX 2026 awards, dating the opening to September 2025: former Sammie's executive chef Nicholas Ford opened his cozy Italian spot last September to instant acclaim.4
Austin Chronicle readers voted it New Restaurant of the year in the 2026 Best of Austin poll, ahead of Cousin Louie's, Ēma, Kiin Di and Roya. That is a public vote.5
CultureMap put it among sixteen nominees for its 2026 Tastemaker best-new award, which is decided by nomination and public vote.7

Good to know

Walk-in only, as of December 2025, with counter seats at the bar first come first served. Fridays and Saturdays run long.1
Waiting with three or more people? Flourish Plant Shop & Wine Bar is next door and Tobin sends groups there for a round first.1
Beer and wine only, leaning Italian and natural. The house drink is the Texas Spaghett, light beer with Aperol.1
One dessert, the cannoli, and each order arrives in two flavors.2
It gets loud at peak. McCrary found the small room boisterous and said it settles once the rush thins.2

Verdict

should-visit — Two critics ate here five weeks apart and split on how the noodles are cooked, which tells you the kitchen runs soft of al dente and you should decide now whether that bothers you. The room is small and walk-in only, so an early weeknight at the bar is the version of this restaurant that works.