Restaurants in Belton

Executive chef Matthew Botos spreads epicurean comfort across three levels of outdoor deck dining. His menu of upscale bar fare adds to burger and sandwich staples with reinvented favorites, including pickles fried in cornmeal and served with a chipotle-ranch sauce, as well as the B.A.T, a stack of house-cured bacon, arugula, tomato, and pesto mayo on honey-potato bread. Diners can wash down their meals with a drink from either the indoor or outdoor bar, slinging everything from a local draft beers to Argentinean red wine.

Although The Upper Decks advertises its abundance of alfresco seating above all else, the sports bar also features a sleek interior with numerous flat-screen TVs, arcade games, and a billiards room with plush leather seats to cradle aspiring sports commentators as they practice their made-up onomatopoeias.

As a young chef just starting out, Jason Tallent had cooked his way up the ladder, working directly under James Beard Foundation Award–winning chefs. After moving to Austin, he took the reins on the 34th Street Café, designing a farm-to-table menu of upscale New American comfort food. He and his team layer hormone-free meats and local, organic veggies to revamp beloved lunch sandwiches such as the BLT, Reuben, or ham and swiss. During the dinner rush, the menu throws on its formal wear for dishes such as crispy risotto with truffle cheese or panko-crusted chicken picatta drizzled with beurre blanc and sprinkled with capers. Affable owner Eddie Bernal keeps the restaurant’s laser-like focus on serving ethical, delicious café cuisine, while high ceilings and a spacious dining room offer guests plenty of room to relax during lunch, dinner, or Twister matches that determine who’s picking up the tab.

Behind the stone arches of a Spanish colonial-style building, Hemingway Restaurant & Bar's artfully exposed ductwork, stark right angles, and halo of flat-screen TVs belie the homespun quality of its regional Texan fare. Servers burden the heavily lacquered wood tables with hearty platters of 14-ounce steaks, fresh local fish, stuffed poblano peppers, and burgers topped with surprising flourishes, including roquefort cheese, olive tapenade, or applewood-smoked bacon. A full bar serves wines, premium cocktails, and craft beer such as Austin Amber and Buckethead IPA on draft. Outside, guests can dine alfresco alongside their dogs or diners dressed as their dogs.

From the front window of a magenta food trailer, personal chef Tagan Couch metes out burritos and burgers from a menu as diverse as the citizens of Austin. Diners enjoy this blend of local and international fare at canopied tables outside the mobile eatery. The Cali burrito comes embellished with Texan touches, revealing seasoned french fries and beef tinged with Dr. Pepper and tiny, edible cowboy hats. The Falls Town burger — a nod to Tagan's hometown, Wichita Falls, Texas — is crowned with a sunny-side-up egg and country gravy, plus pico de gallo. Breakfast burritos and a special Sunday brunch reward early risers with noshes such as Spanish-style eggs Benedict with chipotle hollandaise.

Rich, yellow threads of saffron melt into the stews and kebab marinades simmering in the kitchen of Shandeez Grill Restaurant. Family plates cover tables with a variety of Persian-style kebabs to share or play pickup sticks with, and Greek recipes entertain diners with flavorful gyro wraps and cool tzatziki sauce. On select nights, live music mixes with the scent of seared meat on the grill and sweet hookah smoke snaking through the dining room.

The seasoned chefs at Dimassi's Mediterranean Buffet whip up unlimited portions of authentic Middle Eastern cuisine seven days a week. Partnered patrons survey the robust buffet to plot their takeover of fresh, house-made bread sauced with hummus or baba ghanouj, a roasted and seasoned eggplant purée. Endless supplies of savory entrees silence even the chattiest tummies with chicken kebabs and baked-fish-shaped pacifiers. Diners not on speaking terms with salt may opt for Dimassi’s spinach baked with chickpeas, onions, garlic, and cilantro, and herbivores can nosh on an assortment of seasoned veggies or a greek salad with feta, olive oil, and aged balsamic vinegar. Dining duos toast to the possibility of falafel shot put becoming a common party game with unlimited glasses of iced tea or soft drinks. Fistfuls of jam cookies or ladyfingers with walnuts, sugar, and rose and orange water give meals a delicately sweet sendoff.