An acclaimed authentic Indian vegetarian experience plans to debut in Austin. According to public filings, Simply South plans to open a new location at 1900 E. Whitestone Blvd. in Cedar Park. What Now Austin spoke to the franchisee of the Austin location, who said the restaurant is targeting a mid-January opening.
Founded in Irving in 2024, Simply South describes itself on its website as an “authentic South Indian vegetarian restaurant,” offering a 200-item menu spanning South Indian cuisine, including dishes such as chole, bature, and kheema biryani made with soy-based proteins in place of meat.
The original Irving location earned a spot on The New York Times’ 2024 list of America’s best restaurants, drawing wait times of up to three hours on weekends.
The Cedar Park opening would extend Simply South’s Texas footprint beyond its Dallas-Fort Worth roots. According to one of the franchisees of the Austin location, the group behind this opening was drawn to Simply South after visiting the brand’s Dallas-area locations.
“We went to Dallas and saw how they’ve been running. All the restaurants in Dallas have a minimum of thirty minutes to one hour wait time,” he told What Now Austin, highlighting the brand’s success and authenticity as key factors behind the decision to open this location.
“There is no such restaurant in the area in Austin, I believe, with pure vegetarian Indian food,” he said, describing the brand’s pure vegetarian, fine-dining concept as unique to the Austin market.
Unlike Dallas, where Simply South operates three locations across Irving, Frisco, and McKinney, this will be the first location in Austin.
What Now Houston reported on the brand’s fourth Texas location and first in the Greater Houston area, in Katy, where owner Gummadi noted the restaurant shares its name with, but has no relation to, a well-known South Indian restaurant in Hyderabad, India.
