By Matthew Odam

Updated Oct. 23, 2015

Vision, innovation, collaboration and passion have long fueled Austin’s creative spirit. Those qualities are also propelling the city’s best chefs, who garner more local devotees and national attention each year.

It’s an exciting and rewarding time to be a diner in Austin. The city’s competitive dining scene is almost unrecognizable from the one of a decade ago. Only two of the restaurants in this year’s Top 25 have been around longer than 10 years, and about half of them opened within the past five years. Seven of the Top 25 opened since last year’s dining guide.

None of which is to imply that newness alone qualified a restaurant to make the list. The restaurants that separated themselves from the rest of Austin’s dining universe did so thanks to their execution and commitment to quality, craftsmanship and service. They are restaurants with decisive points of view and identifiable personalities, regardless of price points or cuisine.

I visited all of these restaurants (and dozens more) at least once since last October, and restaurants had to have opened by July 1 of this year to be considered. Of course, this is all just one (well-fed and humble) man’s opinion. I hope it inspires you to try new places, visit old ones and give me a piece of your mind, which you can do via email (modam@statesman.com), phone (512-912-5986) or Twitter (@odam).

More 2015 Dining Guide: Top restaurants, 50 critic's picks, Barbecue all-stars, Hamburger all-stars, Mexican cuisine all-stars, Pizza all-stars and All-star trailers.