A Pflugerville restaurant couple known for slow-simmered pho has planted a second flag in Hutto, opening Bites & Basil in early January with a full bar, a bigger kitchen and a Texas Wagyu pho that owners say is the first of its kind in the Austin area. Tumy and Phen Diep built their reputation on Broth & Basil, and now they're betting that Hutto's rapid growth can support a full-service Vietnamese concept with room to match.
The new restaurant sits at 150 Alliance Blvd., Ste. 240, across from the EVO Entertainment complex in a commercial park anchored by entertainment and retail draws, according to CultureMap Austin, which reported the space runs about 5,500 square feet. That's a significant step up from the couple's original footprint, and as Community Impact reports, Tumy and Phen Diep wanted to bring traditional Vietnamese flavors to the Austin area with a modern Texas twist. Tumy Diep told the outlet that Hutto is a fast-growing city and that the restaurant is excited about the growth happening there.
From a Pflugerville Pho Counter to a Hutto Full Bar
The Dieps met while working in the restaurant industry and opened their first venture, Broth & Basil, in Pflugerville's Stone Hill Town Center in January 2019. Phen Diep, who moved to the United States from Vietnam at around age 18, launched that original concept after surviving a brush with cancer and transitioning from home cook to professional chef, according to Community Impact's earlier reporting. That personal turning point set the stage for a business built around a pho broth simmered for 10 hours without artificial additives or flavor enhancers, a technique CultureMap Austin reports the couple developed at Broth & Basil before carrying it to Hutto.
Bites & Basil keeps that broth at its core but adds a larger kitchen, a full bar and a menu that leans into what the report describes as Asian-inspired cocktails alongside Asian-themed drinks and appetizers. Vermicelli options, bun sliders and chicken wings round out the menu, per Community Impact, and the restaurant offers happy hour from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. The signature dish is Pho Wagyu, which the outlet reports is Bites & Basil's most popular specialty and the first pho Wagyu offered by an Austin-area restaurant, alongside a Pho Beef Rib option.
Texas Wagyu From an East Austin Ranch
The Wagyu in that pho comes from Ranger Cattle, an Austin-based operation the restaurant has partnered with to supply high-quality beef. Ranger Cattle was established in East Austin in 2011 by Joshua Eilers, a U.S. Army veteran and former 75th Ranger Regiment sergeant, according to USDA background material, and the ranch raises pasture-fed Wagyu across 3,000 acres without added hormones or antibiotics under a direct ranch-to-restaurant model spanning Central Texas.
That local sourcing partnership lands in a market that has become one of the fastest-growing in the country. U.S. Census Bureau estimates released in May 2025 ranked Hutto among the top 15 fastest-growing cities in the United States, with a 9.4% single-year population increase pushing the city to 42,661 residents. Census-derived economic data cited by Point2Homes shows Hutto's median household income reached $118,834 in 2024, with average household income at $138,355 — the kind of consumer base that can support a full-service, upscale-casual concept with a bar program rather than a strictly quick-service one.
Community and a Day of Rest
Tumy Diep said the Hutto location has increased the couple's community involvement, describing the restaurant as a place for people to gather. Bites & Basil is closed Sundays, a choice the owners frame as letting staff spend a day with their families rather than a scheduling afterthought.
The opening also lands amid a broader wave of Southeast Asian dining taking root in Austin's northern suburbs. Hutto already has two other Vietnamese restaurants, and Round Rock's Da's Thai Cuisine announced plans in February to open a second Hutto location. In neighboring Pflugerville, the husband-and-wife team behind pop-up Mam Mam revealed plans this month for their first brick-and-mortar storefront. Not every meat-heavy concept in the area is riding the same wave, though — rising beef costs and overhead were cited in the announced closure of Pflugerville's Brotherton's Black Iron Barbecue after nine years, a reminder that beef-centric restaurants operate on thin margins even as demand for full-service dining grows in Central Texas suburbs.
