Fairways Cantina: Tacos and Margs, No Tee Time Required

The patio looks west down a driving range. That is the whole pitch, and on a clear September evening it is a very good one: the best seat in 78723 costs about the price of a taco, and the tacos start at $4.30.

Fairways Cantina is the kitchen inside the clubhouse at Morris Williams Golf Course on Manor Rd, and the thing worth saying before anything else is that you do not need a tee time, a set of clubs, or any interest in golf to eat there. Mo Willy, as the koozies call it, is a City of Austin municipal course, recently renovated, open since 1964 as the city's 3rd public course. Anyone can park, walk in and order at the counter. The margaritas are built on fresh lime rather than a sour mix gun, and the sunset over the range is free.

One thing you notice while you wait: every taco is named after a golfer. The Golden Bear is Jack Nicklaus, the Great White Shark is Greg Norman, the Black Knight is Gary Player, the Merry Mex is Lee Trevino. It reads like a gimmick right up until the salsa named after Trevino placed at the Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival last month. More on that below. First, the tacos.

The Three Tacos to Order First

There are 8 signature tacos and the spread is $4.95 to $6.95, which in 2026 Austin is close to the floor. Start with these 3.

The Golden Bear, $5.25. Al pastor marinated pork, onion, pineapple, cilantro, lime, trevino verde salsa. It is the cheapest of the 3 and the most complete: the pineapple is cut into the taco rather than dropped on top, so the sweetness lands in the same bite as the pork instead of after it. This is the one to measure the rest against.

The Great White Shark, $6.95. Beer battered snapper, cabbage, pico de gallo, chipotle lime mayo, picante red salsa. The most expensive taco on the board and the only fried fish, and it is built like a Baja taco should be, with the cabbage doing the structural work so the batter stays crisp under the mayo.

The Happy Gilmore, $5.95. House marinated steak, onion, cilantro, lime, trevino verde. A straight carne asada with nothing hiding in it, which makes it the honest test of the kitchen and of the verde. If you order one taco, order this one and pay attention to the salsa.

• The Golden Bear, $5.25 — Al pastor marinated pork, onion, pineapple, cilantro, lime, trevino verde salsa.
• Great White Shark, $6.95 — Beer battered snapper, cabbage, pico de gallo, chipotle lime mayo, picante red salsa.
• Happy Gilmore, $5.95 — House marinated steak, onion, cilantro, lime, trevino verde salsa.
• The Black Knight, $5.95 — Blackened shrimp, mango pico de gallo, picante red salsa.
• Merry Mex, $4.95 — Chicken tinga, avocado, refried black bean, lettuce, pickled red onion, cotija, fairways salsa.
• Green Jacket, $4.95 — Beer battered fried avocado, refried black bean, cabbage and pickled onion slaw, lime crema, jalapeno. Vegetarian, with a fully vegan version at the same price.
• Migas, $5.95 — Scrambled eggs, cheese, potato, pico de gallo, tortilla chips, fairways and picante red salsa.
• Build your own, $4.30 — Pick 2 fillings (+65¢ each after), flour or corn, and your salsa. Add rice and beans to any taco for $2.50.

Every Salsa Is Made In House, and One of Them Just Placed

Three house salsas, rated on the board by pepper count. Fairways salsa is the 1-pepper house red. Trevino verde is a 3. Picante red is a 4 and is the one that will actually get your attention.

At the 2026 Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival on August 30 and 31, the Trevino Salsa took 3rd place in Green Sauce in the restaurant division. That is a citywide field, and the 2 sauces ahead of it came from LeRoy and Lewis and Taco Baby. Third in Austin for green salsa, out of a counter inside a municipal golf course, is a genuinely strange and good result.

Third in Austin for green salsa, out of a counter inside a municipal golf course.

If you want to taste the range without committing, the Triple Birdie is $10.95 and puts 4 oz each of the fairways salsa, the guacamole and the queso in front of you. Chips and salsa on their own are $5.95, guac is $9.95, queso is $7.95.

The Margaritas, Including the One Named After the Course

The house pour is the Mo Willy Margarita at $13, on the rocks: Olmeca Altos reposado, lime juice, Grand Marnier, agave and a Montelobos mezcal component. It is the only rocks marg on the list built on reposado rather than plata, and the mezcal keeps it from going sweet. This is the signature and it deserves to be.

Under it, the Pink Panther at $12 runs Olmeca Altos plata, Grand Marnier, organic prickly pear and lime, which is where the color comes from and not from anything artificial. The Blood Orange at $12 swaps the prickly pear for blood orange juice and agave. Both are lime-forward rather than syrupy.

On the frozen side, the standard Margarita is $12 on Lunazul blanco, and the Jimenez is the same drink at $14 with a Montelobos mezcal floater poured over the top. The 19th Hole Lemonade at $12 is Wheatley vodka and house made lemonade, and the John Daly at $14 is that with a sweet tea vodka float, which is exactly the drink the name promises. Beer runs $5 to $10 a can, wine is $10, NA beer is $5.

• Mo Willy Margarita, $13 — Olmeca Altos reposado, lime juice, Grand Marnier, agave, Montelobos mezcal. On the rocks. The house signature.
• Pink Panther Margarita, $12 — Olmeca Altos plata, Grand Marnier, organic prickly pear, lime juice.
• Blood Orange Margarita, $12 — Olmeca Altos plata, Grand Marnier, blood orange juice, agave, lime juice.
• Jimenez, $14 — The frozen margarita with a Montelobos mezcal floater.
• John Daly, $14 — 19th Hole Lemonade with a sweet tea vodka float. Frozen.
• Transfusion, $11 — Ginger ale, grape juice, Wheatley vodka. $12 frozen, with lime juice.

The View Is the Other Half of It

The patio looks straight down the driving range, which faces west. In September that means the last hour before close is the hour to be there, and there is no cover charge on a sunset. It is one of the few genuinely open west-facing patios in 78723 that is not attached to a brewery.

Worth knowing before you plan around it: the kitchen opens at 7am, which makes this a real breakfast taco stop, not just an afternoon one. Breakfast tacos are $4.30, the Breakfast Bowl is $9.95, and the Migas taco is on the signature board at $5.95.

Hours change with daylight saving. It is 7am to 9pm daily through the end of October, then 7am to 7pm daily once the clocks go back. It is also closed the second Monday of every month, which is the one that catches people out. Prices here were as posted on the board in September 2026.