What Is the Point of Austin’s Fake AI Restaurant?

Ethos, the nonexistent AI-generated restaurant, has now caught the attention of the world with its Instagram chock-full of food photos, opines to seasonal ingredients, staffer bios, and even merchandise. But the fake food business isn’t new, especially in Austin, where the anonymously-run account is based. Here’s what to know about Ethos, the weird AI restaurant in Austin.

What is Ethos?

Ethos is a fake AI restaurant that claims it’s Austin’s “number one restaurant” that is the “home of unreal flavors,” per its website (yes, it has a website). There are no construction permits or Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission licenses attached to the name. There is no address. No one has ever dined there, despite commenters claiming they have. It is not on Yelp or Google. The reservations link clicks through to an interactive video of a person getting slapped by an eel. Everything on its Instagram and website — photos, captions, blog entries — are computer-generated.

When did Ethos start?

Ethos’s Instagram account started on March 22, 2023, with a post about its wines.

Why is the world talking about Ethos now?

On October 13, 2024, X user Justine Moore posted a now-viral thread digging into the AI nature of the account. She shares screenshots and an image of a Moo Deng the adorable hippo-shaped croissant. She summed up that it “seem[ed] to be a passion project.”

Two days later, Moore was rewarded with her own AI-generated image created by Ethos of herself dining at the not-real restaurant. She shared fake images of the meal she didn’t have, including oysters with seaweed foam and grilled pork chops with peach compote.

This isn’t the first time Ethos caught the attention of the world. The account initially blew up in a mega-viral way in February for its AI-generated image of a croissant baked in the shape of a dinosaur — playing off the trend of ridiculous laminated baked goods that people were then lining up for.

Who is behind Ethos?

Nobody knows. Austinites felt like it had to be someone who had or is working at a local restaurant group based on its frequent posts of New Texan cuisine often discussing a fondness for foraging and fermentation. There are also obvious Austin references, like running clubs, a parody of Austin’s Taco Mafia, and a post about Ethos’s participation in Aaron Franklin’s Hot Luck food festival.

Here’s a selection of responses reporters have gotten from the Instagram account:

• Eater Austin in March 2023: “I’ll have someone reach out to you with as much information as we can disclose at this time!” (Ed. note: no one ever reached out.)
• Austin Monthly in June 2023: “The vision for Ethos begun with a group of passionate food enthusiasts who aimed to establish a unique dining experience that celebrated the rich diversity of culinary traditions.”
• ATXToday in October 2024: a Scrooge McDuck-diving-into-a-pile-of-money gif.
• Vox senior correspondent Rebecca Jennings in October 2024: a two-page form questionnaire asking the person to draw food that interests them and a multiple-choice section about cooking.

Why is Ethos?

Nobody knows.

Running a fake restaurant at a time when AI is flattening real-world experiences and blurring the lines of what is and isn’t real. Seemingly, the account is a satire on the restaurant industry that doesn’t go deep enough. Is it poking fun at the blandness of high-end restaurants that keep opening with the same-same menus or going all out with ridiculous stunt foods? Maybe, but also too often there are regular posts with dishes and captions that read like any other real restaurant.

And sometimes, the posts veer into really icky territories. There are occasional AI-generated images of the late Anthony Bourdain (like him kissing Julia Child). There are stories about staffers getting drugged at a music festival. Maybe that’s part of its whole gimmick — putting uncomfortable situations in front of people and seeing how they react.

Sure, the beauty and horror of the Internet is that anyone can do anything they want to do. But when someone(s) are “pretending” they’re running a restaurant in a seemingly genuine way, what’s the point? If Ethos was truly a commentary on the restaurant world, then the satire would be more obvious rather than a surface-level iykyk thing. Meme accounts like Allez Céline and The Sussmans are often better at roasting their audience.

Did Ethos really win an Eater Award?

No. The account edited Eater Austin’s Instagram post announcing our winners to include themselves as the winner of the Best New Restaurant Sequel category, replacing Mexican seafood restaurant Este (sorry).

Why is it based in Austin?

There are rumors that the account is parodying an Austin restaurant group, but, outside of that, it makes sense that Ethos is based in Austin, where tech companies and Joe Rogan have been changing the city’s landscape. Everything is more expensive, including dining out, and Ethos can maybe be seen as a commentary on that.

Along those same lines, Ethos exists in a time when restaurant corporations create fake restaurants on third-party delivery apps makes everything so confusing too. Internet culture reporter Taylor Lorenz commented on the fact that AI-generated images not being labeled as such is an issue (and unethical). And it’s true. Grubstreet observed that the idea of Ethos doesn’t seem farfetched. Remember when NFT restaurants were all the rage?

And not even to mention the fact that AI is wasteful and bad for the climate.

(I’ll give the account credit for sharing an Austin event benefitting a foster care charity after it went viral.)

What does this mean for the future of restaurants?

Who fucking knows.