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Austin Bar Guide

176 bars across 10 neighbourhoods, organised by occasion.

Sports Bars Date Night After Work Rooftop Bars Cocktail Bars Live Music Craft Beer Hidden Gems

Top Picks This Week

Whisler's bar interior Editor's Choice
Cocktail Bar East Austin $$ ⭐ 4.8

Whisler's

Mezcaleria downstairs, rooftop bar upstairs, proper cocktails throughout. The mezcal selection is one of the best in Texas. Go midweek when the East 6th crowd is manageable and the bartenders have time to talk you through the selection.

Hole in the Wall bar Local Icon
Live Music West Campus $ ⭐ 4.7

Hole in the Wall

The quintessential Austin dive bar. Live music 7 nights a week, cheap long necks, neon signs you have to squint to read. Stevie Ray Vaughan played here. Every Austin bar crawl should end here.

Half Step cocktail bar Craft Cocktails
Cocktail Bar East Austin $$ ⭐ 4.7

Half Step

Among the finest cocktail bars in Texas. Ice program, seasonal menu, serious bartenders who don't take themselves too seriously. The covered patio is ideal for Austin's long spring and fall evenings.

Browse by Occasion

Sports Bars

16 venues

Date Night

24 venues

After Work

28 venues

Rooftop Bars

14 venues

Cocktail Bars

38 venues

Live Music

41 venues

Craft Beer

22 venues

Hidden Gems

19 venues

Austin by Neighbourhood

East Austin (East 6th and East Cesar Chavez)

The bar corridor that defines modern Austin drinking. The stretch from East 6th to Cesar Chavez holds the best independent cocktail bars, mezcalerias, and craft beer spots in the city. It arrived quickly and the quality has stayed high. Get here before 9pm on weekends if you want to eat before you drink.

Sixth Street (Historic and Dirty Sixth)

The original bar strip runs from Congress to IH-35. Weekend nights are loud, young, and packed. But the blocks between Congress and Brazos — known as the Rainey Street alternative for more grown-up tastes — hold some genuinely excellent spots if you know where to look. Sixth Street is also Austin's live music heartland: venues like Antone's and The Parish sit within a block of the honky-tonks, making it one of the few bar corridors in America where you can move from a Longhorns watch party at a sports bar to a jazz set at a live music venue without hailing a ride.

Rainey Street

Bungalow bars in converted houses, a distinctly Austin setting that other cities can't replicate. The crowd is mostly 25-35, the drinks are reasonable, and the outdoor areas are the appeal. Gets busy quickly on Fridays.

South Congress (SoCo) and South Lamar

The south side of the river has a more relaxed pace. Neighbourhood bars, live music venues without the tourist traffic, and the kind of spots where regulars have their order memorized by the staff.

Downtown and West 6th

The business district bars are busiest from 5 to 9pm with the tech and government worker crowd. After-work scene is strong here; late-night is more variable. The rooftop bars along West 6th have some of the best views of the Capitol building.

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