The Best Places for Day Drinking in Austin Right Now
What do you think of when you think of Austin? Capital of Texas? Keep Austin Weird? Cowboy boots? Live Music Capital of the World? Bats? Cocktail bars? Lots and lots of cocktails?
That is how we will remember Austin for the foreseeable future – lots and lots of eclectic drinking spots with lots and lots of cocktails. This is a great town for drinking.
If you’ve already read our Austin Speakeasy blog, then you know: our long weekend in Austin was packed with all the places you must drink when you are in the city for a fun girls’ weekend, college friends reunion, or bachelorette party. But it’s also prime for day drinking. When you are trying to avoid the humidity, there are upscale places, original and iconic drinking spots, and way more to this amazing city than just the Dirty Sixth.
Sister Side Note (ssn) – when we say Day Drinking, that is just a place to start and leads into evening. Many of these places don’t open until 5:00 pm, so be sure to check their hours.
The Tiniest Bar in Texas
This was not on the list. Never planned, a stumble of good fortune. We were about 45 min early for our dinner reservation and right up the road was a spot on Google Maps listed as The Tiniest Bar in Texas. How do you pass up something as superlative as that?
Simple and inviting, The Tiniest Bar in Texas is really just a patio attached to a shed. But it’s covered (read: shaded), has Christmas lights, and a short and sweet menu of drinks and shots. Perfect for our one and done. But they also have music and TVs, and you could conceivably spend a few hours just hanging out with friends here. We, however, had dinner plans and opted for the one and done of a couple of quick shots and some waters (stay hydrated in this town!). A disco ball with glitter and a green tea shot and we were off to dinner!
The Cloak Room
You will see this pop up on several lists of speakeasies. With its dark, downstairs basement vibe, we can understand why. But according to our rules and regulations, it is not a speakeasy. It is not hidden, there is no secret to it. It’s a well-known drinking spot for many people working in the blocks around the capital.
It is, however, dark. Like remember our Seattle speakeasy where we were warned it was dark, and it wasn’t? This one was. As in, I almost sat on a hutch thinking it was a bar stool, couldn’t see two feet in front of me until my eyes adjusted dark. It does however have a jukebox, and intimate seating, and Francis behind the bar was the real gem of this place.
Not a great place if you are in a party mood, but perfect for a pre-date cocktail or for a happy hour.
Note: no pictures, it was much too dark to photograph.
Nickel City
A fantastic dive bar, yes, please. There are many dive bars in Austin, but there is one that gets an absolute stop, yes, go, from us! Nickel City has this homey, friendly, neighborhood bar feeling. But they also have a great bar menu of classic bar fried foods. And they are not so divey that they don’t have an impressive cocktail list and whiskey selection. Their martinis were ordered by darn near everyone around us but we opted for simple bourbon and ginger and a vodka soda.
Nickel City makes many lists of The Best Bars in Austin. Both the Infatuation and the World’s 50 Best list it along with Roosevelt Room for their 2025 lists.
ssn – it was so tempting to have a martini but we had many stops and thought it best to start out easy.
The Roosevelt Room
Exquisite, the perfect word to describe The Roosevelt Room. With a long list of accolades and awards, for both the bar and the bartenders, The Roosevelt Room is sheer perfection in an upscale cocktail bar. The drinks range from creative and unique to prohibition-era classics. They have a huge menu, but also an enormous chalkboard above the bar that lists cocktails by era. This was also a learning experience for leveling up our cocktail knowledge. I was unaware that my beloved Caipirinha is actually from the turn of the century, or that the Moscow Mule is from the post-Volstead time period.
Dumont’s Down Low
If you are into historic drinking spots, and especially if you are into rumors of a haunted pub, hit up Dumont’s Down Low. We were drawn in for the ghost story, we stayed because it is super cool and sucked us in with their chill, laid back vibe. Down the stairs off of Sixth Street, into a basement. But not dark basement, more like woodsy, whiskey barrel lined, brick wall elegance without being pretentious.
And never speak badly of Blanche, the former madam of the former brothel that was originally housed in this building. She is sensitive and appreciates being acknowledged. I had the Bantha Milk – and heaven knows I can’t remember what was in it, but it was a creamy blue color and dang good. Peggy opted for the Seasonal Milk Punch, which was a honeycomb-based cocktail.
Dead Rabbit
New York’s famed Irish bar has a location down on Sixth Street, this place is solid. If you love a good Irish bar, make sure Dead Rabbit is on your list. Get yourself a perfectly poured Guinness. Or if you just need an escape from the heat, get yourself one of their Frozen Irish Coffees. Andrew made an effort to connect with everyone at the bar. He was chatty and helpful. There was a constant flow of people coming in and out, making this a great afternoon hangout spot.
In Plain Sight
Among the other downtown bars, In Plain Sight stands out, in that it definitely does not stand out if you are on the street. It is designed with funky window covers so that you can only see inside from certain angles. So basically, don’t stop and fix your hair or your panties on the corner of Brazos and Seventh. Inside, it’s a small 10-seater bar, bright, white, and cheerful.
Now we had the unfortunate luck to be seated in front of some douchey guy looking to impress people. But Nicole and Chad behind the bar made up for it. They have hand embossed ice cubes, and this machine that makes your cocktail glass nice and frosty cold. They have a seasonal list of curated cocktails that are color based – a full rainbow of cocktails. Peggy’s old fashioned was bright red (made with Big Red soda syrup). While I had a purply clarified pear and brandy beautiful drink. If you want fun, different, and happy, this is your bar!
Jupiter Supper Club
While this had made it on our original list of bars we wanted to visit, we really weren’t sure we were going to have time to fit it in and had dropped it from our itinerary. However, with a glowing recommendation from Shalay at Red Headed Stepchild, when we ended up with a block of time before our Here nor There reservation, we made the effort and the walk to JSC.
Upscale and fantastic, we are so glad we made the time! We are very in love with their tagline: Timeless Maximalist Luxury. Every room in the JSC has a different theme and feel, and each is elegant and beautiful in its own way.
We opted for seats at the second-floor blue room bar, where JT made me an excellent Saffron Espresso Martini and Peggy had her best drink of the trip in the Seagrass Salad, which came with a seaweed salt wrap to give it that salty, ocean-y feel. We also highly recommend ordering yourself beet crisps with the avocado mousse. The restaurant is entirely vegan, so try some outstanding culinary creations while you are there – it is a supper club, after all.
ssn – so far, the Seagrass Salad is in the lead spot for my Sip of the Year!
The Aquarium
I am only throwing this into our list for one reason and one reason only: Giant Snake Slide. This is right in the heart of Dirty 6th. Just another bar lining the street with big bass music blaring into the street, awesome drink specials (yay for $5 green tea shots), friendly service. But you have absolutely got to jump inside, have a shot, then head upstairs, and then slide down the giant snake and out through the mouth. You are never too old for a good slide!
ssn- most of the 6th Street bars are open in the afternoons, so pop in and check them out while it isn’t crowded and loud!
Final Thoughts on Austin
There are so many places to drink. So many amazing restaurants that have great bars, so many bars that have great food. Austin is a perfect destination for a long weekend with the girls. Don’t miss the bats at sunset, but then get your butt back to drinking, because there are so many amazing places to drink in Austin, and something for every vibe and mood. We will go back, we will add to this list, I have no doubt. Let us know if we missed your favorites, or where we need to hit on the next trip.
Others in the Day Drinking Series
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