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9 Best Speakeasies in Austin, Texas

February 11, 2020 by Jonas White Leave a Comment

Best Speakeasies in Austin, Texas
Garage prides itself on its whiskey collection and menu that changes seasonally (Credit: Garage)

After nine profiles on downtown speakeasies, my series is coming to a close. It’s been quite a ride, filled with cocktails that stretch the imagination (and the taste buds), secret entrances, ghost stories, and reminders of Austin’s rich history. This series has provided a glimpse into the speed at which Austin is changing, as well as the importance of not forgetting our city’s roots.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Austinot Loves, Discoveries, Drink, Food & Drink Tagged With: speakeasy

Austin’s Speakeasy Secrets (Shhh): Garage

December 20, 2019 by Jonas White Leave a Comment

Garage Austin Speakeasy

For the latest installment of my Austin speakeasy series, I visited Garage, a cocktail bar in–you guessed it–a garage. Like so many speakeasies in Austin, if you don’t know what you’re looking for, you may miss it.

Look for a parking garage on Colorado Street, directly south of Dirty Sixth. There, set back away from the street, is a set of doors where entering may stop time altogether. At least, I learned, that is the intent.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Drink, Food & Drink Tagged With: cocktails, downtown, speakeasy

Austin’s Speakeasy Secrets (Shhh): J. Stephens

November 12, 2019 by Jonas White Leave a Comment

Kansas City Shuffle Cocktail at J. Stephens
Fiery Kansas City Shuffle cocktail (Credit: J. Stephens)

Speakeasies tend to latch on to the creepy and salacious. During the course of my speakeasy series, I’ve visited horror film-themed bars, heard multiple stories of ghosts haunting the premises, and learned that brothels existed in the heart of Austin not long ago. When I found out Austin’s newest speakeasy is named after J. Stephens, who came to his end in the late 1920s via suicide, due to drinking the equivalent of Lysol, it felt rather on-brand.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Drink, Food & Drink Tagged With: bars, cocktails, downtown, sixth street, speakeasy

Austin’s Speakeasy Secrets (Shhh): Small Victory

October 21, 2019 by Jonas White 1 Comment

Small Victory Speakeasy in Austin

When it comes to deciding where you spend your time and money, labels are important. A fine dining establishment offers a different experience than you get at a food truck. Similarly, one would expect different things from a visit to a cocktail bar as opposed to a speakeasy, as opposed to a tiki bar. Labels, names, and categories are important. And yet, there are those places that defy categorization. They won’t be pigeonholed into just one.

The first time I visited Small Victory, I was under the impression this was a tiki bar that also called itself a speakeasy. When I had trouble finding the entrance, it made sense: speakeasies are hidden. By the time I made it to the bar and found a menu full of tiki drinks, I was sure: this was a tiki bar. As has been my experience on this speakeasy tour, however, not everything is as it seems.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Drink, Food & Drink Tagged With: downtown, speakeasy

Austin’s Speakeasy Secrets (Shhh): Floppy Disk Repair Co.

September 9, 2019 by Jonas White Leave a Comment

Floppy Disk Repair Co. Austin Speakeasy

Throughout the course of my Speakeasy Secrets series, I’ve been reminded over and over that the term “speakeasy” can be earned in a number of ways. Some speakeasies get the distinction because of their devotion to craft cocktails. Others offer Prohibition-era decor and an early 1900s vibe. Then there are the speakeasies that pride themselves on secrecy. Maybe they require a code or a password. Maybe they’re hidden, perhaps even behind a storefront that could only be described as outdated. Like a floppy disk repair shop.

The first time I noticed Floppy Disk Repair Co. on East Fifth and Brazos, I did a double take. New to Austin, I wondered what most people who aren’t in the know must wonder: how does a floppy disk repair shop survive in 2019? Only later did I hear rumors of a speakeasy behind the confusing storefront.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Drink, Food & Drink Tagged With: downtown, speakeasy

Austin’s Speakeasy Secrets (Shhh): Midnight Cowboy

August 12, 2019 by Jonas White Leave a Comment

Midnight Cowboy Speakeasy Interior

You can’t just walk into Midnight Cowboy on a Saturday night and expect to get the experience, or the cocktails, everyone raves about. Certain steps are necessary. This may be why it took me three years to visit what is perhaps Austin’s most well-known speakeasy. Planning ahead has never been my strong suit.

When I made my reservation, found the hidden door, rang the bell, and sat in a booth for the first time, it didn’t take long to figure out why so many people recommended Midnight Cowboy over the years. For the sixth installment of The Austinot’s Speakeasy Secrets series, I’ll teach you how you too can have this same experience, and why you should make it a priority to do so.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Drink, Entertainment, Food & Drink, Nightlife Tagged With: bars, downtown, sixth street, speakeasy

Austin’s Speakeasy Secrets (Shhh): DuMont’s Down Low

July 10, 2019 by Jonas White Leave a Comment

Cocktails at DuMont's Down Low in Austin
Cocktails at DuMont’s Down Low, located in Austin’s Warehouse District

For the fifth destination on my Austin speakeasy tour, I visited DuMont’s Down Low in the Warehouse District. Be warned: you may miss the entrance if you aren’t looking for it. But once you make your way down the dark stairs off West Fourth Street and into this basement bar, you’ll be glad you made the effort.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Drink, Food & Drink Tagged With: happy hour, speakeasy, warehouse district

Austin’s Speakeasy Secrets (Shhh): Firehouse Lounge

June 12, 2019 by Jonas White Leave a Comment

Packed bar at Firehouse Lounge in Downtown Austin
Firehouse Lounge, located inside Firehouse Hostel in downtown Austin

Next stop on Jonas’ quest to shed light on the underworld that is Austin’s speakeasy scene: Firehouse Lounge. As my Austin’s Speakeasy Secrets series continues, I’m noticing some similarities among my subjects.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Drink, Food & Drink Tagged With: downtown, speakeasy

Austin’s Speakeasy Secrets (Shhh): Milonga Room

April 17, 2019 by Jonas White Leave a Comment

Milonga Room Austin Speakeasy
Milonga Room recreates 1920s prohibition era, set in Argentina

The rapidly developing east side of Austin is filled with just about everything you want in plain sight. Well, almost everything. In the case of Milonga Room, you have a speakeasy that resides underneath Buenos Aires Cafe, which is anything but in plain sight.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Drink, Entertainment, Food & Drink, Nightlife Tagged With: eastside, speakeasy

Austin’s Speakeasy Secrets (Shhh): Here Nor There

March 22, 2019 by Jonas White 3 Comments

Downtown Austin Speakeasy Here Nor There
Here Nor There (Credit: Travis Hallmark)

I heard about a speakeasy called Here Nor There in passing. The entrance was hidden. You needed to make a reservation on an app to get in. You could become a member for an annual fee. They served some of the best drinks in Austin and I had to visit because it was “an experience.”

For my second article spotlighting Austin’s best speakeasies, I visited Here Nor There downtown, to separate fact from fiction and see what the experience entailed.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Drink, Entertainment, Food & Drink, Nightlife Tagged With: downtown, speakeasy

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Things to do

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