The 35 Best Places to Drink in Austin
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The best places to drink in Austin, according to the experts: The 50, Eater, and Spirited Awards have all weighed in, and their honors are what rank this list. Nickel City comes out on top.
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Equipment Room and Techo Mezcaleria & Agave Bar hold the next two places. Eater shows up on more of this list than any other guide, with Spirited Awards next.
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Rank 1. Nickel City
Cocktail Bar
Nickel City is an East Austin neighborhood bar that has been pouring drinks on this corner since the 1930s and sees no reason to get fancy about it. The focus is cold beer, boilermakers, and draft Pimm's, with the occasional Aperol Spritz for anyone feeling continental. A food truck out back sells Detroit-style Coney dogs and wings, which is how a quick drink turns into a full afternoon.
The awards
- The 50 The 50: #96 · North America's 50 Best Bars
- Eater Eater: The Best Cocktail Bars in Austin
- Spirited Awards Spirited Awards: 2024 · Top 10 Nominee · Best U.S. Bar Team
- The 50 #96 · North America's 50 Best Bars
- Eater The Best Cocktail Bars in Austin
- Spirited Awards 2024 · Top 10 Nominee · Best U.S. Bar Team
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The awards
- Bon Appétit America's Best New Bars
- Spirited Awards 2024 · Regional Honoree · Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. Central
- Spirited Awards 2025 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Hotel Bar – U.S. Central
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Rank 2. Techo Mezcaleria & Agave Bar
Mexican Speakeasy
The awards
- Wildsam Wildsam: The 50 Most Essential Bars in America
- James Beard Awards James Beard Awards: 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Bar
- Eater Eater: Best Speakeasies in Austin
- Wildsam The 50 Most Essential Bars in America
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Bar
- Eater Best Speakeasies in Austin
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The building's previous life as a massage parlor is part of the lore here, and Midnight Cowboy leans into it: press the Harry Craddock buzzer at the unmarked Sixth Street door, then slip into a dark booth for cocktails built around a mystery and spirituality theme. It's a reservation-first speakeasy, intimate by design, with a menu deep enough to require genuine deliberation. Food & Wine named it one of the top bars in the US.
The awards
- Food & Wine Food & Wine: The 10 Top Bars in the US
- Eater Eater: Best Speakeasies in Austin
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Rank 5. The Roosevelt Room
Cocktail Bar
The awards
- The Pinnacle Guide The Pinnacle Guide: 1 Pin
- Eater Eater: The Best Cocktail Bars in Austin
- The 50 The 50: The 50 Discovery
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Rank 6. Small Victory
Cocktail Bar
The awards
- Esquire Esquire: Small Victory Martini · The Best Martinis in America
- Eater Eater: The Best Cocktail Bars in Austin
- Eater Eater: Best Speakeasies in Austin
- Esquire Small Victory Martini · The Best Martinis in America
- Eater The Best Cocktail Bars in Austin
- Eater Best Speakeasies in Austin
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Rank 7. Daydreamer
Cocktail Bar
The awards
- Eater Eater: Best New Cocktail Bar
- Spirited Awards Spirited Awards: 2025 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Bar Team – U.S. Central
- Spirited Awards Spirited Awards: 2026 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Bar Team – U.S. Central
- Eater Best New Cocktail Bar
- Spirited Awards 2025 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Bar Team – U.S. Central
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Bar Team – U.S. Central
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Rank 7. papercut
Cocktail Bar
The cocktail menu changes every time the gallery does, which tells you most of what you need to know about Papercut. It's a minimalist East Austin cocktail bar where the drinks are keyed to whatever paintings are currently on the walls, so ordering becomes a little like picking a favorite piece. A back bar called Konbini serves Mexican-Japanese sushi when you need something to eat. The team came up from San Francisco, and the room feels it.
The awards
- The Pinnacle Guide The Pinnacle Guide: 2 Pins
- The Austin Chronicle The Austin Chronicle: 2026 · Best Bar That Treats Cocktails Like Art · Best of Austin
- Eater Eater: Best New Bar · The 2025 Eater Austin Award Winners
- The Pinnacle Guide 2 Pins
- The Austin Chronicle 2026 · Best Bar That Treats Cocktails Like Art · Best of Austin
- Eater Best New Bar · The 2025 Eater Austin Award Winners
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The awards
- Eater Eater: The Best Cocktail Bars in Austin
- Spirited Awards Spirited Awards: 2024 · Top 10 Nominee · U.S. Bartender of the Year · Caer Maiko Ferguson
- Spirited Awards Spirited Awards: 2024 · Regional Honoree · Best U.S. Bar Team – U.S. Central
- Eater The Best Cocktail Bars in Austin
- Spirited Awards 2024 · Top 10 Nominee · U.S. Bartender of the Year · Caer Maiko Ferguson
- Spirited Awards 2024 · Regional Honoree · Best U.S. Bar Team – U.S. Central
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Rank 9. Holiday
Mexican Cocktail Bar
The awards
- Punch Frozen Mexican Martini · Our Favorite Cocktails
- Eater The Best Cocktail Bars in Austin
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Restaurant Bar – U.S. Central
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Rank 9. Le Calamar
French
Concrete floors and dark leather in a South Austin building that could pass for a tech lobby, except the menu is French and the martinis have made a small national name for themselves. Le Calamar is a neighborhood bistro where the food leans sharing plates, the wine list sneaks in some Texas pours, and the baked Alaska arrives with honey pecan dacquoise and torched meringue like it has something to prove.
The awards
- Esquire Esquire: Cornstar Martini · The Best Martinis in America
- The Austin Chronicle The Austin Chronicle: 2026 · Best Prix Fixe Dining Deal · Best of Austin
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
- Esquire Cornstar Martini · The Best Martinis in America
- The Austin Chronicle 2026 · Best Prix Fixe Dining Deal · Best of Austin
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 12. Here Nor There
Cocktail Bar
You find it in a basement beneath an alleyway off 6th Street, which is all part of the point. Here Nor There is a speakeasy cocktail bar where the menu rotates around a high concept, past themes like color theory and global exploration, with drinks that take real kitchen-level prep to pull off. Exposed brick, dim lighting, and enough tucked-away corners to make the chaos of Dirty Sixth feel very far away.
The awards
- Eater Eater: The Best Cocktail Bars in Austin
- Eater Eater: Best Speakeasies in Austin
- The 50 The 50: The 50 Discovery
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Rank 12. Uptown Sports Club
New Orleans-style Cajun & Creole
The awards
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- Eater The Best Cocktail Bars in Austin
- Spirited Awards 2023 · Regional Honoree · Best U.S. Bar Team – U.S. Central
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Rank 19. Murray's Tavern
Cocktail Bar
The awards
- Spirited Awards 2024 · Top 10 Nominee · Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar
- Spirited Awards 2025 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Restaurant Bar – U.S. Central
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Rank 20. Otoko
Sushi
The awards
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Rank 21. The Tigress Pub
Cocktail Bar
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Rank 21. Watertrade
Japanese Cocktail Bar
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A daisy painted on the facade of what looks like a converted lobby is all the sign you get, so consider this your heads-up. Daisy Lounge is a speakeasy tucked into a Circle C Ranch strip mall, far from the usual Downtown clusters, with built-in bookshelves, armchairs, and a multi-floor floral interior that reads more cozy library than hidden bar. The cocktail menu runs classics alongside house originals. Book ahead.
The awards
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Rank 25. DuMont's Down Low
Speakeasy
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Rank 25. Firehouse Lounge
Speakeasy
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Rank 25. Kinfolk Lounge & Library
Speakeasy
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Rank 25. Milonga Room
Argentine Speakeasy
The awards
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Rank 25. Powder Room
Speakeasy
They take your phone at the door, lock it away, and mean it. Hidden behind a casual sandwich cafe downtown, Powder Room is an art deco speakeasy where table service and reservations are both required, which sets the tone. Cocktails run from light and herbal to firmly stirred, and the menu is organized by mood rather than spirit. A good place to be present, as they say, whether you planned that or not.
The awards
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Rank 25. Red Headed Stepchild
Speakeasy
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Rank 25. Trona
Speakeasy
The entrance is a gated alley door with a buzzer, which already tells you something about the evening ahead. Trona is a speakeasy cocktail bar in Central East Austin that draws equally from Mexico and Japan, so mezcal and tequila share the back bar with Japanese whisky. The space runs narrow with a small patio, and reservations are the move. Bringing a date here feels a little smug, which is kind of the point.
The awards