Badlands – Austin

Went last night for free week. Saw some solid rock bands and the staff was cool.

What a funky little dive bar! The food is amazing — the cook makes his own vegan hot dogs from scratch, and they are magnificent. I went to bed wishing I had had one more! We’ll definitely be back.
What it really needs to get the fifth star is some more comfortable seats. The wooden benches are painful.

I cant say enough good things about this place. From amazing bands to amazing food and drinks this is the spot to be in east austin. Friendly laid back vibe, great staff and free pool. You can come here any time and have fun. Very lgbtq friendly and even have a monthly fetish night the first saturday of the month. With lots of ideas in the minds of the owners i guarantee this will be your favorite east Austin bar soon if not already.

Came in for a hotdog and now there’s a guy on stage swallowing swords and a clown playing some pretty good bluegrass. There was also a free pool table. I could not have made this up.

Great atmosphere and service. The menu is a little busy but everything was delicious. Good times!

Full disclosure: this review is for the Badlands kitchen. Damn, I have new favorite spot in the neighborhood! They serve more hot dogs than you can imagine. They’re very customizable, very unique and cleverly named. Stellar service and recommendations from Sean/​Shawn! The vegetarian dogs are made in house. You’re going to be glad for the dim bar lighting when you dig into your dog because you’ll get house-​made sauces all over your face (bloody mary ketchup, golden bbq sauce).
I’ll be back.

I came for the FuckEmos. I stayed because I somehow escaped the bouncer (not on purpose) and therefore didn’t get anything to allow me reentry if I stepped outside.
You know it’ll be crowded if the FuckEmos play. I was prepared and got here early. By 11pm, the place was a sardine tin.
First, this place IS a sardine tin, even when it’s empty. Secondly, the even tinier bar is more popular that the FuckEmos are.
Crazy, right?
Well, maybe not…
There was one bartender when I got here, before it got crowded. A second bartender came on with the crowd, but he stepped away from the bar after having served me my second drink.
Lucky me! Sucks to be everyone else.
So this poor, sweet bartender was left on her own to tend to, easily, twenty or thirty people. It was like the French Quarter during Mardi Gras.
And that’s why I can’t award the fifth star. Seems like poor planning on management’s part. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that a Friday night will be busy, let alone a Friday night that features one of Austin’s most popular, longstanding bands.
The second bartender finally came back to help. He obviously had other things to do earlier, but I see room for a third bartender back there. So why wasn’t there a third bartender?
Aside from all that, the place has a pretty good vibe. Parking can be tricky. There’s a parking lot out back as small as the venue itself, and you have to get here early in order to find a spot.
Otherwise, parking is usually plentiful on Poquito St, and I hear you can pay three bucks to park at the convenience store across 12^th.
Seats are precious commodities here. They get snapped up right quick. I found a backwards-​facing built-​in seat to see the first band, and then I ended up sitting at the bar because no one else thought to use those two seats. And because my ears were hurting.
All in all, a good night. The bartenders were great, when they were available, the bands were choice (especially the headliner, duh), and sardine tins can be fun occasionally.
But only occasionally. Heh.

I like the tuesday open mic comedy! Two things: ladies room toilet. Really hard for short people. Two: cut the citrus in better squeeze able ways, yay badlands. Also I’m drunk at badlands, so success?!

LGBTIA friendly bar in central Austin which also caters to local community events.
And if that wasn’t enough for you, the incredibly friendly bar staff caters its beer and liquor selection towards state and city local selections and also makes the most affordable and one of the most delicious hot dogs in Austin right in their own kitchen, while offering a slew of vegan and carnivore options.
I seriously can’t think of a single complaint I have about this place, other than wanting it to be closer to my home so I could go here every night.

New bar and venue on the East Side on the corner of Chicon and 12^th. Great Texas beer selection (prices are great too) and they serve speciality hot dogs as well. My husband and I ordered two hot dogs and they were pretty damn good. Very welcoming and friendly staff, prompt service. My only suggestion would be additional lighting because it’s just a little tooo dark inside, but other than that it’s a great little place and I would definitely recommend.

Imagine a killer hot dog food truck collided with a local bar and you’ve got the Badlands. Nestled in a developing corridor, you’ve got super-​friendly staff, a nice dark feel, and great live acts. Start coming in to hang out now before this becomes the place to be in East Austin.

It’s a pleasure and a honor to write the first review for Badlands. Talk about being an Austin bar, this place only serves Texas Beers and liquors (they do make an exception I think for Fireball and Jameson, you can’t survive as a bar without those items). Shane the owner is a very nice guy with a great vision for the neighborhood. He also owns the Romani Gallery as well as the tattoo shop next door. I have recommended this place to all my friends and lovers of food alike because the food here is incredible. Get this all the food is locally sourced and many of the condiments are made in house. They get their bread from New Deli bakery and it is absolutely delicious. Currently they are just serving Brats, but Sean the chef is expanding to a brunch and lunch menu in the future. Brats are dirt cheap, I believe I may have payed 6 bucks for mine so this a super affordable place to go for anyone on a budget. I highly recommend checking out this place because it is going to be very nice. Most people don’t know about it yet, so it’s never super busy, but if you want a little relaxed time with a couple of friends to catch up, this is a great venue to stop by.