Barfly’s

Barfly’s is hands down the best dive bar in Austin. Stout cheap drinks. Intimate dark setting. Dirty bathrooms. Pool and smoke spots. I rate all other dive bars I come across against it, and it always comes out on top.

This is a dive bar. They pour stiff drinks for economical. Lone Star is constantly $ 1.50 and they make a mean Bloody Mary. The Juke Box is amazing also. This is about as perfect a pub as they get.

This place is a high quality dive bar… that may seem like an oxymoron to some, but I stand on it. Gritty feel, cold beer (at good prices), pool tables, a great jukebox, and above all, really friendly bartenders.
The only drawback… look out for that first step down out of the door, it’s a doozy.
Any place that patches holes in the floor with license plates is good in my book!

This bar is really dark. Its a major tripping hazard. Stairs going up to the front door, and down to the back patio can be risky. Jukebox has a few good albums. They have some games in back. A few spots at the bar where they usually play old B movies. Bathrooms are usually gross. Plenty of parking.

Cool bar tucked in the heart of Austin. Good beer specials. Cool patio with two stories. Pool tables for those that like to play and an awesome jukebox.

It’d appear that Barfly’s has hit upon the right pub formula: affordable drinks+great jukebox+covered smoking place+pool tables+pleasure, smart bunch+bartenders who recall your name and that which you drink= many great times. I do not understand what qualifies a pub for «hipster» standing, but I do understand that nobody ever looks at me sidelong for purchasing a Coors Light rather than the hipster standard-​issue Lone Star (although much of the latter is have here). I really have several good friends whom I hang out with whom I Have met at Barfly’s; it is that sort of area. A friend once remarked to me that the smoking courtyard reminded her of high school – but if this is accurate, certainly I ‘d have loved my adolescence more.

Was the first place I saw driving around from my hotel. The beer was very reasonable priced, but if youre over 30, and dont dress like a 20 yr old hipster with a straight brim hat, this probably isnt the place for you. Very divey, everyone was friendly, but it caters to a very specific crowd.

Barfly’s is a staple of my life and of Austin. You don’t go here for a cocktail; you go here for a whiskey on the rocks or a lone star over a game of pool.
Perhaps the greatest thing about it: best juke box in town. At the Drive In to Snoop Dogg to Cursive to Hank Williams — they have anything that’s respectable.
The staff is super nice, the bar often tended by one of the owners. After a few times they’ll know you.
Go here, and you’ll see why I love it.

This is one cool little spot! I hear it’s kin to Mugshots which is probably why it’s so awesome! It’s very laid back. They’ve got cheap drinks with strong pours. Bartenders are super friendly. I’ve only been a couple times but it’s a great place to kickback with friends and drinks.
Ladies watch out for those stairs!

This tucked away dive is a million miles from the downtown 6^th Street music scene. But the local hipsters come here for the cheap drinks and laid-​back vibe.
The actual bar is up a flight of stairs, down which you might fall and crack your skull upon exiting.
There is also a smoking patio on the ground floor. The upstairs bar is actually a lot cleaner than you would expect. In fact, it is downright pleasant, with a great jukebox and a pool table. Nothing much going on except for relatively cheap drinks.
If you’re in the area — I was staying at a hotel nearby — you might check this out. I found it on Unilocal

Barfly’s is like your friendly neighborhood divey bar with a patio, pool tables, and good drinks. I’m currently sipping on a whiskey sprite that tastes basically like it solely consists of whiskey and while it may be too strong for my personal taste, it’s cheap and I’m getting more than my money’s worth. Boo. Yah.

Def a dive-​bar, a really good one at that. It has everything I love about bars; it is dark, has a bada** selection of music on the jukebox, the bartenders are heavy handed on booze and pool table in the back room. The seating inside is nice and fairly private and the seating outside is great on a cool day or clear night. Did I mention it is cheap to drink here and you should have plenty of elbow room!

It looks like I’ve found my favorite neighborhood bar.
I’ve been to Barfly’s three times already and each time I’ve visited, I struck up great conversations with complete strangers who then became friends. Its a good gathering ground for non-​pretentious, cool people who just want a good drink or a cheap beer.
Unlike many newer bars nowadays, this place isn’t gussied up and gimmicky. This place is established. Its old, dark and has the basics all covered. Friendly bartenders, a really good jukebox, pool, darts, some cool old movie playing on TV and an outdoor patio. The beer is cheap and the well drinks are strong.
What more could you ask for?

This bar is the darkest of darkest bars I’ve ever been to. Goodness. I really don’t wear my glasses as much as I should but I still feel like it was unnecessarily dark.
The bartender was friendly and it seemed like there were a lot of regulars but I’m not sure that I would go there again if I had a choice. I can see the appeal though. Although, I can not imagine walking up and down those absorbent amount of steps every time. I would fall so hard!

I didn’t know, this was on the list of a dive bar Friday night outing by one of my more classy girlfriends and yeah what you want? It’s just a bunch of people that I’m not sure if they are truly alcoholics or are just lame and uninteresting.
The joint is dingy and dirty like a barfly would have it. Me? I want no part of that.

Always has been, always will be, the greatest bar in Austin.
Cheap, strong drinks.
A great jukebox.
Awesome, friendly bartenders, who will remember your name, your drink, and shake your hand if you go there often enough.
A lively clientele of non-​douches.
A Ms. PacMan Cabinet.
What more could you ask for?
Bar none (hehehehehe), my favorite place to get drunk in Austin. I’ve been coming here since I turned 21, I will keep coming here as long as it’s open. If Marcos ever decides he has to move on, I will fly down to be there to give the place a proper Irish wake.
This bar, however sadly you want to take it, has been a very deep part of my identity. Sigh, OK, there’s no way to take it but sad.
If you were a regular, you’d understand.

I’m super late to this Unilocal party, especially since I have been coming here since 2003 when I first moved to Austin! I remember when you could smoke in there! That was sooo long ago!!! After a night there, I remember my clothes would wreak so bad of cigarettes! It could stink up your whole house! There was no ventilation except for one tiny window. Luckily, they have a downstairs patio now (and have had for years) to smoke until your heart’s content. So many memories… Barfy’s is one of those bars that kinda feels like you are at a party at a friend’s house, because somehow you always end up making a bunch of friends there. One Halloween… possibly 2005 or 6, someone had a riding crop with their costume and the party got a little weird in there, y’all! I have had more than a decade of a lot of fun at Barfy’s, I’ll leave it at that!
We fondly refer to it as Barfy’s due to the strong drinks one can expect here! That… and you might barf at the end of the night or the next morning. Drinks are strong and cheap, and served by some super great bartenders. Don’t expect fancy. They might be able to make it, but it’s not that type of place, so keep it simple.
Barfy’s will always hold a special place in my heart.

The juke box alone is worth trying this place out. I LOVE barfly’s. It’s quirky. It’s oddly arranged. it’s got inside and an outside. The drinks are good. The bartenders are awesome.
It’s also a free for all, melting pot of personalities.

I had heard a lot about Barfly’s before I actually went there. I heard things like … coolest dive bar in the city, barfly’s is awesome and I always meet the coolest people here. OK … so clearly I built up some high expectations over the past couple years or more of hearing this. Needless to say I was a bit let down and it did not live up to all the hype for me.
Was barfly’s divey? … yes. Did it have the stench I had heard so much about? … yes. Were the drinks cheap and strong? … well yes.
Even with all that said … I just was not overwhelmed. I have to better dive bars that have all this … for instance 04 Lounge down south I think is a better dive bar or even Liberty on the east side.
Even though I was slightly let down, Barfly’s is still a cool place. A-​OK in my book and I might even go back at some point and give it another shot.

So. I’m not sure if the bar is actually named after the Bukowski film but it should be. It smells and feels exactly like a place I would think Bukowski would spend hours swilling cheap booze in.
Oh yeah the booze, is crazy cheap here! You can get hammered at Barfly’s for as cheap as any place in town. In fact I’m pretty sure from the heavy pouring to the low prices its easier to get wasted here than anywhere else in the whole town.
So deep down in side I want to give Barfly’s five stars. but honestly it sometimes smells weird. The smell is sort of musty and I just don’t like it. I know its a dive bar. I know that maybe the smell is socially acceptable at such and establishment but I don’t like it.
If you are in the area go to Barfly’s ignore the smell and have a great time!