HandleBar

I’ve been coming here since it opened essentially. It has gone through many different incarnations but all in all it’s still a great spot. The rooftop is really the only place to be. Sweeping views out to the city, a see-​saw (!!!), huge jenga, and cornhole are just some of the fun additions. They have live music and free food on occasion too, which can’t be beat. Prices are about right, they always have some sort of special — usually a shot and beer thing, but they don’t do glass bottles and lack beers on tap. I’d say it’s definitely worth checking out!

I’ve been coming here for years. So many things I love about this bar, the patio, the drinks, the staff is amazing.
Biggest problem– The music. I don’t know what’s been going on in the last couple of years but it’s becoming booty music and hip hop non-​stop. No more rock standards like Lex Zepplin, Tom Petty, 90s, 80s, 70s, etc. Even worse, I’ve heard DJ’s mix beats into classic rock songs, which is beyond nauseating.
Play shit music, get a shit crowd. I see more and more of it.

One of our favorite bars during our weekend in Austin!
This place made us feel like kids again. Life-​size jenga and seesaws — do I need to say more? The rooftop area is super fun + lively. We came towards the tail-​end of the night, and it was still bumping. Tons of awesome drinks and spaces to chill with friends or meet new people.
Would definitely recommend checking it out!

Finally stumbled in here for the first time recently and the place is alright. It has some cool things about it, like the rooftop patio, and the cool booth halfway up the stairs. Also, the bartenders were cool dudes and they treated us well. The drinks were good as well. They make a pretty good Manhattan.
There’s also some negatives though. I didn’t expect the «Coyote Ugly» nature of the place. There were girls standing up in booths dancing to the obnoxiously loud music. Then when the bartender dude took his shirt off and jumped on the bar to pour a shot down some gal’s throat, I realized this place should be on Dirty 6^th next to the Library or something. I am not sure what I expected out of this place, but I certainly didn’t expect all that. Mostly it was just the stupidly loud music that was attempting to murder my eardrums that annoyed me.
Ahhh shit… I am getting old.

I’m a fan.
Several beers: tap and otherwise.
A rooftop bar. A cool location. Weird playground shit. Hipsters and hoodlums.
Yep. I dig it.

From the friendly energetic doorman, to the smiling bartenders, all the way to meet the manager upstairs. Great experience and will return. We love Austin TX!

I went about monthly past and keep meaning to write this: it was likely one of the most enjoyable nights ever. Besides the seesaw, jenga, killer rooftop and great variety– the bartenders were so interesting. Can not wait to go back next time I am in town!

My favourite bar in Austin. Awesome deck and a good chill vibe. Would be a regular if I could!

This place was a bar we walked into at 1am just when we thought the night was over. The beats and crowd kept me drinking and I got so drunk! I’m so old but felt so young here while they played my old 90s tune. Everyone was singing along and drinking along. I love this place as an after party bar.

I was in Austin for a bachelorette party this weekend, and a server from Chupacabra (shoutout to Christine!) told us to stop by Handlebar for a good time. We were not disappointed.
All of the staff are cute. And yes, they all have mustaches. One guy was walking around in hot pants (bright red short shorts) cleaning up empty glasses. Our future bride decided to get frisky with him, so friendly I thought he might’ve gotten offended, but he was extremely playful back. Everyone that worked there had such a friendly and open attitude.
The rooftop patio has a pretty good view of downtown, and luckily the weather wasn’t too bad. Light sprinkling but not enough to warrant indoor play only. The bartender up there was super sweet to one of the bridesmaids who wanted some juice to sober up. He even directed us downstairs to Kevin and Sampson, the bartenders downstairs, reassuring us that we’d be able to find the fun we were looking for down there.
So downstairs we went! And downstairs is where we had the most fun. Sampson really knows how to take care of girls looking for a good time. We got a round of tequila shots on the house, followed by pick up and drop offs (literally him picking us up and dropping us off in the couches against the wall). He followed suit by hopping on top of his bar across from us and dancing away. And ladies, you better be ready. Because this man knows how to dance. In my head I was like, «Damn, I wish I was dancing on that bar instead of this couch with my girls» lol. I wanted to put him in my purse and take him back to Houston with me! The gods must’ve been on our side that night because both of the guys behind the bar took their shirts off and danced away. It was fun just to watch them having fun!
Thank you for an unforgettable night, you sexy hunks of Handlebar!

One of my favorite bars in the Downtown area. Service was friendly from the doormen to the bartenders. Loved all of the décor here, who knew a mustache themed bar would be so cute? Loved the rooftop with the seesaw and the rocking horse. A huge plus is they featured really great bands during SXSW yet still kept a chill vibe without being chaotic.

A great place to grab a drink. Lots of options for craft beer and a bunch of fun mustache-​themed cocktails for those who don’t like wine or beer (that’d be me!). Staff was very welcoming and the bathroom was clean and well-​lit.
There is a 50 cent vending machine that sells stick-​on mustaches and a photobooth. I visited in the afternoon and the place was just perfect — games were on the televisions and I had a nice drink and a break from walking around the area.

Favorite bar in Austin. Love the rooftop bar/​seating, but also love the overall vibe. Drinks are super affordable and staff is extremely attentive. This is the type of place you could hangout for awhile. We found ourselves back at Handlebar several times during our stay in Austin
+1 for boozy slushy machines

HandleBar is like that cold, bathroom tile floor you know will keep you tethered to the Earth after a horrible night out. EXCEPT. Handlebar is also the rabbit hole into a horrible night out’s hangover. Honestly, I can’t decide if it’s the worst or best part of my night but I always stop here. The last time I was here a girl was actively puking in the sink when I went to use the bathroom…
There’s always a beautiful, messy amount of people here. I once took shots here with a girl who was dancing up on the booth seats making money & free drinks off leering sideline bros. I also had a great talk about Irish hiking spots once with this lovely, gigantic Thor of a black dude.
There’s also always cheap drinks. Pearl in a Bottle with a shot of well whiskey aka a Dude Bro. I’ve shamelessly had more than a few DudeBros. Shots & Mixed Drinks. I think I had a bunch of jello shots on the roof once. The prices aren’t anything to worry about, just the next day’s heartburn.
The rooftop has it’s own bar and is a great place to shuffle through other people and occasionally snag a set of giant jenga, a seat on the see-​saw or a spot along the edge. There’s also a cute little U-​booth between the stair flights and the Photo Booth downstairs also works. The décor is the 5 stars, the weekend mess of fresh puke is the 2 lol
All in All, HB is the Manliest Hipster Almost-​Dive Bar you’ll ever get.
*and to corroborate Brett’s Note, I do always have a rad time.

I’ve been here a couple of times on event less nights meaning just normal flair, no SXSW or anything like that.
1^st time was late night when it was crowded it has a great selection of craft beer music was memorable the rooftop was cool lost of standing room.
I came here again recently for Happy Hour. Beer selection is still good and you get a dollar off drinks for Happy Hour. Admittedly the place was dank, but fairly it was a rainy day. I can see how this place van have some pop if it was hosting an event. This is a bar that doesn’t serve food as well by the way which will sway me against returning here in hurry.

HandleBar is one of my go-​to downtown hangouts. Drinks are cheap, the bartenders are friendly and mustached, the rooftop patio is spacious, and there are giant Jenga sets with which to play. Plus there’s a giant painting of Burt Reynolds behind the bar.
If you have friends visiting, HandleBar is a great place to start the night.

This place is cray cray. I skimmed Unilocal before finding our way here while in town for ACL. I didn’t pay much attention other than to the Burt Reynolds mural and that the bartenders like mustaches. When we made our way to the rooftop, it was like we had stepped into a blessed back-​to-​the-​Future machine. This place was simultaneously the MC HAmmer 80’s party hangout, mixed up with the year 2025 — and you just knew that LMFAO are ready to pop out any minute with their animal print pants.
That patio mix of the obvious hipsters, some of Austin’s cool kids, middle agers, and everything in between is unlike anything I’ve seen in a long time. And hey — they have fair beer prices. I’m a fan.

The service was awesome and the drinks were perfect… I came here with four friends for the day, which one friend said «lets go to HB, I’ve never been but I heard it great place». All of us had a blast!!!
The inside is filled with Edison lights hanging from the ceiling, which takes you back in time… Great atmosphere!!!
Upstairs is a see-​saw built for grownups and full size Jenga. The views from the roof are great…

If you haven’t figured this out by now, the concept of Handlebar is mustaches. Clever. Most of the guys that work there (and it seems like it really is all guys that work there) have some sort of facial hair. There’s a fake mustache vending machine. T-​shirts and other stuff for sale with mustaches on them. Basically everywhere you look, there’s some kind of a mustache.
I’ve always liked Handlebar. They usually play good music for going out (on weekend nights it’s usually a mix of hip hop and other noise). The drinks aren’t too strong and aren’t too weak. The rooftop patio has that little game where you try to dangle the circular metal thing on the hook. Whatever. They also have a bar on the rooftop and, if I remember correctly, when it’s colder outside, I think they are able to enclose the rooftop area. It’s been hot for so long I can’t remember for sure.
Here’s my one complaint about Handlebar: the bathrooms are yuck. Well, at least the women’s is. Not certain about the men’s. It’s always at least 15 degrees hotter in there than the rest of the bar. It smells like chlorine. The paper towel dispenser never works. It’s just a hot mess. Literally.

I’m always sad for the bar tenders working on the 1^st floor bc I always head right past their expectant faces to the rooftop and that’s exactly where you should head too.
Absolute magic rooftop bar with totally cute long hair and mustchachio-​ed men mixing drinks and handing out cans of IPA. I like to get frisky and play karate jenga with strangers :) Other games available as well, just ask.
FREE food, although I’m not sure on what days, I was there on a thursday night and pizza arrived. Pretty cool :)
Ill wander back every now and then to check on this hipster place.