Key Bar

Been here several times. Always super chill and the bartenders are always nice. I will continue dropping by.

A nice looking setting, but overall it wasn’t my scene.
They have beautiful chairs surrounding a fire pit. Flat screen televisions. A sleek looking bar. All great stuff.
The crowd though was rather boring. Compared to some of the other bars in the vicinity this one was middle of the road. It’s not the god awful crowd that’s in some of them, but it’s not as fun as some other either.
Might be a night by night basis.

My husband and I love this bar! We are going there off and on ever since we moved to Austin in 2009. Great shaker style cocktails with popsicles for great price! Cheers! Thumbs up!

Good ‘olé Key. Home base for a lot of folks who shifted from across the way after Opal’s shut down, including myself. Beer taps are accessible and local focused, margaritas are strong and flavorful and the shakers are very popular (they come in a neat, resealable container). All of the staff run the place like a family, with Gene taking the helm. In this rich club section of 6^th, it’s one of the few relaxed places around (downstairs bar at the Ranch also holds this attribute). Open air, firepit, screens with the game. The layout forces you to converse, which is probably why so many friends have been made here over the years. Thanks guys, SHOTNADO!

Good drinks, good prices, good music. They have really long happy hours, including on weekends. Bar tenders are really nice. They also have indoor and outdoor seating, with a firepit.

Good drinks, pretty sweet view from the deck. If you don’t mind cigarette smoke, it’s actually awesome. This is what I expected from Austin.

The best guys on the planet work here!!! I have a blast every time I come. They are so welcoming and incredibly nice. I cannot stop recommending this place to my friends enough. It is an oasis in the midst of mediocre bars!!!

Friendly, chill vibe at this place. Went here for trivia with my girlfriend on a Tuesday and had a great time. The crowd was a lot of fun and the bartender, Jen, was super nice. They have a decent beer selection and happy hour goes all day on Mondays and Tuesdays and longer than most places on other days, so it’s not as overpriced as a lot of West 6^th bars and it’s decidedly less douchey. We will definitely be back!

LADIES!!! BE WARNED!!! Cute guys with puppies come here. Its hard not to fall for such a cuddly trap, but is just that, a trap. The dudes have finally figured out our weakness! We cannot let them win!!! We must band together ladies! This place is our fucking kryptonite, warm fire, good drinks, somewhere to sit in the sun, and fucking puppies everwhere. I started talking all stupid, Seriously, I felt like Tug Speedman in Tropic Thunder, and we all know what he did.

This is probably my favorite bar in Austin. They pour excellent drinks, they love the Cowboys, and it is so nice to get away from the crowds on West.
Austin is lacking in good sports bars, but this place is perfect. The bartenders are great and they let you bring your pups in!
Seriously. Best bar in Austin.

Key Bar is right around the corner from me and is starting to feel like an extension of home. It’s a chill place where you can get toasty by a fire pit and strike up conversations with cool strangers. It’s far enough away from dirty 6^th to keep the annoyingly drunk people away and it’s casual enough to keep west 6^th d-​bags out. The bartenders are nice. Good selection of beer and other drinks. The only thing that would make Key Bar better is if they sold marshmallows for roasting over the fire.

Any place that serves pitchers, I’m a fan of. I dig the place. Even though in the winter it does get chilly, I do enjoy bars that have a larger outdoor area to get away from the hectic dance floor and just away from some of the crowds (I have yet been here on a night when it was packed).
I do have friends who smoke so this is one of the most convenient bars to go to that everyone can be in the same room without having a smoke leave. That is always a plus. And you don’t always have to worry about not getting a huff of some air.

This place is still going strong through all its years on W 6^th street! The drink prices are very reasonable, only about $ 2-​$ 8 during happy hour which runs all day Sunday through Tuesday and from 4−7p or 9p the rest of the week. The atmosphere is pretty good too. I like that you have a few options for seating-​outside to the left, uncovered and living room like, inside areas covered with both high and low areas, and a smaller room straight back. At times they will have a stage with a band or two performing. Pretty popular place for both the after work mid-​30s crowd and the Saturday night late 20s.

Key bar is a cool bar.
When the weather is chill nothing like drinks among fast friends on the patio gathered around the fire.
Don’t plan on going, just end up there. It’s more fun that way.
It’s all so kumbaya but so much cooler. Gather around now.

I don’t understand why anyone who lives in Austin would ever go to this bar. Its pretty much the worst possible scenario for hanging out and having a good time.
It seems like its a huge patio type screen porch thing. Its very smokey for a patio which I can deal with but non-​smokers look out this is definitely not some place you want to be.
I couldn’t really find any signage or anything to indicate that key bar was actually key bar. I finally found my way in by seeing the doors guys t-​shirt which may be the only sign that this place even exists.
I could bash these guys for a while longer but lets be honest, drinks came slow and weren’t particularly cheap. I was surround by people who dressed like they just got done with some sort of Frat /​Sorority meeting.
Maybe its just this side of the street but all of the bars in the neighborhood seem to have this same vibe. If your in college and looking to get drunk off shots and hook up with a fellow college student this might be the place for you.

So I had pretty low expectations as I usually do not venture out on this side of town. I think due to my low expectations I was pleasantly surprised. My cousin was in town for the holiday weekend and he and his friends were hanging out at Key Bar when I got off work so I met up with them. I am pretty sure this place used to be a steak place.
Anyway I had 2 Austin Beet Works Fire Eagles and a Strongbow. They were both tasty and cold. Hard to mess that up. The bar was crowded as it was opening weekend for UT football and I was expecting to have bad service and have to wait for ever just to order my drink. I don’t think I really waited over a couple of minutes, which is acceptable in this atmosphere.
The music could have been better — was not really my thing, but again not terrible. I did like the patio and hung out on it the whole time I was there. I was a little shocked by my tab, but I think that is because my fiancé was doing some secret shots and I am not sure what all was on there. All in all this bar was OK by me. I think because I was expecting worse. I will however stick to the other side of town if I get to pick the place.

This is one of not many placing in west Austin where the service is continuously great and the drinks are made well. If your looking for a day drinking spot I recommend Key Bar. Great patio and they usually have the misting sprayers on during spring/​summer. During our Texas «winters» they usually have the fire pit going.

I don’t live in Austin but very frequently visit and the bartenders at Key Bar know me by name. During SXSW they apparently had a «local» price and a «SXSW» price, and they made sure to charge me the lower rate — got to give them credit for that.
Free wifi, great drinks, outdoor seating.

On my visit to Austin last month, we noticed this bar across the street as we were having dinner at 219. Nice open patio, active and lively but not rowdy. Ended up stopping here for a drink before we headed in for the night. This place has a great firepit on the patio to just sit with a coctail and relax. Cant say much else as we were there for maybe half an hour. Someone else got our drinks so can’t speak of the service. only the atmosphere… chillax

I was here on a Saturday afternoon and it was packed. Ypu have to go to the bar to order a drink becauae they dont come to the patio tables.
There were some pub crawls and other group parties going on. The have a decent menu of specialty drinks. I had the laid back because it was hot and the cold popsicle in the drink was too tempting to pass up! I really enjoyed the drink and they serve it with a whole shaker!
The drink was on the expensive side but you are also paying for the location. I gave this 3 stars because I didnt really care for the overall ambiance and it just felt like a cookie cutter place that is selling itself on havibg an expansive patio.