Roial

Good riddance.
Va te faire encule, and you know who you are if you understood that.
I’ve been going here for too long thanks to good friends that engaged themselves with questionable people. I never was welcome here because of my relations with the guys that ran this establishment. One guy in particular, from back home two generations ago, would make it a point to avoid me. Perhaps it was because he was trying to spare me all of their bullshit. But if my birthday bash was here this last August 2011, and my friend paid for bottle service, multiple booths and service for cake and sparkling champagne… well then, OWN UP.
We’d come to dance. To their credit, if the person ordering drinks knew them, they’d be strong and worth the cost. If the person was me, who knew them from a long, long time ago — they wouldn’t bother helping out or even coming over to say hi.
Good riddance, then. I’m sad that I was the Duchess when it happened but sometimes, you forgive the bad for the lots of good you get from the company you were with! It goes with the territory.

I went in, last night to this, magnificent and gorgeous, rooftop club, during SXSW. I bought one beer and one well drink that came out to $ 8 then gave a $ 4 tip. The total charge to card, from Roial, $ 25! Watch out for these scammers! I will report back, after I confront these thieves, as to the results of and trying to get my difference back. Luckily, I keep receipts.

I signed up for Unilocal just to write this review. Apparently, the bouncers there deny random people entry into the place all the time and it happened to my brother last night. They wouldn’t explain why other than the fact that they didn’t like his look. There wasn’t anything crazy or flashy about what he was wearing. In my 13 years of living here, I’ve never seen this happen at any bar in Austin. It wasn’t busy there at all! Please stay away from this place if you want to enjoy Austin. Head to West 6^th St or other bars in the Warehouse district. Lucky Lounge, Hangar Lounge, Six, Fado, 219 West, Kung Fu, Ranch, J Blacks, Rattle Inn, Molotov, just anywhere but HERE!

They were pretty. That’s it.
They possibly spent millions on this bar and forgot to add an elevator to their rooftop deck.
I think that’s illegal.

Beautiful and classy!
This bar has two floors. When we got there, downstairs was empty and the DJ wasn’t playing good music so we went to the upstairs bar which is outside. It was really cold that night and I stupidly decided to only wear a dress. The crowd was great though and the music was better so I sucked it up and stayed upstairs. I had a great time. My friend got me a cosmo and it was the strongest I’ve ever had. It tasted like pure vodka. GROSS but she got her moneys worth so we can’t complain that much. We tried going back the following night but the line was pretty crazy. This is the place to be!

Beautiful décor. Sadly empty on the main floor except for maybe the 10 regulars who were keeping the bartenders entertained.
The patio has a nice view and the crowd… is eclectic. One thing, when you’re about to get it on later in the night, most people don’t need a preview. Lots of heavy petting going on that I could have done without. Kind of hard to miss when all we wanted to do was lean on the railing and the couple next to us was all hands.
Maybe I’m old now b/​c I don’t give a shit about what I’m wearing when I go out. I’m not a slob, but I def didn’t look like any of the girls in that club. They must think they are in Houston. They’d fit right in.
Ordered a vodka tonic, bartender asked me if Stoli was ok. That was an $ 11 drink. *shakes head* I should have known better.

Great atmosphere and music, but drink somewhere else before you come here. Depending on who is working the bar varies on drink prices. We were charged $ 6 for ONE botteled beer. Will not be coming back here (to drink) again.

Roial is my kind of bar.
It’s my kind of bar because I occasionally like to dress like a high class call girl and dirty dance in public. That is accepted and encouraged here. I don’t know if there is a dress code. Everyone BUT my doctor friend was dressed nice. He unfortunately had taken my «tropical attire» suggestion seriously and was dressed in a loud Hawaiian shirt, shorts, white socks and tennis shoes (bless his heart). I think he only got in cause we knew some folks that were having a party there and happened to walk in with the birthday girl and she told the doorman «they are ALL with me». He waved us thru.
It’s my kind of bar because of the spacious, beaoootiful rooftop patio with all the loungy couches and the breeze that blows through to cool off hot bodies. If, however, you wear your long sleeved Ed Hardy shirt in July, you will still sweat like a soul food cook.
It’s my kind of bar because… oh, wait. Those are the only reasons.
Shame. I could reeeeallly love this place. It’s swanky. It’s spacious. It’s visually a vast improvement over Apple Bar. But come on, we bought two beers (Shiner and Dos xx) for $ 10?
I realize this is more of a «Bottle Club» and booze is high. I could almost forgive that, IF your DJ played some decent danceable music. There were at least 100 people on the patio Friday nite, just itching to dance. You could tell cause they’d shimmie a little, shuffle a little when the DJ would start a decent song, bob their head, grin, but then he’d mash it up with a lame beat. Michael Jackson? Finally! Yes! start wiggling your ass and then… he’d slow it to some unrecognizable beat. FRUSTRATING as dry humping. That patio was made for dancing and virtually nobody was. My doctor friend and I were in the dance zone (you know, you’ve had so much to drink that you can’t conceive of anything you’d want to do more than dance), so we left to find a dancefloor and better music (which admittedly is tough in Austin… sigh, I miss Polly Esthers!).
This place has potential. I think there is (maybe unfortunately for some) a market for a high end, pretentious, Dallas-​esque, see-​and-​be-​seen club in Austin. BUT you won’t be seeing me here again unless they change to music or maybe if they have a happy hour with discount drinks. HEY! A high class call girl has to horde her dolla dolla bills, ya’ll to become Madame.

Still the worst. Move to Dallas if you like this place.
Several people have sent letters to the District Attorney already.
Roial’s days are numbered.

Currently this is the place to be seen in Austin so yes, the pretentious factor is off the charts. I haven’t ever had any trouble getting in but the secret is fairly obvious — BRING GIRLS with you. Yup, its one of those type of places!
Everyone flocks here for the rooftop patio with the scenic downtown view. Don’t hate but I like upscale places because it reminds me of growing up going to NYC clubs/​lounges. The diehard Austinites will disagree and say no venue should discriminate. Come on, the W is falling apart so where are the «I’m better than you» types supposed to hang out now???
Ok guys, give it a few more months. By the time the weather starts getting cooler, this place will be singing a different tune and they’ll start letting everyone in… even the hipsters!

Austin’s new hot spot!!!

I have only been here once.
Pro: Downstairs was kind of dead but it looked nice, everyone was on the roof. Roof has a good view and was big.
Con: I was meeting a friend here, almost did not get in because this place is picky for no god damn reason. I saw people getting in with saddles but I can’t get in because I have a print on my shirt. You are going to make me get out of line button down my shirt before you let me in fine.

Apparently this is the new hot spot for downtown. I am a bit biased because this building used to be my favorite bar in all of downtown, back when it was Apple Bar.
Now? It looks like they are trying to revamp this area, where people once flocked to Gruv, Apple Bar, Vicci, Pangea, Cuba Libre… all these bars are long gone. I feel like I’m revealing my going-​out-​age here. In a city where a bar’s lifespan is always up in the air due to the clientele falling in love with another bar or area of town you’ve got to get in while its still hot.
The ladies and I were on a mission to make it here, running in high heels downtown is not easy. We were running behind and the current buzz was rapidly wearing off after our incredible hike from 2^nd street and a $ 14 charge to be responsible, plan ahead and leave the car downtown for the night.
As we approached the bar, the line was evident and I was all but ready to break up with the bar before even entering. The ladies assured me we wouldn’t have to wait and we would get in right away as they always do apparently. I think we waited in line for a whole 5 seconds, when we were ushered in by the doorman. I must say, I felt bad skipping the line and the other men and women outside waiting seemed pretty pissed off. Be taller? Dress nicer? I don’t know.
Once inside, the décor was fabulous in every way. It had the black & white checkered look that resembles The Madison quite closely. The inside was almost barren, few seats against the walls, no one sitting and the DJ doing his thang. This is a club for dancing! I was all for it, except no one was dancing. The bar is long and the bartenders were quick to receive our order. Unfortunately this is when I have to deduct a star. The shots lacked any alcohol whatsoever. My go to drink of vodka, water & lime tasted like all water. We decided to go upstairs. Strange that once you walk up the stairs you are immediately outside, no option here. Previously it had an inside upstairs and an outside. Now its all just a HUGE patio. It was hot and very crowded outside. If there were fans anywhere they were not aplenty. We took a second shot at the bar upstairs to get some drinks. More shots with no alcohol, poorly made & a dirty martini that if there was any alcohol in it… well it refused to come out and play. I was very bummed that the drinks were horrible & bartenders completely skimped or forgot to add any alcohol.
Its a cool spot though, and of course the view here is fantastic, anyone who’s been here or when it was Apple Bar knows this. If I come back, I’m not paying for crappy drinks & will get behind the bar if I have to make a proper drink. I can’t really see this place lasting until they get some better bartenders.

Ha! I can not write a review about the inside, I can about the entrance. It sucks, due to a bad mohawk mexican ego hulk who did not let me in due to cargo pants (black). Ok fine, then do not let others in with shorts and flip flops. I stood there for an hour and noticed a trend. barring a few very sloppy, stained T shirt white foiks were not let in, the rejections were stricter for darker skinned people or for long haired guys like me and Bijoy.
This incident was the end of my 10 yr paradise spell in Austin. I did not know a door man could feel like a super hero or some hollywood hero, this man did! Dude, you are a DOOR MAN! The best thing that can happen to you is that you realize you are brown!
Some one read this to him, probably he never went to school!

This place is dead to me! I’m really big on first impressions and the fact that the door man was a complete jerk to our entire group, plus that they have a useless «dress code» pretty much means that I want this place to fail.
So, that being said, let me get one compliment out first. The rooftop is nice. I so wanted to like it there.
BUT, the initial door man insulted our entire group of folks dressed in dressy jeans and nice button down shirts and fancy shoes. Apparently no jeans allowed. When we called them on it, they said… oh wait, you guys can go in afterall. The same horrible doorman checked our IDs and then when he got to me, said in a mean tone, «Hey! I never checked your ID!» I responded with a «yeah, you did!» And once again he insulted our entire group. At that point I wasn’t going to spend a single cent in that bar.
It’s a shame that they decided to place this horrible person at their front door in order to create an «image» of some kind. Unfortunately, the only image they are creating is one where people aren’t welcome and it will actually turn people away.
Dead to me!

With a view of the Frost Bank Tower (owl) lit up at night overlooking your woodsy rooftop with not so comfortable benches sans the red and brown pillows, you’re transplanted from the probable mess that lies below you. Fresh air blowing through your hair and ahh relaxing even with the pumping music behind you and the alcohol everywhere. The sky was spitting on me when I was sitting and I didn’t even care.
This is a place to be seen. The ladies here are tiny and wear almost nothing, but its ok because they don’t have bottoms to hang out of their painted on clothes. Some of them may not even be ladies who knows. The men are a variety of nice young professionals, visitors, and well the occasional rare dbag gets in and of course finds me.
The people I were with ordered bottle service which was served with a smile by a pretty little blonde chica. Who doesn’t want to stay in Austin after receiving your alcoholic beverage with a smile from an All American girl? There are also random alcohol promoting chicks working here who will throw stupid promotional stuff at you but ration their tank tops even though you played their dumb game as they requested.
The DJ spins off of R&B and electronica in a way that still makes people move and shake. The bouncer guys didn’t seem to mind me but I am a girl first of all so I guess that’s not a problem. I was also with a bunch of button up wearing guys. I don’t even remember the ones at the front door, only the guy that looked like he was trying to be Kanye West on the rooftop who directed me to the proper exit at the end of the night.

I’m gonna have to give this place another go… Not because its bad or anything, but because I went for a freaking FREE Mickey Avalon concert… The place was packed. They needed about 15 extra bartenders. The bar was better than the show, in case you were wondering.
Its a pretty hip spot. One of the nicer bars in town. The rooftop is IMO the nicest there is. Beats Hanger, 6, Speakeasy and all for sure.
The bathrooms are really nice too.
Definitely no hipsters. None whatsoever. Even at a Mickey Avalon show.
(side note, apparently its OK for women to get naked at Mickey Avalon concerts… you should check one out)

Roial has the BEST rooftop in Austin… there I said it. The best!!! I was literally shocked when I saw how beautiful it was. The DJ booth is on top of the bar and the pool plans are coming along just fine. Should be open in a week or so. Then on to phase 3 of the building. I believe it is incorporating a kitchen. DOPENESS. You will be impressed. Trust me.

The place has modern looking décor and gorgeous bathrooms; if you come here, seriously, you have to check out the bathroom. But our party went here prime time on a Saturday night and there were only 12 patrons inside, while all the previous places we visited were packed. This possibly due to the fact that they seem to be overly pretentious with regards to who gets inside. I say this because with only a handful of folks inside, do you really want to be a stickler about not letting a guy in because he is wearing tennis shoes on a rainy night? But, there was plenty of room to dance!

Pretty! This place looks great and the bartenders were very kind and patient with our very large group. The DJ played a great variety of music and there was lots of seating. The décor was warm and inviting and it didn’t feel crowded at although there were lots of people there.