The Side Bar

I wish i could give it no stats. I used to love this place. It was a tradition to go have at least one shot if not several almost every week when I was downtown.
My first time out in months, the bartender ruined my mood, and almost my night.
I’m never going back.
She failed to tell us they were out of sugar cubes. And then argued with us about putting sugar syrup in the drinks to make sure they were sweet. She said the sugar cube didn’t make any difference and that it was time consuming to light the drinks on fire (which is how they are always served) and that they only do that when asked. When I told her they always did it before without asking us and the picture on the wall showing this signature drink showed it with a sugar cube and on fire. She was rude and said I was very observant. We fought with her to light the drinks on fire and pour sugar syrup in it to make up for the missing sugar cube. She was treating me like a drunk when I hadn’t had any drinks yet. We ended up just taking them so we could leave. And she became more rude and sarcastic. And the missing sugar definitely made a difference. The bottom part was not delicious how it usually is.

Side bar is one of the best bars in the Red River St. area. It’s a great place to grab an inexpensive and tasty drink before or after a show at a local venue. The bartenders are amazing here! They have always been incredibly attentive and have conversations with patrons. This place also has darts and pool. The ambiance screams chillness.

I stopped drinking, thank God, but every time I walk past the Side Bar I get a nostalgic tear in my eye. I have had so many sloppy nights start out at the Side Bar… usually I’m with a group of people waiting for the Barbarella crowd to pick up steam and we need to pass an hour or two… «Just one drink,» we say, until 40 minutes later we’re like teenagers who partied too hard with their parents’ liquor cabinet. The drinks here are STRONG — I used to get double screwdrivers and only needed a couple to pass the threshold into definitely tipsy, slightly drunk. Prices are actually pretty reasonable, considering the location.
Bartenders are busy, so no judgement toward them on my part. Fellow patrons usually have beards and tank tops (if they’re dudes) and the ladies love wearing black and high heels. It’s that posh young Austin crowd. I didn’t belong to that crowd particularly, but it didn’t matter. The back area where my smoker self spent most of my time has picnic tables so you can get cozy with other customers. My friend once got into an argument with an English dude who got sick of her calling him a bloody wanker. I guess you had to be there.
A non-​alcoholic toast to this bar, which is truly great.

Great dive bar and bartenders all around. This place gets really packed really quickly, so when you have to wait a few extra minutes for the cheapest and best drinks downtown… Don’t be a dick.
Thanks for being kick ass Side Bar!

They charge you to NOT open a tab. As in if you want to just pay for your one drink, you have to pay to do so.
Never going back.

This place is definitely a dive and a bit dingy as well. Lets be real for a second, the only reason I stop by this place is to get a real strong cocktail before I head out for my night. For less that $ 10 bucks you can get yourself a serious cocktail that will keep you dancing all night long.
The inside bar can get full pretty fast but there is a nice outside area. Unfortunately, the outside area usually has tobacco sales vultures hovering around.
Pro Tip: If you are just trying to chill for the night this is your spot. Drinker beware, those cocktails are hella strong.

**woohoo 100^th review, happily goes to The Side Bar**
This is our go-​to when we want to catch a MEAN buzz for $ 10. I mean, if you go to urbandictionary and google «sidebar pour» it comes up as «A ridiculously excessive pour.» You are basically drinking a glass of liquor with a splash of mixer.
It is dingey, divey, grodey, and full of tattooed hipsters. The bartenders and friendly, and the pool tables and darts are always fun.
This is a good place to hang out with friends but if you want good music or to impress a date definitely go elsewhere. Really good for groups with long picnic style tables.
Only annoying thing is the cigarette salespeople everywhere.

I came to this place on a weekday with some new friends after a local meetup downtown. I never heard of this place before and they told me it was a pretty cool place so I had to give it a fair shot. I had a really good time here! It’s a great little dive bar and they have a cool spot out back to hang out. The bartender was very nice and the drink prices were pretty good. Overall, Side Bar a great, unassuming place to get some drinks with friends without some of the usual BS that comes with many other places downtown. Good spot, I’ll be back.

It’s dark, it smells, there are pool tables and cheap beer! no douchebags, no hipsters, no tourists. Def 5-​star dank bar. The bar staff is really nice too. On my list of go-​to places to escape the bone-​heads when downtown.

Side bar is AMAZING & exactly what is sounds like: A LEGIT, hole in the wall, chill bar. This is the kind of dark, relaxed place I like to go to if I go out.
If you are a douche bag, don’t like strong drinks, want a crafted 6^th street drink, need someone to kiss your ass, want to be a super creep, or are a sissy yourself. Save yourself time and go to a college bar on 6^th street with the rest of your kind.
If however, you like down to earth bartenders, a chill atmosphere, and to always be treated like an episode of Cheers where everybody knows your name– go to sidebar.
The people on Unilocal that complained about not getting craft cocktails and got an attitude from bartenders — clearly are in the wrong place and obviously need to grow a set
I vote yes.
Plus the bartenders are babes.

Probably one of my favorite bars downtown. A no bullshit, no surprises, no douchebags, no cocktail menu sort of dive.
What to expect: strong cheap drinks, darkness, bartenders who don’t ignore you, barely do-​able bathrooms, a large outdoor area, and departing hammered.
What not to expect: girls in high heels/​overdressed people, surging drink prices, «bros,» 6^th streeters, tourists, departing sober.

I haven’t been to Side Bar for about two years now so I figured it was time to make my return. Same big guy still works the door and the drinks are still as strong as I remember them. Bar tender was naturally super nice too but when you’re a handsome devil like me it happens. Something felt different though… I don’t know maybe I’m just getting older or something but I know it will be another couple of years if I ever return here. I guess I’m just not as excited to go downtown like I used too be. I was at the bar and noticed and old annoying roommate whom I was praying wouldn’t notice me and thankfully he didn’t. It was after all my birthday. I ventured to their nasty restroom and thought to my self «this is a horrible place to have to take a shit.» With the fear of running into more people I don’t want to see I didn’t even venture outside but I’m sure it’s still the same old porch area. I still like this bar though. I really don’t know what else to say. I do recommend if you’re new to Austin to come here if you want to meet people. I personally don’t so yea… Mah see mahhhh (Penguin). Great place to start or end your night!

Love, love, love Side Bar. Not pretentious, not pricey, great spot. So many things to love about this place. I’m pretty sure I spent half of SX just chilling here waiting for the next show (plus listening to music coming from other locations).
The inside works great with pool tables and a large bar, but the outside is really where I feel at home. It’s a roomy, rocky area filled with benches. Kind of feels like someone’s really big backyard where a bunch of cool folks congregate. Nothing beats that. If you’re looking to avoid being outside, the jukebox inside is easily one of the best in town. That’s something to brag about for sure!

Yeah, this dive bar rules. The bartenders are rad, the drinks are strong, blah blah blah.
But then that one time, you swing by and order a couple of drinks and the bartender doesn’t ask if you want to leave open or close your tab. So you stand there awkwardly trying to get his attention to close your tab. But said bartender ignores the situation for a good ten minutes until you finally can grab him whilst he’s taking the chick’s order next to you… And you’re all like can i please close my tab. And his response is «It’ll be an extra $ 1 charge if you want to close it now or you can wait for no extra charge» … And you’re like «Wait what?» … And you ask «why?» And his response is «because I said so» … Not in an oh casual way; more of in an I’m a total dick way.
Bro. We work in the service industry. We get your busy. But to be a total dick by exclaiming to charge more money because you don’t want to take the extra 20 seconds to close out a check, is ridiculous. Yeah, a whole dollar (omg so much money! NOT). It’s the principle of the matter. I mean come on man, at least come up with a better excuse like «minimum bar charge» etc.
Normally the bartenders are cool here. But tonight was extra special. Not to mention being over charged on drinks. Woo. Awesome dive bar.

This is my kind of dive.
Great location near the parking under the bridge and across from Red7 and Holy Mountain, so it’s convenient for before and after shows. The atmosphere is darkly lit, with super friendly bartenders, and a big patio in the back. They usually have sports or something off-​the-​wall on TV.
Everyone that goes there is usually in a great mood and fun to talk to! And the drinks are very reasonable. My beloved Strongbows are now only $ 4. I’m DOWN.
Go check this place out if you haven’t!

I’ve never been so badly treated by a bar tender before. We came in here for a quick drink before seeing a band at The Empire Control Room. I ordered my usual drink, a Vodka Collins. The bar tender had no idea what it was so offered a Vodka Sour. That was all fine and well until he asked me if I was even old enough to be in a bar, which was a stupid question because they card at the door. Just because he doesn’t know how to make a cocktail doesn’t mean I’m too young (I’m 24 BTW). Then he told us sixth street was a block away. So my friends and I paid and left. His loss, were great tippers when treated right.

Great drinks, great bartenders, great prices, great place!
It’s a real casual place; before 8pm-​ish, you can have the whole place to yourself.
A rare thing I love about this place is that they play netflix on their TVs. I haven’t found a bar like that since I left SF.
It’s just another place from Austin I wish I could take back to LA!

It’s a dive bar with a great outdoor porch. Not fancy at all. Expect super strong drinks for super cheap. This is one of the greatest places to pre-​game before a show. They have specials several nights a week, and you cannot beat the prices. Keep it to simple rail drinks or beer though – it’s not a place to go fancy, and they would never claim it either.

I’ve been to Side Bar in two separate contexts: festival time and normal time. Festival time, Side Bar is a great venue with a cool outside area that lends itself to fun chillwave bands or whoever gets booked there. Normal time, it’s a great off-​6^th bar that caters itself to alcoholic cognoscenti that appreciate their incredibly stiff drinks for an affordable price — a $ 3 G&T here is worth at least a double anywhere else.
The crowd is worth a few points alone. Since it’s an entire street off the beaten path it attracts a slightly different crowd than your typical bar — get ready for the kind of offbeat conversation with strangers you normally have to go to east 6^th for. I don’t think this bar is in anyone’s normal rotation, but if you need a punishingly heavy series of mixed drinks to end the night after being lured downtown, you almost can’t do better than here.

3.5 stars
Nice bar with an outdoor area. The beer was decently priced and the crowd was okay. We stopped by during SXSW, and it was a nice spot to go to get away from the large, crazy crowds.