Workhorse Bar

Love, love, love the Workhorse. As far as divey neighborhood joints go this place is great. Cheap drinks no matter what time of the day, good burgers and a friendly patio scene. Although i don’t smoke and hate the smell of it, I will risk the second hand smoke to sit on the patio-​I have met some truly interesting people while enjoying a beer outside here.
FYI– despite being divey it is not seedy– I feel totally comfortable walking in as a single woman here and having a beer. The proximity to my apartment and the five minute walk it takes to get home is also a bonus… Parking can be a bit of a pain but that’s why I walk. Park in the nearby neighborhood and walk a few blocks– the walk will do you good at the end of the night anyway :)

What a cool little discovery this was! Wife and I stopped in during our date night. Very cool, comfortable vibe. Warm with eclectic clientele. The beer selection is top-​notch as well. $ 4 pints and a great selection? Yes please. We will try the food on our next visit!

Awesome neighborhood dive bar! The bar tenders are friendly and the patrons are always in good spirits (maybe because of the spirits?!) They have an awesome outdoor patio that you can bring your dog to. The drinks are a great price and its located in a great area. I just wish their hours went later into the night.

Amazingly juicy, good size, char grilled and a little messy. The wheat bun is great and the parmesan fries are a must get. Great value for an amazing burger combo.

I like my pubs like I like my minds: OPEN.
And when I read great reviews about mac n cheese and burgers and such, I often go check out a new place.
Google claimed Workhorse was open at 11:00am. Unilocal showed that Workhorse was open at 11:00am. Heck, even the sign on Workhorse’s DOOR claimed that they were open at 11:00am.
So imagine our complete befuddlement when we arrived at 11:40am today for an early lunch (in this case, voluntarily skipping breakfast so we could go enjoy a potential new hangout) AND THE DOOR WAS LOCKED. Lights off. Nobody home.
So, for now, three stars. Can’t rate the food and drinks without actually obtaining them, so this isn’t a one-​star (or a five-​star) review.
In fact, the only reason I bothered to leave a review at all is because this new trend of business-​casual «we open whenever we feel like it» it pretty goddamn IRRITATING. Time is money, and we wasted time trying to GIVE money to this establishment.
So. There it is. Maybe this is a cool place. My guess is, it’s MORE cool when it’s open. Maybe we’ll find out.
Maybe not.
Since Workhorse was closed, we hopped over to Biscuits and Groovy, a couple of blocks away. They were OPEN, and we successfully traded our money for food, which is how I thought the deal was supposed to work. TASTY!!! Five stars for Biscuits and Groovy!!!

Decent selection, decent prices, okay service. Jukebox is okay. Patio could use a facelift. Not a whole lot of parking.

This is a hole in the wall bar but you know what, the food and drink selection is legit. It’s kind of small so seating may be a challenge. You’ll likely have to make a new friend and share a table but hey, everyone here is pretty chill.

Divey. Delightful. Drinks galore. Gotta love Workhorse and everything it embodies. To live but a 5 minute walk away is amazing. The beers are plentiful, the service is solid, and the prices… oh the prices. There’s not much better for a weekday night out. For all you chasing your happy hour heists, look no further than Workhorse. Their regular hour prices probably blow your HH prices clear out of the water.
Are you feeling hungry? Get a burger at WH! They’re delicious and scream «Eat the hell out of me you bastard!» The first bite is as good as the last. The fries are pretty good, too.
Fair game: I was drunk and feeling poetic when I wrote this review. Thanks, Workhorse.

I’d heard lots of good things about Work Horse and I kind of like the vibe that’s going down up on North Loop so I was excited to give it a try. I feel like I went here expecting more of a dive bar and got a restaurant. The patio was great but had very few seats and it took me a while to get out there. Once I was on the patio it felt much more like a bar. Unfortunately they close at midnight which left me back in restaurant land.
The inside of the bar was noisy and cramped and I’m not sure what’s up with the seats at the tables they are more like step ladders and not very comfortable at all. I didn’t care for the sports vibe that was going and the loud cheering was sort of obnoxious. I also wasn’t into the music that coming out of the juke box here.
I didn’t try to the food so I can’t knock them for that and the beer selection was great so I can say they have great products but the atmosphere is just a bit too mainstream fake modern hipness for me.
I could see myself stopping in here for lunch or happy hour and having a great time but don’t get confused that this is a bar where you are going to meet new people and be social it’s basically a tabled out restaurant.
The menu seemed like standard pub fair, burgers and such and I’ll probably give it a try someday for lunch but I didn’t see anything super exciting about this joint!
I should also note that I don’t think «free» Wi-​Fi is a big deal and there are several reviews that mention the Wi-​Fi here like it’s some sort of boon. Everyone has Wi-​Fi now and its nothing to brag about.

This is a really great place to kick back n socialize.
Great selection of brews on tap. Friendly bar staff and the food is damn good!
Located in one of my favorite Austin sections too.
I sincerely hope this place continues to thrive and prosper. they keep Austin true to it’s roots.

First time in Austin and stopped in here for a lunch. Had a great experience.
Ordered the grassfed burgers — Well seasoned and tasty. They did not ask how we like the burger, so this was given to us medium well. If high quality meat is being advertised on the menu, the server should ask how they would like the burger or tell us the temperature they typically serve.
French fries were also well cooked and had a little parmesian cheese and garlic. Really good.
For $ 13 including a beer, that was a great lunch. Four star rating at this point. However…
Went to pay for the food, and you can see the cook making the food. The last thing I saw was the cook handling raw bacon and then touching burger buns right after. This sanitary technique did not make me feel good about that last part of the experience; as a result, I dropped it down a star. Raw pork and the transmission of bacteria or parasites from raw pork is very dangerous.

North Loop is cool. We all know that. Workhorse is also cool. It’s got a cool, hard to see sign and a cool, hard to park in parking lot, and cool, hard wood benches. People would go here even if it were terrible. Luckily, it’s not.
The food is here is like super good. You know how Austin LOVES fancy AF burgers with weird shit like goat cheese and avocados? They’ve got ‘em in spades. They’ve got a burger that’s a mushroom. YOU GUYS THAT’S NOT EVEN A BURGER. But it’s so good people don’t say shit. Mac and Cheese? Hella legit. Jalapeño Cream Corn? No joke.
They’ve got so much on tap. I mean, I don’t care, because I drink cheap Mexican beer, but they’ve got it if that’s your thing. They’re friendly enough. You can sit at the bar and hear people talk about threesomes. You could probably sit at the bar and find a threesome to be a part of. I’m not judging. That’s not true; I’m sitting next to you at the bar eavesdropping and judging. So you’ll find me there. Come give me something to judge.

Went to this place for the first time last night. My only real complaint is that it’s tiny, so good luck finding a table or even a spot at the bar. If you are lucky enough to find a place to sit, and you order food, I enjoyed the fried pickles and sweet potato fries, and I felt like the buffalo burger I got had so much potential but was too well done — it was a little burnt around the edges. Flavors were on point though so I’m sure if I were to go back again it would be fine.
All in all, I liked finding this little spot. Not too shabby.

Just not a fan, Sorry. Every single time I try and give it a chance, I walk into a smelly and musty bar. My last visit was a mix between spoiled milk, body order, and sticky fixtures. Maybe this is a good local spot for people to walk to? But I am not going back any time soon, props to the bartender giving out the koozies when I ordered a beer.
Looking into the kitchen, you can see that it is not cleaned, ever. I was waiting for Jon Taffer to walk in and start screaming at everything.

I miss The Parlor. I met my girlfriend there, took at least 5 years off my life eating pizza and drinking beer there. When they closed all I hoped for was for someone to move into that space and keep the charm of that little dive in tact. Fast forward a couple of years and I finally made it into the Workhorse bar and all I have to say to them is THANK YOU! Thank you for filling the rather large shoes of the previous tenants. They are what you look for in a beer bar. You can drink cheap tall boys or you can drink a very large selection of local craft beers and everything in between. The staff is chill and seemed to enjoy their gig.
Although they do not have the smell of pizzas coming from the kitchen or the Twilight Zone pinball table they are a great addition to that area and I wish them all the best. I will be back anytime I am in the area!

I am just sort of discovering the Northloop since my friend, Kimberly K moved up to the Northlands of Austin. She asked me to meet her here for lunch one afternoon and I was down!
Workhorse is a bit hard to notice at first, but it is on the South end of the strip there. The place is small and pretty simple. I loved the atmosphere here, somewhat rustic-​woodsman I would say … if that is a thing. The wood tables and chairs warm and inviting.
I was there at about 2pm on a Monday and surprised at how packed it was. I ordered a drink from the cocktail menu that had rum and Dr. Pepper in it. It actually was not my favorite, but I blame that on myself for not reading all the way. Next time I will get a beer or margarita.
Now that food was totally where it was at for me! I let my girl, Kimberly K lead the way. She ordered the white wings, which is white meat wrapped in bacon with a jalapeño and smothered in buffalo sauce. It sounds simple, but they were amazing and full of flavor! We also each ordered a burger. I got the Bastrop Burger with a side of mac-​n-​cheese. The burger was a thick patty, but they size of the overall burger was totally manageable. The toppings were great and fresh. The mac-​n-​cheese was awesome too! I loved the crispy baked cheese on the top.
They have free wifi here and are open at 11am every day. This is the perfect place to chill, work remotely or gather with a group of friends.

I really, really, really, really liked this place and I am already looking forward to my next trip back.
After a round of mexi-​marts at Trudy’s, my friend and I were continuing our journey for a relaxed, but alcohol-​filled Thursday. He suggested Workhorse and there we went. Not going to lie — parking was not fun. We drove around the neighborhood, down another neighborhood and finally found street parking not far from the bar. It’s Austin… street parking should always be expected in places like this.
Drinks: I ordered a jalapeño daiquiri and it was spicy and delicious as expected! Their cocktail drinks range from $ 4-​$ 7, not bad at all! After that, I ordered a pineapple Ace cider. Holy cow. it was delicious. An adult version of Pineapple Fanta. My friend ordered three different beers (they have a decent selection) and enjoyed all three. The bartender was knowledgeable of what he should order based on his previous beer choice. Cheap wells, cocktails and drafts: cannot complain.
Food: We ordered fried pickles and the white wings. YUM! The fried pickles were perfectly fried and the batter was golden and not overbearing. After getting two different recommendations from people beside us we decided to also order the white wings. Chicken wrapped in bacon, jalapneo, with buffalo sauce. Very hot, fresh and perfect… wish more would come to an order!
Overall it was an incredible experience with a laid back atmosphere, patient and nice bartenders with cheaply priced drinks. Can’t want to come back.

If you love dives this is the place for you. Hidden off of Airport blvd this is an Austin Gem. Local beers pints for $ 3 bucks — WHAT!
The jalapeño corn soup mac & cheese are fabulous. Space try the burger and sweet potato fries are one-​of-​a-​kind.

The first time I went here, I asked the bartender, «What are your happy hour specials?». Clearly, a question he’s been asked hundreds of times, he responded in what seemed to be a very rehearsed manner, «We don’t have happy hour, but let me show you our really cheap beers.». I’ll take it!
This place is the definition of hole-​in-​wall dive. A tad more smelly than it should be, the tables/​chairs always a tad more sticky than they should be, and the AC not quite as cold as it should be – but nonetheless, the beer is cheep and the short list of fried foods on the menu taste pretty damn good with aforementioned beer. A decent list of draft selections and plenty of stuff in bottles/​cans, too. Also, some really cheap cocktails if that’s your jam. Food wise, don’t miss the «white wings» (jalapeño, bacon, chicken, served with ranch).
The vibe is fun and so much less serious than a few other bars in the area. The jukebox is legit and you’ll have fun looking at the CDs.
Don’t forget to check out the patio out back!

So Workhorse Bar — it’s where it’s at if you want to sit your weary butt down at somewhere laid back, removed from all the hustle bustle of 6^th Street. It’s where it’s at if you want to imbibe in all kinds of local drinkable goodies while inhaling deliciously crafted «bar food.» Basically, it’s awesome, why aren’t you already there???
First things first, those specialty cocktails — va va voom! So strong, so delicious, so surprisingly affordable. Like wow, I can drink 30% more on my usual out-​drinking-​budget (hypothetically speaking, if I was budget savvy or whatever, which I’m not), which is of course sometimes a beautiful thing, sometimes quite ugly. The bartenders and staff are all amazingly friendly and accommodating — the sort of qualities one would generally seek in a neighborhood bar.
This place does showcase quite the crowd on the weekends I’ve been here, but most recently, we managed to creep in here one early afternoon and then kind of forgot to leave. We had other aspirations and plans, but Workhorse was just so nice and relaxing, like how my cats feel when they «make biscuits» on their favorite fleece blanket? Wtf, why am I analogizing a bar to my cats? I don’t know. I mean, it just felt like homey with the sparse crowd, outgoing employees, and endless drinking. I mean what?
I haven’t sampled the food, but I’m sure it’s pretty all right. The Vegan Nom vegan taco truck hangs out nearby, so I’m sorry, vegan tacos usually trump bar food for me (Don’t ever leave Vegan Nom! If you do, take me with you!).