Barfly's — Restaurant in Austin

If Barfly's isn't in your regular bar rotation, you are Doing It Wrong. Its perch above a Burger-Tex may seem a bit odd, and its dark, musty appearance once you've ascended the entrance stairs might set off your crap dive bar alarm bells, yet underneath its Poodle Dog-ish façade is one of the most consistently fun bars in town.

For example, one time some friends and I were there to celebrate a friend's birthday. We made a few simple special requests: constant rounds of the girliest drinks the bartender could come up with, and each time a new round was ordered, we needed the bartender to announce on the PA "[Friend's name], excelsior!" There were 5 of us, and the bar only has 6 cocktail glasses in total, so we essentially forced the bar to wash all of their glasses with each round of ever-fruitier drinks. However, not only did they not complain, they thought it was a blast, and even months later I've been greeted with a smile and a "Hey, you're one of the excelsior guys!" Friendly service like that would get points with me even if everything else about the place sucked.

Luckily everything else about the place does the opposite of suck. Cheap drinks are a constant: $2.50 wells and $2 Lone Stars at all times. They'll also make you whatever, and their concoctions are always great, like their Bloody Marys or the aforementioned girly drinks. They're almost inhumanly speedy too, so even during the close-to-last-call crush they'll catch your eye and get you your last gin and tonic faster than you thought possible. If you get tired of the interior, there's a cool little enclosed patio out back and downstairs, and if you get tired of that, you can come back upstairs and challenge some strangers to pool or foosball, play some arcade games, watch one of the random movies they have constantly playing, or load up a million Huey Lewis songs in a row on the jukebox.

Really, I don't know what else you could want out of a bar. The guys who own this (and their other properties) really know...

Barflys is my favorite dive bar since Hard Luck Lounge closed. It's definitely not fancy, but the music is great, the people are mostly chill locals, the bartenders are friendly and helpful, specials are good, and they have plenty of pool tables (dive bar must-have). We happened accidentally to be there for their 20th anniversary the other night, and they gave everyone shots of something out of a spare gas can (I asked the guy pouring what it was and he said "I didn't make it" 😂) but it was actually pretty good and went perfectly well with my Lonestar and it was hilarious to watch him walk around with it. It is largely indoors, but there is some decent outdoor seating, and everyone was masked up. I'm not that far north often, but I absolutely love stopping in when I am! Definitely...

If you know, you know. This was one of my old stomping grounds almost 20 years ago! Watched this place go from a simple neighborhood dive bar filled with crazies like myself. Staffed with some of the best bartenders you could ask for and the owners where a lot of times behind the bar. One of the best juke boxes in TX at the time filled with music we liked! It was a hidden gem we loved and had a very strong loyalty to. Met some freinds there a few days back and was pleasantly pleased to see the old place was still open, dark, still a little bit seethe. The outside area was something we wished for years back and now she has it. I hope she stands the test of time with the growth of the town. Just a great neighborhood hide out to...