Garage — Restaurant in Austin

I'd give six stars if I could. Location - fantastic, parking is (obviously) very close, easy to locate thence or from the 4th Street bars a few steps away. Atmosphere - great for a cocktail bar where you want to actually be able to talk without yelling. Low light but enough to read a menu, layout lends itself to easy access to the bar from any seat. Seating is a little tight but the host/-ess is maintaining a steady flux so you'll always be able to find a seat once inside. Service - incredible staff. Knowledgeable, attentive, passionate about their craft. I had two drinks from the menu about which they knew the ins and outs of the components, as well as a boulevardier. For the latter they asked what I liked, and unprompted brought out three recommendations with a full rationale and personal opinion on each. Was blown away by the care put into the drinks, and of course the recs were spot on and perfect. Drinks - could not be improved upon. Incredible variety across the signature menu, and flawless execution on rudiments. For once it felt like the cocktails were crafted rather than assembled, with a keen focus on balance. One of my general experiential observations is that when an establishment lists citric acid or saline in a drink, they demonstrate that they know what they're doing in complementing and contrasting flavors, and in doing so Garage does not disappoint. The En Passant and Penicillin do an absolutely unbelievable job at presenting an impeccable bouquet of flavors, without being too heavyhanded or too dim with any notes. It is an art that I appreciate considerably because it is born of a talent that I cannot recreate at home. For that reason I am continually drawn back to Garage, which I consider one of the best cocktail bars in the state. If you are considering going to Garage, stop...

I ended a recent bar crawl outing with friends here and it was my first time, though I have had it on my "hitlist" for awhile. I really like concept bars such as this...I mean leave it to Austin to furnish a downtown parking garage with a bar you might find in LA.

There is a weird sorta vibe here...like this is where the affluent hipsters, the disenfranchised mid-30 somethings, and the cool older crowd all intermingle. There's also a sort of "members only-secret handshake-do you know today's password" undertone as well. But, either way, this place is probably too cool for but a rare few and I felt like I had just snuck my way into something.

When we got there just after midnight on a Saturday, it was very, very dark. They are going for ambiance and I get that, but it did take awhile for my eyes to adjust and I think I inadvertently felt some folks up on my way to the bar. Though the bar is pretty stellar and just the whole inside is very contempo-chic.

The bartenders seem to know this because "what's colder than cold?"...the stare and 'tude from the other side of the bar top!

That aside, this place was my favorite of the evening for the simple fact that they had a very hard to find bourbon I had been searching for on the menu. I am usually not one to drop $15 for a pour, but this one was totally worth it! (and no, I'm not telling what the bourbon is, that's between me and Garage)..this bar and I totally shared a moment. I only had the one drink, but it was perfection and I stayed chatting up some old folks who were way too cool for themselves, let alone me, while I waited for my friends to finish their drinks.

I would like to come back and properly explore this enigma of a bar and make it my first stop instead of my...

Was very hesitant to try this place out after seeing the super high prices of drinks for a bar that is quite literally a parking garage with lights in it..... but I decided to give it a shot. Got to the line to see that there was a "capacity" wait as if this place was a top notch club in new york city, but again.... this was a parking garage. Waited it out in the line just to see a drunk guy try to pick fights with other people waiting patiently.... IN FRONT OF THE BOUNCER, that clearly did not care to deal with the obnoxious guy picking fights in the line. Finally, it was my parties turn to get let into the garage with overpriced drinks.... and the incompetent, egotistical bouncer that just let the person picking fights into the bar told us that we would have to wait for "capacity", so we waited for 2 minutes and after no one left the bar to help with the "capacity".... he let us in.... I guess in his mind he saw ghosts leave the bar to alleviate the capacity and allow room for us to enter the bar (garage). Ended up getting in there and the place was quite underwhelming, which was to no surprise considering the fact that it was a parking garage. Drinks were not...