The Ballroom @ Spiderhouse — Restaurant in Austin

After decades of Austin residency - The Spider house is one of my favorite Austin spots to kill some time or discuss whatever with friends. I can only review the outside 'patio' (over many visits I can't recall ever being inside ). The expansive patio area is an interesting eclectic upscale metal junkyard with the typical Austin style ambiance of Christmas lights and metallic objects aptly presented as art and furniture in an informal setting...complete with vintage motorcycles and water fountain for decor. They have a good-enough variety of beers and ales on tap, and a variety of coffee and tea drinks that are all interesting and good (not my 'cup-of-tea' but friends seem to enjoy them). Food is also good across the menu (with vegetarians considered) - the meals are light, fresh, and tasty..it is an excellent place to take a date before a movie or a show next door at Spider House Ballroom.. The prices are good to typical (and I am frugal). Some complain waitress-ing is slow and I can understand that... .But I myself find it just fine - they leave you alone which is desirable in a place used to just 'hang'..and I have never felt I was being urged to make room for later patrons even after sitting for several hours. Clientele is varied and pleasant, with boomers to millennials equally enjoying the place... In summary The Spider House (patio) is an excellent place for 1 to 4 people to gather, plan, conspire, collude, and brood, while sipping a pint or agood coffee ..Note: they allow smoking on the patio but it is not bothersome being outside as the seating is not crowding your neighbor...and patrons with dogs also appear to be no problem. I give it 5 because it has 'X-factor' - something much more than just a typical bar grill at a mall....If waitress attention is important to you - knock off a...

I moved to Austin in 2011. Spiderhouse was the first place I was invited out to by some local friends. It had thus became my go to for the remaining 5 years I lived there. I could meet any and all my different friendsgroups at Spiderhouse. I was known by face, and had decent relationships with some of the wait staff there.

A second friend of mine, started a "social anxiety" meetup at Spiderhouse every Friday night. Considering the open space, it was a great place for people just trying to make friends. Originally, the group was excellently - whether it was a group of 5 or a group of 20. There were times rarely that we'd get a new person in the group that would forget to pay or skip out on the bill, and the group leader would promptly cover because he Spiderhouse treated us so well, that he wanted to keep the relationship positive.

Sadly though, towards the end of my Austin Adventures, the service went down hill. We're not sure it's because the wait staff we had befriended had moved on, or it something happened, but from 8pm to Closing on Friday night, we were lucky for a server to visit us more than once or twice. We weren't a bad group, we were regulars, that arrived the same time every night, each week from a group of five to at time twenty people. Most people would get at least two drinks a pop along with snacks. It just seems like bad business practices to treat your regulars poorly.

After a few months of poor service we took our business elsewhere. It makes me sad, because I was recently back in town and wanted to visit my old waterholes, but even the suggestion of Spiderhouse had my friends side...

We had our wedding reception here and IT WAS AWESOME. We wanted to provide our guests with a true Austin experience, and for us, that's Spider House and Spider House ballroom. Our guests loved it and so did we!

The venue is laid out really well for a reception, there's a large bar up front, a huge dancefloor with seating around it as well as a large patio area, where we had all of our food set. The area outside was roped off for our guests, so even though it was a Saturday night and the place was busy, we had our own space which was perfect.

Spider House catered all the food, we had BBQ which Jay, the General Manager of Spider House Cafe, smoked all day for us. They even brought in Vegan BBQ from one of the local food trucks, for our vegetarian guests.

Working with George, the Events Director and Jay was the best experience, they are so laid back and easy to work with, they're just all around awesome people. I want to have another event there, just so I have the chance to work with them again! Pricing is incredibly reasonable and you have the flexibility to decide what packages you want, how you want the interior to look, etc. We didn't put up any decorations since we love the vibe so much as is.

If you're looking for a unique, laid back, fun place to have your wedding reception or really any event, look no further than the Ballroom. I can't...