The Far Out Lounge & Stage — Restaurant in Austin

This spot used to be a biker bar called Beverly's, and back in the day when I drove my kids to school it wasn't unusual to see a guy sleeping it off on top of one of the picnic tables. Well, times have changed, and Nicolaza's has brought craft cocktails to far South Austin, along with a glitzy and fun makeover of the Red Shed Tavern, which took over after Beverly's closed. The interior has the same issue The Red Shed Tavern had: the cement flooring and walls give the place a cold feeling and turn it into a giant echo chamber, but I trust in time Nicolaza's will figure out the acoustics - and anyway, it gives you a good reason to go out and enjoy the backyard. The backyard area features a Hopfields food truck (which makes sense, because Hopfields is the owner).

For those worried that this local fave watering hole has gone too hipster/bougie, let's put that worry to bed. Only the drinks and decor have changed. The patrons here are the same South Austin Friendly as you'll find anywhere south of the river, as is the staff. The head bartender (who told me she had created many of the house specialty cocktails) not only makes wonderful Manhattans and Old Fashioneds, she has a true feel for excellent customer service. I watched her as she very patiently and kindly helped an older gentleman pick a drink for his wife on their date night. ("She doesn't normally drink, I'm a beer guy, so I don't know what all this is.") Later, she made the wife special non alcoholic drinks that looked fantastic. No snobbery here, no judgment, just a mixologist doing her best to make sure her patrons have a...

Showed up at Far Out Lounge at 6:52 pm thinking they’d be open by 6 PM, which seems standard for any venue where the ticket says ‘show starts at 7 PM.’ At the very least, you expect the bar to be open. But nope—doors didn’t open until 7, and the headliner (Sparta) I came to see wouldn’t even start until 10:30 PM - which was misleading when I bought tickets online. So we’re just trying to be cool about it, arriving a few minutes early, figuring we’d get wristbands and let my girlfriend use the restroom.

When I asked the door lady if she could quickly use the restroom, she actually told us to ‘go across the street to Torchy’s Tacos.’ Are you kidding me? We’re paying customers, and by the time we’d walk there and back, they’d already be open.

Then this absolute troll of a door guy jumps in, out of nowhere, with a smarmy, ‘Does she have a pacifier?’ Like…what the hell does that even mean? And what does one thing have to do with the other? Maybe this guy just hates his life, and treating people poorly is how he gets through his shift.

Honestly, it killed any vibe we had about the night. After that absurd encounter, we decided to just leave and come back at 10:30 PM when the band was actually supposed to start. Far Out Lounge, get it together. If your staff’s going to treat people like this, maybe they’re the ones who need a ‘pacifier.’ A little respect...

This has the best atmosphere of any music venue I have ever been to in the entire Austin area. It was incredibly spacious, lots of tables, and had more of a festival stage vibe rather than a caged in venue. Sound quality was amazing and since the venue was so large it never once felt crowded. 10/10 on the concert quality.

Parking was 10$, they opened up the lot next door when the first option filled up. Unsure of what the entirety of parking options available are because I came from out of town. Cash or card.

Food truck wasn’t ready and only had cold subs available at first. It was when the doors first opened so that’s 100% understandable, but wish they would have at least warmed up my sandwich.

Bar consisted of three lines of $9-$14 drinks(pricier side) and moved so so. Two fast bartenders, one slower.

Bathrooms were a row of toilet stalls(functional toilets, lights and sinks) but half out of service. Not the best, but very very far from the worst I’ve seen.

Overall, I wish more shows were booked here because the outdoor space blows Stubbs out of the water. They’re currently looking for more food truck options which I think would really be the cherry on top for an already...