The service is pretty good here, the drink selection is decent, and the couches, decor, and atmosphere is nice. The main detractor here would be how crowded and noisy it can get when events are being hosted in the hotel. The atmosphere is possibly the best thing about Driskill Bar, just walking into this part of the hotel makes you feel like a winner. However, the prices are a bit steep, which might bring you down to Earth. Worth a visit, and it's connected to the 1886 cafe and the restaurant here, which are also definite pluses. read more

It has been a while since I had visited but I always enjoyed having lunch there - I mostly was served by "Dave" the bartender but regardless of who served me, the food has always been great. I haven't been there in a while - but next time I am in the Downtown area; I just might stop by - Stephen read more

ahhhhhh, driskill. setting the bar for excellence since 1929. it's almost difficult to write this review because i doubt i will be able to do the place justice. these guys are the best. hands down. everything they do is excellent. after work happy hour? check. grab some drinks and some bar staples like sliders, tacos, pretzels....but all taken to the next level of quality and invention. classing it up on a friday night? get in there and have the best manhattan in the city. lay back in a swank leather chair and drop a couple bills on some 'gnac like you don't have any good sense. sing a song with the piano man. sit at the bar and tell tall tales to the out-of-towners. seriously, driskill bar is a super fun way to spend a friday night. dining like a boss? the menu is insane, seasonal, rotating....five-star all the way. first place i ever ate wagyu beef and duck confit. absolutely impeccable service. company function? we threw the company party here for 2012....stellar service...servers pulling your empty bottles as you set them down and replacing them with full ones. 3-course menu. delicious appetizers like water-melon over goat cheese and the second best tartare and carpaccio i've ever eaten. the bar staff is always knowledgeable, friendly and creative. the atmosphere is extremely vivacious and jovial. god bless the driskill. read more

I stayed at the Driskill last summer for a bachelorette party and the DB was our home base. It was a lively and fun place, esp. at happy hour. Everyone was friendly and the accommodating staff seems to look the other way when things got "inappropriate". It is a very classy place but no so much that you can't relax. read more

The Driskill was built in the late 1880s by a cattle baron, and the architecture and decor are exactly what you'd expect - lots of wood, leather and hides. I like to come in here at least once every time I'm in Austin and imagine what it would've been like to be a cattle or oil magnate, reviewing my empire while sitting on an old leather Chesterfield and enjoying a dram of scotch. Well worth stopping in if you want a dose of old Texas while in Austin! read more

Came here to have a Bloody Mary after looking up the best bloody Mary's in Austin. I'm assuming they have dropped the ball here. Did not look anything like the picture from a year or so ago. Toppings were mediocre, nothing special. The Mary itself tasted watered down. I couldn't place exactly what it was missing...but it wasn't good...at all. read more

Go here for for the ambiance -- NOT the service or the food. The drinks are fine but the service at the bar area is so terrible. This is out second time here with the same result: extremely poor service to the point of frustration. The servers are oblivious and completely unaware of customer needs. The food came out luke warm -- and for the prices you should expect more. One tip is to stick with the small plates and avoid the "signature" dishes ... Terrible. We love the hotel and the ambiance but the overall experience is just terrible!! read more

Visiting Austin from Maryland and a friend with family in from the Austin area suggested that we go to the Driskill Bar - so glad we made a stop here. The Hotel and Bar are beautiful. We ordered the Blackberry Smash and the Driskill Julep. Both cocktails were very good. Also ordered the Wagyu Beef Sliders - these were delicious and came with hand cut fries. The tomato jam on the sliders was incredible. We actually came back the next day for more. read more

This bar is pure class, Texas style. Reminds me of the man cave billiard room study in the Biltmore Estate, NC, with cozy lower ceilings. Delicious drinks and decadent deserts from the in house bakery. Loved the experience! read more

The Driskill Bar - Local craft oatmeal stout beer paired perfectly with chocolate cupcake deliciousness - Lounges Near Me - Austin, Texas

What can you say about one of the classiest bars in Austin, and may in all of Texas. Nicely tucked AWAY from the more raucous joints on 6th Street, you feel like you have stepped back to an era of grace and charm. Drinks are moderately priced, and the food (especially the baked bree and bacon wrapped dates) is pretty good. Service can get a little slow when it is packed (like during SXSW), the the wait staff is always pleasant and accommodating. Whenever I am downtown, I usually stop here for a glass of wine and a snack. read more

Great spot to come to for apps and drinks. We really enjoyed it and will be back next time we're in Austin.

An Austin staple! Nothing beats walking into a historic hotel in city center, transporting you to another time. A friendly bar with plenty of seating, plushy leather couches, TVs, live music. The drinks are solid, not the best in town, but good value and it's worth the time spent in such a cool place. Every time we have friends and family visit us from out of town, The Driskill is a must see. read more

Traditional feel with a fresh menu. Old world charm greets you and creates a unique experience of fine wine and steak. Bartenders are friendly and knowledgeable and will help you pick the perfect wine and pairing. Stick around and meet the chef! read more

Unexpectedly cool. I went early on a Friday with an out of town friend and we had a great, relaxed time talking to the bar keep, meeting friendly people, and getting drunk. read more

They no longer sell cigars here. This is really a shame, as the balcony was a great place to smoke a cigar and have a drink!

We went on a Friday evening around 7:30 and were able to sit in a comfortable booth right away. This place is awesome. Reasonable prices, great quality food, and very nice staff. We loved all 3 "bites" we ordered, the Driskill chips and queso, the slow roasted pork tacos, and the jalapeño-cheddar corn dogs. :) Also, the bar is fancy, as in it has a lot of eye candy, such as unique furniture, a huge centerpiece in the middle of the dining area, live music, and interesting pieces on the walls. It's just super cool. You must see for yourself! Would I recommend this place? Yes! I'd like to check out their restaurant, The Driskill Grill, soon. read more

Wonderful bar & live music. We had a great evening here. The place has been refurbished & is absolutely gorgeous! They have some specialty drinks that are yummy! read more

Interesting ambiance. Liked the live music, but wish the crowd was a bit better. Didn't really like the BlackBerry smash and wish i would have another bourbon old fashioned type cocktail read more

Fantastic lounge bar seeping with the significant history of the hotel. Very cosy and thoroughly enjoyable. Easy place to hang out with friends and easily loose track of time. Since the hotel was taken over by the Hyatt, the rest of the hotel has lots its historic charm, but thankfully they haven't touched the lounge or lobby area yet. You definitely cannot visit Austin without stepping inside and enjoying a bit of this hotel. No better place to do that then the lounge bar area. On Thursday night they have live music, and I really enjoyed the drinks and food. The bacon wrapped chorizo dates were fantastic. Also you can connect to the free hotel wifi in the bar, no password needed. read more

Strictly speaking about the bar here. Cocktails were average, a little weak and slightly overpriced. They use ice machine ice and those god awful, bright red maraschino so they aren't really aspiring to the craft of cocktails, but the place is serviceable in a pinch and would be good for a larger group. read more

I am a big fan of landmark hotel bars because they usually have a clean bathroom and they tailor the atmosphere/drinks and food around the local flair. This place is just an awesome place to see a classic Austin hotel and get the TEXAS feel. The Longhorn heads and cowboy statues are really cool. My favorite drink is the Batini that is little sweet but strong but is really good to beat the heat. read more

I visited twice during this trip. The food and drinks were good, happy hour made it affordable, service was good. Probably a 3.5/4 star experience. The ambience takes it to 5 stars. The Driskell is beautiful! Very nice spot to hang out for a civilized evening. read more

Hotel bar. Great street tacos. Fast and friendly service. Nice and knowledgeable bartenders. Went after an early evening of bar hopping and cocktails. We stayed here at the hotel so we had a nite cap at the bar. Very nice. read more

I went there as it was shown as a must go place in Austin ... And definitely The Driskill hotel is a must see ... Really classic and nice place to go in the city!! Live music! Cool ambience and excellent service!! The place is not inexpensive but is great for a few drinks and having a good time!! read more

This hotel is beautiful! I highly recommend their bar and restaurant. I had a delicious salad there and quiche. We sat outside on the balcony which has a lovely view of the downtown area. read more

I am heavily biased on this place. One of the first places I ever visited in Austin. The entire hotel is a throw back to better times in all the right ways. The live music is always the perfect volume to add to the atmosphere. The wine list is reasonable. The crowd would be the only complaint (on any given night). You will not find many young people (which isnt always bad) and some times a lot of tourists. With that said, you can easily have a glass of wine by yourself or bring a date, either way the Driskill is in a league of its own. read more

Great place to class it up a little and take the parents if you're from out of town. We swung in real quick for a drink before continuing on our night and loved every second of it. The ambiance and drink selection are great. It's a great change from the rest of Dirty Sixth read more

Just there for after work drinks and a bit of food. the service was top notch - friendly, unobtrusive, and attentive. Drinks were great - my cocktails came as I expected them to taste - It really isnt hard to make a dry martini, yet it remains challenging. The snacks were killer. I have two deep and dark addictive traits - popcorn and truffle oil. you can get them served together here. The rest of the food was good as well, but I cant stop thinking of the truffle popcorn. read more

Great place to meet up. Try the Truffle popcorn and great selection of local wine and beer. The atmosphere is a dignified old west with live music most nights. read more

Nice spot to sit and enjoy some live music or conversation. It's pretty dark inside but still bright enough to enjoy the historic building. The drink menu isn't anything too special and I can't comment on the snacks but other people seemed to enjoy them. read more

The bar is upstairs in the back at the Driskill. A super Texas-themed decor with cow fur tables and chairs. Real upscale big city vibe (and prices) otherwise. Staff is super friendly. It's just far enough away from the dirty 6th chaos that you can slip in and out without dealing with the madness. read more

I stopped in for a quick beer on a Saturday afternoon and was blown away at the Driskill's beauty. I felt like I had just walked into a magazine. The bars set up is divine and has plenty of comfortable seating. There is a perfect haunted vibe as well (there are rumors that the Driskill is haunted) and the setting will make you feel like you walked into another time period. I will never forget this beauty! read more

What? No craft cocktail menu? Driskill keep up w/ the times, you have everything else going for you. Stately, iconic, location, Classic, etc. Etc. A nice few craft cocktails including a few coffee drinks would be great. read more

This was our favorite spot for drinks while in Austin. We sat at the bar and combined my husband and I had 5 different cocktails (wish we could have had more haha - they all looked sooo good!). I had the Blackberry Smash and Sage Advice. The Blackberry Smash is made with Bourbon which I typically do not like - but I saw somebody else order this and it looked good, and on the recommendation of our bartender, I ordered it and was not disappointed! I would have had another, but all of the cocktails looked so good and I wanted to try more! The Sage Advice was my next drink - and it was a bit sweet for my taste but I should have expected that with the pineapple juice in it. My husband had an Old Fashioned and the Texas Revolver. Both of which he enjoyed. And then we shared the Texas Orange Blossom... and holy crap... that one is good!!! Tasted like a creamsicle!! If we had more time on Austin we would have gone back another night to try more of their cocktails! read more

The Driskill Bar - Old Fashioned and Blackberry Smash - Lounges Near Me - Austin, Texas

We hadn't been to the actual bar at Driskill, so we came here after eating at the Roaring Fork (see review - yum!). The Driskill bar has $5.00 "specialty cocktail" drinks all night on Sunday. Unfortunately, since it was Superbowl Sunday they did not have a lot of the herbs and things required to make most the drinks, but the bartender was friendly and offered to make "whatever we wanted" for the same price. I told him I liked vodka and he made a delicious vodka orange drink with Contreau and some sort of other juice that was delicious. I even asked if he could make it stiffer and he added more booze. What a champ! My fiance ordered bourbon and gingerale - which was made strong and well. Overall, I LOVE the ambiance of this old hotel. We just had to go wander around after we had a couple drinks. It was built in 1886 (thus the name of the 1886 bakery/cafe). The history of this building is interesting and incredible. Mr. Driskill tried to build this place for $8,000 back in the day and ended up spending over $400,000 to build this beauty. Back in the day, that was a LOT of moo-lah. The feeling of this building is strange and nostalgic. I get a weird vibe. But that's probably because I know how strange this building is. There are 4 elevators, probably more and each floor has a creepy vibe and a random floorplan where every hallway goes a different direction and ends into another corridor. There are secret doors in the wall that lead to another area of the building, and even the housekeeping doors are tucked into a wall with just a handle and lock to open them. You'd never even know there was a room back there without the handle. The elevator we took to check out the 5th floor was slow and antique, same with the other elevator we took down. I ain't afraid o no ghosts! Eeeeek! read more

Wonderful bar. When you enter the hotel, walk through the lobby and up the stairs. (We got confused and went into the restaurant which is located next to the door). The bar had a nice selection of beers and liquor. The live music was nice. read more

Not only is this place gorgeous, but the service we got at the bar while going in for a drink was beyond expectations. There was no where for our party to sit, so the general manager gave us our first round of drinks on the house and secured an area for us to sit once people left. Very cool staff and very lovely location. read more

Soooo Texas! Great place to bring out of town guests when the walk in 6th gets too hot. Beautiful lobby, clean bathrooms, mean drinks and super ambience. read more

Swanky spot, older crowd. Wouldn't spend TOO much time here (especially if you are looking for a livelier and younger crowd) but definitely a good place to stop by at. My friend and I had just one round of drinks here + loved seeing the decor/vibe of the place, but didn't find that it was really our style. Still a great place to hit up in Austin, though! read more

Great place to check out for a drink. One of the oldest hotels/bars in the country so definitely worth the visit. There was a live band on Wednesday night that we went, they were great. A plus, their drinks are pretty strong. read more