DO NOT GO HERE!!!!! Went for a bachelorette party and we were blatantly accused of things we did not do whatsoever. They were so incredibly rude and sent the bride to be home crying. TERRIBLE management and an absolutely horrible experience. Please if you are thinking of going here for an event, DON'T. read more

Our Karaoke room smelled of mold and mildew so I went to the bar to order a drink. Since I had a room on reserve and a wristband, they wouldn't let me drink. read more

If you want to sing karaoke in a private room, this is literally the best place I have ever been to. Although my opinion may be influenced by the crappy choices I've lived with for years in Dallas. Great song selection, decent service, themed rooms, and an actually modern user interface for karaoke. Came here for a 90s music night once, too. That was a ton of fun... Overall, I definitely would recommend, especially if you're looking for a night out away from downtown. read more

Bartenders kicked ass in a very crowded environment, esp considering I'm a dude not some 6ft. hot chick, and the drinks were great. We got waitlisted for a birthday party, but hey no reservations on a Sat. night, what do you expect? Just before midnight we got into the 80's room and it was fun, I gotta admit. The song selection was real narrow but I'm a metal head not a top 40 guy so.... backing music like many have said was not accurate in many cases and a few songs I just said "pass" and we moved on. Our room waiter did comp the hourly rate for us because it was our good friends birthday which was real cool and we had fun, isn't that all that matters? Good times in South Austin. read more

This review pertains to "tittie bingo" Tuesdays at The Highball: As a lover of tits, ass and sex positivity, I was sorely disappointed. Sexist, mean spirited and lame. Like being at a frat party presided over by two vaguely misogynistic bros. At the beginning of the show they read a negative yelp review and scoffed at the prudishness of its writer. But this show is anything but sexy or sexually progressive. It's more like spending the evening in these two dudes' sad basement jack shack where they criticize the porn they watch, while secretly harboring the understanding that its the closest they'll ever get to real fucking. At one point they lined up a bevy of women on stage and had them drink beer through penis straws while the audience (and hosts) chanted "suck it," even going so far as to add a "bitch" for good measure. In another stunt, a line of women assembled on stage were handed whole boxes of chocolates they had to eat entirely. The women who refused to eat were also labeled "bitches." In "never have I ever," the most sexually experienced participant (and all but one of the participants were women) was disqualified and asked to leave the stage, an ass-backwards way of judging the contest to shame, rather than applaud, sexual experience and a women's right to choose it if she wants. read more

A couple of friends and I went to the The Highball this past Saturday for the 90's night. We get to The Highball and there is a line to get in because they were at capacity, that's understandable. We get in and a friend of ours is meeting us there she texts us and tells us the bouncer isn't letting her in because they are at capacity. So i walk outside she is the only one outside and plenty of people are leaving the Highball at that point at least 10-15 left while i was out there waiting with her. However, the bouncer still would not let her in he told her maybe if she dropped a $20 on the floor he would let her in...wth??? We didnt pay the $20 to get into a free party. After about 10mins of standing outside for no reason he eventually let her in. The music was okay for the 90's i was thinking more of Michael Jackson, maybe more of a assortment of different genres of music but no. A friend of ours went to the DJ to ask him if he could play a spice girls song being they were in the 90's, the DJ proceeded to ask our friend if she is the one DJ'ing tonight. The service at the HIghball had the air of douchbag. The bartenders were very nice and hospitable even though they were packed at the bar. Probably wont go back to the Highball because of this experience. read more

I went during mo-town Monday and it was a blast! Live music from 9 to 11. Then, if you stayed longer, more live music! They cleared out the space in front of the stage and plenty of people were dancing. Swing, west coast, and street swing. People are not afraid to ask you to dance, and not afraid to show off their skills. There is a back section that has seating in a vintage style. Very handy for group conversations and getting to know people off the dance floor. Plenty of beers on tap, and the bartenders are very friendly. Plus, they are excellent at growing beards. The crowd was friendly otherwise, willing to sit and chat if they didn't dance. Lots of groups celebrating some event or another. Plenty of people there to just chill. I will be back! read more

Hot and tired and ready for a drink & snack, my friend and I decided to try The Highball. We looked a little strange, but it's Austin. Our server disappeared and turned us over to Eddie. He was delightful, but inattentive. Plates drinks & water were empty, he couldn't bother to upsell, or even sell more. We waited too long for him to check back with us, or to even make eye contact. I don't recommend The Highball for popping in for a drink-sketchy half-a**** service, limitations on food, and easily spooked servers. read more

Great place for a drink pre Alamo. Elizabeth dos a great job guiding us thru the drink menu and making sure we had plenty of time to get to our movie to order real food. Loved her passion and she was spot on with regard to the beer recommendations in particular! Thanks and we will be back! read more

This review only speaks to the Mowtown night (was it Monday?). I had an absolute blast! The band did spot on renditions and the atmosphere was was electric. It got a bit crowded as the night wore on so ordering drinks or finding your spot on the dance floor took some effort. The bartenders weren't particularly friendly but hey, I think I get it-they were working their butts off. But the crowd - wow, the crowd! Everyone was so nice and fun; I must have made about 10 one-night friends. Next time I need to lift my spirits and get nostalgic all at once, I am going to head to the Highball on a Mowtown night. read more

This bar had live band karaoke. It was so much fun, good service and reasonably priced drinks.

So we rented a karaoke room for $80 bucks and spent plenty of money on drinks last night for our friends birthday here, while the 90s Halloween party was just starting downstairs, and as we went back downstairs, because we were all ready in the freaking place, they ran after us and said they were at capacity and we need to leave... ??? So we weren't even accounted for?? When we were all ready in the place, had been spending plenty of money there, all ready had stamps on our hands...? How is that good business?? And when we talked to some employee about this because we were upset... she literally said "you guys aren't special, that's how we do it here" and then starts saying we were threatening her??? First off, so didnt say anything of the sort to "threaten" her. We asked why would no one tell us that if we rent a karaoke room that after we would automatically be kicked out? I've been here twice now, wasn't impressed the first time, and wow, wasn't impressed the second time. Wont be coming back here. Learn how to run a business and teach employees how to have some decency and how to treat people like human beings... "you aren't special"... ? Cool. And hello, tell people if they rent a karaoke room that you guys dont even count them in your capacity and that if it's too full, you will get kicked out... because then we probably wouldn't have rented the room... but clearly that's how you run your business to screw people out of money. read more

My friends and I went in on a Tuesday at 5 because the website said that there was free karaoke between 4 and 7. It then mentioned that after 7 was 21+, which made us assume that between 4 and 7 was available to those between 18 and 21. Unfortunately, when we got there they told us that we still weren't allowed to karaoke because it was 21+. I understand that we should have called to double check first, but I feel like checking the website should have been sufficient and the wording was misleading. read more

I really appreciated the staff and management. They made our experience great! We booked a karaoke room and were instantly rock's stars for a night! After our time rocking out we went downstairs and were taken away to the 80's! We danced our little hearts out. This is our new favorite place. Thank you Kyle and Gypsy. read more

Staff is distracted and aloof at best. Went with a group for karaoke and we got kicked out without a any reason, whatsoever. The room had been reserved weeks in advance for four hours and nobody was drunk, not like the people clubbing downstairs. I think the waitress was having a bad day or something, it was a black girl with the meanest face in the South. I have never been to the Highball in the past, this was my first time, but reading other reviews convinces me that this business only cares about over-charging for mineral water and ripping people off. Save your money and go elsewhere!!! read more

Absolute worst time at this place. I went for a holiday party and I have never been treated with such poor bar service. Bar staff working the night of our party were very rude and annoyed that they had to serve people. The bar maybe had 20-30 people outside of our party so it wasn't very busy at all. After asking for a round of drinks for our group, the bartender looked at me and said " I'm really busy and you might have to wait and it might take me up to 30 minutes." 30 minutes!!! Who says this to a guest?!?! Needless to say, we will never be back. Their management didn't care one bit about the way their staff were treating the party. Who were all service industry people too. So, if you want to have a good time, go somewhere else. If you want to be treated with respect, go somewhere else. If you want to be around happy people and happy staff when you go out, go somewhere else. I wish I had four arms so I could give this place four thumbs down. read more

If I was able to give no stars I would. Tonight we had a birthday gathering and their service off the back was horrible. The karaoke machine kept messing up and they keep saying they fixed the issue. Well the same song kept playing on repeat. We asked for a discount on multiple request and no manager was present to provide us with a plan of action. We asked to speak to a manager and no one showed up. We then went out to the main bar and this so called "manager" came up stating he was the manager for the night. He mentioned he would only be able to provide us with a $10 voucher. We spent 2 hours with no karaoke and that's all we got. We are then escorted out because we were so called "loud" while they didn't want others to hear their horrible service. We are escorted out by another gentleman and he starts cursing at us. The worst service. I am requesting someone from management to reach out to us and no response. Don't waste your time or money at this horrible place. Go to Alamo Drafthouse and spend your time there. read more

I have been here 3-4 times, and enjoy the ambiance, bar staff, the dance floot and the shows, but last night they sent me and my date away from the door to go chase down her license. I am 45 with a full gray beard. Part of any night out is customer service, and getting a "yes, I will need to you to go fetch that" complete with the LA roll of the eyes and tone of voice mean I'll go elsewhere now. There are many places in Austin with folks at the door that are respectful, have good judgment and glad that you are there and those places also have great ambiance and bar staff and shows, and they dont make 45 year old grey beards walk back to their truck on date night, in front of their date. Don't put pretty folks at your door that are not capable of good judgment. It's the first face your customers see and its the first interaction that sets the tone for the night. If the instruction from management was "no one gets in without id," well, then that is also poor judgment, just by a person that should know better. read more

Great place for dancing!!! Fun fun. Great wood dance floor and retro cocktail lounge vibe. Pick the night with music you love and enjoy! Mowtown Monday, swing with dale watson, etc... !!! read more

This place hosts a ton of fun events, so many that it'd be next to impossible to list them all off, so just take my word for it: if you go there, odds are you'll be in for an unexpected treat. The drinks are pricey, but well worth it. The new karaoke rooms are decks out to match individual themes, and the overall experience is great. I could easily go every week and never tire of this place. read more

I like the new highball a lot. I liked the old highball too, mostly because it felt more open, but I think this one is actually growing on me each time I go. I like the bar and open dance space, and I don't mind the restaurant/seating area being kinda separated. We have never eaten here but lemme tell ya, they really know their cocktails here peeps. My absolute favorite is the Pimm's cup, closely followed by the Old Fashioned and the Sazorac. I have a certain appreciation for something that seems simple but is actually pretty complicated- like a good old fashioned cocktail. I have tried a hundred times to make these drinks at home and just can't seem to make them taste quite as fine! If you are a fan of cocktails with egg whites, they usually have one or two that really hit the spot as well. We happened in a few Monday's ago, (random date night), during Motown Monday with the Matchmaker Band. Holy moley that was freakishly fun!! Everybody was dancing and singing and having just pretty much the best time ever. I hope to catch them again we have a kid free Monday night- so much fun! We live right around the corner so this bar is in our rotation pretty often, though I have serious issues with the parking garage. read more

The food menu here is HORRID HORRID HORRID. Nothing like the old highball. I mean, why bother? They were way too understaffed for the crowd, so service was awful. The dance floor is small, but good. Copa Kings are fantastic. But, don't go there to eat that is for sure. Even if you FINALLY get service, the menu is so pathetic you won't want it. Other than the music and dance floor, pathetic. Really disappointing as I was really looking forward to the re-opening. read more

Awful service, overpriced drinks, very limited food menu. The night we went they were out of several beers on the menu. They had about 6 servers working in that tiny place and they mostly just stood around and ignored their tables. It is 1/3 the size of the old highball and lost all of its charm - and its bowling alley. I was so excited for the renovation, instead Austin has just lost another icon. read more

If you go do not sit at the bar. The bartenders that work at the bar are the worst people ever. Totally rude! We walked in to order a few drinks and the dude working the bar totally disregarded us like we were nobodies. This is totally not good for business. There are plenty of other options in the city besides this joint. read more

Horrible service. Rudest bartenders I have ever met. They were all wau to stuck up for how cheap it is inside. I do NOT recommend this place if you're trying to go have a fun night out. read more

Was my FAVORITE ALL TIME Karaoke before the update and now after the update, still my favorite! Great service, great rooms and great song list. read more

First, I never went to the old High Ball, so there's no nostalgic angst here. The interior is really cool with the dance floor and parts of the ceiling made from old bowling lanes. Talk about Upcycling! We were there for a friend's birthday party. A few of us got there early to grab a bite before we all piled into a Karaoke room. The dance floor was already in full swing at 8:30pm on a Thursday. The charcuterie plate was good and the fritters were too. I had a beer but my girlfriend and the other girls had cocktails and were passing them around for each other to try. So they must've been pretty good. The karaoke room themes were pretty cool. The room theme we were in was Satanic or something. Kinda weird for a birthday but it was the biggest room. I peeked in the other windows and I totally want to be in the Mario Bros. room next time. The waitress was awesome and got everyone up and singing. There were 20 of us and she somehow kept everyone's bill separate in her head. It took a while to figure out how to find the song you wanted on the karaoke system. Bring a friend who was in the A/V Club. But we mostly figured it out. And the microphone had adjustable settings to change your voice which was fun. We'll be back. read more

It's a little expensive, but they've got a great bar selection and their 80s/90s/2000s dance parties are great. I've had many good nights here. You should go. read more

Me and my boyfriend have decided to join the audience 2 times, total fail. We chose to attend on "Sunday Funday" We did Karaoke one Sunday, think they would have a better turnout if the Karaoke started on time and earlier...perhaps 7pm. We did Truth, Lies, and Fantasies one Sunday...was supposed to be funny, not so much not only for me but there were crickets throughout the show. This a really nice venue and I'm not sure of the budget but maybe it should have a blues/jazz band one night. Or even Karaoke Friday-Sunday from 7pm-12am. Or even a magic show. The host are awkward as hell. read more

This place is awesome! Tittie Bingo is definitely a must if you have the chance to make it (Tuesday nights) and the guys who run it are hilarious! Sometimes it can take a while to get your drink from the waitstaff but that's to be expected considering how crowded it gets read more

By far the rudest staff I have ever encountered in my life, which ruined the entire experience. (2 stars because the venue itself didn't seem so bad and our drinks were fine) We reserved a karaoke room and everything went smoothly in the beginning. There were eight of us and we ordered eight shots and 12 beers from our cocktail waitress, she brought them promptly (forgot a few things but that's not really the problem). She brought us the bill before we were done and kept giving us a minute/song warning, which made it kind of obvious she wanted to go home. We paid the bill and gave her a good tip but then decided we wanted to pay for another hour. Trying to be nice to our server we told her we wouldn't need more drinks if she wanted to go home. She then brought another bill that just included the $35 charge for the room for another hour (no drinks on this bill). I left the tip line blank because she wouldnt be providing us with service for the second hour and we were just paying for the physical room, and there's no reason to tip on rooms/objects/etc. I handed her the bill, and she immediately handed it back and said "Where's my tip???" I work in the service industry, as do my friends, and this is a number 1 rule, it is COMPLETELY INAPPROPRIATE and RUDE to ever address a customer about a tip (and fireable at places I've worked). I explained that the purpose of tips is to leave more money for service, and since this bill didn't include any service, there was no reason to tip. Keep in mind this all happening in the karaoke room, so all our friends were trying to enjoy themselves in the midst of this awkward/inappropriate situation. She left in a huff and some friends asked what happened. As we were explaining the situation she stuck her head back in the room and goes "I can hear you!" I have never experienced a server being so outwardly rude, let alone going out of her way to be so rude. Two of us left the room to speak with her and hopefully resolve the situation without disrupting our friends anymore. When we again tried to kindly explain our side of things, she completely turned the situation around and told us she was feeling "very attacked". We tried to explain that she was the one that created the "problem" and we were just trying to resolve it. When we said we were from out of town she scoffed and responded, "clearly". I was continually shocked by how rude and inappropriate she was being. At this point it was difficult not to be annoyed, and we mentioned that if she was hoping to get a tip, she had pretty much blown her chances by being so mean/rude. This ordeal pretty much ruined the rest of the night for us because we were more or less in shock by how rude and inappropriate she was. Keep in mind this whole thing was over $6 or $7, not worth her time or ours. I work in this industry and I was appalled first about being asked to tip more, which a server should never ever ask a customer to do, and then continually appalled by the blaming and accusatory manner in such she handled the situation. Reading other reviews, this is clearly an ongoing problem with the staff and not an isolated incident. It's almost funny, like do they not know that yelp and other review sites exist?? Someone in upper management needs to teach the employees what customer service is and how to act appropriately (and maybe do some firing/hire nicer staff) because clearly there's a big problem here. I won't be back and am going to advice others against giving this place their business. I am going spare this girl and not mention her name, but I would be happy to pass it on to anyone who is curious. read more

Was excited about the new karaoke rooms. Was having a great time until I heard there was a two hour time limit. No one ever said that at any point even when i reserved or checked in. One hour and a half in we learn there is a two hour limit, but they let us stay for three. The problem was not everyone arrived right on time, because no one knew of the limit. The rooms were empty, we had money to pay them, most weren't that drunk and someone hadn't even gotten a drink yet, but we were kicked out. Stinks because I had guests from out of town too and it ruined our plans. We would have easily went somewhere else if we had known from the beginning of the time limit. read more

Highball, Highball, Highball ...what happened to you??? You used to be the nice, swanky bar that served great drinks in a place with an awesome atmosphere that catered to the young professional crowd. Then the whole 'construction' thing took place. We couldn't wait for you to return - and when you did, we brought a larger group of our out-of-town guests to experience this amazing place called The Highball. How embarrassed we were. We're an early 30's crowd who seeks out the 'finer' drinking establishments (like Highball used to be) and we were dumbfounded by what we experienced: the 'band' absolutely sucked (cover band), the sound system (as in the sound guy's sound table) is completely pre-set which requires that the sound guy (who Facebooked the who time) to have ZERO knowledge of what he's doing, the drinks were definitely subpar - we make better drinks for free at home - and the service was a joke. It's as if the Highball (more like 'Lowball') sold out to the lowest common denominator - quantity over quality - and last I checked, those types of bars are located on dirty 6th and are frequented by frat boys. There are plenty of talented bands who play original music right here in Austin and instead, you bring in crap cover bands who lack any real creative talent (which is why they're a cover band - I hope you have paid the appropriate licensing fees for cover bands as BMI has been in town shutting down venues who play cover music - that includes bands). Also, your 'bartenders' suck. When I order a dark and stormy it should look and taste like a damn dark and stormy not like a glass full of cheap Gosling ginger beer (which you need to get rid of - seriously - Fever Tree is the only way to go) with a floater of Capt. Morgan 'spiced' rum (Kracken, Seven Tiki, or Flor de Cana should be your go-to) ...with a lime. A lime - really? WHO puts a lime in a dark and stormy??? That may fly with the 'Bud Light' crowd who thinks machine-made margaritas are the 'bomb-diggity', but not with anyone who appreciates a well made drink. I'm sorry - actually, I'm not sorry - y'all should be sorry! Y'all should be sorry for taking what was a really neat place, something that was different, and just fucking it alllllll up. We gave y'all a few tries after reconstruction but we'll never be back. Very disappointed. read more

My boyfriend and I went for the infamous Tittie Bingo last night, & wholly smokes was it fun! We got there a little late, which was totally fine since that gave us time to get drinks (a steep $7.60 for a titos soda) and start in on the second round of bingo. My boyfriend ended up getting bingo & winning a drinking competition (& a vibrator for me)- shout out to the megaplexx for the freebie. The atmosphere was dimly lit & very on point with the mood. So why not give this place five stars? Because when we finally found a table to sit at, one of us still had to get up and go to the bar to get drinks. I swear for two rounds of bingo I did not see anyone walking around.. Eventually I did manage to wave a busser down and he went and got our server so I could order some jalapeño cornbread (which was amazing!). While the man was nice, ironically I had spotted the him 30 min earlier out in the parking lot smoking a cig.. Not cool, dude. Tittie bingo is only two hours, as a server you should be tending to your tables, & not be outside on your phone and smoking. read more

Two words: MOTOWN. MONDAY. Ahh it's so fun! They have a pretty nice dance floor that does get packed most Mondays, but to me you just can't beat a live Motown band. The karaoke rooms upstairs are very cool and original. Staff always seem nice. Admittedly, I haven't been here much on other nights of the week since the reopening so I'm not sure what the crowd is like throughout the week, but seriously...MOTOWN. MONDAY. Do it. read more

Worst karaoke bar ever!!!! Mc lady with the blue hair, NEEDS to be fired! Very rude and disrespectful! Worst experience with customer service in Austin! Yes, people come from all over the world and spend money here. It's called tourism blue haired lady! A group of 12 girls and I went to spend my friends bachelorette party there and we regretted it. An Australian friend of mine, kindly went up to the MC and offered her 40 dollars to let the bride-to-be sneak in on the list, since she said the list was already full. She didn't think anything wrong about asking, I mean we were just there trying to have a good time. The blue haired MC refused and then proceeded to stop everything and rant about her not being poor and how tourists should stay out of Austin! This lady kept ranting and ranting about my Australian friend, tourism and how she won't be bribed. Jeez lady, all we wanted was for the bride-to-be to sing one song. We didn't think this would turn into a piece about you being so self important and hating tourism. Did she forget she was in customer service?! Really, did she forget or was she just drunk?! After the whole incident she then proceeds to sing 4 songs in a row!!! Wow, are you serious lady?! What happened to the full list? At that point, we knew she was doing it to be condescending. The reason this place was so upsetting was because we spent over $700 dollars at this place and it had very bad customer service. FYI blue haired lady, not all of us are tourists. I live right here in this beautiful city too and you give Austin a bad name. read more