Copyright The Austin Chronicle
You’ve seen the trend pieces: As prices go up, sociability goes down, and society as a whole embraces sober (and sober-curious) culture, people are drinking less. That’s great for our livers, but what about our hearts? Despite what COVID quarantine and antisocial political rhetoric has done to our brains, the people yearn for connection, and going out for drinks remains one of the easiest ways to find it. Luckily, bars across Austin have made it easy to reap the benefits of the practice even if you’re not trying to get messy. From pool destinations and arcades to honky-tonks, music venues, and community centers, these bars put hanging out and having fun above their libation lists. Order a mocktail or good old-fashioned ginger ale – or a hard drink; we’ve selected our favorites – at these hallowed locales. community garden’s dedication to neighborhood-driven cultural engagement is as clear in its calendar as it is in its name. The cozy Eastside cafe becomes a beer and wine bar in the evenings, hosting weekly doodle nights, vinyl listening sessions, game nights, and a farm stand from nearby worker-owned co-op Patchwork Farm. Over simple sandwiches, veggie-based sides, and colorful smoothie bowls, take in local art at exhibitions, listen to music from Austin artists and vinyl DJs, or shop vintage clothes, secondhand books, and handmade goods at daytime markets. Speed dating nights, happy hour mixers, and other excuses to talk to your neighbors are aided by the spot’s restricted laptop policy – clock out after 5pm and on weekends! – and its laid-back, naturally lit indoors and cheerful, plant-crowded covered patio. Though not a community garden in the traditional sense, this day-to-night meeting place is intentionally planting seeds of connection in Austin. – Caroline Drew Someone tell Barfly’s that Olive Garden abandoned its slogan over a decade ago and “When you’re here, you’re family” is fair game. With cult films on the televisions, decade-spanning rock & roll on the jukebox, and the lights damn near completely off at all times, this North Loop haunt, and its infamous upstairs walkup, is the platonic ideal of a dive bar – which is why you’re bound to run into the same regulars over and over once you discover its charms. Cheap drinks and generous pours mean you can save your quarters for one of the space’s pool tables – or its foosball setup and vintage arcade games, if that’s your thing – and make friends with the always-friendly, never-hustling competitors waiting their turn. A spacious downstairs patio gives you plenty of room to smoke a cig or shoot the shit in between shooting shots in the billiards area – just watch your step on the way out. – Carys Anderson Dust off those dancing boots and strut your way to two-step staple Sagebrush for lessons, workshops, and live practice opportunities aplenty. Unassuming from the street, this honky-tonk’s tassel curtain-framed stage looms large in Austin’s country scene, welcoming traveling acts and local players – like those that soundtrack their weekly beginner, intermediate, and advanced two-step lessons taught by Hill Country Two Step and Double or Nothing. If organized group swaying is more your style, step in tandem with Bronco: Queer Linedancing’s workshop. Dancing is arguably the most tried and true method to meet and mingle; there’s nothing quite like stepping on another’s toes to make two people close. Beneath its high, exposed wood-beam ceiling, slung with simple chandeliers, Sagebrush and its dance instructors make the centuries-old pastime accessible and inclusive, and its dependable schedule means you have plenty of opportunities to get to know new dancing partners and polish your pretzel spin. – Caroline Drew Like Madonna said, music makes the people come together. In Austin’s increasingly monolithic, gentrified Eastside, the building at 1413 Webberville is a tenacious wellspring of diversity. Connection-seeking Austinites of all ages, races, and tax brackets turn out in droves to drink in the sounds of funk, disco, hip-hop, and other joyfully Black and Latin musical stylings on the sweaty, AC-less dance floor of the Sahara Lounge, home to third-Friday Ladies’ Nights, quarterly Body Rock ATX dance parties, and – of course – Africa Night. Every Saturday, musician and French-trained cook Ibrahim Aminou offers attendees a free West African buffet and a curated musical lineup. Afro Jazz, the Point, and house band the Sahara Allstars are known to perform at the beloved residency, but the weekly shows are always headlined by Aminou and his 10-piece band Zoumountchi. Enthralled by global rhythms, inspired by improvisation and collaboration, and perhaps fueled by the Akpeteshie in the bar’s signature Sahara Slant, returning visitors agree: An evening at the Sahara Lounge is perhaps the most life-giving night out that contemporary Austin has to offer. – Carys Anderson There’s your run-of-the-mill bar games like pool and darts, and there’s arcades and bowling alleys – and then there’s Pins Mechanical. Sprawling through the heart of the St. Elmo Arts District, blocks away from the local brewery’s main taproom, the first Texas outpost of the Midwestern mini-chain has all the classics and then some. Duckpin bowling is one of the titular draws, a shrunk-down version of bowling that doesn’t demand funky shoes or stuffing your fingers into a heavy ball. Beyond the mini lanes, Pins has enlarged other games: Patio Pong uses trash cans and dodgeballs in place of red Solo cups and ping-pong balls, and a seated one-v-one soccer game gives you all the satisfaction of scoring a goal without the running. If you’re looking to discover a new semi-physical backyard game – or become a Skee-Ball champion (it’s free!) – this is the place. Tucked in a quiet cove are the other kind of mechanical pins – pinball machines, that is – and when you tire of those, get cozy in their shaggy living room time capsule to play Sega Genesis games or wander the free arcade section, boasting all the classics – Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, Galaga – plus rare Eighties finds like BurgerTime, Paperboy, and Budweiser’s Tapper. – Caroline Drew This article appears in October 24 • 2025.
