Cold beer and a terrific rooftop deck at a ramshackle, one-of-a-kind roadhouse.

by Contributor

In Short
High atop Mount Bonnell Road and surrounded by million-dollar homes, is Dry Creek Saloon, a two-tiered, time capsule of a roadhouse still holding on to a simple formula of what made it popular in the 1950s: ice-cold beer, a tarpaper rooftop deck with a gorgeous sunset view and a scratchy jukebox. Sunsets on the rooftop deck bring the crowds in. This is a no-frills cantina, where your longneck choice had better be a domestic.

06/30/05

A dump, a dive, but definitely Austin

by philipntx

I went on a Wednesday evening with a friend. Hadn't been in quite a while. Everything was the same, down to the hodgepodge of mismatched chairs and tables out on the back deck. I rated the service as not recommended because there is none. You go up to the bar, you order, you drink. But I've never found any other place where all the beers were $2 all the time. I've never found Shiner at that price except for the occasional 1-hour happy hour at other overrated Austin bars. The sunset was awesome that day. Don't know about the other reviewer who mentioned a tree line. Maybe they were just too short.

• Pros: Funky & unpretentious, Cheap beer, Great sunset view
• Cons: Limited parking

07/09/03

This place is great!

by meridath

I can understand how at first glance Dry creek may not seem glamourous, but I find the place makes me feel at home in Texas. The people are down to earth, and yes one of the owners may give people a hard time about returning bottles - but you have to admire her tenacity regarding cutting down on costs. With beer at ~$2.00 a bottle you can't complain, and the view is beautiful at sunset. Overall, I find this a great place for a fun, laid back happy hour, or a nice relaxing weekend drink.

• Pros: Cheap Beer, laid back
• Cons: location, service

05/17/02

Don't Get It

by josh

Mabye this place used to be great (when none of us knew it existed), but for me, it seems like a better place to say you go to than to actually go to.

Nowhere to sit. Crappy parking. Poor beer selection. And the views really aren't THAT good. Sure, you can see the sun, but that's true at about any bar in town, and about an hour before sunset, it falls below the treeline.

Don't waste your time. Just tell people you went and say something about how they were rude to you, but you loved it anyway.

• Pros: few frat boys, cache
• Cons: too crowded sometimes, nowhere to sit