09/30/07

Barton Springs Saloon IS THE PLACE TO BE!!

by crystalstarr

Been hanging out at the saloon for almost 2 years now. Great place, bring your dogs, grab a drink. The staff is always so nice and helpful. The Andrews x 2 are super fun and keep the night interesting. Recently met Nikki and she's awesome!! If you are expecting red carpets and fancy service....just take a cab to the driskell. This is a low key fun bar filled with REAL people. The saloon never gets old!! I love this place

• Pros: Great location
• Cons: Hard to find a spot if busy

08/20/07

Essential South Austin Bar!

by wl1038

I love this bar! I frequent this watering hole often throughout my week and I absolutely can not get enough of it. The crowd is great, mostly just laid-back Austinites looking for a good relaxing time. I usually play a couple games of pool while there, and totally hit-up some Galaga. The staff are so much fun! They all seem like down to earth people and love to chat it up if they aren't busy. There's a cool deck out front where you can listen to the jukebox and people watch. I highly recommend this bar if you like to chill out and have a good time just being in Austin ( Greatest City in the WORLD!)

07/29/07

Terrible Service!!

by atxlulu

The place itself is not bad. It's just your average neighborhood beer joint, with a pool table and a small outdoor patio facing Lamar. My friends and I chose Barton Springs Saloon because we wanted to have a relaxing Saturday night in a down-to-earth local bar. When I arrived, I opened a tab and bought a beer. We then sat down at a table for four. Our server stopped by and introduced herself (if that's what you want to call it), but that was the only time we saw her the entire two hours we were there. The couple of times we needed another round, my friends got up and ordered drinks at the bar. At the end of the night, I went to close out my tab. It was about double what it should have been for 1 beer, so I questioned the bartender. He said that I had 2 beers. At this point, I wasn't upset - people make mistakes. I just explained that I only ordered one, upon arriving, and that the other one needed to be taken off. He called our server over, and of course she couldn't remember if she had ever served me or not. It turned into a yelling match between them, and she kept bringing me into it by ordering me to tell the bartender that I didn't order from her. On top of this, after it had been established that I only had one beer, he couldn't figure out how to void the transaction. So he pulls out a $10 bill and says "will this make you happy?!" He didn't have the time to make sure my credit card was correctly charged. Then he said if I had any extra charges on my card, just to call next week. Basically telling me to take the 10 bucks and leave. So not only do I have to worry about possible extra charges on my credit card, they were extremely rude and unhelpful. They turned a low-key night into one filled with drama. NO thanks!!! Needless to say, I will go elsewhere for a relaxing night next time.

• Pros: Casual atmosphere
• Cons: Bad service

12/06/06

Best new bar in Austin

by monte2006

In my opinion, this is the best bar to open in Austin in a long time. The great location provides the best people watching in town. The beer is always very cold and the staff is friendly and attentive. My only complaint is they don't have draft beer yet, but they're planning it for the near future. I love this bar!

• Pros: Cold beer, and great location
• Cons: No draft beer, only bottles

Ex-filling station becomes Barton Springs neighborhood's favorite beer joint.

by Contributor

In Short
This small corner bar just south of Town Lake exemplifies the term low-key. A dozen mismatched tables and bar-front stools provide seating for the saloon's laid-back patrons. Some smoke and mingle beneath the old gas pump-covering carport while others hang inside at the bar lit primarily by neon beer signs. A well-stocked jukebox playing in the background completes the small-town dive feel as bartenders serve up standard beer, liquor and wine.