Best sports bars in Austin?

T

Texas97

500+ Posts
So what's the jury?

* Ringers is impressive. Lots of high quality HDTVs. Negative is $4.50 for 12oz beer, food is mediocre (IMHO).
* Tavern is the old established place. Do they have HDTVs? Parking is a ***** (the same could be said about Ringers since it is downtown). Limited space inside. Prices are alright.
* Fox & Hound. Ton of tvs but they didn't have HDTVs the last time I went there in the spring. Price is better than Ringers but not saying much. Tons of space though. Lots of beer on tap.
* Legends. Easy parking, decent beer prices. Food is mediocre. Very nice staff, they are there for sports fans. Tons of tvs but I last went there last fall and they had 0 HDTVs. Has that changed?
* Pluckers. Easy parking, great beer prices. The last time I went there (Burnet)was spring last year and they didn't have the tvs in HD. They had 2 HDTVs and a bunch of plasmas (I guess not HD) but due to a time delay, they had all on standard def.
 
Pretty good summary. I'd say Ringers is the top-of-the-line but you pay for it. It also gets way too crowded. I'd add to the list:

Woodrow's. They have lots of TVs (non-HD), all the NFL games on Sunday, decent prices, and a good atmosphere. No food. Beer and wine only.

Another new spot is Joe's, next to Frank and Angie's. Very nice HDTVs. Good beer selection. Food is pricey but good quality for a sports bar. Full bar.

Daddy's: on 6th. Former BW3. They upgraded the TVs to HD and have 2 large HD projection screens. Beer is pricey.

Opal Devine's South: they have a banquet room with a projection TV. I think it's HD. I watched the UT/Tech game there non-HD. Not bad.

Champions: I think this is a chain and attached to a hotel downtown. I've seen the ads for it but don't have any desire to go. Too many local spots to support.
 
i heard a new one is opening up by el arroyo on 5th street. 3rd Base? or maybe it is open. reviews if so?
 
I really like Joe's. They also have a great patio area in the back with a large projection screen if inside is crowded

Actually thought Champion's was solid. Yes, it's a chain but they've gone out of their way to make it UT and Texas (other TX teams) centric.

I still think Ringers is the best spot for actually watching a game. Best tv coverage no matter where you are in the bar.

I enjoy Little Woodrow's but not so much for game watching unless you are sitting at the bar. With that said, I'll go there to watch a game that I'm not completely in to.
 
Gotta have HD, no point in watching it at a bar that has a crappier setup than home. And having an HDTV but feeding it an SD signal does not count.

I like Joe's but tried to watch the TX/OU game there and only the projector up front was HD and it was hot. The older lady that was our waitress was really fast though.

Had a bad experience at Champion's but they do have a nice setup and I like the concept of mystery beer. Will give it another shot based on unpainted's words.

3rd Base should be open very soon, I'm interested to see how they do. The guys doing it really know the bar scene and specifically mentioned that they will have very favorable pricing and proper HD setup (similar quality as Ringer's but w/o the fancy touchpad control system).

BD Riley's on 6th has become a good place to watch games and they are completing their full upgrade to HD now.

A lot of random places have good HDTVs that aren't sports bars like Shakespeare's, 219 West, and Union Park.

Last I checked the Tavern did not have HD on all their tvs and neither did Fox and Hound (which is a real travesty).

Austin doesn't have many good sports bars but things have gotten better the last 5 years.
 
I like Tavern best out of all of those... Ringers the least.... feels too sterile to me... but they did do a good job with the TVs.

That's good news about 3rd Base... looking forward to checking it out... I live right there.
 
Tavern and Fox and Hound spent their money on TVs right before the HD revolution. I don't recall seeing any HDTVs there. I like the Tavern but only on weekday nights for non-crowded games. Forget finding a seat (or parking) on the weekend or for any big game. Their TVs are also too small.

One other nice spot to watch games is the outdoor section of Shoal Creek Saloon. If they upgraded to HD it would be great.
 
We would go to Logan's, I know its not a sports bar but the bar food there is pretty good and it doesn't get crowded very often until later. The big beers are always an easy sell. I went to ringers a couple months after it opened and the service was so terrible I haven't been back.
 
3rd Base is going to be great, the owners are putting a ton of work into making it a great sportsbar and a lot of fun for whoever goes. And they are friends of mine so the prices will be good... for me
biggrin.gif
 
My top ones are 'Lil Woodrows----although they don't serve food or liquor AND Bikinis Bar & Grill. Just went for the 1st time last week. The place is huge and has a shitload of TV's..
And...the girls are fantastic.
 
I can vouch for Stix being a heckuva nice guy in my times hanging out with him, no idea how he treats the ladies.

I rarely post on msg boards but this one feels right since I love living in Austin and am a Texas Ex (BSEE '96) with season tickets and tailgate with hornfans.com

Are there are any gatherings for people on this board? I wouldn't be surprised if I've run into the likes of crayon or unpainted while out beveraging.

Also, why is forum in the Archives section?
 
Just an update.

Ringers is closed. Something about not paying taxes.

3rd Base is now open and I think it is pretty good. Lots of TV's. The food is so-so but it is big enough to not feel crowded even for big event.

This page has a map of most of the sports bars in town.

www.squidoo.com/austinsportsbars
 
If you get the right seat, Woodrow's is Austin's best, i dig all their locations. they seem to get the simple formula the best.
 
I still am liking that Short Skirt's Tight Shirts place. Ooops, it is called Bagpipes. Good food and if you get a view of the tv's it's not so bad.
 
Third Base is AWFUL. It seems like it might be a cool place if you're from out of town. LOTS of fans from other schools. I was there last season to watch the Texas/Rice game and they changed ALL the channels during the third quarter. When I asked why they would do such a thing in Austin, one of the managers told me that it was a boring game.

Needless to say, I will never ever go there again. That and the food was terrible.
 
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