Whisler's in Austin is the East 6th Street cocktail bar with the city's strongest mezcal program, plus Mezcaleria Tobala upstairs serving agave flights and Thai food.
Food program: Thai food from Mezcaleria Tobala upstairs
Tip: Walk straight upstairs to Mezcaleria Tobala for the agave list; the downstairs bar runs faster and louder.
Address: 1816 E 6th St, Austin, TX 78702
Garrison in Austin runs a steakhouse bar program at the Fairmont Austin on Red River, with a five-time Wine Spectator-recognised cellar and a tableside Dirty Martini cart.
Signature drink: Garrison Dirty Martini, made tableside
Food: Steakhouse menu from the dining room
Tip: The bar takes walk-ins; ask for the tableside Dirty Martini and the seasonal-fruit Old Fashioned variant.
Better Half in Austin is the Clarksville bungalow from the New Waterloo group, a coffee-shop-by-day, cocktail-bar-by-night patio with a frozen Negroni program on Sundays.
Signature drink: Frozen Negroni and seasonal espresso martini
Food: Brunch plates and bistro snacks
Tip: The patio is the work-friendly room until 4pm; after that the cocktail program runs and the laptops close.
Stubb's Bar-B-Q in Austin is the Red River BBQ-and-music venue in an 1850s limestone building, a downtown amphitheatre with smoked plates and a long Texas-spirits bar.
Signature drink: Bloody Mary with smoked-pepper rim
Food: Texas BBQ from the smokehouse
Tip: Sunday Gospel Brunch books out 3 weeks ahead; the regular bar runs late on show nights.
Justine's Brasserie in Austin runs an after-midnight bar program at the 1937 East 5th cottage, the city's longest-running late-night French room with Champagne by the glass.
Signature drink: French 75 and Champagne by the glass
Food: French brasserie plates until midnight
Tip: Late-night service runs to 12am Friday and Saturday; the Pagoda room is the smoking patio.
LoLo in Austin is the natural wine bar and bottle shop on East 6th Street, with hundreds of wines for drinking on site or taking home, plus a large back patio.
Signature drink: Rotating natural-wine glass
Food: Snacks and small plates
Tip: The retail shelves double as bottle list; pick from the wall and the corkage is a flat low rate.
Bouldin Acres in Austin is the South Lamar two-acre beer garden on the corner of Oltorf, a family-and-dog-friendly patio with smash burgers, frozen margaritas and pickleball.
Signature drink: Frozen margarita and big-batch cocktails
Food: Smash burgers, tacos, kids menu
Tip: 21-plus rule kicks in after 10pm; the daytime patio is family-and-dog territory until then.
