City: Austin, TX
Category: Nightlife
Address: 3601 South Congress Ave.
62. Saradora’s Coffeehouse & Emporium
City: Austin, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (512) 310-1200
Address: 101 East Main St.
Description: Not all the coffeehouse action is in Austin. This Round Rock cafe is housed in an old building in the heart of the town’s historic district. Local artists sell their jewelry and artwork here, and there is live music several nights a week. Saradora’s is open until 10 p.m. during the week and midnight on Fri and Sat, and until 6 p.m. on Sun.
63. Spider House
City: Austin, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (512) 480-9562
Address: 2908 Fruth St.
Description: This coffeehouse just north of the University of Texas campus is packed with old stuff—not really antiques and not really junk, just old stuff like Christmas lights and soft drink machines, old radios, and a miscellany of chairs and tables. The large outdoor deck is a stage for local musicians. Late-night noshes include tamales and pasta dishes.
64. Capitol City Comedy Club
City: Austin, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (512) 467-2333
Address: 8120 Research Blvd.
Description: This Northwest Austin club has pulled in some of the big names in comedy, including Ellen DeGeneres, Jeff Foxworthy, and Bobcat Goldthwait. While nationally known comics appear on Fri and Sat nights, up-and-coming comedians, including local talent, are featured on other nights.
City: Austin, TX
Category: Nightlife
Address: 525 East Sixth St.
66. The Hideout
City: Austin, TX
Category: Nightlife
Address: 617 Congress Ave.
Description: There are two theater stages where everything from comedy classes to ghost tours are offered. Improv and parody nights are popular also.
67. Velveeta Room
City: Austin, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (512) 469-9116
Address: 521 East Sixth St.
Description: If Esther’s Follies is the jewel in the crown of the Austin comedy scene, then the Velveeta Room is the jester. Housed on Sixth Street, next door to Esther’s Pool, local and visiting comic talent try out some of their more outrageous and irreverent routines here. Sketches and improvisations are performed Thurs, Fri, and Sat nights. There is a $6 admission charge.
68. The 311 Club
City: Austin, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (512) 477-1630
Address: 311 East Sixth St.
Description: An old favorite on Sixth Street featuring blues music. The old-style bar attracts a diverse crowd, and there are open-mic nights when the regulars can sing the blues.
69. Atomic Cafe
City: Austin, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (512) 457-0644
Address: 705 Red River St.
Description: The outside of this downtown nightclub looks as grungy as the inside, but that is part of its charm for the metalhead fans who gather here. The club serves up hard rock nightly, and there are special fetish nights for those who want to show off their chains, piercings, and tattoos.
70. Azucar
City: Austin, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (512) 478-5650
Description: Salsa and merengue continue to be hot trends on the Austin dance scene. This downtown club touts itself as “the only 100 percent salsa and merengue club” in Austin. Salsa is not only an exotic way to get a great physical workout, it can be a good opportunity to spot some of the city’s “stars,” since many of the Hollywood types enjoy a salsa workout when they are in town, notably film star Sandra Bullock.
71. Broken Spoke
City: Austin, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (512) 442-6189
Address: 3201 South Lamar Blvd.
Insider Pick:
Description: An original honky-tonk that merits the description “legendary," the Spoke is also a great place to dance a little, drink a little, and eat a lot. There is live music here Tues through Sat, and the cover charges vary. The low ceiling, the tall men in big hats, and the wooden dance floor give this place the feel of an authentic Texas roadhouse. No visit to Austin should end without dropping by the Spoke in South Austin for a longneck.
72. Club Carnaval
City: Austin, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (512) 444-6396
Address: 2237 East Riverside Dr.
Description: Southeast of downtown, along East Riverside Drive, there are several authentic Hispanic nightclubs that celebrate Mexican-American and Latin dance traditions. Club Carnaval is noted for its norteño dances, which originated in Northern Mexico and flourish in South Texas. Male dancers don Western wear, including large belt buckles, tight pressed jeans, and white cowboy hats, while the women dance in full skirts or jeans and Western shirts. Some of the top names in norteño music play here in a setting that has an Aztec motif. In addition to norteño music, the club also features salsa, Tejano, merengue, and cumbia music. Cover charges vary.
73. Copa Bar and Grill
City: Austin, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (512) 479-5002
Address: 217 Congress Ave.
Description: During the daytime, Copa is a lunchtime spot with a Tex-Mex flavor, but at night it turns into a nightclub swinging to a Latin beat. The Copa also offers salsa lessons several times a week. Patrons tend be to “dressy” in their attire and there is a cover fee.
74. Desperado’s
City: Austin, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (512) 834-2640
Address: 9515 North Lamar Blvd.
Description: There are several different kinds of Latino music, but the homegrown kind here in Texas is called Tejano—the state was, after all, named “Tejas” when it was part of Mexico. The music has a fast-paced swing, a sort of cross between country and salsa. The outfit of choice celebrates the “vaquero,” the northern Mexican cowboy whose dress influenced cowboys north of the border. Both men and women wear cowboy boots and the men wear cowboy hats, while the women wear either Western-style skirts or jeans. This 11,000-square-foot dance club has three full-service bars.
75. El Borinquen
City: Austin, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (512) 447-5087
Address: 2728 South Congress Ave.
Description: This tiny restaurant and bar re-creates the atmosphere of Old San Juan. The food and drinks are Puerto Rican, as are many of the customers, but the dance floor also draws a diverse crowd that enjoys dancing to salsa and merengue sounds on Fri and Sat nights.