76. ELYSIUM
City: Austin, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (512) 474-2285
Address: 704 Red River St.
Description: One of the city’s liveliest dance clubs. Theme nights are popular here, including Regression Night on Sun when the ‘80s are celebrated. The club also hosts fashion shows.
77. Flamingo Cantina
City: Austin, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (512) 494-9336
Address: 515 East Sixth St.
Description: The Flamingo gets consistently good reviews for the bands that it books, and the club also offers rock and reggae that keep the place packed on weekends. The decor and the sounds are designed to evoke the Caribbean with a grass-thatched roof over the stage and pictures of Bob Marley on the walls. There is an upstairs open-air deck where you can dance under the stars.
78. Miguel’s La Bodega
City: Austin, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (512) 472-2369
Address: 415 Colorado St.
Description: Miguel’s is the hot spot in the downtown Warehouse District for the Latino dance scene. Salsa and merengue rule here, and the uninitiated can take midweek lessons on the premises. Live bands on the weekends provide a constant salsa beat, and just to make sure you stay in a south-of-the-border mood, the club serves a Latino menu.
79. Paradox
City: Austin, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (512) 469-7615
Address: 311 East Fifth St.
Description: The Austin Chronicle calls this Sixth Street–area club the “Wal-Mart of dance clubs,” suggesting it is both popular and cheap. It is always packed on the weekends and is popular with the college crowd. Paradox also stays open after the bars close at 2 a.m. The Wal-Mart designation aside, there is a dress code here (primarily on Fri and Sat). Guys may get turned away at the door if their jeans are too ragged or their T-shirts have gaping holes.
80. Speakeasy
City: Austin, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (512) 476-8017
Address: 412 Congress Ave.
Description: Speakeasy is a classy spot for a martini or glass of wine. Housed in one of Congress Avenue’s older buildings, recently a used appliance store, the renovation has produced one of the fancier nightspots. A mezzanine theme, hence the emphasis on jazz and gin.
81. Tejano Ranch
City: Austin, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (512) 834-2640
Address: 7601 North Lamar Blvd.
Description: Tejano music is designed for dancing, and some of the biggest acts in the genre appear at this North Austin nightclub, notably on the weekends. The crowd here is generally older than 30 and familiar with the Tejano scene. The club has a South Texas atmosphere with neon mustangs outside and a large Selena mural inside, plus the chairs are covered in cowhide.
82. 1920’s Club
City: Austin, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (512) 479-7979
Address: 918 Congress Ave.
Description: This Congress Avenue club, 3 blocks south of the capitol, has a ’20s theme. Dubbed a “speakeasy,” the club features jazz music and martinis, but there is also a food menu.
83. ’Bout Time
City: Austin, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (512) 832-5339
Address: 9601 North I-35
Description: Gay patrons, both men and women, are attracted to this nightclub that aims for a neighborhood tavern theme, dubbed “Cheers for queers,” by the Chronicle. Indoors there are pool tables and darts, while outdoors there are sand volleyball courts. The bar also features a big-screen television and video games.
84. Boyz Cellar
City: Austin, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (512) 479-8482
Address: 213 West Fourth St.
Description: This warehouse district club has two bars and a large dance floor. The club also features exotic dancers, movie nights, and special musical events.
85. Chain Drive
City: Austin, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (512) 480-9017
Address: 504 Willow St.
Description: This Central Austin bar is described as Austin’s only “leather bar,” but this is soft and cuddly leather. Chain Drive is headquarters for a group calling itself the Heart of Texas Bears, a self-described social group for masculine, bearded, and/or hairy gay men and their admirers. The bar has pool tables and a small dance floor and is open daily from early afternoon until 2 a.m.
86. Charlie’s
City: Austin, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (512) 474-6481
Address: 1301 Lavaca St.
Description: A longtime fixture on the gay scene, Charlie’s is noted for its clubby atmosphere and party mood on weekends plus drag contests that include an annual Cher look-alike contest. On Sun night, the downtown club hosts drag shows, while on Tues the steak and chicken dinners draw crowds. There is a dance floor, dartboards, pool tables, 2 bars, and television sets for special programming. The outdoor patio is a popular gathering spot when the weather cooperates.
87. Dick’s Deja Disco
City: Austin, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (512) 457-8010
Address: 113 San Jacinto Blvd.
Description: The gay and lesbian community comes to this downtown club to kick up its collective heels and dance to the top country sounds or the retro sounds of disco music.
88. Oilcan Harry’s
City: Austin, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (512) 320-8823
Address: 211 West Fourth St.
Description: Some have dubbed this Warehouse District bar a neighborhood bar for Austin’s gay, beautiful set. Named as one of the top 50 clubs in the world by Out magazine, the large bar is a major feature of the club, but the dance floor with its fog machine is the focal point. A patio in the back of the club offers a retreat from the frenzy of the dance floor. Although the majority of the customers are gay, straight patrons also enjoy the atmosphere here—and the dancing. Open 2 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily.
89. Rain on 4th
City: Austin, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (512) 494-1150
Description: This upscale downtown club offers sophisticated events like a black tie Christmas gala, plus amateur strip nights that have a much naughtier air. Other evenings are set aside to celebrate the music of the ‘80s and ‘90s.
City: Austin, TX
Category: Nightlife
Address: 320 East Sixth St.