City: Austin, TX

Category: Nightlife

Telephone: (512) 457-0900

Address: 900 Red River St.

Insider Pick:

Description: The exterior of Club DeVille looks vaguely 1950s, definitely funky, and is certainly Austin, with its mix of patrons, some dressed up for a posh night on the town, others in jeans and sandals. The guys who founded this Sixth Street–district club did so because they needed a place to hold their regular weekend cocktail parties. One of the owners is Mark McKinnon, a former Daily Texan editor and former Democratic political consultant who amazed his friends and political cohorts when he signed on with then Governor George W. Bush as a media consultant. One newspaper critic has described the decor as “hanging out in Grandma’s basement while she’s in Florida.” There is a large outdoor, dog-friendly deck equipped with funky furniture and blankets for chilly nights. The bar does get busy on the weekends, but the relaxed atmosphere is constant.