Every time I come here, I get groped, harassed, or otherwise manhandled by some drunk asshole. This place is supposed to be one of the best gay bars in Austin (what with Tuesgayz and all), but my partner and I have been harassed more here than at any other bar in Austin. It's so crowded and understaffed that the lines for a drink are always 5-10 minutes, and it's impossible to get the staff's attention to report harassment. Yes, the music is good and the theme nights are fun. I just cannot deal with the cesspool of harassment that comes with this place anymore. read more

Terrible place. Bad music, incompetent bartenders who don't know how to make "HBombs" or "Oh Babies," weird crowd, dirty venue...And they still have the guts to charge a $4 cover. I don't want to waste anymore time writing a review on them. They'll be out of business soon. read more

Make sure to check your credit card statements. I was with a friend and I bought the drinks on my credit card and they paid the tips in cash. An employee took it upon them self to add a tip on my card- uh stealing! I'm disputing the transaction with Visa. read more

I want to tell you a story. I have this Puerto Rican friend who lives on island time. I might as well tell you his name: Jason. I sometimes call him Jasongo, because I like giving people nicknames. Nomenclature is something I fancy. Yesterday (Tuesday), Island Boy sent me the following text: (run a big, bad massive "sic" all the way through this mother) "ho-me, dance lik david bowie at rella nite it will be blastworthy brutha i heart you hermano. 11?" My buddy Hason has a huge heart, a blackbelt in jujitsu, a really good tan, a wayfaring gait and no watch. I think he thinks he constantly hears the surf, and he lives like he has several major surfing sponsorships. He also rarely shows up when he says he will. And, he still eats Ramen noodles. Yesterday, I made him swear to me that, in the evening, he would not lie down, recline or even cogitate for a moment the prospect of closing his eyes. Surfer brah can go down for a "nap" and sleep the whole night through, ten or eleven hours worth, see? He stands me up all the time. He stood me up last night, and I am going to tell you all about it. I showed up at Barbarella to meet Mr. Coppertone around 10:45. I had been to Barbarella 2X before, both on Thursdays for the wonderful "Grits and Gravy". I did not know the Tuesday theme, only that PR typed that it would be "blastworthy brutha". I did notice a dearth of females and an abundance of carriers of the Y chromosome. I also noticed a pungent--nay, sweetly acrid--aroma as I leaned toward the bartender. "Gin and tonic" never hurt so much to yell--in a husky sort of way--as it did at the bar at Barbarella. While I was waiting for the 'tender to "fix" my $2 drink I struggled to push back the furious flow of painful images of my mom hurling--flinging, even--sour dish rags across the kitchen at me. "You and your smart mouth! You treat me like I'm your servant." (Weave, bob, duck.) I moved swiftly from the bar as soon as I grasped my drink. I walked "into" the dance floor. The drink, a weak pour (but only $2!), didn't really serve to jettison the malevolent memories, but the green lights shooting laser-like from the ceiling (where the lightsource lives) did. Then, there was the "smoke" that came hissing from the "fog machine". Then, there were the screens featuring videos to match the music; music that my highschool-Saturday-night-Scrabble-playing self did not recognize; music that made my legs move: and even my hips. And, so I "danced". I was dancing by myself. I was white boy Southern Baptist used-to-be, straight up-straight, soul kid wannabe dancing. After a couple of foggy, green striated techno tunes to which I moved, dancing, I decided to wander through the place. I wondered as I wandered: How frickin' big IS this place?? Stinky bar spills to dance floor turns to booths rolls to photo booth (?) moves to 'nother bar converts to sprawling outside split level seating. Like Jethro said to Ellie Mae: This place is HUGE! I finished my Gin and tonic and tonic and tonic and went back to the dancefloor. No Jason. Three girls. Twenty-seven guys. Hmmmmm...I'm not in Des Moines anymore. I decided to dance some more. I offered to buy a drink for one of the three. She accepted. We braced for olfactory convulsions and bellied back up. We clinked our plastic vodka tonics (only $3.50!) and got to the kinda dancing I can do: the grind kind. She kept grinning and shyly (slyly?) looking away. I kept asking what. She would lean in and answer. I would nod and show my dimples, ignorant to her words. At some point, around 11:45 (I had been there an hour whilst my olive-skinned ho-me slumbered), I noticed the dance floor was packed. Packed. Lots of tank tops. Lots of shorts. Lots of men. I looked up at one of the video screens. There were four men in wrestling singlets, feet touching in some sort of crab walk formation. They were--in synchronized, pulsating fashion--slowly, purposefully thrusting their pelves (this, unlike the video, is acceptable) skyward, in worshipful, feverishly phallic fashion. "Tuesgayz" appeared on the screen. Tuesgayz. I leaned in (okay, by now there was no room to lean) to my "dancing" partner and chortled, "It's called Tuesgayz. That's funny." She leaned back, pushing away to gain distance for visual perspective. Through the green-slashed dance floor fog she exclaimed, wide-eyed: "You're gay, right?!" I shook my head no, a little confused. I mean, the grinding wasn't exactly Plato-style, my friends. "Oh no, I have a boyfriend!" (Obviously, an attached girl is allowed to make out with a gay guy.) We shook hands and parted; I smiled, aware that I had a story to tell. Though now solo, I didn't want to leave; I stared down the room, taking in the gyrations, the couplings, the joy. I might not be gay, but I would say I was if it meant gaining access to Barbarella on Tuesdayz. read more

Best place in Austin to make bad decisions. I have never had a bad time at this club. If you go to barbs and aren't dancing or having fun, it's probably a personality flaw. This place is dirty, crowded and amazing. The music and people are fun and the drinks are cheap. If you find your Fitbit low on steps, head to barbs and dance and sweat the night away ... And maybe make a bad decision or two in the process. read more

Not sure why this place has so many bad reviews. I have been here twice and had a good time. It was a nice change from my usual bars on 6th st. When I came on a Friday, they were playing old school r&b/hip outside and 80s/90s inside. My knowledge of 80s music is zero to nothing but I still had fun jamming to the music. Drinks are super cheap as are most of the clubs/bars around here. But of course you are paying for the cheap liquors. I would totally come back next time I visit Austin! read more

Got refused alcohol because of my accent, pretty shocking really, I don't think a sober English accent is reason to not serve someone. Because of this I cant really leave a proper review... read more

In all honesty, I'm usually not too impressed when new bars pop up downtown, but this bar is f&^%ing out of control. I was following a group of friends from Creekside Lounge without the faintest idea as to where we were headed. Being the slightly inebriated sheep I was that evening (which was totally out of character. The sheep part that is), I didn't really look for a sign, I just rolled in w/ my posse. As I walked through the door a crazy wave of unanticipated deliciousness engulfed my entire existence. The first thing I noticed was a huuuuge-ass dance floor and as some of you may know, bitch...likes... to tear.... that shit...UP!! I mean, it was literally like a small skating rink. No joke. As for the music, I didn't know where it was coming from, or who was in charge of it, but it made me want to tear my shirt off and throw my breasts all over that place like a wild savage in heat. Sexual. Sooooo sexual. If you've had a chance to read Sophilia G's review on this place, she nailed it; The Big Pink, Crystal Castles, Hot Chip (God, I'll hump the air and impulsively spank a stranger's ass any time I hear this band at a club), Yacht, and Miike Snow. Speaking of Miike, he will soon be receiving a envelope that not only contains multiple haikus that allude to the fact that I'm offering my body to him, but will also enclose a plethora of photographs. These photos will be provocative in nature and feature myself striking various sexual positions in numerous furry costumes ("Furotica," if you will); inspired by his latest hit, "Animal." So yeah, I expect to be changing my Facebook status any day now. Anywho, Barbarella. This bar also had something I'd never seen before; Flatscreens.....everywhere. They played the music videos that went w/ every song and I thought it was sheer genius. It created a completely different atmosphere that broke the inescapable monotony one typically experiences downtown. Now, as if that wasn't enough, may I PLEASE talk about the lights? I remember thousands of blue dots swirling all over the room while I slowly spun in circles thinking, "Thiiiiss iiiissss sooooo maaaagggiiicaaall, soooo beauuuttiiffuuullll," then BAM! Lasers in my face! Hot damn, do I love the element of surprise! These were the beams of light you typically see at concerts where the performers assume a good majority of the audience is going to be on hallucinogens. Although I was drug-free, nobody would've known the difference. I kept throwing my hands in the air and combing through the man-made rainbows w/ my fingers tips while my smile grew bigger and bigger and my mouth gaped wider and wider. There's no doubt in my mind that I probably looked like a giant douche-hole that had hippie-flipped their ass off on the car ride over. (Side note: for those that aren't familiar with this term, it means "juggling mushrooms and ecstasy simultaneously......in your mouth." Yeah, I recommend finding a partner in crime for this one. Otherwise, you prooooobably want to keep that shit to yourself to ensure that your "going out" crew will still take your ass w/ them. Again, gotta love the element of surprise.) None-the-less, I obviously didn't give a rat's ass bc I was in my own personal paradise and even forgot, momentarily, that I came w/ anyone. I was in the zone. A zone that a lot of people on the dance floor were in, but managed to keep better composure. Bottom line, you need hit this bar up on the ASAP. It's wicked. read more

I had a pretty bad experience at this place. The bouncer guys at this place are basically just violent bullies. They pick on people who don't appear to do anything to provoke it, even using physical force- i recently was shoved out the door for asking if there was a lost & found. Something isn't right with the staff here- take your money elsewhere. There are TONS of great places in Austin- even on 6th - This just isn't one of them. read more

In the past 5 times I've been here. I've gotten the wrong credit card back 3 times. I've been double charged twice. And tonight I waited 24 minutes to close out and, when I mentioned I had been waiting to close out from 1:03 to 1:27, was met with anger and scorn by the bartender with a buzz cut, beard and glasses. No matter how much my friends dig it, eff this place. I love the music, but the staff needs to realize that there are places their clientele can hit up and not be double-charged or condescended to. read more

Dumbasses trying to charge cover at 1:15am. Told them I'd tip a lot more than their cover because it's not worth a $5 ATM fee to get in just to meet friends for a few minutes. The door girl's response was "either go in or get out, I don't give a shit what you do, just stay away from my fucking door". So I walked out. The bouncer felt he needed to chime in and added the invaluable contribution of "never come back here again". I've lived in Austin for years and never even heard of this shit hole even though I'm almost exclusively Red River. Douchey spot. read more

While I didn't dance nor partake in any alchoholic beverages (stupid early morning run), I enjoyed the mix of obscure 80's music videos being played on the screen and those trying to dance to it. The drink specials are pretty great until 11, especially if PBR is your beer of choice. I felt very unhip and wished I had tried harder in the attire department. Now I know better. read more

I had the worst experience with the bartender here. I was waiting patiently to order for my friend. And after 5 min of waiting (which was fine, it was a busy night), the bartender came to me saying no, she refused to serve me, accused me of yelling at her and called me a jerk. The fact is I did not even say a word for the whole time that I was waiting. What kind of customer service is that? read more

First time going to Barbarella on Halloween weekend, and it was pretty awesome. A nice change up from whats on dirty sixth. The music was refreshing-hello they played the Black Keys! read more

This place sucks! They will not let you in after 2am unless you have $10 cash on you and if you leave your debit card in there and don't have any Cash on hand and you have your arm stamped, they will not let you in! No matter what! This is absurd, how can anyone return to this place of business to pick up their card or anything else they might have left in there if they don't carry cash on them! That is probably the dumbest implement I have ever heard of! Needless to say the bouncer is a giant tool and this place sucks!! read more

I freaking love Barbarella. And always will. Hip-hop Saturdays outside in the back are my fav. And they attract the most interesting crowds. One of the few bars open past 2AM (although all drinks must be finished/thrown out at that time, which still rings slightly absurd to me) which is pretty badass. I hope to get proposed to and/or married in Barbs. Not really.. (wait yes actually) Love you, Barbs. read more

I've been here many times over the years, and my experiences have been up and down. It is often times a great dance floor, and other times the staff seems annoyed, the wait for drinks is unbearable, and every inch of the place screams, "Uninviting!" Again, I've had fun nights here as well, but that was due to the company I was with and dj that was playing. The rumors are out, and I've personally experienced some extreme rudeness from the staff, but they're dealing with drunks (most of the time), and probably on edge for a lot of reasons, but that is no excuse for the recent allegations against them for violent, hateful, and even homophobic behavior. Whether these are true or not, I can't tell, and I (personally) wish to avoid speculation. Rumors aside: I have had fun here a few nights, and think there are certain areas in which they could improve, but overall, if you're the "clubbing" type, and enjoy dancing, you may enjoy yourself. read more

The door girl is very, very rude, and at a busy time like SXSW?! Poor choice by management .

Best 80s night hands down (Friday nights). Drinks are reasonable, people are nice, and dance floor gets packed. No cover if you arrive early. Bathrooms are the WORST and so gross, but add to Barbarella's charm?? (Seriously they should fix the bathrooms to be nicer...). Other than that, love this place and love the DJs and the backyard patio area too. Two bars, 30 something year olds dancing, and the occasional Emo night? Sign me up every weekend! read more

This place is disgusting. The bouncer assaulted my husband, breaking his arm (confirmed by his doctor yesterday), dragging him from this wretched establishment by his throat. My husband is very easy-going & didn't engage with the bouncer whatsoever (so no bs claims of self-defense some bouncers like to throw around). No, this was just a massive meathead turning his self-hatred outwards. He threw me to the ground as well (I was just standing next to my husband), gashing my arm open & tearing up my leg. Overall, a vile business. Don't waste your money here; it embodies the absolute worst of Austin. In retrospect, I wish I hadn't been so distraught so I could have immediately filed a police report. If you go there, keep your cellphones handy to video any abuses. read more

I went there every friday for a while. After 12 place gets so full you cant even dance. I got full on body slammed by some drunk chick, the ususal creeps stalk the dance floor, one guy that thinks it's ok to just grab a random chick and drag her wherever he wants. All in all not the bars fault but maybe they should control the flow a bit better and watch the dance floor a little more. Still enjoy going there though, great music. read more

Steph or ashley ( the blonde bartender who refused to give her real name) thinks she has it all figured out and therefore is entitled to treat customers with the least amount of respect. Big deal, you can pour a drink. It is sad that you can't be a decent person. I've read countless reviews. Looks like nothing changes. read more

Love this place but fat white bouncer with black hair and a beard is an asshole :( threw my real ID on the ground BC he thought it was fake

If there was an option for 0 stars I would have chosen it. This place reeks of rude entitled bartenders and creepy older guys trying to hand out drugs. Disgusting in every way. I will never be back, not even if someone paid me. read more

I like this location, but that is about all. I have been there only a handful of times and after this last visit, I will say that I am not going back. We were there for a show along with a lot of other guest and they had too many tech problems and the show ran 30min late with this huge crowd shoulder to shoulder waiting. Then all you can hear is the tech guy over the microphone saying he can't f****ing figure this s*** out. When they finally get the last show of the night started they cut his set off because his time was up, but THEY are the ones who messed up. We all paid to see this band play and he only got 4 songs in. I wanted to see another show there the next day, but its not worth going back to that place. Horrible horrible. read more

Summary for those who don't want to read: RUDE, DAMAGED MY PROPERTY, EMPLOYEES HAVE DEEP SEATED ISSUES! AVOID THIS PLACE!! DO NOT GO HERE. First of all I'd like to say I've never ever felt the need to write a yelp review about a bar. I've never dealt with such bad vibes and foolishness in my life. It's sad though because barbarella has a really nice atmosphere, MINUS the workers who have hatred in their soul for some reason. Horrible experience. EXTREMELY RUDE BARTENDERS!!!!!! HORRIBLE service. Bartenders and security who really are having a hard life and need to take it out on others. DO NOT GO HERE!!! Here's what happened to me: first of all, I'm not expecting every bartender to have a big smile on their face every time. Just don't have a STANKY face and ATTITUDE for NOTHING when I'm being nice. I always smile at bartenders/servers/whatever and there's always a smile back, or just a friendly gleam of the eye and small smirk. I didn't get ANY friendliness here. First I got drinks from a blonde woman, tatted, pretty. HORRIBLE STANKY FACE. BAAAAD VIBES. But that wasn't the main issue. Next I was inside the bar. There's a bartender. idk how to describe him except as a white guy who was wearing a tank top, with dark vertical stretch marks on his arms. I barely had my fingertips curled over the bar, because I instinctually had my arm rested there. He's yells GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY BAR at the top of his lungs. It sounded demonic. He FREAKED OUT like someone in a mental hospital!! I can't even remember the last time someone yelled at me like that. Never in my life actually. I was literally RESTING my hand on the bar and my fingertips barely curled over. BARELY. Anyway. I apologized but I guess that wasn't enough. I was like I'm sorry, but jeez dude, it's not a big deal. I'm sorry but chill out, man. I guess he had a problem with me telling him he was overreacting by screaming at me in a demonic voice for MY MERE FINGERTIPS being curled on his side of the bar. Then he called security and as I was trying to explain that I did nothing wrong, security GRABBED my phone, stormed out, and forcefully smacked my phone outside on the middle of the sidewalk. He could've handed it to me but instead he forcefully smacked it on the ground and fucked my phone up. Also was a lot of foot traffic and it could've been stepped on or stolen. He did it in a very aggressive way. And my phone has been slow since. That's $1000 worth of damage just because I told the bartender that I'm sorry, but he needs to chill and relax. Thanks Barbarella! Also. As I left and followed the security guy who grabbed my phone, the stretch mark tank top guy (he will probably wear long sleeves after this review) was like HAAA!! HAAA!!! Jumping up and down and SCREAMING so loud. REALLY loud fake laughing. Causing a scene like a crazy child. I used to teach a kindergarten class and they never even acted that insane. It's usually like a HAAA! HAA!! And done. This guy was like HAAA!!! HAAA!!! HAAAA!!! HAAA!! HAAAA!!!!! HAAAA!!! HAAAAA!!!!! HAAAA!!! HAAAA!!! HAAAA!!! All while jumping up and down full force and pointing at me. I really feel bad for the guy. Acting like not only a child, but a PSYCHO child. He's strikes me as the type of dude who's been hurt in life and kills baby animals for fun. Why do the staff at barbarella HATE THEIR LIVES?? I'm so sorry for you. DO NOT GO HERE!!! read more

This is my favorite place to go dancing at. Thursday's Grits N Gravy is the absolute shit. Also love Friday's 80s night as well. The atmosphere is awesome, they play the best jams and everyone is having a blast on the dance floor even though it gets packed! Drink prices aren't bad, get there before happy hour is over for cheaper drinks! Love love love this place so much!! read more

I actually enjoy barbs. It's one of my favorite places to go dance. Until last night. I have an expired hard ID but I have two paper forms of valid ID. The door man refused me entry. It is actually illegal to not take those. If you read a temporary ID it states that it is a legal form of identification. If the police accept it, maybe a crappy little bar should. You've lost a customer. read more

Boooooooooooooooo! This place stole my drink 1.5 hrs before bar close. NEVER coming again. read more

The bar tender Ashley was the biggest @$$hole I have ever encountered at a bar! And it sucks because this was my friends and I's favorite place. It's sucks that the bar tenders are so stuck up when this is supposed to be a relax fun place to dance the night away. I hope the owners read this and straighten out the bartenders because I know A lot of people who think the same way and it's sad to see such a great place go to Shit because of the bartenders they decide to hire! read more

On Friday night as my friends and I were leaving the overcrowded and poorly serviced bar, I had tripped over a girl lying lifeless just outside the bar's exit. Without hesitation, I tried helping her up and gathered her belongings. As I was doing so, the arrogant, loud and obnoxious door girl started stealing the drunk girls things. She had taken her purse, pulled jewelry off her fingers and took the girls headband that she was wearing. In this awful attempt to "look cool" in front of her laughing friends, I stood up to her and asked her what she was doing. I immediately was pushed aside and chest bumped out of the way by the "bouncers" who asked to leave or else they would call the cops. I continued to argue back and forth with these losers working the door because what they were doing was obviously wrong. The one bouncer who was a condescending prick wouldn't listen to anything I was saying because he was too busy calling me a "hipster" and shoving me out of the way. He also assumed that because I was leaving his bar, I was obviously a drunk idiot who didn't know better. My argument with these lowlifes lasted a solid 5 minutes up until my friends had to pull me away. Without saying, I will never waste my time at this terrible establishment again. To the Barbarella staff: have fun remaining incompetent idiots who steal from your customers and continue pushing girls out of your door for a living. You're really creating a difference for the public and exceeding all your mother's expectations. To the public: Seriously, don't ever go there. read more

Love the music here. That being said, you'd think a bar that hosts an event called "tuesgayz" every week would be more sensitive to gender neutral restrooms. Also, most of the bartenders in front of house are utter arses. I don't mind waiting for a drink, but I really don't need your attitude. read more

The most delightful spot for dancing, you will literally lose your panties in the throng of sheer amazingness that is Barbarella. Words can't describe the friendly breath of fresh air to what is, by most accounts, a pretentious hipster scene. These are where the friendly hipsters congregate for the weekend dance rituals that have been missing from Austin as long as I've been here. I don't really even bother with anything else anymore; this is where you need to be if you're downtown and you want to dance off as many calories as you're going to drink. read more

This review is for Thursday Soul Night which is the only night that I have been in there! I got here way too early and there was nobody there but, that soon changed when 11 pm rolled around! It was filled with people doing the hand jive and various other dances! The staff is super friendly and my tequila and sprites treated me well so, no complaints there! The back patio is huge and connects to the neighboring bar so if you need a break from hand jiving you can hop over there and see what band is playing! They even play music videos to the soul music!!!! My favorite Thursday night spot! read more

I love it for its "come as you are" atmosphere. I always dance my face off and have a blast inside and outside. The staff is the right mix of friendly but not so chatty that they take forever to serve drinks or get the line moving. If you are looking for a fun joint that has very little attitude, Barbs would be worth checking out. read more

Loved it here. Went out on Tuesday night for Tuesgayz. Music is loud and great mix. The outside back area is huge. People are friendly and no one got obnoxious or pretentious like some of the other gay bars in town. Everyone is just there to dance and have a good time. read more

can I give it a zero?? We waited in line then the power accused of us cutting cause I got out of line to give a girl sitting on the sidewalk some water. We figured we'd just listen and then waited in line AGAIN after that the owner pulled us out of line AGAIN saying "you two aren't getting in - you're drunk and you cut" my lil sis yelled and I told her to stop and I explained in a calm voice that we had been waiting patiently and that other people were cutting anyway so what's the deal? He said "well i can't see them but i saw you" so I said "well that's not very fair is it? could you just let my sister in and I'll wait outside? our friends are inside?" so he said "no way, you are never getting in" I tried explaining it was very unfair then I realized that we were the only non-white people in line and the the owner was just racist. My sister even began to cry at how unfair we were being treated - I even showed him pictures of us in line and had the people behind us vouch for us but he wouldn't listen.... what a racist asshole - I've never been treated so terribly in my life never going here again read more

SO DISAPPOINTED. Barbarella used to be my favorite spot. The bartender gave my friends credit card to someone else, essentially losing their card, once we complained about it, they had us kicked out. I was the DD, so was stone cold sober. They insisted otherwise. We tried again weeks later to give them a second chance-- we have really great memories here-- and they would not let us in, claiming the girl who complained the first night was too intoxicated. She was not let in. When we tried speaking to the bouncer and explain that he was incorrect in his assumption, he kicked our whole party out of line and wouldn't let anyone in. Own up to your mistake. Stop blaming your loyal patrons. Would like to return, but your bouncers and bartenders need to have some accountability. So incredibly disappointed and let down. What happened barbs? read more

If you're conscious about your dance moves, steer clear. Come lose yourself and dance like an asshole at barbarella... that's what I do

If you are in Austin and your goal is to have a great time then check this place out. The music was spot on! Inside you have your music that anyone can dance to not sure of the genre but some of the songs I even asked the DJ the name of because I had fell in love. Outside the DJ was playing late 90's and early 2000's and lets admit everyone in their 20's grew up on these songs and knew all of the words and it was just a total crowd pleaser. I'd like to consider the outside area more of a "Backyard" because being from Chicago this is exactly what it reminded me of. A backyard party where everyone is dancing and not caring and totally living in the moment. My friends and I didn't want to leave! I will definitely be coming back to Barbarella and look forward to showing this place to all of my friends. read more