Extremely rude customer service from the ignorant young girl working the register. we came with a huge party celebrating a wedding and her professionalism was horrible. Refused to take orders because they weren't able to split checks up and some of our party wasn't staying just were trying to order food to go and she refused to take there order. Would not recommend going at all overpriced food and crappy service. read more

This place was very unhygienic and decrepit. The ceilings were practically caving in and it was filthy (particularly the bathrooms which had an overwhelming stench of urine). While I understand this may be an Austin staple, I found it offensive that they charged a $15/person cover to get into the dancing area given the condition of the facilities. As an adult, it is also unfavorable that those under 21 can frequent this establishment. We ended up leaving after 30 minutes. Would not recommend. read more

Some of the employees are very rude. One guy was very rude both nights we visited He could tell people no line dancing without being extremely rude and demeaning He could also tell people to form two lines at the bar without being rude and a smart ass. Some of the bar tenders are nice and accommodating, while others were rude and pissy. read more

Do NOT go on dance lesson night. You pay $15 cover and then $10 for the dance lessons which is some old chick (and I'm older than she is) trying to teach her own step dance, that your traditional Texas 2-step is BS, and you will look stupid if you dance this way. We got 30 min into the the lesson and never heard a chord of music. Save yourself all of the misery. read more

The food was not good and the attitude of the owner is awful. Food was cold and no flavor. When brought to the owner attention she blamed us for coming to early because her cook did not have enough time to warm it up in the microwave. I wanted to come for a long time because of the history but was very disappointed: read more

I really want to love this place but I can't get over how disgusting the bathrooms are. It's not even the fabric shower curtain "door" resting on my knees but it's the stench of urine that almost made me sick to my stomach. I won't be back unless a band I love is playing there. Put a little money into the restrooms and the other minor issues can be overlooked. read more

Fun place to learn to dance, food is okay, and fair prices. It's nice to have live music and support a local owned business

The real deal... a truly historic Texas honky tonk experience. I can't say enough about the folks there - quick, pleasant, professional in a hot mess of a crowd with lots of out-of-towners on a Saturday night. We had a grand time, old and new. Even the goofiness of the tourist crowd was also somehow entertaining and added to the odd old school vibe of this legendary place. So very glad we got to go, and drink, and dance and listen to live Western Swing, fiddles and steel guitar. Thank you all at the Spoke! Memories until next Texas road trip. Best regards, Bob W, (Desert kid stuck in New England foh-evah.... sigh) read more

A local legend! Loved the dancing lessons! Definitely be patient with your server and food orders; the same team is cooking, serving, bartending, etc! I am so glad we went and it was nice my nephews (17 and 14) could come too, as most places are 21+! We had an amazing time; I'd definitely go back! read more

I'm really sad the other reviews about how bad this place has gotten are true. Spark-notes version: -the dance instructor is mean and nasty to people -way over priced - no free water -don't open a tab, they will throw things on there you didn't order -filthy (dust, rat poop, water dripping from the ceiling) someone call the health department One good thing - the band is awesome. Not worth all the drama unfortunately. The long of it: I've been dancing for 13 years and I used to teach ballroom professionally. Worst dance lesson I've ever watched my friends take. The instructor yelled at tables telling them "you're being too f***ing loud" and yelled at people taking her lesson saying "you look horrible". Well, they did look pretty bad. Probably because everyone stood around for an hour "learning" to dance while she just talked sh*t. Just downright mean for no reason. Never seen anything like it. Every employee seemed like they hated their job and every customer in the place. I'm born and raised in Austin and this place is a tourist trap. Over priced everything. $15 to dance, another $10 to take the "dance lesson". I think a Dos Equis in a bottle was $5.25, $2 for a bottle of water, no free water, cash only. Literally go anywhere else to dance. White Horse Sagebrush Mavericks in Buda read more

A classic Austin experience to hear some live music and learn the Texas two step. It is exactly the American experience that you'd expect from a Texas dance hall. A old, crusty, yet reminiscent building / atmosphere with a mix of tourists and locals. Food is nothing special, but no one is coming here just to eat. Dance lessons are fun and can be a different experience based on who your instructor is. read more

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I've been in Austin 11 years and shame on me I had not been to this iconic Austin spot yet! If you love country music or just want to check out a cool spot with lots of history come on by the Broken Spoke. The drinks are cold, the food smelled pretty good & maybe you'll learn how to two step! read more

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There must still be real live central Texas country bars because on my way down here I passed several pickup trucks that weren't being driven by a recent transplant from California or New Jersey. I know this because these trucks hadn't been washed in maybe a decade or so, indicating they came from some rural ranching operation. Some of those guys must have a place to go honky tonkin on weekends, right?? Certainly they won't be coming here. What is it with this dance lesson lady anyway, that's not how this is supposed to work. The music was ok, but I only came here to accommodate someone else who wanted to dance. Very crowded. All in all, I'd much prefer blues rock at Antone's. read more

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What a fun fanciful old school honky Tonk. Yea maybe it's a gimmick but the dance lessons are fun and if you want to have a fun evening with friends or a date this is the spot. An iconic legendary spot. read more

The food was ok. The service out weighted the food and the water... the waitress I think was possibly the bartender was horrible. Ridiculous she was so rude and Inattentive. There was an older waitress that was running circles around our rude ass waitress. Never again. I come from a hole in the all small town county, this isn't county this is ridiculous. I put pictures of the food that I regretted ate. I never had such bad service I am dumbfounded. It also has a weird smell in the building. read more

Broken Spoke - Music Venues Near Me - Austin, Texas

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The dive-iest dive bar in all of TX. Talk about authentic TEXAS!!! It's half a bar/restaurant and half a dance hall. Think low ceilings, cash only cover, hats and boots, cutoff shorts, live music, and lots and lots of dancing. I wouldn't trust the food here (but what dive bar would you trust for food?), but if you want a honky tonk atmosphere mingling with true locals, this is your place. read more

Broken Spoke - a group of people at a concert - Music Venues Near Me - Austin, Texas

Native Austinite who has been to the Spoke many times, but this last visit was just that, my last visit. Brought a group of 25 for a celebratory team night (work colleagues). The painfully obvious: As others have mentioned, Terri White the dance instructor is not talented, funny, entertaining or informative in any way. On this night she was drunk, abusive, condescending. entitled and just an overall bad vibe. Why would anyone want to be a part of this? I'm assuming she only has the job because she is related to the owner and also assume it is the only "job" she can get/hold so maybe they are stuck with each other. Doubt this once great establishment will be around much longer, and yes Terri that will be on you. read more

rude and racist. do not recommend. also so expensive? like you CANNOT be charging that much on top of having terrible service. we won't be back. read more

I guess if you want to see nostalgia this is the place. It was nothing to brag about. Smelled like an old bar, entertainment was cute, good 'ole country music. Food was typical "bar food". read more

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Dance lessons here are a joke- it's just a women smack talking for 45 minutes after starting 15/20minutes late. Also it was a female to male ratio of approx 3:1. After the "lesson" was over, the bachelorette parties left and some better dancers came. At least the bands were good! read more

Artisanal salad with delicate ranch spread and exquisite tomato placement. Highly recommend read more

Broken Spoke - Highly recommend the salad. Artistic ranch spread and beautiful tomato placement. - Music Venues Near Me - Austin, Texas

I'm a South Austin girl who likes to put on her boots and go dancing. I was thrown out by the owner for asking the kitchen for water!! This is after returning following a previous bad experiences where the bartender broke my son's ID in half. The owner expected me to bow down to him which I refused, so he kicked me out. I'll never return to this misogynistic poor representation of South Austin. read more

While iconic, it doesn't take long to regret going there. From the lack of maintenance to the urine stench when you enter the bathroom, this place has become a cash cow whose milk is souring each passing weekend. Watching naive tourists pay full cover and purchase drinks 1/2 hour before the bar closes and have to chug down them down when discovering that the music stops & bar closes well before 2:00 AM. I've watched other old Austin icons close that were more deserving of preservation than this decrepit place. No bueno! read more

Came for the dance lessons with some girlfriends while in town celebrating. It was 10$ to sit in the dance ha and an additional 15$ for the lesson. The lesson was more of a weird roast of the women in the room followed by 10 minutes if side step lessons and dancing. I'm all for comedy but honestly the humor was dated and bordered offensive. It really turned our group off and I can't imagine recommending anyone else to come here in the future. I will note our table server was great and very attentive. She's the saving grace of keeping this review from being 1 star. read more

An institution worth visiting if you want a true Texan/southern experience. There is a fun, low-down energy with wooden floors, picnic tables, low ceilings that make you feel you've entered a world very separate from the modern city Austin has become. The music is great and worth the entry-fee alone. All dancers seem welcome - from the skilled to those looking to enjoy and have a good time. There is also a museum with relics from the place's history. For a true old-school Texan experience, worth a visit. The only thing I was surprised by was the $15 fee to just enter, but if it pays for the high quality music, I guess it may be worthwhile. read more

Read the website, called the restaurant and took an uber to get there only to walk into a guy running the counter with the worst attitude. Didn't know it was cash only until we got there and saw the sign that said "NO LINE DANCING" and asked about it. His answer was "it's on the website, you just didn't see it" "line dancing isn't real country dancing" and "you won't find a line dancing bar anywhere in Austin" as if Austin isn't the least country town in Texas. Left and found another bar and line danced all night long. It's okay to not support a type of dancing but you don't have to talk down to a possible customer when trying to communicate that. The attitude of him is what got me. A true cowboy wouldn't have responded with that tone. read more

ATMOSPHERE: Feels like a very local bar. There are definitive plenty of regulars that come all the time because the live music is great, the food is good and the beer is *kinda* cheap. If you want to dance, you will have to pay a cover($10?) and if you want the lesson you will have to pay more ($8?). Plenty of vintage decoration to spare. SERVICE: The local bar feel means that the service is kind to you if you're local and not really interested in being too kind to everyone else. You definitely know they have favorites. The woman who gives the dance lessons wasn't the best teacher. She's the daughter of the owner and acted pretty entitled. Her dance lessons were making fun of some people and showing us a total of 2 moves. Pretty disappointing. FOOD: Loved my chicken fried steak. I'm biased because it's my favorite dish, but man was that good. Plenty of sides to fill you up and keep you dancing. read more

Broken Spoke - Music Venues Near Me - Austin, Texas

What a legendary spot! It was their anniversary night and I felt like I had stepped back in time to a movie. Amazing music, lovely environment, nicest people, awesome fashion style, and adorable dancing. I can't speak to a regular night here but if they are putting together a special event - like the tribute to James White last night - they are going to do it incredibly well. I will say getting a drink was a bit challenging but we were really here for the music and dancing. read more

Tourist trap for those that don't know. This place doesn't represent Texas anymore, however it IS an amazing museum of it's famous history. Lots of better places to go for a true Texas country dancing date night. We love some of the bands that play here but we'll support them at other dancehalls. read more

Food was terrible! Then we were overcharged approximately $20 dollars. My husband paid not looking at the bill. 3 people total came to $89 when we each got $15 meals and a soda. We enjoyed the music but the place is runned down and outdated. read more

Would give 0 stars if I could. 25 minutes into the class with NO dancing - just a bitchy instructor insulting various patrons of the bar for no reason. $25 to experience a rude cunt teach patrons how to step side to side. Save your money and time. AVOID THIS PLACE AT ALL COSTS!!!! read more

I have been wanting to come here for years. Have heard about it countless times. Finally made it for a friend's birthday. Wasn't sure what to expect. The place is awesome. It's old. Used and beat up. Lots and lots of awesome history. When we arrived there weren't too many people. We ordered our food and drinks. We basically all had burgers. Everything was good. I also had the peach cobbler and it was really good. There was a you g guy playing and did phenomenally. Super personable and great interaction with the guests. He talented, playing guitar and fiddle and doing so very well. The one thing that gave this review 4 stars. The absolute worst service I have ever had. Not just me but each of us at the table were shocked. And some people at the table are servers so know well how it goes and have been on both sides. But the lady literally made us feel like we weren't welcome and that we were bothering her. We didn't ask for anything weird. But whether it was simply trying to order our drinks or food or our check, we were apparently the biggest jerks and just shouldn't have come. We were all very shocked. I'm sparing the details because there were just so many, and that's not even being nit-picky. We will return because everything else was great, we love live music and we want to do the dancing lessons. But hopefully the waitress will be friendly and actually want to service us. read more

It's a historical landmark! That being said, it still has all the vibes of old Austin. You know, when it was still weird. Your entry to the back bathrooms are barn doors. The front bathroom (women's) is a tribute to George Straight. So know he was always on your mind in the most intimate of moments. I had the quesadillas (or queda-diyas for those still new to Tex-Mex) and they were decent. Not much to expect from a historic bar known for its drinks, low ceilings, darkened atmosphere, and regulars. That place is creative Austin and hopefully will continue to the real Austin I've always beloved. Oh, and checkout the mannequins at your table. Fun stuff. read more

So much fun!!! We almost didn't come due to the negative reviews about dance instructor Terri and it being run down...so glad we went! Let me say Terri is great and such a hoot! Anyone who was offended must have super thin skin. Because of the negative reviews we didn't take the lessons and just observed. Terri was hilarious, fun and made the crowd laugh and enjoy themselves. The band was amazing - Alvin Crow. We Will be back! Hope people give this place a chance as it is such a great Austin experience! One other thing people said was it was not diverse, which is untrue! There were a number of people of color there (some appeared to be regulars) and a few gay couples dancing. The vibe was great and super positive! read more

We had wanted to visit Austin for years, primarily to visit The Broken Spoke, we finally went last weekend. The music was fabulous, we enjoyed dancing and the people watching opportunities are endless! However, two things spoiled it... 1. The food is terrible. The worst burgers we have ever eaten, anywhere, and the chicken steak was very bad too. 2. The dance class was a waste of time and money. The sound system was very unclear. The instructor Terri just makes tasteless, cheap shot jokes to make customers look bad and doesn't encourage or reinforce any positives. We honestly didn't learn anything and felt bad afterwards because of her attitude. I'm a teacher and she has a long way to go... she never even mentioned which foot to use, left or right?! So, if you want to waste money spoiling your visit, AND lower your self esteem so you feel bad, pay up for the lesson... otherwise save your money, just do your own thing on the floor and have fun! read more

A piece of Texas history, but unfortunately the aesthetics don't come without the outdated bigotry. It's worth taking a look around the place, lots of cool pictures of different celebrities that once visited. Skip the two step class. You will NOT learn how to dance. They only take cash for their insane $25 entrance fee which is not listed anywhere online. Terri does warn that she "has no filter"... that's putting it lightly. She is completely off the rails. The lesson mostly consists of her going on about her personal life and making sexist remarks. If you are a woman, she WILL grab your ass, call you degrading names, slut shame, fat shame, etc. This might all be fine if this was some sort of free spirited atmosphere where we all poke fun at each other, but it's not - evidenced by the fact that she went over to a TABLE (separate from the class) mid-"lesson" and yelled at a couple of ladies for having a quiet conversation. As if this was some sort of serious dance class. It's not. You do learn the basic foot movement but you can learn that from a YouTube video in two minutes and skip the harassment and scolding. Don't come here. Such an uncomfortable environment. read more

This place is strictly for the ambience and not the food. The chicken fried steak might have been famous 10 years ago but it's tougher than a $2 steak now. The brisket was served cold and 2 thick pieces of fatty meat. The owner Mrs white could care less stated we came early the cooked should have microwave it. Food network in the past yeah but it's Kitchen Nightmare/bar rescue is needed read more

Come for the 2 step and people watching and nuthin' else! Seriously the most fun I've had in a long time. It's a little like a time capsule with some updated players and fascinating looking backstories. read more

Wow. All I can say is what a disappointing experience. I came here to celebrate an occasion after hearing amazing things. The gentleman letting people in refused entry to my friend because she was wearing a tank top even though there were other females inside the establishment wearing tank tops and even less clothing . I was also wearing a tank top and he didn't have a problem with myself . The difference you ask ? My friend looks slightly androgynous, although very feminine and he clearly was discriminating . The broken spoke is absolutely not LGBTQIA friendly despite being featured on queer eye . All I can say is , get with the times , broken spoke . Don't pretend to be something you'r not. Avoid at all costs , folks . Worst experience in Austin , and frankly , everywhere else we've visited has been AMAZING . read more

I was very excited to come here and learn two-step dancing. Unfortunately, the dance instructor bullied me out of it five minutes into the lesson. She called me out of the audience making fun of my appearance more than once. Don't even know if she can dance but she should definitely stay away from her "comedy" act. Would give this post 0 stars but have to give it 1 so I can post this review. read more