Possibly North Austin's friendliest dive bar, Buddy's Place mixes traditional bar entertainment with good drinks and a fun atmosphere. Getting to Buddy's is easy as they have a designated parking area out back. Once parked you're greeted by their patio area where there is a door for entry into the main bar. They are dog friendly, a very big plus considering most don't allow dogs at all. The bar itself is a bit divey with a domino and pool tables setup in the main area. The patrons are all very welcoming as are the workers, it definitely gives you a warm feeling to be there. We ordered 3 mixed drinks, which were all solid and the total came out to $18. Can't beat that price up north. One of the biggest highlights was the live music in the back. They have live music consistently throughout the week so you can always catch a performance. It is very easy to pass time in this bar between the music, games, and just good company overall. We didn't have a neighborhood bar yet but this place might just be the answer to that (a lot of that has to do with how comfortable the patrons and workers make you feel). read more

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Top 10 Reasons I LOVE Buddy's Place (in no particular order) +The beer is always cold +The beer is cold. Not cool, but cold +Staff is fun and remembers your name +The selection on juke box is a plethora of my favorite old Country songs +You get a ton of play on the juke for for $1 +Pool tables +Fantastic old-school Austin ambiance +NOT populated by California +95 locals +It is never crowded. Full but never overly crowded read more

Buddy's Place - Just a Sat night with a beautiful sunset backdrop - Dive Bars Near Me - Austin, Texas

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Serious serious kudos to Buddy's Place which has done all the right things. It is now a great place. * * * This used to be a racist bar. I'm not kidding. While it was friendly enough for the folks who gathered inside, Only certain folks were really made comfortable. There were signs on the wall making jokes that Obama voters were too lazy to work. There was a statue of a black lackey holding a lantern. There was lots of Confederate paraphernalia and lots of gun paraphernalia. Hispanic people would come into the bar and get shunned and leave. In the meantime, the perfectly friendly white folks at the bar were generally having a great time. * * * There has been a change in management and the change has been HUGE. All of the racist nasty stuff has been removed. All the pro-gun stuff and all of the Confederate stuff has been removed. The friendliness has stayed. And the awesome Country Western juke box has stayed. (Buddy's may have the best Country Western jukebox in town. The selections are really excellent) * * * And when I say friendly, I mean really really really friendly. When I go into a bar, I am usually a loner. I sit have my drinks, look at the scenery and think my thoughts. Here - the pool players stopped their game and greeted me at the door inviting me in. I have never had THAT happen before. The bar itself was a general all purpose discussion on every not very important subject you could possibly bring up. The bartender who is an utter charmer gave me her opinions on the bottles she stocks and the bottles she would never stock. (She is not big on overpriced Yuppie liquor. We both have a huge and all abiding love for plain ordinary everyday Jameson's.) I was there on a Monday mid-afternoon - so not surprisingly the clientele tended to be older folks. Retired people like myself have more time to hang out in bars midafternoon. But these were nice neighborhood old people. They would be fun to watch a baseball game with. (There are some bars you go to where the folks hanging out by day are more likely to be on the seedy side.) Later on a rockstar like videogame developer and a prophet-looking 28 year old poet type showed up. So I suspect if you hang around for a full opening to closing, Buddy's gets an interesting mix of unexpected people. The bar offerings are simple - But if you can't find something you like here, You are way too fussy. Altogether a fine place. And thanks to the New Management for turning this place around. read more

A OK Did a much needed clean and a upgraded added wide selection of libations... Alvin Crow every Wednesday.

Great local dive bar. Old-time jukebox... 18 plays for $5 - wonderful selection of country music hits from the past. Large group of regulars... Friendly bar. Cold beer, cash only. No food... Unless you consider bagged chips and crackers food. Only complaint, was it was a little warm... Could've cranked the AC a little bit more. read more

What a great stop! They had plenty of TVs for sports and a pool table. Most importantly cold beer!!! The bartender "Victoria" was super friendly and even gave us koozies for our beers. :) read more

Buddy's Place - Mr Buddy - Dive Bars Near Me - Austin, Texas

Horrible stench, rude staff, and general uncleanliness. My husband and I will not be back

Great place to hang with friends! Shane's done a awesome job of remodeling! I'll be back! read more

Great down home place. They updated the pool table and now have tv's. Btw, great live music the day I was their

Odd bar, only sells beer. . Honestly the place feels like it's falling apart, and having the confederate flag up kinda feels out of place with the current state of things. But it is bring your own liquor. Like a little country bar in the city, live music, and lots of pickup trucks. read more

the home of happiness. it's the real deal. an austin treasure. a hidden gem for as long as i can remember.

Great local spot! Beer is always COLD. Staff is friendly and great service. Worth stopping in!

You would be a complete idiot to think this place was anything but epically awesome! Great bar, great service, and a great time... get there and get some! That is all. read more

Unexpected gem. Open mic night on Tuesday was amazing!!! Old school cash only beer bar with great original artists. A rare spot. Don't tell anyone! read more

this is a fun place. Casual and laid back. I love the regulars that stop by. read more

Buddy's Place - Gene! - Dive Bars Near Me - Austin, Texas

I've been to Austin many times over the years, but had spent almost all my time in Central Austin. I was back last week for business and wanted to find something authentic and local. Google search pointed me to "the Burnett Road pub crawl", which is a network of dive bars off Burnett Road just west of downtown. I had THE best time! This is what Austin used to be, great local live music and perfectly "weird" people. You could have filmed a Tarantino scene in this place and not changed a this. No food, also no cocktails. The bartender informed me "we just have beer and wine, and I'd stat away from the wine"!!! read more

Great little old school north Austin honkeytonk. Gritty, dark, friendly, with pool tables and darts, cold beer in bottles and love, authentic local country singers. We've recently discovered this Burnet Rd bar after struggling with the crowds at the recently discovered Aristocrat the down the road. Don't get me wrong, we love the Aristocrat, and are pleased with their success, but many nights it's just too crowded. Buddy doesn't seem to be having that problem, but it's just right for us. If they could get the shuffleboard table back they'd be perfect, but we'll be back anyway.We'll be back. read more

If dive bar is what you seek, seek and you will find. Buddy's Place is the diviest of dives! The epitome of what a TRUE DIVE bar is....starting right when you step in the front door and that slight interesting smell of the combination of stale beer, urine, and decades of cigarette smoke waft up your nose. Okay, maybe not the best way to positively sell Buddy's, but there are reasons worth hanging around a while...and coming back for more. First, Buddy's is BYOBooze. They sell a pretty impressive selection of beers by the bottle and wine from a box (just guessing; I joke), but they don't have a "hard liquor" license. So, walk in with your bottle of choice and ask for a "setup" - No! Not that kind silly! Buddy's is way classier than that! You get a cup of ice and bev of choice sold by the can or bottle...and then poor until your little heart is content. Buddy's of course has tons of locals, old and young alike. All the friendliest folks anywhere on Burnet of course. I hadn't taken more than two steps in when a gentleman with a ten gallon hat greeted me with a jovial "Howdy darlin'!" Kick back at the bar or take a seat on one of the tattered chairs at the many tables in the adjoining room and simply enjoy the country crooners howlin' form the jukebox or local live music on select nights. For those of you with a more adventurous side, there is shuffleboard, dart boards, and a few pool tables. Is Buddy's a place I would take my grandmother to? Mmmm...probably not. But I LOVE it! The overall "bar tab" is cheap, the people are great, the ladies is clean (they even painted it pink and stapled fake flowers to the ceiling; very frou-frou), and where else are you going see a cutout photo board stand thingy with a cowboy and a sheep (how did I NOT take a picture of that; or with me head in that?! - Next time!)?! If I haven't already convinced you to visit Buddy's, and you're the touristy type or just a huge Mathew McConaughey fan, part of the film Dazed and Confused (1993) was shot at Buddy's Place. "Alright, alright, alright." Bottoms up ya'll! *Thanks KellyS - I probably never would have never found such a rough in the diamond. ;)...and a special thanks for bringing your infectious spirit!....and supplying the "spirits!" :-D read more

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Great place! Campy, laid back, and super friendly staff --even a dog on her perch at the bar. I'll go again!

I love this bar. I love the bartenders. I love the bottle beer. Welcome to Austin. This is it.

So, I am painfully ambivalent about whether I should give Buddy's five stars or one. This isn't because Buddy's isn't the Sweet Jesus Rapture of dive bars (it is); it's because I don't want you to come here and ruin it. That's unfair, of course. Why should I get get to hipster up and gentrify one of the last real local haunts in Austin and then tell you not to do the same? One word: white male privilege. Okay, that's three words. Could we hyphenate it and call it one word in French theory? In any case: Buddy's is a shack so far out on Burnet that you'll probably never go there, people-I'm-trying-to-scare-away. It has carpets and pool tables last serviced in the second Reagan administration. There are stains older than you. It's not ostentatiously divey, though, like a Mugshots (disclaimer: I also love Mugshots). It's just that all that remodeling stuff would up the prices on the (bottled-only, very cold) beer. And none of the sexagenarian locals that hang out here care about any of that. So, like every real local bar, you get stares when you come in here and aren't known to the crowd. You expect the Patsy Cline record to skip, which might have actually happened once, but now they have Patsy on an internet subscription channel, so the effect is diluted somewhat. It's not that anyone's unfriendly (they warm up quickly). It's more like you've walked into someone's home unannounced, and motives must be discerned before the party can go on. People bring their dogs to Buddy's, but let's not cheapen that by calling it a "dog bar." These are 18-year-old dogs that have been coming here since you were five, hipster-kids-who-need-to-stay-away. It seems more like an executive membership perk granted to Buddy's veterans than an invitation for anyone to try to turn the place into Yard Bar. So yeah, perpetual old-school (real old: we're not talking Garth Brooks here) country, folksy locals, friendly service, white-faced dogs, pool tables, and a men's bathroom with a giant DUI lawyer ad on the wall, just in case. Write that info down or appify it, or whatever you millennials do with your fancy smart phones. Because if you aren't leaving Buddy's with a little dose of happy on, you've clearly done this all wrong. MISC: It's BYOL (they'll provide setups), like Ginny's, the other Greatest Bar in the World that's already been overrun by you damned kids. Get off my lawn. read more

Thia place advertises as being real old school country but the nite we decided to try it out they had the worst rock band you ever heard The beer is over priced and the 'regulars' didnt seem friendly at all Shot a couple games of pool and went to the Little Longhorn down the street read more

Well...that was an experience. I walk in with my friend for a beer and a chat. As soon as we come in I was like..."wha tha" there were several elderly gentlemen hanging around...a confederate flag proudly plastered on the wall towards the back.... I was thinking...hmm maybe we should just turn round and get outta here.. "hey! welcome!!...where have you been!" says one of the fellas at the bar with a slightly toothless grin. he was nice and the bartender greeted us warmly, which was chill. So we sit down and my friend puts on some old country. Some fella strikes up conversation with us and he was entertaining, but pleasant. All was good...until I saw 2 things...a toilet paper roll with Obama's face on each sheet...i'm like..well...hey.. not everybody likes our President...but then my eyes spot a "mammy aunt jemima" figurine not far from the toilet paper.. um yeh... read more

Buddy's Place - Dive Bars Near Me - Austin, Texas

My beer was so cold it was hard to hold. That was the first indication this place was going to rock my life. Wait, actually that's a lie. The first thing was the fact that you walk into this blue cinder block building and are immediately stared down by the regulars. I adore places that have regulars -- ten gallon hat, five gallon mustache, i love my country and god bless america regulars. My friend and I open the door, not knowing what to expect and BAM! a pool table, regulars, shufflboard and a mannequin cowboy. Holy hell this is my kinda place. In addition to the above, there's a roxanne red light in the bathroom, beer signs and photos all over the walls, BYO, sad country songs and a cut out plywood picture opportunity of a farmer and a sheep. Much like Buddy's, you have to see it to believe it. Sooner, rather than later read more

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When we first walked in I thought I had found my new Horseshoe Lounge! I sat down at the bar and started taking in all the great country music paraphernalia until my eyes settled on an overtly racist lawn jockey. Feeling a little nauseated, I suggested to my partner that we maybe go sit somewhere else in the back. Upon rounding a corner I was smacked by a big ole' confederate flag, and then another hanging from the ceiling. We didn't even finish our beers and in hindsight the clientele seemed to prefer it. read more

Randy, Dahrling, bring the car around would you, please? I am in DESPERATE need of a beverage. It is so unbearably hot and bright outside! Yes, dear, please just drive me down to my favorite bah on that BurNET Rd and do hurry. I am positively SWELTERING in this midday heat! I need someplace cool and dark to rest my eyes and my bones. Oh, and I mustn't forget my tiara! After all, I AM the Duchess!......... Ahhh, here we are. Be a dear and get the door for me. There now, this place is just absolutely fabul..... HOWDY YA'LL!! How you gentlemen doin in har? Make room for the Duchess of Buddy's! *giggles** Now, I know you "boys" have been coming here and probably sitting on your same stools for 30+ years and yet have neglected to "check in" on your phones or else you'd all be DUKES! You know, your "smart" phones??? Why you lookin at me like I'm a furreignor?? I'm speakin Ainglish, ain't I???? Yes, hon, I WOULD love a cold beer. Hmmm, so many to choose from!! Lemme try one of them there Lemon Shandy's! No, thank YOU, Sugar!! You Bartendresses here are just the SWEETEST! Yes, here's my credit card for the tab...I'll be over thar in the shuffleboard room, under the wall unit, afeedin the jukebox! Ahhhhh, this is music for the soul! Music my Daddy raised me on! When a grown man can sing of cryin in his beer, his dead dog or killin somebody and he's a HERO. Amuricah!!! Waylon, Willie, and the boys....let's see, I'll need some Conway and Ray Price and oh yeah, Gearge Jaones! (but seriously, can't I get more than THREE songs for my dollar??) Baby, let's us cut the rug thar on the dancefloor! Sigh...this has shore been what I needed! It's so nice and dark and cool in here...almost like time has stood still. In fact, I'm thinking about proddin some of them men in thar to see if they's alive! But still, a girl can lose herself in here...don't wurry about yer troubles or the heat or the traffic. What day is it again?? I LOVE being the Duchess of Buddy's, Home of Happiness (ahh, the irony)....the sad music, the old, weathered regulars, the cheap bear, that lingering smell of cigarette smoke soaked into the flooring like Honky Tonk tears....I aim to keep my title forever! (or at least until Mike L remembers to start checking in!) read more

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We walked in and the group at the bar says, "where ya'll been?" Steve H and I immediately knew we had walked into something special. This type of hospitality does not happen often or ever in my experience. That might have been the first time I walked into a bar ... did not know anyone ... and they all immediately wanted to be my friend. The name Buddy is very fitting here. This bar is complete dive. They only serve beer and wine, but you can bring your own bottle and they sell all kinds of mixers and snacks if you need them. I sat at the bar conversing with the regulars and getting to know them. They were cool dudes. If you want pool, shuffle board or the game on TV they got if for you too! The tunes were awesome! The bartender knew everyone's name and what they drank. The bathroom freaking awesome! I wish my bathroom at home was decorated like the ladies bathroom there. This place was truly a dive bar paradise and the slogan on the outside of their building is perfect ... Buddy's Place Home of Happiness. This is absolutely a special spot. I can not wait till my next trip up north to visit my new friends! read more

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This beer only and sometimes "wine" establishment allows BYOB on the hard stuff and you can purchase setups with mixers for $3. They tout themselves with the best hung beers in Austin with actual bottles of all their beer offerings hung from strings on the ceiling over the bar as a drink menu of sorts. They have cheap pool, shuffleboard and darts if you are bored. They offer live music on some nights and a jukebox that plays old country songs from the likes of Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, Porter Wagoner, Tammy Wynette, and Dolly Pardon to name a few. The music selection, along with the pool tables, neon signs and cheap paneling, that has seen better days, creates a nostalgic feeling of the bars I remember as a child in Truth or Consequences and El Paso. I know that sounds strange, but in the 70's you were allowed to accompany your parents to the bar. This all comes with a friendly bartender and the perfect local flavor in the regular customers. As I was leaving, I ran into a man, who could be my grandfather. I asked him how he was doing, and he said, "better than you are, because you won't have me there with you." I love that! The walls are covered with kitsch, from old country photos, flags and memorabilia. Don't forget to say hello to the permanent regular - Jasper. He's the stuffed quiet cowboy on the chair that keeps everyone company and poses for photos. This is one of the last of the great country and western dive bars and should be a Texas landmark. read more

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For me Buddy's is that flash back to the 70's low ceiling smoky smelling honky tonk juke in the corner dive bar where you can come chill shoot and have a good time. Nothing special here at all and all the beer selections are hanging from a wire above the bar. Makes you think you're in a chainsaw massacre moment. Its dingy. It's dungy. It's definitely divey.. Cielings are low so can be the personalities dependent the time of day you are in here. It's just an ok place for me. I'm sure if I went in here with a group of friends we could force some happy times on this place, but, going as a solo, it's just ok. Regulars sitting around talking their smack and occasional pool challenge with some good country tunes belting off the juke. No taps, and, beers are not that cold. Just an ok honky tonk dive. read more

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After the place we wanted to go to was closed, we found Buddy's by accident. It turned out to be better than the place we originally had in mind. This is a dive bar. For those of us who have Austin memories 20+ years or more, you will appreciate this place. Friendly folks, cold beer, classic country on the jukebox and more cold beer. It's a great find. read more

Buddy's Place - Dive Bars Near Me - Austin, Texas

Best dive bar ever! Pool tables, shuffleboard, beer, wine, and bring your own booze! They provide set ups, have live music, and it's the happiest place in town! Great bartenders, super laid back.....and no hipsters! this bar! Home of Happiness read more

This place is great, the owner is super nice and the regulars make you feel at home right away!! One of the last great Texas beer joints- thanks for having us! Cheers! read more

I may have found my new "On the way home I stopped for a beer, and ended up spendin' the week in Jail," bar. Seriously, last Thursday night I had a blast in here, but I got straight up, Country music DRUNK. Let's put it this way, at $2.50 domestic bottles, I drank $35 worth of beer, all whilst playin' shuffleboard and pool, talkin' to a mannequin, flirtin' with Alex M. and Jack's wife and the cute chick bartender, and singin' along with the best all country jukebox I may have ever, EVER come across (note:the Mean Eyed Cat's juke has Journey in it, don't get all up in arms, people). Buddy's is one of those great little Austin dive bars that I debate tellin' everyone about, or keepin' to myself. Yelp rules prohibit the keepin' of secrets, however, so I've outed them. Also, drinkin' at Buddy's will make your born and raised Texas accent just a bit stronger, thereby eliminatin' the "g" on the end of most gerunds. read more

First of all, awesome. How in the world I lived walking distance from this place for four years but never set foot inside -- not once -- escapes me, butI thought I'd give it a shot for some Gatheration UYE goodness last night and wow, just wow. There's so much quirky going down in this joint I scarcely know where to begin. There's what appears to be some sort of cowboy/trucker mannequin sitting at one of the tables. When I walked in I thought he was giving me the stink eye and got the heebeejeebees. Then I realized he was fake. Heebees gone. There's shuffeboard, a refurbed poker table that has the little beer holders in the corners, a jukebox with what appears to be the life's work of the Geezinslaws, George Jones and Roger Miller, Christmas lights, dart boards, a pool table and whatnot. It's a space that seems reserved for casual, warm and resplendent meet-ups with friends, and that was what last night was all about for me. It's cash only, so know that going in, but Buddy? Don't ever change. And something tells me you haven't. read more

And this one night (And this one night) There was a cake (There was a cake) The tastiest cake (The tastiest cake*) That you ever did eat (That you ever did eat) Well, the cake on a plate And the plate for a birthday** And the birthday for a friend And the friend getting the backroom And the backroom just for us And us hogging the jukebox And the jukebox almost free Almost free were our set-ups And the set-ups making drunks And the drunks hollerin' at us And us at the hole At the hole in the wall And the friends had drinks all around, all around And the friends had drinks all around. * Thanks Rezrie ** Awright, Dolomike read more

Just revisited Buddy's last night and in my eyes, they have improved. The rebel flag with Hank Jr, and the questionable slogan has been taken down. The smoking ban is now seemingly enforced, although I spotted one or two folks puffin away. There are no smoking signs everywhere, and the front and back doors were wide open, keeping the fresh air flowing. Pool is still 50 cents!! read more

How to enjoy: Bring cash Order $2.50 beers Tip your female bartender, who will also stop by your table Put your quarters in the jukebox Boots optional, but highly recommended Buddy's wasn't on my radar, but as a Texan, it hits every right note. Shuffleboard, pool, dart boards (bring your own darts, my friends), and a few locals orbiting the central bar. Too many metaphors, so just go with friends and experience old Austin. read more

Such a great bar! Everyone is super friendly. Our bartender, Ashley, is super fun!! There's pool, shuffle board, and darts. The regulars are super cool and welcoming too. read more

This place is a shithole, it's dirty it's dark. Usually there is only one bartender here, and her name is Melissa. There isn't anywhere to smoke but a gravel parking lot with crap plastic chairs setup like you shouldn't be there. They don't have much on tap, and only a bit more in bottles. The shuffleboard is in desperate need of repair, it only has sand in the middle. Hell, everything here is in need of repair, sometimes you feel like the place is held together with the tar from all the cigarettes smoke from when it was legal. It's a bar frozen in time, that has no place belonging in the 21st century, and the jukebox isn't any more modern. And this is why it's my absolutely favorite bar, not in Austin, but in world. Melissa is the best bartender in Austin, full stop. Not only will you not wait for a drink, you won't even finish it before she has the next one ready. The jukebox is the best jukebox in Texas, maybe the world. You could dump 100 bucks into that thing, push random numbers and nothing but the best country and honky tonk will come out. You will always feel welcome and always leave with a smile on your face. read more

I'm a lover of all things dive bars, and am kicking myself for not visiting this gem of an establishment earlier. As you pass the John Wayne graffiti, you know this place is gonna be a good one. From the time I entered, I could not keep a smile off my face, as it reminded me of every small town bar that I have loved. They only serve beer, so it is BYOLiquor and they sell set ups to keep it easy. Grab a table and play some shuffleboard or pool, or take a picture with the amazingly creepy cowboy mannequin, as you get stared down by all the regulars. Don't worry, they will eventually warm up to you and you'll be shuffling across that tiny dance floor to a sad Gary Stewart song in no time. read more