Hallie T.

The circus-themed decor, the wild little details, and that giant pink elephant looking over everyone like some drunk guardian angel, it's a vibe like no other. But the best part? The live music! The band really tugged at my heart strings. One of the members was playing with his daughter, and he shared that he didn't even start making music until he was 55, because of her. Watching them up there together genuinely touched me. You could feel the love and joy between them, and it made the whole night feel special in a way I didn't expect. Such a cool spot with a ton of heart. 10/10 first visit.

Lauren S.

Attentive service, $2 happy hour, live music that isn't too loud, and a fun setting, definitely coming back

Sandi N.

We got to check out the Carousel Lounge this afternoon for a line-up of different local bands raising money for music lessons for kids in the Foster Care program. Judging by their Facebook page, the Carousel Lounge opens for fundraising events quite frequently on Sundays. I think it's great of them to do that! And thank you to the staff that was working that day. The Carousel Lounge has a very fun and whimsical decor, but nevertheless, it is still just a dive bar. Meaning, no beer on tap, cheap tasting wine, tiny parking lot, and subpar bathrooms (men's is just a long trough and women's had a tiny bit of toilet paper left and no paper towels to dry hands). You can bring your own bottle of alcohol and they will sell you the setup for it (glass with ice and lime and separate small glass of your mixer to add). They do take credit cards. The sound system seemed good on the day we were there. There is no actual platform or stage though, so on a crowded night it may be hard to see the actual band. There are approximately 15 4-person tables but they are a very tight fit (there are also stools around the bar and 5 booths in the bar). And warning, if you have a secret fear of clowns... There are pictures of creepy ones everywhere here! LOL

Dawn H.

As I walked through the doors, excited to join the circus at Carousel, the strong odor of urine hit my nose harder than an elephant trying to snatch a peanut out of my mouth. Woo! And, then I started to take in all of the historic dive bar goodness that Carousel Lounge has to offer - the place has been around for over 50 years by the way! The décor is what the name implies. Circus circus. You're greeted by a huge giraffe, there are murals everywhere (fire eating sex pistol anyone?), a dancing pink elephant, and of course a carousel behind the bar. There is also a bit of OG diner charm with a row of booths that have mini jukeboxes on the wall at each one. I just LOVE picking tunes from my table. Brings back a lot of memories from more simple times. On certain nights, CL has live music (no cover!). Not a bad seat in the house. Even from the far reaches of the bar near the front door you can see the stage. Experienced a great rock-punk chic band the night we went - that gal could really grind that ax! And, as if you need more incentive ladies and gentleman, Carousel is one of those rare Austin gems that still has the BYOBooze advantage - i.e., take a bottle of your choice and they will provide the "set-up" for a small fee (they sell beer and wine). Talk about a fun and cheap date...I'm all in! TIPS: *Don't let the initial smell scare you away. The ladies room was actually tolerable. *BRING CASH - no CCs accepted at this joint. *They have parking out front; even on a Saturday night it was not a problem. *If you CAN'T see the pink elephant, you need to Uber your ass home...just sayin'.

Lauren A.

Local bands, older crowd, bring your own liquor or buy a beer or glass of wine there. They have inexpensive "set ups" (all the fixings) to make a margarita or lots of other things with the liquor you bring. There's a liquor store next door. Cash only, one drink minimum if you BYO. Happy hour daily until 7pm. There's a real wood dance floor for two stepping. I saw a gospel group and an old time country band there that I would have paid a lot more to see at the Continental Club. Paintings of Hank Williams and clowns on the wall should tell you all you need to know: it's been holding down the fort since 1963.

Cori B.

This was possibly the best discovery on my recent trip to Austin. Carousel lounge is on many lists of great things to do while in Austin and I'm so glad we picked this as the way to close our Saturday night. We walk in really having no idea what to expect around 9-10pm and ended up seeing a great show including the Lewd Dudes performing their spooky Friday the 13th set dressed up in Halloween costumes. The bar serves the coldest canned beer I've ever touched but you can also BYO. We saw several people come in with their own wine bottles. The vibe is pretty fun. Huge pink elephant behind the stage and circus murals everywhere. Loved the music too. Definitely on my list of places to return on my next trip!

Carmela S.

My friend's band was playing here and since I have a lot of time on my hands these days, I was finally able to come see him play. The vibe of this place is definitely uniquely Austin, not in the forced Keep Austin Weird sense, but the actual Austin Vibe. The bartender was sweet and informed us that they are no longer cash only and they still do have an ATM on site should you need it. We took a seat at the bar and they do have a decent beer selection and had some good tall boy specials going on. The patrons were friendly and they had a few tables and chairs outside. Grab a booth or a table closer to the "stage" area and enjoy the show. This is a fun place that I hope doesn't disappear.

Keri B.

Bars are comin and agoin all the time in Austin. Five pop up a week it seems and many disappear quickly and seem to really have no heart or soul coughRockRosecough. There are probably less than 10 old school, Austin iconic bars still around and most of those are honky tonks. If you want a piece of old school Austin and are lookin for a little something rockier, then I would definitely recommend Carousel. Ages ago, in our salad days, Hubby and I came here often mainly to see Jay Clark. There's just something magical about seeing an old, white blind lounge singer playing keyboards in front of a pink elephant in a dive bar in a shady part of town and all the folks, young and old ballroom dancing in the round. Back then they served their beer with a bottle and a tiny little glass that you could lift your pinky to drink from. I still have one in my glass altar to various bars around town. I was a bit of a sticky fingers back then :) This time around we got the opportunity to visit for my friend's 50th bday party. I am so glad she picked this spot. We hadn't been in 20 years and it felt and looked like it'd been yesterday. We brought our own vodka in and paid $3 for soda or Topo Chico set ups. Super cheap date, and we tipped the hard working bar ladies (one of them in a shoulder sling!) well. The murals are the same, Hank Williams is still presiding over one wall and the pink elephant still dances behind the stage. All so familiar, so comfortable. What really rocked me out of my shoes was the band we saw. Completely unexpected to fall in love so fast. If you get a chance to see Churchwood, do it. They brought their A+++++ game on a Thursday, leaving nothing on the floor but pools of sweat. Blues, horns, a growly singer, and enough get up to make us all get up and dance. And this is what I love from living in Austin. The unexpected bliss you can find around any corner. Sure, the Carousel may be a bit dingy but it has a dingy soul. I guess that makes us kindred.

Nickie G.

Yes, I am coming out there with five big stars for the Carousel. I have Andrea C to thank for helping me find a dive bar in Austin that was off the beaten path and was appropriately quirky and fun. This is the type of place I was talking about. First off, we get in the cab and tell him where we are going and he knew exactly where it was and said it was a good bar. He was pretty quirky so I had high hopes. The area was indeed a bit sketch as well, but it just added to my excitement that this was not going to be your run of the mill bar. Note the halfway house across the street as well. We rolled up and went directly into the liquor store next door to get a fifth of Bacardi. As we were walking up to the Carousel I noticed the circus characters on acid painted on the building and got really excited. Walked in the door and BAM we were there at 6pm with exactly 6 regulars and the bartender. Yes, the record skipped and we got the "what the hell are these two doing here?" stare. It's cool, I understand, this is your bar. But I also knew I'd win them all over since I love this type bar. This is a set-up bar, so you buy set ups for your liquor for $2 each. They give you a glass of ice, a little plastic tumbler of your mixer of choice, and a stirrer. And then your favorite bartender - YOU - can make your own drink as strong as you want it. If you don't want to down a fifth of Bacardi, you also have the option to buy beer or wine. Prices were pretty reasonable (Harp $3, Miller Lite 2.75) and nothing was more than $6. We sat at the bar and got set up after set up after set up. A band played early - from 7 to 10 - and another from 10-12 - and both were pretty good. You must look around and enjoy the atmosphere. The handmade carousel behind the bar was both charming and creepy at the same time. The murals on the wall were more of the circus gone crazy on hallucinogen drugs. The pink elephant behind the band playing - well, that is just genius! Bathrooms: if you are sitting at the bar you see a door that says "MEN" and no matter how long you try and figure it out for yourself, you cannot find the "WOMEN" door. The BF went to the men's room and told me it most definitely wasn't back there since the guy's bathroom is just a room with a trough in it and no door on it. Good thing I didn't go investigating back there!! The women's bathroom is behind the stage where the pink elephant is. There are two back there though, so none of that legs crossed why the hell do they only have one women's bathroom stuff you get at other bars. I only found one bad thing about this bar: they close at midnight on Friday and 1AM on Saturday. As the night went on and the Bacardi disappeared we made friends with the bartender and some other patrons standing outside smoking. They gave us dive bar recommendations as well and made the evening more fun. We had our bartender call us a cab and we gave our last two drinks worth of Bacardi to a cool dude at the bar and went out into the night in search of another dive bar hoping it could be half as great as the Carousel.