A very cool and relaxing place. Three floors of seating with a roof top bar. They have multiple bar games to include bowling, shuffle board, etc. Highly recommended this place... read more

Maybe it's me. Maybe I'm a cheapskate. Maybe I don't know how to appreciate the so-called "finer things" in life. When I'm charged $4 to walk into a bar, and THEN charged $7.50 for a drink that was mostly sweet and sour and 7up (with a soupcon of tequila), I feel cheated. Am I supposed to value this time with this drink more because it cost me more? Am I supposed to look around and think, "Wow, tonight all these people here will buy more than they will receive. I am truly with Austin's self-described elite. Just relax and enjoy." Or am I supposed to feel pissed off and taken advantage of? You expect to get screwed by your girlfriend, but not by a bar. read more

Speakeasy is the coolest venue and mark was the best host. So much history. So much to do and great drinks. Highly recommend anytime you're in Austin read more

Disclaimer: this rating is mainly based on the pulverized state of some Latin shoes after a night of dancing on Speakeasy's floor. A few other qualms are tossed in for good measure. Items that are okie dokie: 1.) $5 cover but free water. Thank you for understanding social dancers' hydration anthem - you really get it! 2.) The great terrace lounge area. With one air stream available for realistic cooling-off purposes when you are dripping with sweat, an open-air area is helpful. Unless there is no breeze by 11p in the middle of August. Woe. 3.) The bartender was nice enough to refrigerate some artisan cuppy cakes a dear friend brought for my birthday one week, with minimal teasing whether he could have one ;) Items that need work: 1.) If you've ever owned a pair of pricey suede-bottom shoes designed specifically for dancing on nice wooden floors (such as the one at Dallas and AST), you might also understand the agony experienced when those suede bottoms are mucked up by acutely uneven, warped filthy wooden floors. The visual result is a flat, black layer of pressed-in grime I haven't been able to quite brush out of the sole ever since. Do I need rubber-soled shoes/cowboy boots to dance in here? Apparently, yes. 2.) The air cooling system is ghastly in the warmer months, save for one glorious spot between the bar and the stairwell. It's barely big enough for two to share the single air stream without hugging, which would defeat the whole purpose of trying to cool off. 3.) There's really not much space to actually move in there, unless you prefer to hair-whip bystanders or ram the walls. Needs a lot of work. read more

I thought this place seemed cool upon entry. It certainly had the vibe to go with it's cute little bowling area and lovely rooftop. However, after a run-in with its discourteous and dare I say incompetent employees, I will certainly not be returning or recommending this place to anyone. My experience: A waitress dropped a champagne bottle (she was trying to carry three of them under her arm and the middle one fell out.. foreseeable, yes?). Needless to say, it shattered and a couple of the pieces bounced off the top of my foot leaving gashes that bled profusely all over the floor. One of the people in my group went to the bar to ask for band-aids. Without even looking, they said they didn't have any and one of the employees came over about twenty minutes later with a wet rag to wipe my foot. Then he ripped off a single piece of duct tape and covered just one of the gashes before slapping my foot and saying "should be good." He walked away and didn't come back to clean the blood off the floor. read more

Loved hanging out here! Saw Chandler and the Bings and stayed longer than planned even. Super fun, no cover at the time we went and has plenty of spots to chill with the live music or saw many playing games or dancing too. read more

Sadly, I've been to this establishment a few times. The last event wasn't too bad, but it was so because of the company vs. Speakeasy. The bar was unbearably hot, lacking in ventilation, the bathrooms were quite disgusting and the staff were lacking, to say the least. I'll likely be back, provided there is a special event, otherwise, I'll pass. read more

Reviews for this place kind of seem to be all over the place. I enjoyed my visit to Speakeasy.... but here are some important things to note: 1. I didn't pay to get in.... I got in for free 2. I didn't have anything to drink. So this review is strictly based on the atmosphere of the club.... which is great. The roof-top deck is awesome, and the club itself is really cool. I had a good time here.... and would definitely look at coming back with some out of town guests who needed to get their drink on. read more

I attended a party here once and had a great time, but I made the mistake of giving them my email address. Years later they won't stop spamming you no matter how many times you unsubscribe. They sold my email address to a company called Girard Diversified Interests and there's no way to get them to stop. read more

While in the past I've had decent visits, this past weekend has left a sour note to me. The obliviousness and rudeness of the couple at the entrance, bartenders not wanting to attempt making a specific drink (even though it wasn't busy yet in the slightest,) and the slowness of some other bartenders on closing out a tab can be excused. People can have off or bad nights, I get it. So I could have easily written it off as a bad night all around for everyone, the never ending cold can do that to you. However, having someone leave themselves a $10 tip on a $7 single drink, especially when I had written in $3 as a tip, is unacceptable. Even if I did have the worst hand writing, I can't see how a 3 can be misread as a 10. Yet when checking my bank account this morning and checking it to the expenses record I keep, it's clear that was done. If I can't trust a place with my money I don't see how or why I should ever go back. read more

I'm out here every Thursday night for our exclusive rendition of a throwback Thursday! Playing nothing but exclusive tracks from back in the day. Bring your vinyl or make a request! read more

Speakeasy - Speakeasies Near Me - Austin, Texas

One of the best views of the Austin Skyline is at the Speakeasy. Their enclosed rooftop is gorgeous and has several flat screens for sports. Smoking is also allowed on the patio. If you are visiting and are looking just for a cool bar to go to, come here. The drinks are great (Appletinis!) and the service is also great. I've never had to wait more than five minutes for a drink. Also, go on a night when Rottel and the Hot Tomatoes are playing. This band is a *blast* to watch! The three lady singers dress up in three different costumes from the 50s, 60s, and 70s and sing cover songs! The band is awesome, too! read more

My favorite part about Speakeasy is the rooftop bar and the amazing view up there! The bar has four floors, but each time I've come the fourth floor is the liveliest and busiest. The drinks are good and not just watered down like some of the other bars around this area. They also typically have some sort of live music on the third floor which is always fun to watch. The stairs getting up to the fourth floor are a bit of a pain, I just keep imagining some poor drunk person rolling down the stairs someday...but it's still a fun atmosphere to be at! read more

When: 11 p.m. Where: post-conference "open bar" after party at Speakeasy Who: me, my coworkers, and leathered up creepers holding cheap dranks Me: "Two shots of Patron, please." Bartender: "Patron's not on the tab." Me: "OH WUT? Lame. All right... Any other tequila on the tab??" Bartender: "I don't know." Me: "WUT?! Urm...... I'll just have whatever tequila you can find." Bartender gives me only one shot. I give him a dirty look and sigh. *Downs shot* IT WAS VODKA. Cool story, right? We immediately migrated over to Kung Fu Saloon and had a grand time with BARTENDERS WHO KNEW HOW TO COUNT AND READ TEH BOTTLES. read more

STAIRS. Seriously, I mused to my friend how many drunkasses have totally killed or paralyzed themselves trying to deal with all the stairs. Heels + alcohol + stairs + stairs + stairs = almost certain death. CROWDED. The bartender at the upstairs patio was one of the fastest moving, on-her-game bartenders I've ever seen.... and it still took me half an hour to get a drink. No exaggeration. Expensive. 5 drinks were $48 - and one of them was a miller light for chrissake. Super Dallas cheeseball $30,000 millionaires crowd. For some reason when I moved to Austin, I thought I might get a break from that. Instead, I got berated by one of the patrons for ordering a vodka soda because it wasn't foofy enough, and some chick walked up to my friend and called her a whore. Wow. Really?? Yea. Really. I do not make this shit up, people! read more

No rooftop in this world is cool enough to make me want to put up with staff this rude. I'd heard very mixed reviews about Speakeasy, my friends and I gave it a try and I have to say, it rapidly became a Platinum Member of the Bars I will never go back to Club. Prices are higher than average, which would be fine if their drinks weren't every bit as weak as 6th Street's doormen's free drinks. As others have mentioned, the bathrooms are nasty and the place can easily get too crowded/lacks ventilation. Still all of this would be manageable if situations called for it, but rude bartenders + rude managers = no-go. I'll be taking my drinking/business elsewhere. read more

Sweet little spot with a fun bar and insurmountable stairs leading up to a nifty roof with a cool view of downtown. I haven't been to Speakeasy's Tuesday night salsa, but used to go back when it was Wednesday nights with The Brew. The band playing stuck to tried-and-true standards which worked, for the most part. If you went weekly, the playlist could get a little boring. One thing I recall: they didn't seem to have a problem handing out free tap water. Any dancer will tell you the last thing you, your feet, the feet and the personal space of others needs is alcohol. You will leave a hot mess** after losing your toe nail, or spinning into someone's elbow. So a note to places hosting salsa/dancing night: do offer free tap water. You already charged a $5+ cover, and if you didn't, you should. **Please note: if you are new to dancing, especially if you are male, you are not Fred Astaire. Respect the dance floor. Do not use it as a practice area. Do not lead your partner into other couples. You probably have not yet developed a strong sense of space awareness, and will try spinning your partner in ways that are not physically possible because you think it's cute. It's not cute. And now you've both stepped on me. Practice at home with the lights on and hard/sharp objects strategically placed around you until you successfully avoid injury. read more

Yep. You're down to one now. Ok, 1.5, really, because the staff was still nice. Even with only 3 people dancing on a Friday night at 10:30, though, it was NFL-triple-overtime-linebacker-crotch-sweaty in there. And - no Dr. Pepper at your bar. Really Speakeasy? This is Texas. Time for another redesign. I got a friend who's an architect and my dad's been designing air conditioning systems in NYC for 30 years. Lemme know if you want their help. Me & Justin B agree on this one, so you know you got problems. ~fin~ read more

I came here on a rainy afternoon for happy hour. This bar has a rooftop and the second floor has a Bowling alley with 2 lanes. The beer selection was week, no craft beer on tap however this place has promise if there's an even going on admittedly it was somber rainy Friday before Halloween. It didn't appear that server food, but I'm not sure. I'll probably give it another shot when a downtown music even like SXSW is around. read more

Ugh. Speakeasy. I have so many issues with this place. First of all, why is there a neon sign pointing to the entrance if this is supposed to be a "speakeasy'? Second, they totally lost me on 4th of July, 2005. (Those who were with me know where I am going with this.) I'm still not over it. They advertised a super cool 4th of July party on their rooftop. DJ, drinks, burgers and great view of the fireworks from their rooftop patio all for $5. Perfect! I love 4th of July! We get there and the door guy charges us $7. Not that I am that cheap, but when you advertise that cover is $5, you should honor that. So I was already mad. Second, they charged us extra to have a hamburger. Ok, that's fine, but they advertised it was all included with cover. Guess what? Worst burger ever. I felt like there was something going on with the DJ too, but I don't remember exactly since it was 2 years ago. Ok, time for fireworks!!! Alright we can hear them, but where are they? Oh, the view is blocked by another building. WTF? I felt so ripped off. I was so mad, I swore off Speakeasy for-ev-er . . . I am bumping it up to 2 stars instead of one, because this is mostly based on one experience and I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt. Plus, they have one of the few rooftop patios in the city. However, I will not be back. read more

Josh was AMAZING! It was so busy when we came in and he somehow managed to make us fancy, delicious drinks and still be funny and kind and personable. Cool space+yummy drinks+ rockstar bartender= perfect Saturday afternoon. read more

Sure, maybe the drinks are a little expensive, and maybe you don't like having to enter from the alley (special events only, now)... But, I don't care. This place is fantastic. Good place to chill with friends and look out over this great city! Had a blast this weekend and definately want to go back! read more

Love this venue for the comedy show on Saturday's and the upstairs area. But you should NOT come here for the drinks or the service. Drinks are never made properly and the service is pretty bad. For me personally I come for the shows so I look past these things, but it's good to know. Also no beers on tap so stick to the cans cause the cocktails are never made right. read more

I'm gonna give this place 2 stars for now, but this may change if I ever swing by on a better night. We went on a Wednesday night after Happy Hour for some bowling and drinks. Up the sweltering stairs is the dimly lit 2nd floor lounge-y/bowling area. The couches were cool-looking and comfy. I didn't order any drinks because I felt bad for the frazzled lone bartender. She was almost jittery, running back and forth, grabbing bowling shoes, fixing the stuck lanes, making drinks, etc. The feel and style of the place is very cool, and I'd give it another try, if there's an event or live music or something. But based on that experience, I'd try a different bar somewhere else first. read more

If I could give this place ZERO stars I would. I'm still trying to clear up a credit card situation with this place. They double charged my friend and I on each of our cards, and to add insult to injury charged WAY MORE than the agreed upon amount. We have tried calling the manager multiple times with no response. Even the respective banks have tried calling. If you go here use CASH only. Consider yourself warned. read more

Am I allowed to write a review about a place that remains somewhat blurry in my somewhat not-sober memory? (English majors already have signed me off as an unreliable narrator.) Well, what do I remember about Speakeasy? Let's recall in a manageable bullet-point format: - No cover charge for girls. $5 for guys. - Live band downstairs. - DJ upstairs who favored songs that were cool about 3 years ago - Oh right, the upstairs! It's a rooftop/lounge/dancefloor! There is a canopy roof, but the sides are open to the outside air which makes for a refreshing change for cramped 6th st. clubs. - Feeling lazy? Sit back and relax in one of the many lounge areas and let the sounds of Usher soothe you... read more

With a name like "Speakeasy", i would expect some hidden gem. I'm pretty sure the neon and rooftop patio would have gotten Speakeasy busted during prohibition. Still, i like the place. Was there on a Tuesday night, so can't speak to a normal crowd. The downstairs area was nice, with a stage and some live music (i guess that is a standard feature in Austin), but I really enjoyed the rooftop patio. Lounge-y bed like seating allows you to take in the skyline and enjoy the breeze. read more

I love this place alexis is so totally awesome,I come here all the time and it is so cool here.bring your friends.

Here are the facts of what happened when I visited here: -me and my two friends ordered 3 beers -one of my friends had a phone that was about to die, and asked if the bartending staff had a charger to use -they said they would let him charge his phone for $10, and the bar staff had clearly been drinking (Sunday night) -when my friend questioned a $10 fee to charge his phone, the off-duty bartending staff threatened physical violence against him and the on duty bartender ripped the beers out of mine and my friends hands without warning and threw them away I don't understand what's up with the wait staff of this bar and have never experienced anything close to this, and would strongly recommend against anyone cling here. read more

Josh is a fun bartender! He makes the best cosmos! When I ordered I was educated on the drink and also got some entertainment while he we making the cosmo! Thanks Josh. We will be back again for the delicious cosmos read more

We were here 4 nights and ended up at Speakeasy on 2 of them. This place rocks. There are 3 levels: bottom floor has a big bar, couches to sit and a pool table, second floor is a balcony where you can hear the live band playing with 2 bowling lanes and the top floor is a rooftop with a lot of seating and an awesome nightly DJ. You have everything you could want under one roof! I didn't have any specialty cocktails here, it almost seems like they aren't known for them even though the place is called Speakeasy. I was happy with my standard bar drinks, however. The bartenders were great and gave us several free drinks. It averaged out to pretty cheap drinks, but maybe free drinks are not always worth counting on. The rooftop was our favorite spot with a cool breeze and a buzz to keep us warm. read more

Very cool atmosphere with the wooden floors and cow head above the bar. Loved the historical photos back by the bathrooms. Josh was a super friendly bartender and a great conversationalist. Thank you for the delicious beverages! We would definitely visit again! read more

Speakeasy was SO awesome. If you have a chance you need to go here! It offers such an incredible view of downtown Austin from upstairs and you miss out on that, especially at night. It's great for people watching on 4th street too. There are fans all around upstairs too so it makes it bearable in the heat, and all the bartenders we came in contact with were really attentive and constantly came by to make sure we were good and to check if we needed anything. They had live music when you first walk in which is a given in Austin but it's really good because this bar has 3 different sections. There's the downstairs which has the live music and seating area, theres also a place between the entrance and the rooftop that has couches, it's kind of like a loft looking over the dancefloor which is awesome. Then there's the rooftop. The only thing that sucks is from the entrance to the rooftop there are like 95 steps hahah. We turned the corner to go up and were like "holy shit", it's legitimately straight up, to the point where we just had to laugh. But hey, I'm just complaining because I'm super out of shape! It's totally worth the 95 steps though ;) read more

Fantastic bar with cool history, great service and friendly staff. They make a mean Old Fashioned. Highly recommend.

Speakeasy. It's a bar. Had to entertain some clients. It's where we ended up. It has cover bands. It has a cover, Like last night, doordork: that'll be $5. friend #1: there's nobody in there! doordork: we have salsa lessons friend #2: So? friend #3: i'm a competitive salsa dancer, not interested, a beer would be nice doordork: [counting] there's 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 of you! tell you what $10 covers the cover. friend #1: So $2 for each of us? doordork: [face scrunches up] huh? friend #1: whatever, here's a ten We try out the salsa lesson. Yeah, we said we wouldn't but we lied. Naturally friend #3 is awesome salsa dancer humiliating all of us. We mock his manhood mercilessly to compensate for our feelings of ineptitude. Hey, that's what guys do, it's expected. I think all the salsa ladies breathed a deep sigh of relief when we beat a quick retreat after the instructor said some crap about "coupling up". OMG, this is like a high school dance. Ascending the longest staircase ever, I mean, like, really, really long, we hit the oh-so-nice rooftop lounge. Some beers and tequila shots later, we had fun. Our kind of fun. And there wasn't anyone else near us to get offended. How unfortunate. Other two times I've been there the exact same 70's big hair metal cover band was playing. They must play there every night they don't have "free" salsa lessons. Fun. Speakeasy Lessons Recap: - Cover price is like the price of a &%* in mexico, practice negotiating - Cool place to learn how to Salsa - If it isn't Salsa night, it's big hair heavy metal night, know the difference and dress appropriately - The roof top is very nice, if you're cool you get a corner with couches. Weekend: Cool = bottle service Tuesday: Cool = you showed and climbed the stairs read more

Speakeasy is a hit-or-miss thing that is genuinely dependent on what you're looking for in a downtown bar. You'll be greeted at the door with a $5-$7 cover, which is an immediately offensive notion compared to the majority of the bars in the area that don't have a cover to speak of. Perhaps this cover is a blessing in disguise. Speakeasy - by separating itself from the "Dirty 6th" cover-free stigma - also manages to be a somewhat welcome respite from the aforementioned venues. Though it's a hop-skip away from more raucous, college bars, it has a much more cordial, relaxed atmosphere. The rooftop terrace is a great atmosphere for large groups, with candlelit tables and plenty of heat lamps. The DJs are actually reasonably tolerable, though good luck having a conversation over the music. The terrace also offers one of the best views you'll find in a bar...if you can climb the 59 steps to get there. Downstairs is a mix of casual tables and a decently sized dancefloor. The bands change all the time, but they are generally all high-energy with an emphasis on dancing. Despite all these attributes, it's hard to give Speakeasy more than three stars. A great venue and, like any bar, your experience there will vary on any given night. So why only three stars? In a word: price. Speakeasy is notorious for its terrible prices, which, in addition to a cover, really filters out who can go there on a semi-regular basis. A cocktail will often set you back 6 or 7 bucks before tip. In addition to the cover you already paid, you'll already be about 14 bucks in the hole after your first drink. Every good view comes at a price, I suppose. read more

Going here for New Years last year was a terrible decision. They make promises when they sell that they can't keep when you're actually there. They oversold and our group was split between different floors as a result, despite paying extra for tickets that allegedly gave us all access. Don't waste your money and don't waste a great night. Update in response to Karen- We knew exactly what we were buying. We were told that we were purchasing access to all of the floors, and that was consistent with the language on our tickets. It was not our ignorance but your failure as management. In fact, your management accepted that our wristbands granted us access to the third floor, yet they denied us access because you oversold. And you have not resolved the issue. In fact, you failed to respond to my correspondence. Don't pass the blame. Accept it, and provide refunds for failing to provide the services promised. read more

I tried to take some out of town friends to Speakeasy last night after a great dinner in downtown Austin because they were meeting some friends there and James at the door would not let us in because we had a doggy bag from a restaurant to take home. I've lived in Austin for 20 yrs or more and have not ever been turned away at the door and thought it was ridiculous that we had to throw away our high priced food to go in to hear some music before going to our homes. I asked if the owner was there and he said that he was, so I requested to talk to him to figure out what was I suppose to do with my food. We waited and waited and they never called the owner to come out and speak to us. I later found out from the owner on facebook that he wasn't even at Speakeasy, so the doorman lied to us. After the owner found out about this his only response is even in this economy our numbers are up and we must be doing something right. Totally discounted our bad experience. It only takes one bad experience for me and I won't return nor refer my friends locally or out of town guest to go there. Big mistake, read more

We took a couple in from out of town for a few drinks and some live music Friday night. We got there about 11:30 pm and there were still tables available to sit. There was a $5 cover and the band Sauce was playing- they were absolutely fabulous! We waited around 10 minutes for a cocktail waitress, but she was attentive after our first round. My only complaint was when I asked for a drink menu she wasn't sure if they had one. I was drinking wine so I wanted to know what I was ordering, she came back and said, "We have a few different Chardonnays and a Pinot Grigio for white wine". I wish they had a printed menu so I would have better been able to order. read more

Great rooftop view, recommended by a local friend. Came here to hang with a group of friends. There are options for activities if you don't want to hang around and chat (pool, fooseball, 3 etc). There's probably something for everyone. read more