This is everything thats right with Austin,TX. Beer, Indian food, and crappy music. Come with an open mind and thirst for good beer. Park your out of town attitude at the door and Enjoy. read more

With each new friend I bring to The Whip In I find myself at a loss in how to properly explain this unique concept for a bar. This is how it starts; it's a bar and a restaurant, and a convenience store. This last part is where people's imaginations tend to run wild and I have literally had one person tell me they thought we were going to drink 40's in a parking lot and eat baked lays and pringles... Obviously that explanation was lacking, hopefully this one does not. Boasting over 75 very, very unique beers on tap, and they always have something different to try. Though, this means that it's not unusual to find your new favorite beer already out the door and replaced with something newer and with more hops. Luckily, the staff always has an excellent knowledge of what's what and can lead you in the right direction of discovering your next favorite beer. The food has been always hit or miss. The queso and nan is a favorite though, something that you can't ever go wrong with. In the past the seating situation has been limited if your first choice was to sit inside and enjoy some folk/jazz/blues music on their stage you might be standing around hawk-eying a group as they nursed there beers. As of last visit they had been reorganizing the store to fix this situation. Oh did I mention it was a music venue as well? It should come as given though.... Overall, The Whip In is a great time, laid back, good ambience, good music, delicious beers with always something new to try on the menu. read more

Great food, ambiance and music. Different, whimsical and fun. Just wish we knew about it before our New York friends visiting brought us there. read more

I absolutely love this place. The food, the drinks, and the live music. This is my go to place when anyone comes and visits me in Austin. Downside: it does get busy because it's so awesome and it can be tough to find a place to sit. read more

This place has such a great selection of beer and wine! The food is fantastic and has an Indian flare! The staff is friendly and are always super helpful. It can get a bit crowded at times but that's just a sign of it's greatness. Super casual and can be a great first date spot if you're cool. What are you waiting for?! read more

Food: "Ok" .. for those who don't know great Indian food, such as what can be found on west Devon ave. in Chicago. Service is a bit slow, but wait staff was nice. Ambience: Not bad. Nice lighting/ choice of illumination re seating,. Vibe: Had to listen to 2 sets of Dumbass parents who don't attend to their kids and who seat them NEAR the stage so folks who would like to listen .... can't. Staff should monitor or that. Food; Ok price for the quality. Restrooms are quite a puzzle to access. More signs needed. Music: good stage/good sound level/good mix. Summary: a destination for good music, and otherwise "pedestrian-Ok" food. This is a review of an INDOOR seating experience. read more

New ownership and wage changes have led to a mass exodus of the bartenders 2 weeks ago. This used to be one of my haunts. But after the remodel, and the staff running off, it looks like another one of these standardized brunch places. Boo. read more

The food here is great, but the service is absolutely terrible. You can barely get any of the staff to make eye contact, let alone dare to smile. I just attempted to place a to go order but no one answered the phone after the 10th attempt so I went into the restaurant. I sat at the bar for about 20 minutes while I waited for my food. 4 servers walked by me without saying a word. It's a shame, because this used to be one of my favorite spots in town. read more

Sick of the rude staff, they have gotten worse and worse over the years. Impatient, unfriendly and always a chip on the shoulder. I can imagine that serving here is a stressful job, but have a little patience and don't treat every single person like they are below you. Don't chastise me for abandoning my drink, I got up to use the restroom and the line for it was long as usual. read more

This is our go-to spot for a totally comfortable spot to relax when visiting our son in Austin! Excellent selection of craft beers on draft and small producer wines, by the glass and bottle. The staff is always welcoming, but last night (Thanksgiving) we stopped in after too much turkey and met Thomas - what a terrific guy and host! He made our evening. He could not have been more personable or helpful! read more

The food was DELICIOUS, but order to-go if you don't mind tons of people standing around the bar without their masks. The bartenders were really lovely, but there were no measures taken to enforc mask wearing when food wasn't being eaten. More than six people were standing around the bar maskless or incorrect mask wearing. I don't think I'll be coming here for a while until COVID calms down because of this. Dine-in at your own risk. read more

Indian food. Live music and Craft Beer! It doesn't get any better than that! Has the friendliest staff and the best beer selection in Austin. read more

Super cool and Austin like place. a great place to hang around. Love the food, beer options and option to sit outside on a great day. read more

The place was packed but we managed to find close parking easily. The motif was pretty cool and we figured out the ordering process without much effort. Music was different but enjoyable and not overly loud (as some pubs understandably are). East Side Drive Panaani was $8. It was tasty, but for the price I was expecting it to be larger than it was; this is what really disappointed me the most. Some fries (or something) on the side would have been nice, in lieu of an adult sized sandwich. Wifey's ratatouille special had a nice flavor and the portion was good, however the rice was undercooked and the sauce was watery (maybe it was supposed to be?). Great beer selection, and probably a fun place to hang out and drink, but then there are so many other places with a great beer selection. Employees seemed a bit cold, but I didn't sense any rudeness or hostility. read more

I was just passing through town and had heard great things about this place in the past , so I had to give it a shot !! I was given great service the beer selection was amazing and I left with a smile on my face(: . Deff. The place to hang !! read more

Good beer selection and the food was pretty good. Nothing too impressive, but I'd eat it again, quite willingly. The music that was in the house the night we went was great. Only downside was that it was pretty cramped in there. I suppose that's to be expected, considering that it doubles as a grocery-type place, but I wouldn't have complained about some more room. But I'm six and a half feet tall, a lot of places feel cramped to me. Staff was friendly enough. I've had friendlier, I've had unfriendlier. They talked to me, gave me things I ordered, and did work, so I can't complain. Overall, would go back again to have a drink and enjoy some music. Definitely worth dropping in if you've not dropped in before. read more

Worth trying for everyone. Whip in has my favorite beer selection in Austin (coming from a guy who travels to north California and Belgium for the beer). I have been hunting for lone pint yellow rose ipa for a while and just assumed it never made it to Austin. This place had it! On top of that they have a very nice selection in the coolers by the bar that are sold at a reasonable price for a gas station. They will serve you them for a modest dollar charge. It is really the cheapest way to try a bunch of beers with friends I have seen. The food was good as well, but obviously that was background for me. This place was good enough for me to start a yelp account and post my first review. read more

Awesome! Indian-Texan fusion. Delicious wraps. Charming atmosphere. I will definitely be coming here every time I visit Austin! read more

Love this place an Austin staple - great menu and restaurant vibe with live music on certain nights- has a very tasty veggies sand which

The food special was amazing, atmosphere was great, band was fun, people and service top notch.... def coming back!!! Thanks for a great hump day! read more

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If you haven't gone here you need to go. The atmosphere is like no place else. Local, hip and healthy. Lots of vegetarian choices. The lighting is very romantic in the booths (made from old church pews). They have relaxed outside seating and a very large selecting of beer and wine. Perfect for take out for any time. One stop shopping austin/india dinner and drinks! read more

UPDATE In response to my review, I received a bilious private message from the waiter: ---and here it is--- "Your friendly, non-anonymous server from the Whip-In here. A couple of suggestions: 1. Our sandwiches are not heated up in the microwave 2. Problems with service? Aural communication is *gasp* even faster than logging onto the "internets." Also, if you plan on visiting with a large group in the future (btw, our Yelp description for "good for groups" is no), we would appreciate a phone call to let us know. Service is not an issue except when a group of 30 people arrives in 2 minute intervals. (ie: every time that I came back from the kitchen, there were three new tables. If you don't mind my asking, what is your job?) 3. Problems with beer? Once again, it seems as though a simple "Hey, this is the wrong beer" would suffice. Anyway, since you took the time and effort to log onto Yelp and anonymously complain about your experience, I figured I'd offer a few suggestions in case you should ever decide to once again grace us with your presence. Anyway, my name is Matthew. I promise that I will do everything I *physically* can in the future to ensure that if you return, your experience will be more pleasant. Be a good person." ---my response--- "Matthew: Thanks for replying. I didn't mean to say that the Panaani was heated in the microwave. It was the other gimmicky menu item, the "Deep Space Naan," that had the texture of something that had been previously fried and then reheated in the microwave. I stand by that analysis. (edited for clarity) Yes--I had problems with the service. I was there alone, not with a large group. I was ignored for ten minutes, so I flagged the server down. Everytime I needed something I had to flag the server down. Every single time. I was never approached by the server UNLESS I flagged him down, even after the large crowd left. Yes, "aural" communication and gesturing worked. It got his attention. But that is a service problem. (By the way, I worked in the food service industry for 15 years before snagging my cushy office job, in answer to your question.) If one server isn't enough then there is also a management problem. In addition, a specialty beer shop such as Whip In should have better training for their bar staff. Bar staff should be able to tell the difference between a light yellowy Pilsener and a dark cloudy ale. I DID tell the beer guy that the Pilz tap was hooked up to something other than Pilz, and showed him my glass. So he changed out the kegs. After he changed out the kegs he completely forgot about me and did not offer me a Pilz to replace the wrong beer. After several minutes went by I got his attention and asked him to please replace my beer. "Aural" communication (don't you mean "verbal" or "oral"?) worked again. But this is a service problem and a training problem. The overall tone of your message is hostile and condescending. To suggest that all of the problems that clearly plague the restaurant can be swept away by encouranging your patrons to just SPEAK UP is naive. If I was your boss and I knew that you were going online and responding to negative reviews of my restaurant in this manner I would end our professional relationship right then and there. Yelp EXISTS so that people like me can review places like Whip In. I gave a sincere review of my experience there. Don't take it so personally." I am a good person, by the way. Because of this I'm adding a star to my previous rating. Truth is, it's a great funky local business that we should support. I have been going to Whip In since '89 and this silliness will not stop me from going back, if not for the alcohol selection and general funkiness. It has always been a cool place. The restaurant just has some real issues. read more

The category should read as: Indian fusion. Okay, now that we got that out of the way. This is a convenience store/live music venue/dive bar/"restaurant." They are going for a lot of things here. One thing they've got going for them is the plethora of cool beer in the refrigerated section. It's impressive if you're into local brews, kombucha on tap, or want to try something new. All right, so this place is confusing if you've never been before. They've got a seat yourself patio or post up next to a pair having their first okcupid/tinder date or whatever. There are two areas you can order inside: One side is presumably only food/booze from the convenience side and the other with the inside seating is booze/food ordering. The food menu is fusion all the way. They've got a good number of meatless stuff we ordered and my favorite were those monster sized samosas. Those were divine, I'd go back just for that and to people watch again. I found the prices to be somewhat high, given the lack of real ambiance and that it is half convenience store. I could get the same thing elsewhere for cheaper and have a server. But maybe that is the whole point here. However, the vibe isn't really my scene. I saw mostly tourists, newcomers, and seemingly college aged kids. But it was worth a shot, and it was mostly a meh experience. I wouldn't go out of my way to come here, but I wouldn't be completely opposed if you're buying. read more

Like many things in life, my Whip-In review's lifespan appears to have been fleeting. Or perhaps I just dreamed of writing it. It wouldn't be my first Whip-In dream. Great things about Whip-In: +The beer guy +The discussion with the beer guy about how awesome it is to be in relationships with no expectations or nagging. +The beer guy agreeing with me that Heineken and Grolsch suck (He knew the way to my heart, I swear.) +The beer selection +The friendly checkout people +The chocolate bars with pictures of the owners on them +The selection of microwaveable Indian meals +The selection of other odd foods +The extreme closeness to my residence +The lack of stinky convenience store smell +The availability of organic junk food Not-so-good things about the Whip-In: -Missing some key stuff (It has 10 kinds of tea, but never the one I want, no stamps, odd variety of medicines) -Serious markups on certain things -The beer guy trying to convince me that his ex-girlfriend was crazy because she assumed he was cheating on her. I like beer talk and casual banter, but this was getting into the realm of serious therapy -Closes right at midnight, and I don't get done at work until a few minutes later But the cool selection, cool staff, and closeness to home make it a sure bet. I don't go to any other convenience stores anymore unless I need gas. read more

3.25 stars. What to make of Whip In? The Austin oddity is part grocery store, part bar, and part fusion Indian food restaurant. Dishes generally have Indian touches to otherwise classic American tastes though I'm not sure their brunch highlights the best of what they have to offer. The bar menu rotates and has an absolute wall of options. Service is quite good, and the "grocery store" is mostly an assortment of craft beer and wine alongside some novelties such as a frozen black truffle pizza. I noted the bar has some interesting events coming up (including a lady's arm-wrestling contest) which adds a certain level of character to the bar. The Whip In's location is odd as it appears off the highway in a rather residential section of Austin. I could see its appeal as a somewhat healthy, neighborhood bar with an excellent craft selection to boot. read more

Thirsty Austinites....come hither. Seriously, I love this place for many reasons...let me count the ways. 1- So many delicious beers on tap. And it's all good local stuff. 2- The good selection doesn't stop on tap. It's like 99 bottles of beer on the wall, except it's 99 six-packs of beer on the wall. You eating Thai? We got a beer for that. You trying to impress a date? We got a beer for that. You want a beer that's good to drink while doing cartwheels? We got a beer for that (maybe). 3- There is a cozy little seating area and with all the stuff hanging up on the walls, it makes me feel like I'm in India. 4- The brownies by the cash register - AMAZING. Get the orange liqueur brownie, it is made with Grand Marnier, you will thank me later. 5- Never met a staff member there who wasn't friendly, didn't welcome me back, and didn't know their beers. 6- I am guessing the food would be #6 if I had tried it already, sadly, I haven't. I don't know why I have waited so long. Guess I'll have to go back again soon and try it out...what a bummer. read more

WoW .. just had lunch there for 1st time and it was great. Owner was really nice and friendly .. food was fresh and tasted amazing. The atmosphere was smooth .. looks like a nice place to chill, have some wine and dinner. I saw a place for a band to play so I'll have to check it out then. read more

This place was unexpectedly wonderful. They have a great selection of draft beers + their own. Our guy brought me samples to help me decide on a beer and their Saison was my favorite of the night. My husband had a flight of their beers and swears the ESB was the best. For food we ordered veggie samosas, nachos, the chana dal bowl and goat sliders. Everything was delish. This is only the 4th Indian restaurant I've been too, but the veggie samosas were hands down the best I've had. I will probably be going here once a week now to crush those. Onto more surprises, I was craving dessert so I ordered the only option a chocolate cardamom cupcake. Heaven, it was heaven. How did they make that cupcake taste so good? Lastly, if I haven't sold you yet, service is fantastic and the live music just pulls everything together! read more

This is a must-see for anyone who hasn't been in Austin, plus a great place to take out-of-town guests. It has a really different vibe from anywhere you'll ever go. It's a grocery store, a bar, and a restaurant. You can find great beer here, both to drink while you eat some delicious Indian fusion, as well as rare bottles to take back home. The patio is warm and inviting, and dog-friendly! You won't have trouble parking here, but there's not a lot of other places nearby, so you'll want to drive, most likely. I've once walked here from a friend's Airbnb, which was more fun on the way back than the way there. read more

Great "convenience" store with an awesome beer selection, a nice menu with Indian food amongst other interesting selections, and seating with an almost Persian atmosphere where you can watch live music. Good tap selection. Uniquely Austin! read more

I am excited to have this spot in the neighborhood. It's a bar, Indian-American restaurant, and a beer and wine store all in one. The setting inside is dark and quiet; a great place to catch up with your friends. The bar serves a couple of beer and drinks. On Wednesday (which is when I come) is wine Wednesday where you can purchase a bottle of wine to share and there is no corking fee! Their food is excellent also; the curry dishes are excellent! Outside in the patio is great for doggies. There are a couple of picnic tables and some are covered. Fans are mounted on post which helps a ton in the summer. Overall, it is a dive with great vibe!! read more

With the few negative reviews, I think I would take my business elsewhere anyway. In this time and age, my money needs to go further and when a business is rude to me I take it personally and will drive the extra mile to a competitor even if the price is higher. Customer service is king in my book. read more

This place had 2-star food. If you're looking for good Indian food, this is not the place to go to. The reviews are inflated because people love the beer selection and the atmosphere but you'll notice that the good reviews tend to only mention those things. The food is overpriced and just mediocre-tasting. There's too much good Indian food in Austin to come here just to eat. read more

With Whip In, there are in effect two separate stores: 1) the restaurant and 2) the booze store. The restaurant deserves 2 stars and the booze store deserves 4 stars. I'd give the whole place 2.5 stars but that's not an option. I've heard a lot about Whip In over the last couple of months. A friend of mine writes a food blog and she talked it up. I'd read in a couple of other places about how good it was (one of those places being Yelp). Thursday I finally got up the gumption to try the place out with a friend of mine. I might have made a fatal mistake in ordering a rice bowl and the sandwiches might be great. That being said my sole experience is with the rice bowl. I asked the lady behind the counter, who I assumed was the proprietor, what vegetarian rice bowl she suggested (the vegetarian choice being based solely in the fact that I was eating Indian food). She suggested a spinach rice bowl. My friend ordered a chicken rice bowl (assumedly the only chicken rice bowl they offer b/c she didn't ask which chicken rice bowl). The rice bowls arrived in a timely fashion, though we were one of two groups in the place to eat so this is not entirely reflective of the quality of service. When I started eating, I first noticed that there wasn't much of the spinach concoction on top of the rice. There was enough to get a tinge of flavor from it, but I was eating essentially rice. By the time I finished my rice bowl, I felt like I was about 1/3 of the way full. Now I don't find all of my value in a meal in the fact that a meal makes me full, but I do generally expect an entree to get me in the general vicinity of not wanting a whole other meal immediately afterwards. My buddy didn't finish his rice bowl b/c he ate some chicken cartilage or something. I'm not too squeamish so I finished off his bowl b/c I didn't want to remain at being about 1/3 of the way to not "needing" to eat for another 8 hours. The chicken bowl was a bit more hearty and substantive than my spinach rice bowl, but it wasn't the epiphany that would have changed my overall feelings about the place. Bottom line: don't order a rice bowl. As for the booze store, the place is pretty awesome. The selection of beers is nearly unmatched here in town and the prices are reasonable. read more

Another good bowl of curry, Tikka Marsala, great beers on tap, and a nice band on a Thursday night. If I lived in Austin, I would hang out here. read more

I really like the Whip In's spin on Indian food. It's a cool little place, too, half restaurant, half convenience store, with a patio. We've had quite a bit of things at this place, and it was all good. Prices were reasonable. For such a small place, it has a stage on the outside patio and a stage indoors. We'll be back to check out the bands. read more

I love Whip In! I would give more stars if I could. Not only do they have the best assortment of wines in town, they also now have Woody from Room 710 and many other establishments in town. I was always a big fan of the Whip in, but now that Woody is there I am a bigger than ever fan! He is so helpful, kind and knowledgeable! Keep up the good work Whip In....always changing, adding more (live music, food) and keeping Austin original. Whip In- You are awesome! read more

We came for beer. We got an experience. Talk about culture shock. And I'm not talkin' 'bout culture shock in the traditional sense, where this here Yankee took his first trip to the Lone Star State. I'm talkin' 'bout a joint called Whip In taking a whole mess of cultures and shocking them into one trippy, eclectic mutt of an establishment. Quite the cocktail, if you ask me: Whip In 2 oz. bodega 2 oz. hipster beer bar 1.5 oz. homemade Indian cuisine 1 oz. event space / music venue (optional) Splash of sunburnt Southern flair Garnish with souvenirs from The Beatles trip to Rishikesh Serve in a former gas station This concoction may sound sketchy, but it went down smooth, I assure you. Not only did Whip In have a solid selection of sixers from Texas breweries, but just seeing Southern Tier Eurotrash Pilz sold here solidified their quality reputation for me. Not only is this one of my favorite craft beers, but one that I've had some difficulty tracking down in Brooklyn, despite being from a New York brewery. Seeing Whip In served up food and brews on tap, our crew decided to make a meal out of what was an initially routine beer run. I opted for the Butter Bourbon Chicken chalkboard special, thinking I was ordering sumthin' Southern. What I received was a curried dish with basmati rice on the side. The last thing I was expecting as my first meal in Texas was something Indian, but I guess I wasn't paying attention to their "South Indian Food - South Austin Mood" slogan and dhaba-esque decor at the time of order. No matter. Even though Indian is not typically my thing (and when I say "not typically my thing", I really mean that I avoid the hell out of it), it wasn't half-bad! Who knew I'd have to go to the heart of Texas to discover maybe I don't hate Indian food, after all. An Austin-brewed Live Oak Pilz pint, one of - get this - 72 beers on tap (!), may have helped wash it all down, but I'm willing to give the misleadingly-titled Butter Bourbon Chicken the credit it deserves. Whip In's quirkiness doesn't start and end with multicultural mash-ups, however. There are signs warning patrons that if you choose to use your cell phone at the counter, there is a $2 "tuition" charge for teaching you some manners. There's the choice between a dark pub that doubles as event space or the once-brightly colored outdoor patio now faded from the Texas sun, the two dichotomous areas split up by plastic door strips. All under the guise of what I'm used to calling, well, a bodega - as mentioned in the faux recipe above. Whip In was my first real experience in the Texas capital, and most definitely in keeping with the city's ever-present, super-true "Keep Austin Weird" tagline. Namaste, y'all! read more

One of the only places left that still holds the OG Austin scene! The grumpy, chubby girl with the glasses has to go though. News Flash - she's like mean to everyone and its killin the vibe. read more

This is one of the more 'divey' gastropubs I've been too. The menu includes Indian-inspired pub fare, which wasn't overly affordable given the variety or taste. My buddies and I agreed that this place was certainly worth the visit for its uniqueness, but decided it's not a great food destination. The curry bowl was much too salty, the food a bit on the cool side, and the samosas lacking in deliciousness. But, go for a drink with some friends, catch some live local music, and maybe a small snack or two. It is certainly a fun joint--just not a place you'd want to add to your Austin food list. read more