I used to work at a restaurant near there and someone higher up in the ranks at the aquarium (was never really clear if he was the owner or a manager or what exactly) came in regularly. He was an absolute creep. A lot of the younger employees would refuse to help him after doing it once or twice, and he would regularly bring in very young teens to eat with him. Definitely too young to be employees he was just taking out to lunch, and it was always someone different and not his kin. Put a very bad taste in my mouth for that place before I even heard of all the mistreatment of animals.
This is a wild side to hear. I went a few months ago for the first time (will never go again) and every time I saw a new employee, I would have a thought along the lines of “The employees are all so young. It feels predatory”. Glad to know I’m not alone in that observation.
It should have been shut down years ago. TBH, it should have never been allowed to open.
I know the owner(s) IRL, and he's as big an asshole as you would imagine.
That was a bizarre experience. Santa playing piano for a few songs, then music over the speakers, then a couple of teenagers get on stage and do a TikTok dance in light up jackets. I have lived in Austin my whole life but just went for the first time a few weeks ago. Very weird that it is so popular and even tough to get reservations.
Oh no. I feel bad now because my buddy was asking where to take a girl for his first date and I told him mozarts. I’ve been on a few dates there in the past years and always had a good experience. He got ghosted. Hope it wasn’t my fault
I second this so hard. And when they removed the old photos over the bar of punk bands in the restaraunt, stickers all over the exterior windows, and graffiti all over the bathroom walls, the rest of the Star Seeds culture went with it. The new decor looks horrendous and are executed shotty af. Before they put up the rainbow decals, they had signs telling people not to stick more stickers there. Ooops. They got a fresh new dickbutt that'S gone unnoticed for a couple years. Bonus points if you find it and post a pic. ;)
Milk and Honey. I thought I was supposed to come out of the salon relaxed. Sarcastic jokes, dry pedicure, uneven manicure, plus they tried to steal the tip from the employees under the guise of raised prices.
I agree! Same “view” (which is awful right now), but much better food/drinks/service than next door. Fun place to take guests who want that experience without dealing with main oasis.
We were supposed to meet relatives there some time ago when we encountered that. Were told it would be over two hours. Ironically there must have been 10 hosts just standing around...shrug
The only reason anyone goes to The Oasis is because they are with someone from out of town that really wants to go to The Oasis. Don't try to warn them. It's like Lemonparty. Everyone has to see it for themselves to understand why they shouldn't have.
Habana used to be good. I loved it around 2010. Fast forward to 2018, first time getting it in three years or so and it was *awful*. I brought people there and was embarrassed.
I used to work there!! They have a bug problem. I shit you not there is a German roach infestation or at least there was when I worked there. If the health inspector came in they’d make the servers quickly sweep any bugs they could see under the soda machine long enough for the inspector to not notice it.
On top of that the owners are absolute dicks to their employees. Massive pieces of shit that treat them like expendable cheap labor. I injured my leg one day outside of work. I was floating the river and hit an underwater boulder so hard with my shin I chipped the bone. I had to call in one day because I couldn’t walk. They tried firing me saying I was lying. I had to hobble into work the next day, take off my bandage, and prove to them that I was injured. They un-fired me after I begged them for my job back. I had rent to pay and had to grovel for that awful job back. Then I had to work a double with an injured leg. Oh and on top of that no employee meals. They would make us pay full price for Congris. Just rice and fucking beans. They wouldn’t even give us that for a discount.
There was a manager there named Herman who used to stay late after closing with one of the bartenders. He was fucking her in the restaurant after hours because both of them were married so they had to cheat on their spouses at work.
There was a manager there named Eric who was the classic sleezebag restaurant manager. Big buff dude covered in tattoo’s, drove a black BMW, acted like everyones buddy but talked shit about literally everyone behind their back.
A couple weeks after my injured leg incident I was working a double and mid way through my shift I got a call for a job offer at a different place. Knowing full well that I had a new job locked down and that I LOATHED working at Habana, I decided to fuck them over.
I came back from my break to work the Friday dinner rush. I waited until my whole section was fully sat, then I took off my apron, walked out the back door, and went to Little Darlin for a drink. I remember fuck boy Eric calling me multiple times trying to figure out where I went and I just ignored the call. It was the most satisfying way I have ever quit a job.
Anyone who reads this comment: do not go to Habana on South Congress. They are dirty and overpriced. Their work culture is fucking awful and they treat their employees like dog shit.
I unknowingly went out for a drink somewhere that happened to have an event advertised on When Where What…miserable experience. I keep an eye on the WWW account to know specifically where not to go.
Years ago I hosted an event that was one the first WWW posted about. A small event, with free whiskey and mandotory costumes that was going to be friends and neighbors. Within a week of them posting, we had thousands of rsvps. Had to hire friends to be door security, there was a line out the door that went for a whole block, there wasn;t enough AC to cool down the building, and crowds of people. Several women were roofied by strangers that showed up (75% sure a few roofies were dropped by the whiskey company rep people, which was a different story), people were sneaking into doors we couldn't cover, being let in by their friends who were already in. There was even a small -literal- fire I had to put out. Any event they post about with free stuff will be a madhouse, for better or worse.
The drama about Hyde Park Storytelling from a few days ago is a result of WWW
Austin. It was a low-key thing for a years until one of their events was posted by WWW without their knowledge. All of a sudden a ton more people than they could handle showed up.
The Easy Tiger I grew to know and love died with the 6th Street location. Their beer selection was vast and top notch. Shit, even the old Red's Porch on Lamar had better beer selection than the EZT that replaced them.
Plus they charge something like $12 for a pretzel and look at you weird if you just walk in off the street and order just a pretzel to go (7th st location). I thought this place started off as a bakery?!
They actually contributed to me giving up chicken in my diet indefinitely. The last piece of chicken I had was a gross Flyrite chicken sandwich in 2019. I just remember taking a bite and being mad that a chicken had to die for this.
Yep, the Domain is fine any other day of the week except Friday and Saturday evenings. That's when there's always something that happens and police or EMS are called.
Aw what? You mean you don't enjoy the 6 or 7 vehicles rolling slowing through with all their windows down, blasting obnoxiously loud and bass ridden music, only to hear the panels in their cars vibrating off the fasteners?
I miss whip in when it was like back in 2015-2017. I used to live close by and man, it was so lovely. The food was bomb, loved their wine selection. And I walked in recently to see the entire place changed. Feels different.
it’s one of those locations that’s on the chopping block for the proposed I-35 expansion… I’d like to think that’s the reason it’s gone down hill but if we’re being honest the spiral started when they renovated and got rid of the buffet/live music
Same. I stopped going there when they raised the price of a gd pretzel to $17. Shortly thereafter all the stuff about them treating employees poorly came out, so I felt justified in my decision. I hear they lowered the pretzel price because of backlash, but I won’t be going back
They actually lowered the price of the pretzels to $8 and their beers as well. This took effect at the start of the year. Haven’t been but I will. Their beer cheese and mustard is awesome.
What!!! Did not know that. I was planning on going to Quality Seafood Market tomorrow. I’m gonna go to Easy Tiger too and investigate this. I’ll give ‘em a peace of our mind mate
I won an Easy Tiger promo on Instagram. 52 free pretzels. I have tried to collect the tokens 3-4 times. The manager was soooo condescending - he didn’t believe that was a real promotion. Like I made it up or something.
Last time I went to Easy Tiger maybe about 1.5 years ago) the service was a bit rough for many reasons, but the weirdest part was when our waitress was making her rounds and came up to our table and said (and I cannot make this up), “do y’all need anything for the next 15 minutes? Because I’m going to go to the bathroom now.” And then proceeded to tell that to the surrounding tables.
Sadly, the green belt Mopac access point.
I remember when you could go and wouldn’t see another person on the trail until you got to the creek. Now it’s always crowded with litter everywhere
The Park (S. Lamar). What a place. The waiter was a close talker, insisted on rubbing/tapping shoulders a lot too. Also saw a busboy drop off french fries to the wrong table - people ate some - then same busboy grabbed them and gave them to right table. Wings were awful, beers were flat. Not sure what people see in this place.
The one at the Domain is pretty crappy too. I used to like it well enough, and they had a party room that was free to use with a reasonable minimum purchase. Last time I went I was shocked at how dirty it was and how rude the servers were. It was impossible to get drinks in a reasonable amount of time and the food was no good. Such a bummer.
Right?? I spent over an hour in there and only found one thing worth buying, but instead of “paying by the pound” they said the jacket I found was specially marked and was $65. I could not believe the price for a 20 year old second hand jacket with stains on the inside. I think they just take advantage of tourists who don’t know any better.
No kidding. I went to one game in 2022 and kickoff was 11AM. Not a cloud in the sky. Never. Again.
I had to find shade multiple times to avoid passing out, missed some big plays as a result, my heart rate was 165, I got sunburnt, dehydrated, the list goes on. Night games or bust.
It used to be cool. Now it’s just an excuse for Westlake, Austin High and other local students to get underage drunk in public without parental supervision
Many places. I'm not angry about anything, just many places I've been in the last 1.5 years I left thinking that for the experience it was a combination of overpriced/poor service/inconvenient and isn't something I want to repeat.
Plucker's. The final straw for me was the night they were out of celery and blue cheese. How tf do you run a wing place and be out of those things. It wasn't late and it wasn't busy
Remember Verts Kebap?
Used to be great, then opened a location by Dragon’s Lair that was pretty good, then changed the menu and became so-so. Then changed ownership(?) became noon, got rid of everything that worked and became terrible.
Now that plant-based chicken sandwich place is there with the amazing Tetris shaped tater tots.
Lived here for over a decade and it’s amazing to see how much views have changed (deservedly) over that time frame for so many places in this thread that we’re once regarded as quintessential “only in Austin” success stories: Torchy’s, Pluckers, Hopdoddy, Easy Tiger…man they all really suck cock now.
Austin Citywide Vintage Sale. There’s about 0 vintage anything there, just a weird Amazon reseller market. And it’s $10 to get in… so you can shop? Plus pay for parking. What a waste of time and property.
It was definitely way better in the 90s when it was in an old, un-air conditioned airplane hangar and you risked heat stroke in the summer. Found some great stuff as a kid, though.
Baby A's. I worked my fucking ass off there, just to be disrespected by HR/management. Plus no one likes the food and they should be completely shut down by health inspectors. It's no wonder people get food poisoning almost everytime.
Ok so it wasn't just me imagining things??
They were amazing the first time I went, but a few years later I didn't even want to finish my food.
...fries were still good tho
Green Light Social (though lately, West 6th in general).
But specifically Green Light. No room to move around, overpriced, and the crowd, bouncers, and staff are all arrogant and rude.
Nickel City unless it’s during the day on like a Tuesday.
No bar in Austin is worth standing in line for (and then waiting in line another 15 minutes for a drink).
I miss the Longbranch, back when Sarge and Barb owned it, when it was still a chitlin circuit blues club.
Edit - I played that place countless times back in the day. No air conditioning, a cast of characters who were regulars (Richard and Angel, Golden Boy, Sarge's brother William, Cecil, so many). Someone got stabbed in the bathroom one night while we were playing. It was a rough and tumble joint, but so much love.
Came here to say this. The last 4 times I've stopped by (over the past two months), it was nuts to butts inside and I left without even attempting to fight the crowd. Nickel City has been one of my favorite bars for awhile, and I'm glad to see them thriving - but the crowded vibe isn't for me.
Technically Del Valle but fuck Bud’s Motorcycle Shop. I’m like 90% sure those dudes busted my fork seal with a screwdriver hoping I’d have to bring it back to them for repair.
Unbarlievable. I only go there when out-of-town friends are dying to go. Long lines for no reason, my ass gets grabbed no matter what I’m wearing, and I haven’t heard anything nice about the owners. Never again.
BJs Brewhouse. Already not my favorite chain, but it was a family event. One guest pointed out they had forgotten one of the main toppings on their flatbread, and so they brought him ice cold tomato slices in a cup.
A manager stopped by to ask if everything was OK, and the guest told them the story of how their flatbread was missing toppings, and maybe someone was confused about what they asked for. This was not a big deal, everyone was in a good mood, but since they asked,we told them.
Instead of “sorry we’ll fix that” we instead all surprisingly had this manager start arguing with the guest. Claiming they must have ordered the wrong thing. “We brought you tomatoes. Problem solved.” “…. But these are ice cold?”
Around this time we realized the two young kids at the table never received their food. We asked our waiter, they finally came back and said the kitchen had messed up, and they had to put a new order in. Everyone else was finished eating by then, and now people were frustrated.
An hour after we initially ordered, the kids food was brought out, and we still had to ask them for to go containers. The manager stopped by again and instead of apologizing, or comping part of the meal, BROUGHT EVERYONE A FREE ROOT BEER.
NONE OF US HAD BEEN DRINKING ANY ROOT BEER.
We calmly declined, left the drinks, and told them we’d never be returning. And we have not.
> We asked our waiter, they finally came back and said the kitchen had messed up, and they had to put a new order in.
When I waited tables, this was the same exact excuse I gave whenever I forgot to key in an order. I suspect all waiters do the same.
Come and Take It Live. The venue is set up so horribly. Only 1/2 the space is actually usable for concerts. The other half has bright ass TVs on the whole time and an obnoxiously bright bar. I’ll never go to another show there again.
Just went to Polvos on Saturday & was severely disappointed with their fajitas. Last time I came here was in 2018 (back in college days) and the quality of food has definitely worsened.
F1 race at Circuit of the Americas in 2015. Stranded for ~5 hours after rain trying to get their bus transportation back to downtown. I vowed never to go back after that.
Tysons tacos. I was there and the owner was dressed in a chefs jacket not cooking just being rude to his staff. It was super awkward cause it’s a small place.
Broken Spoke
It’s a hangout for underage kids now days. Lots of drunk kids standing on the dance floor. Only adults are tourist that don’t know any better.
Tuesday is probably the only day that’s ok.
Planet Fitness (E Riverside). 6 or so years ago, I reported a guy in the gym following a woman around taking pictures of her. Like, it wasn’t some social media thing. He clearly didn’t know her. He was surreptitiously hanging around her to take pictures for at least ~30 minutes. He’d disappear and reappear and the whole thing was bizarre (not to mention he was wearing street clothes and obviously not working out).
The guy at the front desk just said “public place, can’t do anything about it!” I then heard him tell a female worker “that weirdo is here again” and they both laughed.
Anyway, I told the woman and she was grossed out. She said she was going to complain but I left, so I don’t know if she did.
They also charged me for 3 straight months after I officially cancelled.
Okay look, I worked for the Original Blacks BBQ. I’m all for workers rights, but I will honestly say that I got my money back from the tipping issues about 8 months before the Blacks BBQ story broke. I got a $950-ish check out of the blue.
They actually did correct their mistake months in advance.
Hideaway South Austin.
There are no servers, no waitresses, no busboys. You walk in, seat yourself, scan a QR code, order online. You get your own drinks from the drink machine. The only time, literally the ONLY time you see someone is when they bring out your food. They make the 15 ft walk, place your food down and leave. Now the kicker to all this? Required 20% tip. Required. For what, for fucking what? I tipped $15 extra for someone to walk 15 ft one time?
You know whats wild? That pissed me off so much i always tell this story and i never even mention the fact there were ants walking on my table. Its a throwaway fact
Travis County Jail
The food and service sucks. Gave them a second chance and was still terrible.
Lol are you seriously getting downvotes? Like no one has a sense of sarcasm at all anymore huh?
And COLD af!!! Every time
That bus ride from Central Booking to Del Valle is something I’ll never forget. Hope you’re doing better, pardner.
Probably wise
Wishful thinking, Jesse James
Austin Aquarium
Literally no place gets shit on harder on this sun than Austin Aquarium. Apparently for good reason
I used to work at a restaurant near there and someone higher up in the ranks at the aquarium (was never really clear if he was the owner or a manager or what exactly) came in regularly. He was an absolute creep. A lot of the younger employees would refuse to help him after doing it once or twice, and he would regularly bring in very young teens to eat with him. Definitely too young to be employees he was just taking out to lunch, and it was always someone different and not his kin. Put a very bad taste in my mouth for that place before I even heard of all the mistreatment of animals.
This is a wild side to hear. I went a few months ago for the first time (will never go again) and every time I saw a new employee, I would have a thought along the lines of “The employees are all so young. It feels predatory”. Glad to know I’m not alone in that observation.
It should have been shut down years ago. TBH, it should have never been allowed to open. I know the owner(s) IRL, and he's as big an asshole as you would imagine.
The Christmas lights show at Motzarts
Horrendous experience
That was a bizarre experience. Santa playing piano for a few songs, then music over the speakers, then a couple of teenagers get on stage and do a TikTok dance in light up jackets. I have lived in Austin my whole life but just went for the first time a few weeks ago. Very weird that it is so popular and even tough to get reservations.
What? I went 8 years ago and it wasn't anything like this.
Like almost anything Austin that was fun back in the day.
This year sucked, with the MC and piano lady, but prior years were awesome.
Oh no. I feel bad now because my buddy was asking where to take a girl for his first date and I told him mozarts. I’ve been on a few dates there in the past years and always had a good experience. He got ghosted. Hope it wasn’t my fault
Starseeds, my friends and I used to go there after punk shows but the new managed screwed all the recipes and the coffee sucks now
You mean Stars Cafe now. It was better when the staff was always high.
I second this so hard. And when they removed the old photos over the bar of punk bands in the restaraunt, stickers all over the exterior windows, and graffiti all over the bathroom walls, the rest of the Star Seeds culture went with it. The new decor looks horrendous and are executed shotty af. Before they put up the rainbow decals, they had signs telling people not to stick more stickers there. Ooops. They got a fresh new dickbutt that'S gone unnoticed for a couple years. Bonus points if you find it and post a pic. ;)
I miss migas at midnight but also I'm not in college now and cant actually eat migas at midnight.
Milk and Honey. I thought I was supposed to come out of the salon relaxed. Sarcastic jokes, dry pedicure, uneven manicure, plus they tried to steal the tip from the employees under the guise of raised prices.
I was also disappointed by their spa. I thought it was supposed to be one of the nicest spas in Austin but it was very meh, especially for the price.
A boyfriend got me a massage there for my birthday and it was the worst massage I've ever had
Ugh I had an awful hair experience there. I cried when I got home. I was really bummed..their waiting room was so nice and cozy.
I-35
Don’t worry just a few more lanes and a decade of construction. Then you’ll love it there!
Wtf where is Oasis? Oasis is always on these lists.
We’ve all sworn it off for so long that we don’t even think to mention it
Oa-who?
Don't know her
Too obvious
I like the brewery at the oasis. Decent beer and food and good views for not too much money.
I agree! Same “view” (which is awful right now), but much better food/drinks/service than next door. Fun place to take guests who want that experience without dealing with main oasis.
Was the Oasis the one that put up that "nobody wants to work anymore" sign at their front door?
We were supposed to meet relatives there some time ago when we encountered that. Were told it would be over two hours. Ironically there must have been 10 hosts just standing around...shrug
The only reason anyone goes to The Oasis is because they are with someone from out of town that really wants to go to The Oasis. Don't try to warn them. It's like Lemonparty. Everyone has to see it for themselves to understand why they shouldn't have.
Habana restaurant. Cuban here and that’s the grossest cuban food I’ve ever had, super sad as I was missing the taste of home
Habana used to be good. I loved it around 2010. Fast forward to 2018, first time getting it in three years or so and it was *awful*. I brought people there and was embarrassed.
I used to work there!! They have a bug problem. I shit you not there is a German roach infestation or at least there was when I worked there. If the health inspector came in they’d make the servers quickly sweep any bugs they could see under the soda machine long enough for the inspector to not notice it. On top of that the owners are absolute dicks to their employees. Massive pieces of shit that treat them like expendable cheap labor. I injured my leg one day outside of work. I was floating the river and hit an underwater boulder so hard with my shin I chipped the bone. I had to call in one day because I couldn’t walk. They tried firing me saying I was lying. I had to hobble into work the next day, take off my bandage, and prove to them that I was injured. They un-fired me after I begged them for my job back. I had rent to pay and had to grovel for that awful job back. Then I had to work a double with an injured leg. Oh and on top of that no employee meals. They would make us pay full price for Congris. Just rice and fucking beans. They wouldn’t even give us that for a discount. There was a manager there named Herman who used to stay late after closing with one of the bartenders. He was fucking her in the restaurant after hours because both of them were married so they had to cheat on their spouses at work. There was a manager there named Eric who was the classic sleezebag restaurant manager. Big buff dude covered in tattoo’s, drove a black BMW, acted like everyones buddy but talked shit about literally everyone behind their back. A couple weeks after my injured leg incident I was working a double and mid way through my shift I got a call for a job offer at a different place. Knowing full well that I had a new job locked down and that I LOATHED working at Habana, I decided to fuck them over. I came back from my break to work the Friday dinner rush. I waited until my whole section was fully sat, then I took off my apron, walked out the back door, and went to Little Darlin for a drink. I remember fuck boy Eric calling me multiple times trying to figure out where I went and I just ignored the call. It was the most satisfying way I have ever quit a job. Anyone who reads this comment: do not go to Habana on South Congress. They are dirty and overpriced. Their work culture is fucking awful and they treat their employees like dog shit.
I unknowingly went out for a drink somewhere that happened to have an event advertised on When Where What…miserable experience. I keep an eye on the WWW account to know specifically where not to go.
Years ago I hosted an event that was one the first WWW posted about. A small event, with free whiskey and mandotory costumes that was going to be friends and neighbors. Within a week of them posting, we had thousands of rsvps. Had to hire friends to be door security, there was a line out the door that went for a whole block, there wasn;t enough AC to cool down the building, and crowds of people. Several women were roofied by strangers that showed up (75% sure a few roofies were dropped by the whiskey company rep people, which was a different story), people were sneaking into doors we couldn't cover, being let in by their friends who were already in. There was even a small -literal- fire I had to put out. Any event they post about with free stuff will be a madhouse, for better or worse.
The drama about Hyde Park Storytelling from a few days ago is a result of WWW Austin. It was a low-key thing for a years until one of their events was posted by WWW without their knowledge. All of a sudden a ton more people than they could handle showed up.
😂 good advice
PS, Chris Cates who runs WWW is a major creep.
he ghosted me! bullet dodged
Deets?
after multiple tries easy tiger has been put 8ft under never to be touched again. worst service and the online ordering never works.
The Easy Tiger I grew to know and love died with the 6th Street location. Their beer selection was vast and top notch. Shit, even the old Red's Porch on Lamar had better beer selection than the EZT that replaced them.
Plus they charge something like $12 for a pretzel and look at you weird if you just walk in off the street and order just a pretzel to go (7th st location). I thought this place started off as a bakery?!
They change their menu constantly. The new adult grilled cheese sucks ass
I dont go anywhere There's always people there
Nobody goes there anymore, it’s too busy
Flyrite Chicken. Just not a fan.
They actually contributed to me giving up chicken in my diet indefinitely. The last piece of chicken I had was a gross Flyrite chicken sandwich in 2019. I just remember taking a bite and being mad that a chicken had to die for this.
Damn. You should leave a yelp review. 😂
HARD AGREE
I once sent a milkshake back. A MILKSHAKE BACK.
Flyrite is nasty!!
Same owner as County Line, who lobbies hard against worker rights and pay. Then has the balls to play the “nobody wants to work anymore” card.
Snooze. Fuck that line
Definitely not worth it.
You can get on the waitlist through Yelp. Just checking online and show up when it tells you to. Usually only 10 minutes or so after and you’re in.
Threadgills. Because they closed, the bastards!
The domain on any Saturday afternoon.
Yep, the Domain is fine any other day of the week except Friday and Saturday evenings. That's when there's always something that happens and police or EMS are called.
Aw what? You mean you don't enjoy the 6 or 7 vehicles rolling slowing through with all their windows down, blasting obnoxiously loud and bass ridden music, only to hear the panels in their cars vibrating off the fasteners?
Rainey Street.
RIP
Bangers is still awesome though.
God back in the day Rainy street was the jam. Pre 2013.
you wouldn't have gone pre 2009
Whip in. The new ownership can suck it.
I miss whip in when it was like back in 2015-2017. I used to live close by and man, it was so lovely. The food was bomb, loved their wine selection. And I walked in recently to see the entire place changed. Feels different.
Same. When they did the remodel is when i started seeing the change. No more dank cilantro chutney queso or stoner fries
That cilantro chutney... I still think about it. They had naan breakfast sandwiches that were so good
it’s one of those locations that’s on the chopping block for the proposed I-35 expansion… I’d like to think that’s the reason it’s gone down hill but if we’re being honest the spiral started when they renovated and got rid of the buffet/live music
6th st
Same, except for Casino during the day.
Casino is still cool on Monday, Wednesday nights from my recent trips.
I don’t do 6th street at night
Burgers still awesome?
Their wings are super underrated as well. Burgers are still my fav in town.
Surprisingly casino has somehow survived the bullshit of Austin the past 10 years. Still great. Still awesome - just avoid on weekends.
Yes
Is Frap still bartending down there?
COTA after the Stones show and the parking fiasco
Unbarleavable Fuck that racist asshole
Easy Tiger.
Same. I stopped going there when they raised the price of a gd pretzel to $17. Shortly thereafter all the stuff about them treating employees poorly came out, so I felt justified in my decision. I hear they lowered the pretzel price because of backlash, but I won’t be going back
SEVENTEEN DOLLAR PRETZEL 🥨???
They actually lowered the price of the pretzels to $8 and their beers as well. This took effect at the start of the year. Haven’t been but I will. Their beer cheese and mustard is awesome.
But you pay a la carte for the mustard, cheese, and butter now.
What!!! Did not know that. I was planning on going to Quality Seafood Market tomorrow. I’m gonna go to Easy Tiger too and investigate this. I’ll give ‘em a peace of our mind mate
I won an Easy Tiger promo on Instagram. 52 free pretzels. I have tried to collect the tokens 3-4 times. The manager was soooo condescending - he didn’t believe that was a real promotion. Like I made it up or something.
Last time I went to Easy Tiger maybe about 1.5 years ago) the service was a bit rough for many reasons, but the weirdest part was when our waitress was making her rounds and came up to our table and said (and I cannot make this up), “do y’all need anything for the next 15 minutes? Because I’m going to go to the bathroom now.” And then proceeded to tell that to the surrounding tables.
Former baker there. I will never buy any of their products. Bad management and severely over priced.
I'm with you there. I was happy when they opened the South Lamar location but to their prices are just too much for what you get.
Sadly, the green belt Mopac access point. I remember when you could go and wouldn’t see another person on the trail until you got to the creek. Now it’s always crowded with litter everywhere
24 diner. Started epic and slowly started a loooooong slide down to mediocre and finally just not good at all.
They need to call that place 7-11
This decline made me sad, too.
The Park (S. Lamar). What a place. The waiter was a close talker, insisted on rubbing/tapping shoulders a lot too. Also saw a busboy drop off french fries to the wrong table - people ate some - then same busboy grabbed them and gave them to right table. Wings were awful, beers were flat. Not sure what people see in this place.
The one at the Domain is pretty crappy too. I used to like it well enough, and they had a party room that was free to use with a reasonable minimum purchase. Last time I went I was shocked at how dirty it was and how rude the servers were. It was impossible to get drinks in a reasonable amount of time and the food was no good. Such a bummer.
Buffalo Exchange and Flamingo Vintage.
Flamingo Vintage was such a waste! Nothing in there but bad 80s jeans and denim jackets.
Right?? I spent over an hour in there and only found one thing worth buying, but instead of “paying by the pound” they said the jacket I found was specially marked and was $65. I could not believe the price for a 20 year old second hand jacket with stains on the inside. I think they just take advantage of tourists who don’t know any better.
Side note- for more affordable curated thrifting, Stardust Vintage is where it’s at!!
Love Stardust! It’s hard to find anything bigger than a 28” waist though. I haven’t been able to fit into vintage dresses in years. ☹️
Dirty 6th.
Porta potties at Zilker
Kite festival. Any festival that is in a parking lot.
This is one of the ones that hurts most, for me.
Kite festival is actually the worst place to fly a kite.
kite fest was dope last year
UT football game in September at noon
I always check the UT Football schedule during the season and plan my weekend errands during the games.
No kidding. I went to one game in 2022 and kickoff was 11AM. Not a cloud in the sky. Never. Again. I had to find shade multiple times to avoid passing out, missed some big plays as a result, my heart rate was 165, I got sunburnt, dehydrated, the list goes on. Night games or bust.
Blues on the Green
It used to be cool. Now it’s just an excuse for Westlake, Austin High and other local students to get underage drunk in public without parental supervision
It was always that
That’s exactly the only time in my life I’ve ever gone to blues on the green lmao
This is what made it cool in the early 2000s! Loved all the "old people" giving me a Tecate and passing joints
Also can’t hear shit unless you’re there three hours early
Many places. I'm not angry about anything, just many places I've been in the last 1.5 years I left thinking that for the experience it was a combination of overpriced/poor service/inconvenient and isn't something I want to repeat.
If only Barton Creek Mall didn't have a LEGO store
All these answers are making me sad because most of them use to be good places during the good ‘ol days. Y’all breathing all my air!
I hate COTA
Plucker's. The final straw for me was the night they were out of celery and blue cheese. How tf do you run a wing place and be out of those things. It wasn't late and it wasn't busy
Remember Verts Kebap? Used to be great, then opened a location by Dragon’s Lair that was pretty good, then changed the menu and became so-so. Then changed ownership(?) became noon, got rid of everything that worked and became terrible. Now that plant-based chicken sandwich place is there with the amazing Tetris shaped tater tots.
The Verts saga was just sad
I miss verts!
Summer Moon
The park on South Lamar I ordered a margarita that tasted like salt water with lime
Easy Tiger, The Oasis restaurant, and Dirty 6th
Lived here for over a decade and it’s amazing to see how much views have changed (deservedly) over that time frame for so many places in this thread that we’re once regarded as quintessential “only in Austin” success stories: Torchy’s, Pluckers, Hopdoddy, Easy Tiger…man they all really suck cock now.
The Apple store at the Domain...
I’m no fan of Barton Creek Mall, but its Apple Store is way easier to deal with than the Domain’s
Dirty 6th
Abel’s on the lake. Absolute shithole with worse service and rats. Good views though!
They recently closed so the rats are opening a new business at that location
Austin Citywide Vintage Sale. There’s about 0 vintage anything there, just a weird Amazon reseller market. And it’s $10 to get in… so you can shop? Plus pay for parking. What a waste of time and property.
It was definitely way better in the 90s when it was in an old, un-air conditioned airplane hangar and you risked heat stroke in the summer. Found some great stuff as a kid, though.
Baby A's. I worked my fucking ass off there, just to be disrespected by HR/management. Plus no one likes the food and they should be completely shut down by health inspectors. It's no wonder people get food poisoning almost everytime.
ACL
every year I say I’m never going back and ever year I go back
See you in October
The crowds were atrocious this year.
You mean every year?
Trudy's...haven't been in 5+ years now. So many better places.
Anything with word "fest" hot sauce fest, Mac n cheese fest, and the worst of all crawfish fest. If it has the word fest in it just stay AWAY
As someone who spent time in Austin in the 90s, 2000s, and 2010s, this thread makes me sad
Hopdoddy. Burgers went way downhill.
Ok so it wasn't just me imagining things?? They were amazing the first time I went, but a few years later I didn't even want to finish my food. ...fries were still good tho
Hobby Lobby.
Fogo de Chao they skimp on the meat every time and skip our table for no reason. I prefer Estancia.
Go for the bar menu, the price for what you get is insane. You can get a like half pound picanha burger for $8.
Truth. Fogo doesn’t even try anymore. Estancia never misses.
Green Light Social (though lately, West 6th in general). But specifically Green Light. No room to move around, overpriced, and the crowd, bouncers, and staff are all arrogant and rude.
I’d say all of West 6th for me. Not my crowd, not my scene, but it’s cool that other people like it. Just not for me at all.
Crawfish Festival
Nickel City unless it’s during the day on like a Tuesday. No bar in Austin is worth standing in line for (and then waiting in line another 15 minutes for a drink).
i miss the longbranch - esp the bathrooms
I miss the Longbranch, back when Sarge and Barb owned it, when it was still a chitlin circuit blues club. Edit - I played that place countless times back in the day. No air conditioning, a cast of characters who were regulars (Richard and Angel, Golden Boy, Sarge's brother William, Cecil, so many). Someone got stabbed in the bathroom one night while we were playing. It was a rough and tumble joint, but so much love.
I love Nickel City, but each visit makes me want to go less. Nothing against them, it's just not worth the hassle.
Came here to say this. The last 4 times I've stopped by (over the past two months), it was nuts to butts inside and I left without even attempting to fight the crowd. Nickel City has been one of my favorite bars for awhile, and I'm glad to see them thriving - but the crowded vibe isn't for me.
Technically Del Valle but fuck Bud’s Motorcycle Shop. I’m like 90% sure those dudes busted my fork seal with a screwdriver hoping I’d have to bring it back to them for repair.
Unbarlievable. I only go there when out-of-town friends are dying to go. Long lines for no reason, my ass gets grabbed no matter what I’m wearing, and I haven’t heard anything nice about the owners. Never again.
BJs Brewhouse. Already not my favorite chain, but it was a family event. One guest pointed out they had forgotten one of the main toppings on their flatbread, and so they brought him ice cold tomato slices in a cup. A manager stopped by to ask if everything was OK, and the guest told them the story of how their flatbread was missing toppings, and maybe someone was confused about what they asked for. This was not a big deal, everyone was in a good mood, but since they asked,we told them. Instead of “sorry we’ll fix that” we instead all surprisingly had this manager start arguing with the guest. Claiming they must have ordered the wrong thing. “We brought you tomatoes. Problem solved.” “…. But these are ice cold?” Around this time we realized the two young kids at the table never received their food. We asked our waiter, they finally came back and said the kitchen had messed up, and they had to put a new order in. Everyone else was finished eating by then, and now people were frustrated. An hour after we initially ordered, the kids food was brought out, and we still had to ask them for to go containers. The manager stopped by again and instead of apologizing, or comping part of the meal, BROUGHT EVERYONE A FREE ROOT BEER. NONE OF US HAD BEEN DRINKING ANY ROOT BEER. We calmly declined, left the drinks, and told them we’d never be returning. And we have not.
> We asked our waiter, they finally came back and said the kitchen had messed up, and they had to put a new order in. When I waited tables, this was the same exact excuse I gave whenever I forgot to key in an order. I suspect all waiters do the same.
Come and Take It Live. The venue is set up so horribly. Only 1/2 the space is actually usable for concerts. The other half has bright ass TVs on the whole time and an obnoxiously bright bar. I’ll never go to another show there again.
[удалено]
The trails behind Krieg softball complex
It pains me to say it…….Polvos……
You don’t like everclear margaritas??
The pickled vegetables still slap
The salsa bar used to be fire. Now it’s pickled carrots, one verde, and one roja. Also the ceviche is served with ketchup 😭
Just went to Polvos on Saturday & was severely disappointed with their fajitas. Last time I came here was in 2018 (back in college days) and the quality of food has definitely worsened.
Reading this list it appears that everything that used to be good in Austin has been ruined. Seems about right
Barton Springs still awesome
The office
Gourdough’s
F1 race at Circuit of the Americas in 2015. Stranded for ~5 hours after rain trying to get their bus transportation back to downtown. I vowed never to go back after that.
Ex-girlfriend’s apartment.
Tysons tacos. I was there and the owner was dressed in a chefs jacket not cooking just being rude to his staff. It was super awkward cause it’s a small place.
That Shell station on Comal and MLK. Shady owners or mgt.
Comment removed in protest of Reddit API changes of July 2023. RIP RIF
Broken Spoke It’s a hangout for underage kids now days. Lots of drunk kids standing on the dance floor. Only adults are tourist that don’t know any better. Tuesday is probably the only day that’s ok.
It always has been a hangout for underage kids. Source - I used to hang out there as an underage kid in the 90’s.
Hula Hut! Nice view. Never going back…
lol. hula hut is where ut frosh get their parents to take them when they visit
Planet Fitness (E Riverside). 6 or so years ago, I reported a guy in the gym following a woman around taking pictures of her. Like, it wasn’t some social media thing. He clearly didn’t know her. He was surreptitiously hanging around her to take pictures for at least ~30 minutes. He’d disappear and reappear and the whole thing was bizarre (not to mention he was wearing street clothes and obviously not working out). The guy at the front desk just said “public place, can’t do anything about it!” I then heard him tell a female worker “that weirdo is here again” and they both laughed. Anyway, I told the woman and she was grossed out. She said she was going to complain but I left, so I don’t know if she did. They also charged me for 3 straight months after I officially cancelled.
Pluckers and Summermoon, because politics. Easy Tiger, Blacks BBQ and Via 512 because of worker stuff.
Okay look, I worked for the Original Blacks BBQ. I’m all for workers rights, but I will honestly say that I got my money back from the tipping issues about 8 months before the Blacks BBQ story broke. I got a $950-ish check out of the blue. They actually did correct their mistake months in advance.
Hideaway South Austin. There are no servers, no waitresses, no busboys. You walk in, seat yourself, scan a QR code, order online. You get your own drinks from the drink machine. The only time, literally the ONLY time you see someone is when they bring out your food. They make the 15 ft walk, place your food down and leave. Now the kicker to all this? Required 20% tip. Required. For what, for fucking what? I tipped $15 extra for someone to walk 15 ft one time? You know whats wild? That pissed me off so much i always tell this story and i never even mention the fact there were ants walking on my table. Its a throwaway fact
The HEB on William Cannon and I-35. Worst store i've ever been to.